2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
…fast forward to January 17, 2023 - and Chevrolet shows off a completely new flavor of their sports car at Rockefeller Center on the famous ice rink. Announcing this version 70 years, to the day, later means that this latest Vette is something the company wants us all to notice.
The date was January 17, 1953. The location was the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Chevrolet was there to showoff a new sports car at GM’s Motorama event. They named this sports car after a fast warship…you might know it as the Corvette.
Fast forward to January 17, 2023 - and Chevrolet shows off a completely new flavor of their sports car at Rockefeller Center on the famous ice rink. Announcing this version 70 years, to the day, later means that this latest Vette is something the company wants us all to notice.
So, let’s take a look at what they’re up to this time.
What makes this latest model special? Chevrolet just released the Z06 with the most powerful normally aspirated engine the Vette has ever had (indeed the most powerful normally aspirated engine in production). That Corvette is a track monster that takes Chevy’s sports car to places no production Corvette has seen.
So, what makes this new Corvette stand apart?
Well, how about the fastest 0-60 time a Corvette has ever achieved…even faster than that legendary Z06? Well, 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds is on offer (a 10th faster than that Z06). How about making a Corvette that can conquer roads when they get slippery or even snowy? That would be a new feature for a Corvette and the new car has that handled as well.
How did Chevrolet pull this off? They equipped the new Corvette with the model’s first ever all-wheel drive system.
Let that sink in for a moment. For 70 years the Corvette has only put power to pavement using it’s rear tires. For nearly 70 of those years the power for those tires came from a front engine. Now we are looking at a mid-engined sports car with available all-wheel drive. That’s quite the switch for America’s sports car.
But, this isn’t a traditional all-wheel drive system like you might see in other mid-engined exotics like Lamborghini. In this particular case, Chevrolet leveraged the company’s electrification expertise to add a 160hp electric motor to the front axle that is powered by a 1.9kWH battery located down the center of the car (to maintain proper weight distribution.) That electric powertrain combines with the C8’s 495hp 6.2L V-8 to create an all-weather Corvette packing a total of 655hp in a package with new tricks no Vette has ever possessed..
They’ve christened this variation the E-Ray. This fits in with the other electrified models Chevrolet has shown recently where they never skip an opportunity to highlight an ‘E’ in the name. In this case, they had to add an E to the model designation to get there.
The E-Ray does get a unique front end that is less aggressive than other models. Likely this is to improve aerodynamics. Offsetting this is the fact Chevrolet gave the E-Ray the wide and aggressive rear fenders , and air intakes that debuted on the Z06. It’s a good look on the C8, no matter the powertrain.
Adding an electric motor has allowed Chevrolet to add another couplel features. For one, the electric propulsion is used to extend the range of conditions where the Vette’s can keep the big V-8 running on 4-cylinders. That should allow the E-Ray to sport some impressive economy numbers when Chevrolet announces them.
Another trick up the E-Ray’s sleeve is something Chevrolet is calling ‘Stealth Mode.’ When this is activated, the E-Ray can drive in electric-only mode at up to 45mph. The small batter capacity likely means this won’t mean a long range in this mode, but certainly enough to quietly get underway when a rumbly V-8 might wake the neighbors.
The E-Ray will go on sale later this year. Starting price $104295 for the coupe, $111295 for the convertible.
Once we know more, we’ll let you know how this changes the Corvette’s personality and if it would be worth such high prices.
And Then There Were Three - Ram 1500 Revolution EV
…the folks in Auburn Hills were the remaining part of the classic ‘big-three’ that had not thrown their hat into the electric full-size truck ring.
That ended at this month’s CES where Ram showed off their long anticipated Revolution electric truck.
Trucks are one of the hottest segments on the move to electrification. While startups are working hard to break into this market (for instance, Rivian with their R1T, Lordstown with the Endurance, and Canoo with their…’pickup truck’) the companies that we know can be trusted both to build hundreds of thousands of examples every year and to exist a decade from now are the classic ‘big three’ automakers from Detroit.
