1986 Acura Integra Rewind Review: The Extraordinary Car That Became Ordinary
A Definitive End to the Malaise Era
Inside the 1986 Acura Integra: Like, Totally Tubular!
The Engine of Tomorrow, Today
Back in the '80s, the Integra's 16-valve 1.6-liter engine really turned our heads. It's easy to chuckle at the oversized DOHC PROGRAMMED FUEL INJECTION decal on the Integra's flanks, but in 1986 this was exotic stuff. Detroit's four-cylinder engines were awful eight-valve lumps that were only just beginning to be tamed with throttle-body fuel injection, a cheap single-injector assembly bolted into the same spot as a carburetor. Even Honda, already known for the best four-bangers in the biz, still offered only single-cam 12-valve engines, all with carburetors (with fuel injection as a new-for-1986 option).
Of course, MotorTrend was no stranger to two-cam multi-valve heads; we tested plenty of European supercars, but to see such exotica on a reasonably priced car was a novelty. Same for multi-port fuel injection, which in 1986 was only just making its first appearance on Chevrolet's Corvette and IROC-Z. To see such hardware put together with Japanese precision and refinement, though, was something new, even for us.
"The Integra's four-valve-per-cylinder 1.6-liter engine proved much more than anticipated," we wrote, "with a blend of flat-torque-curve power-on-demand, quick throttle response, and effective NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) damping unsurpassed in engines of its kind on the market today."
In the muscle-car '60s—not too distant in 1985's rearview mirror—1-horsepower per cubic inch was the Holy Grail. The Integra drew a righteous 113 horsepower from a mere 97 cubic inches, this at a time when GM's 231-cid (3.8-liter) V-6 only delivered 110. We clocked the then-new 1986 Acura Integra to 60 in 8.9 seconds, just 1.8 seconds behind a 1985 Ford Mustang GT.
The Engine of Yesterday, Today
Today we're driving this classic Integra amid fast-moving Los Angeles traffic, and it's a struggle. We're trying to keep up with KJ Jones from MT's Truck and Off-Road Group in his Banks-enhanced Chevy Colorado, and we need every last bit of the Integra's 99 lb-ft of torque. This example has 168,000 miles on the clock and feels appropriate for her age. But Jones knows where we're going and we don't, so museum piece or not, we've no choice but to flirt with the Integra's near-7,000-rpm redline. At least that's our excuse because we like pushing the Integra—and the Integra likes being pushed.
With any luck, you are too young and/or fortunate to have driven a four-cylinder car in the early '80s. Trust us, they weren't great, with low and feeble torque peaks concentrated at low or mid revs. Few Americans had experienced anything like the Integra's engine, it's thin low-end torque gradually building and building before surging at 4,000 rpm into a crescendo of power delivered all the way to its exotically-high 6,700-rpm redline—and all the while accompanied by a wonderful sonorous snarl. Today's drivers might say, "So what? That's how every engine drives!" Sure, today they do—and we have the Integra's influence to thank for it.
The Correct Tire Transforms the 1986 Acura Integra
Believe it or not, in our original 1986 test report we complained about the Acura Integra's handling, fixing blame on its Michelin MXV tires which put low limits on the Integra's grip for both turning and braking. (Back in those days we had to modulate brake lock-up in panic stops; there was no ABS to do it for us.) "It was as if the chassis dynamics were tuned to a much more high-performance set of tires," we wrote, "only to be replaced at the last minute." We surmised that better rubber would make the Integra a handling gem.
Thirty-five years later, our supposition is confirmed. Our classic Integra's 14-inch aluminum wheels are fitted with a modern set of Falken Azenis RT660s, and the car is masterful. Out on one of our favorite curvy roads, it simply refuses to relinquish its grip on the pavement. The suspension—struts and torsion bars up front, twist-beam in the back—keeps body motions under control, and despite a complete lack of electronic stability control, the Integra never does anything sudden or scary. The steering reminds us why people miss hydraulic assist; it feels alive and chatty with feedback. The effort to turn the tiller is light, and yet the power assist is dialed back enough that you almost forget it's there at all. If a brand-new car drove like this 35-year-old Acura, we'd have nothing to complain about.
