Acura Integra Reservations With Manual Gearbox Are Trending Over 70%
Did Acura underestimate how popular the manual gearbox would be among 2023 Integra customers? It sure looks like it.
When Honda’s luxury brand officially resurrected its iconic compact car on March 10 with a base price in the mid-$30,000 range in Canada, disappointment quickly set in due to the standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). The latter may feature Step-Shift functionality with paddle shifters simulating gear changes, but it’s nothing like playing with a stick and clutch.
- Also: 2023 Acura Integra is Exactly Like a Five-Door Honda Civic Si
- Also: Update: 2023 Acura Integra is Not Going to Have AWD
In order to get the close-ratio, six-speed manual gearbox (complete with a limited-slip differential), one must turn to the more upscale A-Spec model. That’s not stopping a large majority of reservation holders, mind you.
A spokesman for Acura in the U.S., Andrew Quillin, has tweeted that the reservations for the new Integra are trending above 70 percent for the manual gearbox option. Pretty remarkable, don’t you think? This is compared to about 50 percent of all Integra sales in the 1986-2001 period.
Fun Fact: 2023 Integra reservations are trending over 70% 6MT! For historical context, the MT was around 50% of sales (‘86-‘01). pic.twitter.com/G1tSVJuxQ3
— Andrew Quillin (@andrewquillin) March 17, 2022
While a number of auto journalists and Acura enthusiasts have criticized the new generation of the Integra, mainly due to its exclusive five-door body style and the fact that it uses the same engine as the Honda Civic Si, not to mention the interior layout, customer demand since the model’s reveal is “above our expectations,” Acura says.
The 2023 Acura Integra boasts a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 200 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 192 pound-feet of torque from 1,800-5,000 rpm. Power is sent to the front wheels only. The rumoured AWD system, as previously reported, was not meant to be.
The standard 17-inch alloy wheels make room for 18-inch wheels with performance all-season tires on the sportier-looking Integra A-Spec, which also stands out with gloss black accents all around and a rear spoiler.
The first Integra units coming from the Marysville, Ohio assembly plant will arrive in Canadian dealerships this spring. We’ll have pricing details to share along with our first driving impressions at around the same time.