Chevrolet and GMC, using GM’s new Ultium platform, brought us electric trucks. First under the Hummer name, Then with variants under the Chevrolet and GMC brands.
After that first Hummer electric truck, Ford brought us the Lightning. Ford’s truck is an electrified version of their popular F-150. Their truck was both the least ambitious (essentially adding batteries and electric motors to the regular F-150) while also being most likely to change the world since Ford could rapidly scale up this truck to meet demand, as it uses mostly off-the-shelf components.
This has left the folks in Auburn Hills as the remaining member of the ‘big-three’ that had not thrown their hat into the electric full-size truck ring.
The wait ended at this month’s CES where Ram showed off their long anticipated 1500 Revolution electric truck.
Built on Stelantis’ STLA Frame platform, the Ram 1500 Revolution concept previews a production truck that is expected to be shown later this year. This short wait before the production reveal means that most details are likely locked in, but not enough to badge this truck as more than a concept.
However, there are plenty of juicy details in the concept that suggest some very truck-y and versatile features will be heading our way.
Powertrain
Packed between the concept’s frame rails is a low mounted battery pack that mirrors all the other electric trucks we have seen so far. This keeps the extra mass down low and out of the way of the cabin and cargo areas of the truck. It is the smart play as it leads to sporty handling, especially for a truck.
Putting power to the pavement are an electric drive unit (motor) at each axle. This likely previews the all-wheel drive and high-power variants of the production truck. It is likely that Ram will offer a rear-drive option as well at a lower price point.
Otherwise Ram has been mum on power, range, and performance. We’ll have to wait for the production truck announcement to learn more.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t other news in the powertrain announcements. Confirmed by Ram management, is a range extender (as gas powered engine that drives an electric generator) will be part of the powertrain offerings. So you’ll be able to get your Ram electric truck with the ability to continue its journey even if you can’t immediately find a charging station. We don't know yet the details of how, exactly, Ram will implement a range extender. This could be a significant differentiator for Ram in the market when their truck goes on sale.
Carg-whoa
Beyond that powertrain hedge…there are several cargo and interior features that show that the minivan and truck crew at Ram/Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler haven’t lost their touch.
We thought that GM held a patent on the mid-gate idea. Apparently not. Where GM is planning to offer the Silverado and Sierra EVs with a 60/40 mid-gate separating the cabin from the bed…Ram is planning to offer a 50/50 split. This will allow, along with the folding rear and front passenger seats, the ability to extend the cargo bed into the cab.
But, that’s far from the only trick.
The Revolution includes a split tailgate that opens, dutch-door style. To extend the back of the bed further, the bed floor slides rearward to extend to fill the space between these dutch doors and then the inner skins of the tailgate halves pivot out to make a new rear bulkhead to contain even longer loads.
But, what if you have something really long to carry?
The Revolution has a front trunk where a classic engine would live…but Ram went a step further. They have designed in a passthrough to the cabin in the center of the trunk as well. This means that, when taking advantage of all the extra cargo carrying tricks…that you could carry 18’ long lumber with it extending from the front of the trunk…through the center of the cab (under the center console)…through the mid-gate…and ending with the extended bed floor and dutch doors open and the barrier deployed for the longest bed config available. That is a mind-bending level of flexibility all without ever having to worry about attaching a red flag to the end of your boards as you drive home from the hardware store.
Comforts
Room for your cargo isn’t the only place where the Revolution shines.
The interior also has what the brand calls ‘Ram Rails’ that are used in the bed and trunk for cargo management…but, inside the cab, they are used as mounting points for the seats. This allows the 2nd row seats to slide fore and aft just like the front row. Note, that is ‘2nd row’ not ‘rear’…because this cab, which is the longest of any Ram truck that has come before, also has a pair of jump-seats mounted to the mid-gate. So, this is the first full-sized truck with 3 rows of seating.
These jump seats mean that you can have extra passengers in a pinch, though we wouldn’t expect you’d ever want anyone you really care about to sit back there for long.