Lost in Time
And that, right there, is the conundrum we face in writing about this classic 1986 Acura Integra in modern times. Not long ago we drove another classic Honda, the foundational first-generation Accord, and there was no mistaking it was a disco-era relic. The timeline is a mind-bender: Only eight years separate that Accord from this Integra. Meanwhile, the time gap between the Integra and modern cars is more than four times as long. And yet it feels like 35 years separate the original Accord and this original Integra, which surely can't be more than a decade older than modern day cars, tape deck and gnarly upholstery notwithstanding.
We understand why. In the wake of the Acura Integra's introduction, the 16-valve, dual-overhead-camshaft, multi-port-injected engine would become the industry standard, reigning right up until the recent adaptation of turbochargers, direct injection, and electrification. Detroit would give up its ribbon-style speedometers and one-finger-light power steering to better emulate the Integra. Thanks to Acura, upscale cars would soon be judged not by their size but by their performance, agility, and build quality.
Indeed, Honda, Toyota, and the other Japanese automakers fundamentally changed what American automobile buyers wanted, and the 1986 Acura Integra was the car that pointed the way. And so, we can forgive this three-and-a-half-decade-old classic for feeling ordinary. After all, it defined what ordinary would become.
You may also like
With Acura's NSX supercar being sunsetted this year after the final run of Type S variants is built, the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) where it is assembled by hand is going to need purpose. Well, a different purpose, at least—and Acura's been trying to give it some over the past few years with its normal-looking-on-the-outside, secretly hand-built batches of PMC Editions of its mainstream models. These mostly ordinary Acura models are usually gifted some special paint—a lustrous red on the 2020 TLX PMC Edition, a blazing orange on the 2021 RDX PMC Edition, etc.—and carry the distinction of being hand-built in the same factory as the NSX supercar, by the same technicians, even. The newest addition to this PMC family? The latest-generation TLX sedan.As mentioned, there has been a TLX PMC Edition previously, but that was based on the previous-generation TLX. This 2023 Acura TLX PMC Edition blends not only the newest TLX with the PMC treatment, but also the TLX in its spicier 355-hp Type S form, which also gets Acura's torque-vectoring Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. This sport sedan with a name of many characters will, ironically, be limited in number, though Acura hasn't outlined yet what that number will be. (Past PMCs were built in numbered runs, with each model wearing a plaque inside with its unique figure; there is a similar plaque pictured on the new '23 TLX, but it only shows "001," not how many that number is out of.) It is, of course, built by hand at Acura's PMC in Ohio, and for an added dash of fancy, each car will be delivered in a covered, single-car transporter to its delivery dealership in order to keep the paint free from blemishes.In no small part because this TLX PMC Edition is based on the already saucy looking Type S version of Acura's midsize sedan, it is an altogether more serious-looking machine than the old one. Acura steps up the visuals with copper-colored 21-inch wheels, carbon-fiber rear spoiler and diffuser pieces, and Berlina Black (a classic Honda color) roof and door mirrors. Three colors will be available, and (go, America!), they're Curva Red (with a black interior), 130R White (red interior), and Long Beach Blue (with a white interior)—perfectly timed for a certain celebratory weekend in the U.S.A. All three colors are borrowed from the NSX, too.Other enhancements on the PMC include Pirelli P-Zero summer tires, carbon fiber interior trim, backlit "Type S" door sill plates, and blacked-out badges. The result is a TLX Type S that is subtly different, but in a hard-to-place way if you just saw one on the street.Of course, the delicious, even subtler aspect of these PMC cars has long been their hand assembly, which is just plain unusual for cars not priced in the stratosphere. Like with past PMC Editions, we anticipate the TLX Type S version won't break the bank, costing a few thousand bucks more than a regular one. Again, imagine someone paying just a little more for, say, a hand-built Ford F-150 or Honda Civic. It's both weird and kind of, secretly, maybe cool. We'll know final pricing and, likely, how limited production will be when the order books open for the TLX Type S PMC Edition later this year.
