“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So scribed William Shakespeare via the doomed character of Juliet to Romeo, implying that a name is simply a convention of society with no meaning behind it. But does the same logic apply to purchasing the all-new Acura Integra over a regular Honda Civic Si, that it shares many parts with?
Well, if you’re about to overlook the somewhat wise words of Juliet, it won’t be a cheap endeavour given that on average, the Integra is 28.5 percent pricier than its Civic Si counterpart.
Although they share many of the same parts, even the higher output version of the 1.5-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, that Acura badge will always carry a little more prestige; especially in their native North American markets that's the base for this piece.
How much more prestige? Well, at least 28 percent, as we’ve mentioned. Or at least, as Honda/Acura is hoping that’s sufficient to justify the bump up in price.
The Integra name moulded into the bumper is a classy touch, you'll find it below the taillights as well.
The naïve method would be to compare the Integra to the regular Civic but that's hardly an apples-to-apples comparison as the engine outputs don't even match and there's not manual option available in the latter.
However, on average, the 4 Integra variants are priced 32 percent higher over the 4 regular Civic variants.
Bear in mind that all Integras run on the higher-tune 200 HP version of the 1.5-litre mill whilst the top 2 Civic variants are powered by the lower output 180 HP version of that engine. Furthermore, the two entry-level Civic variants use an older naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre engine with 158 HP.
If you’re still keen on a comparison, check out the table below.
| Integra vs. Civic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Integra | Civic | Price (USD) | Difference |
| Base (1.5 turbo, 200 HP, CVT) | Civic LX (2.0 NA, 158 HP) | 31,895 / 23,645 | 34% |
| A Spec (1.5 turbo, 200 HP, CVT) | Civic Sport (2.0 NA, 158 HP) | 33,895 / 25,045 | 35% |
| A Spec + Tech Pack (1.5 turbo, 200 HP, CVT) | Civic EX (1.5 turbo, 180 HP) | 36,895 / 26,645 | 38% |
| A Spec + Tech Pack (1.5 turbo, 200 HP, 6-speed manual) | Civic Touring (1.5 turbo, 180 HP) | 36,895 / 30,245 | 21% |
Here’s where the Civic Si shows up in the rear-view mirror of the Integra. Although we don’t get it here, the Civic Si is essentially a tuned version of the regular Civic but not to the levels of the Civic Type-R.
Therefore, it makes for a more compelling comparison against the Integra, with the only caveat being that the Civic Si comes solely with the 6-speed manual while the you’ll have to splurge on the highest spec Integra; the A Spec with the Technology Pack for the 6-speed manual.
No surprises the interior is heavily inspired by the current Civic FE.
It should also be noted that the important bits of the Technology Pack with the Integra comprise a 4 drive modes (Comfort, Normal, Sport, Individual) whilst the Civic Si ditches Comfort mode. Additionally, the manual Integra gets a helical limited-slip differential but so does the Civic Si as well.
To sum it up, the Civic Si is almost identical to the Integra manual save for one little trick up the Integra's sleeve; adaptive dampers. That's right, the Integra with the Tech Pack also comes with adaptive dampers, something the Civic Si loses out on.
Oh, the things we'd do to see this offered in the Civic FE sold here.
Interestingly, the manual Integra also boasts slightly better weight distribution than its CVT counterparts.
| Integra vs Civic Si | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Integra | Civic Si | Price (USD) | Difference |
| Integra A Spec + Tech Pack (1.5 turbo, 200 HP, 6-speed manual) | Civic Si (1.5 turbo, 200 HP, 6-speed manual) | 36,895 / 28,595 | 29% |
| Civic Si HPT (1.5 turbo, 200 HP, 6-speed manual) + performance tyres | 36,895 / 28,795 | 28% | |
In conclusion, the Integra and the Civic Si share their drivetrains but seeing that the former is targetted at a much more premium demographic with the Acura badge, it makes sense to include the CVT for it. As for the Civic Si, it's more performance focussed, as seen with the lack of a Comfort mode.
Definitely Acura-esque seats.
Nonetheless, is it worth the substantial difference in price? Well, that's between North American buyers and their banks.
Personally, the Civic Si seems to tick enough of the boxes for us here and we'd love to see it come into the market here. Something around the RM 200k mark would be a decent figure we reckon.