The Revolution concept also shows thoughts on the ever expanding center screens of modern vehicles. In this case, a pair of screens make up either a single large center display or one can be hidden away or re-purposed. The release video showed this second screen being mounted above a shelf on the dash to act as a pseudo laptop. This seems like one of the most concept-y ideas of this concept and likely won’t see production.
So, with Ram’s new Revolution concept, we see where the Auburn Hills brain-trust are thinking of taking their full-size truck in the world of electrification. Given their public statements that a production truck could bow in a number of months…and that Ram historically shows new trucks at the February Chicago Auto Show…we don’t think we have long to wait to see what of this truck will make it to market. Even then, we wouldn’t expect a truck you can buy until possibly 2025 as a 2026 model.
Electric Car Road Trips - What You Need to Know
Electric cars can be intimidating.
For about as long as anyone alive remembers, we have had gas stations in every town. We all had to learn growing up that the gas gauge is something to keep an eye on and we just stop at a station to fill up when needed. We also know that all pumps will connect to our car (diesel notwithstanding).
Electric cars can be intimidating.
For about as long as anyone alive remembers, we have had gas stations in every town. We all had to learn growing up that the gas gauge is something to keep an eye on and we just stop at a station to fill up when needed. We also know that all pumps will work with our car (diesel notwithstanding). We largely understand that octane rating is -something- our car needs and a value listed on the fuel door tells us which hose is ‘required’ or recommended. Additionally, we know about how long a fill-up will take.
Electrics have many similarities, but the industry is still working towards the same sort of ubiquitous supply of charging stations that we expect and need.
However, fewer available chargers with varying plugs and rates of charge lends a certain amount of uncertainty with regard to taking long road trips in an electric.
It is with that in mind that Unhealthy Obsession with Cars is going to try to break down the capabilities of any electric we review to help show what a road trip would entail.
We are based in the Denver area. Out west even gas stations can be far apart. So we picked a significant distance to drive from here that crosses rural America using mainly interstate travel. Increased infrastructure on an interstate should combine with the slowness to roll-out new tech away from population centers to give a nice average.
Our standard road-trip drive will take us from Denver to St Louis, crossing rural Eastern Colorado, Kansas, and northern Missouri.
To help plan the trip as well as to estimate appropriate stopping/recharging points, we will use the amazing route planning service for electric cars ‘A Better Route Planner’ (ABRP) which understands the gory details of individual electric car battery capacity (similar to fuel tank size), driving efficiency (similar to MPG), and the capabilities of charging stations (not exactly analogous to anything in the gas-powered car world - but close to how fast the pump can flow gas into the tank) in order to plan out a route. Their plan is based on how much charge is left after each leg of the journey and how fast and how much you need to add to easily make it to the next stop.
In our recent Ioniq 6 piece, we added this standard road trip to our review of the car. In this case, the high-speed of recharge that the Hyundai is capable of results in guidance of 100-170 miles between recharge stops. That keeps you in the sweet spot for DC fast charging where the Ioniq can charge from that 10% all the way to 80% at the fastest recharge rate. ABRP also directs you to the fast charging stations along the route to minimize the length of stops.
Ioniq 6 Road Trip
Combined the drive is estimated to be a series of 1.5-2.5 hour drives with 15-20 minute stops all the way from Denver to St. Louis. Total time at chargers adds up to 1.5 hours.
To show how using the ABRP service can help evaluate electrics…let’s take a look at the same drive in Ford’s F-150 Lightning with a standard battery pack.
F-150 Lightning Road Trip
Here you can see a similar number of stops along the way (7 instead of 6) but why are the stops a minimum of 32 minutes and as many much as 1 hour and 12 minutes? Also, why is that last leg of the trip yellow?
ABRP helps uncover the impact of details most buyers won’t want to understand. The F-150 has a bigger battery, by far than the Ioniq 5…but it’s consumption per mile is practically 3 times greater than the ultra slippery Hyundai.