aston-martin dbx Full Overview"Watch this." Aston Martin boss Tobias Moers keeps his foot hard on the brake, selects launch control, and pushes the gas pedal to the floor. The revs build with a guttural snarl, then he sidesteps the brake pedal. The Aston Martin DBX707 super-SUV lunges with a roar like a hungry lion, the nine-speed transmission snapping through the upshifts as the twin-turbo V-8 kisses the 7,000-rpm redline. Moers laughs out loud. "It's ridiculous fast," he says.A tight left-hander. Moers pitches the Aston into the turn and punches the throttle. The tail swings wide, and he catches the motion with an armful of opposite lock. He keeps his foot down, and the Aston exits the turn in a graceful drift, as comfortable and composed as a sports car. Moers grins. "You shouldn't be able to do this in an SUV," he says, shaking his head.It's good to see the boss enjoying his new toy.And the Aston Martin DBX707 is very much Moers' toy. His fingerprints are all over Aston's new super-SUV, from the tweaked, AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo under the hood, to the AMG Speedshift MCT wet-clutch nine-speed automatic with its Sport+ mode and launch control function, to the chassis that's been tuned to deliver precision and support without compromising ride comfort.The DBX707's mission statement is simple: to be faster than a Lamborghini Urus and to handle better than a Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe. And after a brief drive of a production-ready prototype at Aston's compact Stowe Complex test track at Silverstone, England, we're tempted to say, "Mission accomplished."The DBX707's raw thrust is a given: With 697 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque under the hood, even a 5,000-plus-pound SUV is going to feel quick. This Aston builds speed with relentless intensity, the power delivery so smooth and linear, you must carefully watch you don't hit the rev limiter if you're shifting manually. Moers claims a 0-60-mph acceleration time of less than 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 193 mph, and the DBX707 feels every bit that quick.But what's much more impressive than how the DBX707 goes is how it handles. It feels agile and responsive, not twitchy or straining at its tethers, especially when changing direction rapidly. It has, quite simply, the best, most authoritative front end of any super-SUV in the business, precise in its response and concise in its feedback. Turn in, and the Aston goes exactly where you point it. More important, there's plenty of support from the rear axle, right through from corner entry to exit.Much of that, Moers says, is the result of a major rework of the front suspension, particularly in terms of its supporting structures. A cross-brace means the front shock top mounts are 55 percent stiffer than those of the standard DBX. A 0.16-inch-thick underbody panel has raised torsional stiffness by 1.3 percent to improve steering response and impact control. Compression and rebound damping have been increased by 20 and 10 percent.Modifications at the rear include a new e-diff with a higher locking rate, and spring and damper rates that are softer than those at the front. Overall, the electronic active roll system has been recalibrated to deliver 50 percent more torque on low body motions, and the roll control is now more rear-biased at higher cornering speeds to reduce understeer.As a result, the DBX707 feels remarkably light on its feet, with none of the slightly leaden, nose-heavy feel you get when pushing a Lamborghini Urus or a non-GT Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe—the car Moers' team initially used as a dynamic benchmark—and little of the exaggerated roll and head toss you normally feel in vehicles with a high center of gravity. And although it's tighter and tauter than a regular DBX, the ride is still impressively refined, with no harshness or jitters over small, sharp lumps and bumps.It still feels more like a grand tourer than a track rat.The Aston Martin DBX707 is hella fast in a straight line and jaw-droppingly good through the twisty bits. We'll reserve final judgment until we get to spend more time with it on real-world roads a few weeks from now, as well as until such time we can pitch it against its rivals in a proper comparison test. On first impression, though, the DBX707 just might be the new benchmark super-SUV.Looks good! More details?
lucid air Full OverviewOne of the best things I've done in my career was scoring the world's first drive review of the Lucid Air electric sedan. It was a big moment, one that I'm still amazed happened. That said, the headline-grabbing part of the two days I spent driving an Air Dream Edition R—that we drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco and then some on a single charge—didn't go the way I wanted. Oh, in terms of the sheer traffic and interest that first drive generated, it couldn't have gone any better. But to achieve the impressive range that we did, my co-driver (and Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson) did the unimaginable. We went the speed limit. Oh, the humanity! Truth be told, going 70 in a 70-mph zone freaked me out, so I kept cranking it up to 72 mph. The thing made 966 horsepower, people! And 57 in a 55 sucks even worse. Fast forward 11 months and my assignment is to jet up to the Bay