Acura is a company that seemingly goes in and out of favor with the car enthusiast crowd. Honda’s luxury division launched back in 1986 and in the years that followed, quickly earned praise for vehicles like the affordable but fun Integra, and the NSX – a mid-engined supercar that cost way less than a Ferrari but was just as fast (and more reliable). The NZX became an icon. The ten years that followed 2010 were not Acura’s best decade, seeing the end of the hotter Type S models and taking years to bring back its legendary NSX as a hybrid.

Fast-forward to today, and we think Acura has got its groove back. The 2024 Acura Integra Type S encapsulates the company’s meteoric rise back to cool. It packs the same turbocharged engine as the Honda Civic Type R – but with a smidge more power – along with one of the best manual transmissions on the market today, and a price that undercuts the likes of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes by thousands.

We’ve driven hundreds of cars in 2023, but the Integra Type S stands out as my personal favorite. It’s not perfect, as I’ll point out in this review, but Acura has stumbled upon a formula for driving bliss that may never exist again.

Exterior: Mature Racer

The Honda Civic Type R may have a back seat and a large trunk, but if you pulled up to the school pickup line in one, other parents might start to make some assumptions (the kids would probably think you’re cool, however). Though we wouldn’t call it subtle, the Integra Type S certainly does a better job of blending in as a “regular” car. Its lack of a giant wing helps feign a sense of maturity, opting instead for a more subtle black spoiler that can be finished in carbon fiber for just $950.

Our tester’s Platinum White Pearl paint looked elegant, though we prefer some of the brighter hues like Performance Red Pearl, Apex Blue Peak, and Tiger Eye Pearl (gold), all of which add $650 to the price. Lunar Silver Metallic is the only no-cost option. If money is no object, you can opt for copper finish on your 19-inch wheels for $2,186. In our opinion, that’s way too expensive just to change the color of a wheel without getting a different pattern. The standard Shark Grey coloring is just fine.

Interior: Could Have More

If we had to levy some criticism towards this car, it would be in the interior. This cabin looks nearly identical to a Civic, aside from a few upgraded features. Compared to the Type R, the Type S gets comfortable leather and suede seats that are heated and power-adjustable. A heated steering wheel is available as a $475 accessory. It also gets a superior 16-speaker ELS Studio 3D premium audio system and a 5.3-inch head-up display. And that’s it. Almost every other button and switch, aside from a few leather-wrapped surfaces, are shared with the Type R, which is over $5k cheaper.

For the price of this car, we’d like to see some more premium features such as ventilated front seats, a 360-degree camera, larger infotainment system, or even just some rear air vents. This cabin does feel slightly upgraded compared to the Civic, but buyers who value luxury might be disappointed.

Practicality: Little Cargo Hauler

It may not be a large car, but the Integra Type S hatchback packs a surprising amount of room for both passengers and cargo. 37.4 inches of rear legroom bests the Audi S3 sedan (and even the larger S4, for that matter) and the Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 Coupe. Unfortunately, only two passengers can sit back there since there isn’t a middle seat belt and the cupholders live where a cushion should be, just like in the Type R.

What it lacks in seats, the Integra Type S makes up for in trunk space. The hatchback body style yields an impressive 24.3 cubic feet of trunk space – more than the S3’s 8.3 cubes and the CLA’s 11.6 cubes by a significant margin, although the Type R does offer 0.2 cubes more. Acura doesn’t quote storage space with the rear seats folded, but it’s a massive amount of room.

Performance: Numbers Aren’t The Point

Like the Type R, the Type S uses a 2.0-liter K20C turbocharged V-TEC four-cylinder engine. It produces five more horsepower in the Integra Type S for a total of 320 hp, thanks to a different exhaust and some other tuning changes. Torque remains the same at 310 lb-ft. Acura doesn’t quote official 0-60 mph times, but the Integra should hook up to that speed in around 5.1 seconds with the quarter-mile passing by in 13.8 seconds. On paper, the German options in this price range will best the Acura with their all-wheel-drive grip, but I feel the Type S is more engaging to drive. If you’re the type of person who looks at a spec sheet and buys the car with the best numbers, you will sadly miss out on this incredible driving experience.

This car is only available with a six-speed manual transmission, and it’s one of the best ones available. The clutch isn’t too heavy, the shifter is perfectly notchy, and the automatic rev-matching is excellent. After driving an Integra Type S, it makes us wonder why more expensive cars can’t have a manual that feels this perfect.

Driving Impressions: Perfect?

This car feels like the culmination of everything that has made Acura cars special in the past. Acura took the Honda Civic Type R, one of the best FWD cars ever built, and made it more comfortable to drive. The adaptive dampers are tuned more softly than they are in the Type R, but they can still get pretty firm in Sport+ mode. There’s even an Individual mode where you can set everything else to Sport+ but leave the dampers in Comfort.

It may not have four driven wheels, but we still prefer the FWD Acura to many of its German rivals. You can feel exactly what those front wheels are up to through the steering as the car gets all 320 horses down to the road. It’s buzzy, it’s full of character, and it will put a huge grin on your face. I found that finessing the throttle to get the quickest launch is more satisfying than the German alternatives, which all have automatic or dual-clutch transmissions and faultless launch control. Anyone could get a quick launch in those cars; in the Integra Type S, it requires skill.

We already mentioned that we think the shifter is one of the best we’ve ever sampled. Rowing through the gears is satisfying on its own, but Acura went a step further by giving the Type S a louder active exhaust. Compared to the surprisingly muted Type R, the Type S cracks and burbles on downshifts as the car blips the throttle for you. It’s just the right level of pizzaz without hitting obnoxious levels, like in the Hyundai Elantra N.

Pricing & Verdict: The Ultimate Mature Hot Hatch

There are two ways to look at the 2024 Integra Type S. On the one hand, it costs around $6,000 more than the Honda Civic Type R to have five more hp, a slightly nicer interior, and a great exhaust. Buyers who enjoy the Type R’s flashy styling, racing seats, and cheaper price tag should probably go that route rather than spending $50,800 (excluding destination) on an Integra Type S. If you love both, we’d take whichever one has the smaller dealer markup.

On the other hand, the Integra is cheaper than most of its German rivals. The Audi S3 is slightly cheaper at the low end but gets more expensive with options. The Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 is a few thousand dollars more (before options pull it significantly higher) and it’s a similar story with the BMW M240i Gran Coupe.

This is the type of car that’s hard to understand without driving. On paper, it’s slower, less premium, and less prestigious than similarly priced options. But it only takes a few shifts from that razor-sharp transmission to realize that Acura ignored the numbers in favor of pure driving pleasure. In a world where so many brands are ignoring enthusiasts, the Acura Integra Type S carves out a niche as one of the best cars on sale at any price.