This wouldn’t be so bad if you could recharge at the same rate as the Hyundai (which can gulp power at up to 221kW), but the Ford can’t take advantage of the fastest DC fast-charge stations (maxing at 150kW charging). A bigger battery, refilled slower means longer charging times. Total time at the charger for this trip in the Lightning is over 5.5 hours. Additionally, that last leg of the trip highlighted in yellow? To get from Boonville to St. Louis, the Lightning needs to go no faster than 60mph to preserve power and make it before the battery drops below 20% (a value we pick for all cars analyzed so you would have power to get around town once you reach the destination.
So, in this fairly random comparison, we uncover interesting differences to discuss - we will continue to do so in the future so we can all better understand our electric future and see what companies are making better decisions as they design their new products.
The dense details of electric car design are something that will make sense in years to come - but until then, we’ll help turn the facts into something the average driver can feel…time sitting around waiting - since that is what may tell you if a given electric could work for your travel needs.
Car Culture - Satire is Hard (to Understand)
If you’ve spent much time in the automotive world, you’ve likely heard of Doug DeMuro. He has a wildly successful YouTube channel and is a founder of the Cars and Bids car auction site.
If you’ve spent much time in the automotive world, you’ve likely heard of Doug DeMuro. He has a wildly successful YouTube channel and is a founder of the Cars and Bids car auction site.
Additionally, he is active on Twitter where he often comments on cars he has seen in his travels.
On Thanksgiving, he posted about a Cadillac he saw this past summer in Prague and crowed about Americans showing Europeans how to build a car.
The Cadillac in question? A BLS. This car, was a reskinned Saab 9-3 that was available in sedan and wagon form. It was never available in North America. This was an obvious joke about American brands using foreign platforms/cars for other models.
For the first couple dozen replies, his followers who got the joke piled on with photos of other examples and aped his ‘Murca sentiment.
Then…things start to go off the rails and serve as an example of where social media can go so wrong.
Let’s start with a few examples of people who understand the joke…
Now…interspersed are the people who missed the joke part of the original tweet…
Then we get people so far removed from getting the joke that they start to ‘car-splain’ what the BLS is and that it isn’t American at all. Thanks for that.
It would be nice if people could either understand a joke and play along or move along. But either way it is a funny cross section of online automotive culture and people in general.
In the meantime, you go, Doug…keep up the funny.
Source: Twitter.com - Doug DeMuro
LA Auto Show - Hyundai Ionic 6
…built on Hyundai/Kia’s Electric Global Modular Platform (EGM-P) that has previously served as the basis for the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and the Genesis GV60. This is a ‘skateboard’ chassis developed exclusively for the Hyundai/Kia latest electric models.
Hyundai showed their new Ionic 6 in North American spec this year’s Los Angeles auto show.
Built on Hyundai/Kia’s Electric Global Modular Platform (EGM-P) that has previously served as the basis for the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and the Genesis GV60. This is a ‘skateboard’ chassis developed exclusively for Hyundai/Kia’s latest electric models. EGM-P is made up of a low and wide electric battery pack with subframes front and rear supporting the independent suspension as well as either a rear or a front and rear drive motor.
Additionally EGM-P supports 800V DC fast charging that allows charging from 10 to 80% in a mere 18 minutes. Normal level 2 charging will do the same task in just under an hour on the small battery equipped and about an hour and a quarter with the big battery pack.
At the LA show, Hyundai gave specifics on the version of this sedan that we’ll be getting. Specifically, there will be 3 powertrain combos on offer. A small battery (53kWh), rear-drive option will be the entry model. This model will also be the slowest with 149hp and 258 lb-ft of torque.
A large battery (77.4kWh), rear-driver will sit in the middle. The extra battery capacity will allow 225hp but the same 258 lb-ft.
Rounding out the options will be the same big-battery, but with all-wheel drive. That will be spritely with a total output of 320hp and 446 lb-ft. This option will almost certainly be what UOwCars will see most when they start being sold in the mountain west. The big battery, AWD model will be genuinely fast. 0-60mph will be under 5 seconds. The rear-drive models will be slower, but still in line with gas-powered mid-sized sedans.