Area, grab the new 1,050-hp Air Grand Touring Performance, and drive it back to Los Angeles. All by myself. Speed limits? We don't need no stinking speed limits!About six months ago, after the Air took home our 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year honors, Lucid gave me a quick opportunity to drive its Dream Edition P—that's the 1,111-hp version that's well and truly sold out. More interesting, however, was another car that was also there: a development mule of the Air Grand Touring. What was so special? The handling, specifically because of changes made to the front end. Driving the two back to back was fascinating. Sure, the Dream Edition P made more than 300 additional hp than the 819-hp Grand Touring, but I massively preferred how the latter felt. The improvement was apparent just leaving the parking lot.How the Lucid Air ImprovedTwo things made the difference. First, the front suspension received some new dampers. Second, the car's suspension software had been altered, adjusted, and improved. The story of the process is worth sharing. Lucid's director of chassis and vehicle dynamics, David Lickfold, Turo'd himself a 991.2 Porsche GT3 RS and spent a weekend driving the two vehicles. Just him, by himself, working until the wee hours of the morning. David would do a run in the Porsche, then one in the Lucid, pull over, plug his laptop into the latter, and tweak away. The results impressed the hell out of me. Naturally, I was looking forward to driving the 1,050-hp version of the Grand Touring.After a brief meeting with Lucid's head of design, Derek Jenkins, I left the company's Newark, California, headquarters with 87 percent of the Air GTP's battery charged. That meant I had a range of 388 miles, seeing as how the Performance variant of the Grand Touring only comes on 21-inch wheels and has an EPA range of 446 miles. The "regular" GT has a range of 469 miles on 21-inch wheels, or a whopping 516 miles on 19-inchers. As the crow flies, it's 359 miles from Lucid's headquarters to my house. However, my plan (that I'd spent about six adolescent seconds on) was to reverse the route we took the last time but go faster. Essentially, that meant heading down the 101 South until Paso Robles, taking advantage of an Electrify America location, then heading over to the 5 South for the bulk of the rest of the trip. What could possibly go wrong?Soul-crushing traffic, for one. (If I can diverge into a little provincial Hatfield and McCoy-style nonsense for a second, anyone from the Bay Area that says Los Angeles has bad traffic is projecting.) A drive that should have taken just over two hours to Paso Robles turned into a four-hour slog. By the time I got to the charging station, I was down to 162 miles of remaining indicated range. Which means I used 211 miles of range to cover 177 road miles. That's not actually bad, especially given I had the A/C set to "meat locker," the massaging seat going full bore, and the pretty damn great stereo cranked up to a high volume. And, yes, I also had the adaptive cruise (or Dream Drive as Lucid calls it) set to 84 mph and was enjoying occasional bursts into triple-digit territory when traffic would allow. Hey, the car makes 1,050 hp and I'm a doctor of automotive journalism, dammit. Besides, those Priuses parked in the left lane ain't gonna pass themselves.Charging-Station ChallengesThen the inevitable happened. All three chargers plopped incongruously in a Bank of America parking lot were occupied. I got out of the GTP and heard, "Hey, us and this car are ahead of you." I nodded at the Chevy Bolt owner and admired the Hyundai Ioniq 5 waiting behind him. Just then, the couple that was standing next to their VW ID4 threw their hands up in celebration. "It's working," the man said into his cell phone, presumably to the poor EA employee who'd just reset the charger, an all too common occurrence. "How'd you get it to work?" asked a flustered Kia Niro EV owner. Then a Ford F-150 Lightning pulled in and I made the decision to just go eat lunch. I had about 160 miles of range left, and there's a 350-kW Electrify America station a bit further south in Pismo Beach. The Electrify America app does tell you when all the chargers are in use; I stopped in Paso Robles specifically because the app had erroneously reported two chargers as available. Welcome to EV road trips using the nascent charging infrastructure.There's a back way to Pismo that offers a few miles of twisting roads, too, so I figured this would be the time to get some dynamic driving done. Look, the Air GTP is a monster. There's no other way to say it. To get its full capabilities, touch the on-screen button to activate Sprint mode to unleash full power and all 921 lb-ft of torque. The Air's default comfort drive mode is Smooth, a sportier mode is called Swift, and Sprint is like track mode. In Sprint, the suspension, braking, torque vectoring, throttle, and steering responses are all tweaked for maximum yeehaw. Not only can you use all 1,050 horses—a preposterous statement, I'm aware—but mein gott this thing sticks to the pavement when cornering. In fact, the more you treat it like a track car by using as much of the lane/road as possible, the happier and more impressive it is bounding from apex to apex. We've yet to weigh a Grand Touring Performance, but the "regular" Air Grand Touring clocked in at 5,266 