Additionally, the Ioniq 6 is one of the most aerodynamic cars on the road. Coefficient of drag will be a low-low 0.22. This allows the Ioniq 6 with the large battery and one motor to have a estimated range of 340 miles (compare to the similarly spec-ed but less slippery Ioniq 5’s 303 miles). The dual motor, large battery drops the range 310.
Taking the specifications of the Ioniq 6’s maximum range variant, we used the tools at A Better Roadtrip Planner to figure out how long it would take to cross the middle of the US from Denver to St. Louis to estimate how usable this car would be for travel. This is a long and relatively flat area made up of rural highways. This route is exclusively interstate, which helps offset the rural areas with some charging infrastructure investment. This should give decent route to use to compare electrics over time while having the infrastructure to reward the latest charging capability models.
For instance, there are enough 350kW chargers along the I-70 corridor to provide often allow the DC fast charging Hyundai to flex it’s fast 10-80% charge time. This means that the entire cross-country trip breaks nicely into 1.5-2 hour drive intervals with about 15 minutes of charging between each leg.
UOwCars Standardized Road Trip Preview
UOwCars Standardized Road Trip (Denver to St Louis)
UOwCars Standardized Road Trip Charge Detail
For a total 14.5 hour road trip, expect 6 charging stops with a total downtime of 1.5 hours. This shows that appropriate charging infrastructure and cars, like what Hyundai has developed, with high wattage charging is very near being on par with gas-powered cars, if you aren’t the sort of masochist who wants to spend many hundreds of miles at a stretch behind the wheel, you could be very happy taking long trips in this car.
The Hyundai group products are not the electrics where you need to plan hour+ breaks, often, to make it across the country. Nice.
We can’t wait to get some time behind the wheel of Hyundai’s latest to see how it really performs. It really looks like it could be a car that could easily replace a mass-market gas car.
Tales from SEMA: Jeep Gladiator JTe by Quadratec
The largest retailer of Jeep aftermarket parts, Quadratec, sponsored a customized Wrangler with a stretched Gladiator bed, standard cab, and modified Gladiator roof that even maintains the Freedom Panels. This is yet another example of how good a standard cab Gladiator could look and function.
In 2019, Jeep brought a truck version of the Gladiator to Moab, the J6. Based on the frame of a Wrangler Unlimited and with a 2-door cab, it was the Gladiator many would like to own. Some of us would really gladly trade a back seat if we could gain additional utility/length for the bed while having better off-road capability as the factory Gladiator.
Fast forward to 2022 and the largest retailer of Jeep aftermarket parts, Quadratec, sponsored a customized Wrangler with a stretched Gladiator bed, standard cab, and modified Gladiator roof that even maintains the Freedom Panels. This is yet another example of how good a standard cab Gladiator could look and function.
Fabricated by famed Jeep customizer Greg Henderson, the Gladiator JTe starts as a Wrangler Unlimited with the body behind the front doors cut off and a Gladiator bed stretched to fill the frame behind. Some of these parts are things you could pick up straight out of the Quadratec catalog, like a lift and 17” bronze wheels from Lynx, a front bumper from Carnivore (the rear starts as a Carnivore piece but is customized for the show truck).
Functionally, this build also features both front and rear winches, the rear tucked between the frame rails where the spare used to live. That spare is a 37” tire on a matching Lynx wheel that lives in the bed. Above that bed is a retro themed tubular roll bar that hints as Scramblers of years gone by. Quadratec’s stealth light bar lives inside the top of the windshield, their premium projector headlights replace the stock Jeep parts, and out back Oracle supplies low-profile replacement taillights.
The interior features an Alpine stereo and custom Katzkin leather seats with an electric themed pattern.