pounds; figure this new car to be roughly identical. But, hand to heart, it feels like 1,000 of those pounds magically disappear when the Lucid is driven angry. Like a GT3 RS? Not quite, but perhaps like a 2.6-ton GT3 RS.Luxury LinerYeah, yeah—these Lucids make incredible power and Lickfold's chassis team has found a way to put it all down and make the big girl dance a jig. But Lucid vehicles are pitched as luxury machines. How's the luxury? I mentioned earlier that I had the air conditioning going full bore. This was because once I got south of a little farming town called Gonzales, the external temperature was 97 degrees Fahrenheit. For the time being all Lucid Airs have these massive glass roofs and in the sort of California sun I experienced on the drive, you just get cooked. I don't care how much UV-jamming, anti-solar whizbangery Lucid claims it's treated the glass with—it gets very warm. I've brought this up several times with several Lucid executives, including Rawlinson, and they acknowledge my point. The entry Pure model will only come with a steel roof, and the next-step-up Touring will make the glass canopy an option. So, that's nice if you want to save some dough and not have to wear a hat when it's sunny.Going beyond that peeve, the other negatives are minor. The lane departure warning graphic is overeager, the map takes five seconds before it fully loads, and sometimes the car needs 10 to 15 seconds to completely wake up when you first jump inside. But here's the awesome part about software-defined vehicles (SDVs). There's an over-the-air update (OTA) coming in a couple of months that will radically revise all of this. Just like that. Also, hot tip, when the integration's ready, owners will get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, too.Enough with the bad stuff. The seats are incredible, not just because of the design and comfort, but because of how powerful the massage settings are. Like, dang man. A couple of the programs felt vaguely inappropriate—you have to love that. The materials are top shelf (especially the fabrics), the screens aren't too omnipresent, and the large lower screen can be stowed out of the way, which not only opens up a big, purse-size cubby but also reduces the amount of visual clutter fighting for your eyeballs' attention. I also love the physical temperature, fan speed, and volume switchgear. I find it luxurious not having to dig into a damn screen for every single little thing. Let's not forget that our buddy, Randy Pobst, just lost Pikes Peak because he couldn't easily access the Tesla Model S Plaid's fan.I pulled into the charging station in Pismo and—hooray!—found an open 350-kW charger. The car was showing 96 miles of range left. I plugged in and watched how the Lucid's 912-volt electrical architecture helps the battery just suck down the kilowatts. The juice was flowing into the car at speeds from 245 to 275 kW, adding 19 miles of range per minute. Five minutes later (another) Hyundai Ioniq 5 plugged in next to me and the charging speed was cut in half. Nineteen minutes later, the car had absorbed 205 miles worth of energy. The range read 301 miles as the battery was charged to 68 percent. Did I mention the Air charges faster than any other EV? I only had to drive about 175 more miles, so I figured I was good. Spoiler alert: I was good. I made it home with 49 miles of range left, plugged the GTP into my Rivian charger, and awoke to an 80 percent full battery (where'd I'd set the charging limit), meaning the GTP was good for 360 miles of driving. Well, if you're one of those go-the-speed-limit types.We don't give out our Car, Truck, or SUV of the Year trophies willy nilly. Despite what you may have heard, it's the most rigorous, repeatable, and labor-intensive process in the industry. If a vehicle receives the Golden Calipers, it's earned them. Still, I always find it nice to go back and recheck our math. Spending a day with the Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance reminded me why I was so blown away by this machine that first time out. Nothing on earth has the power/range combo of this EV, and at this point in time, no other company's even close.Lucid isn't stopping there. It's creating a 360-degree luxury brand, where every aspect of the customer experience—from the website to the studios (Lucid-speak for showrooms) to the promotional photography—is curated in-house. The result is an epic brute in a suit, a car that effortlessly blends mid-century modern with a California ethos, a technological tour de force that obsoletes its competitors. And this is just the first Lucid—the Gravity SUV will be its second vehicle—and one that hasn't even been in production for a whole calendar year yet. I'm excited about what Lucid will dream up next. Hopefully I'll get to tell you about that one first, too.Looks good! More details?2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance Specifications BASE PRICE $180,500 LAYOUT Front- and rear-motor, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan MOTORS 2 AC permanent-magnet electric, 1,050 hp/921 lb-ft (comb) TRANSMISSION 1-speed auto CURB WEIGHT 5,200-5,250 (mfr) WHEELBASE 116.5 in L x W x H 195.9 x 76.2 x 55.4 in 0-60 MPH 2.6 sec (MT est) EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 112/112/112 mpg-e (MT est) EPA RANGE 446 miles ON SALE Now Show All
0 Comments