Unlike the Jeep J6, this ‘short Gladiator’ started life as a Rubicon 4xe and maintains all the factory plug-in hybrid parts. Quadratec plays up the vehicle’s eco credentials that will allow the JTe to run quiet and clean while performing trail work during the 50 for 50 initiative. That program, in partnership with TreadLightly, will perform one trail clean-up per state over the course of the next 24 months.
As a shortened Gladiator, this truck maintains the off-road credentials of its donor Wrangler Unlimited. For one, it does not sacrifice the break-over angle of Wrangler, unlike the 4-door Gladiator with almost 19” of additional wheelbase. Also, this truck benefits from all the Wrangler Unlimited’s aftermarket part support. The 37” Nitto tires on this Jeep along with the 2.5” of lift, means this truck won’t get left behind by your Jeeping buddies when the trail gets particularly gnarly. By trading the Unlimited’s rear seat for extra bed length, this Gladiator also ends up with almost an extra foot for its truck-y duties as well.
Quadratec has no plans to offer a kit to build your own JTe. So it leaves us still wanting Jeep to bring a shorter version of the truck to market and counting our pennies in case we could talk Mr Henderson to build us one of our own.
GMC Unveils Sierra EV Denali
Electrics need to really crack the North American market. For this to work, there is one segment that they need to bust wide open and that is trucks.
Electrics need to really crack the North American market. For this to work, there is one segment that they need to bust wide open and that is trucks.
North American buyers are willing to spend big money on their trucks. Think F-150 Raptor on the off-road end…but also luxurious trucks. Full sized trucks are have long been available in opulent trims…but one brand and trim stands out among the others as a go-to for fancy and capable. GMC Denali.
GMC has been selling Denali trims of the Sierra truck for over 20 years. Buyers love their Denalis and they’ve long given GM’s luxury truck buyers a place to go and largely kept Cadillac out of pickups.
Today, GMC unveiled their electric Sierra. Based on the same platform as the already announced Silverado EV and GMC’s own Hummer EV truck and SUV. The Sierra EV brings a more sophisticated style than either to the same basic truck. The Sierra EV has the same mid-gate, fancy ‘Multi-Flex’ tailgate, and available 754 hp. Additionally, the Sierra EV Denali comes with GMCs exclusive Crabwalk 4-wheel steering feature that was previously shown on the Hummer EV. Up front, GMC has their eTrunk ‘frunk’ with plenty of lockable storage.
Range tops out around 400 miles. The Sierra EV is equipped with 800V/350kW charging that allows up to 100 miles of range to be added in 10 minutes. That means that buyers of this EV pickup will be ready when high-power DC fast chargers are more readily available. That’s a great perk that will make this truck even more versatile and useful years down the road.
But, this is more than just a grill-job.
Exterior styling maintains a squared-off, truck-y style. Think a traditional Sierra that has been polished down like a stone in a river. A large grill graphic is still there, but minus the opening for airflow. GMC has outlined the grill and lit the GMC badge which telegraphs the electric nature of this truck. C-clamp accent lighting surrounds the headlights similar to the current Sierra.
Inside, unlike the Silverado EV, GMC has put a portrait oriented 16.8” screen in the center of the dash. Front gauge duty is handled by a 11” screen in front of the driver and a 14” Head-Up display projected in front of the driver.
Sierra EV Denali Edition 1 will go on sale in early 2024 for $107000 plus destination. Lower trim levels such as the Sierra EV AT4 and Elevation trims will come to market in 2025 for lower price-points.
Tales from RMDE - 2023 Acura Integra
It has been 21 years since Acura last sold a car badged Integra in the US market.
Enthusiasts remember the Integra coupe and sedan as a car that, along with the NSX, gave Acura its performance bonafides. It was that car, among some other Honda and Acura products, that made VTEC a household name and inspired a generation of enthusiasts of normally aspirated performance.
21 years.
It has been 21 years since Acura last sold a car badged Integra in the US market.
Enthusiasts remember the Integra coupe and sedan as a car that, along with the NSX, gave Acura its performance bonafides. It was that car, among some other Honda and Acura products, that made VTEC a household name and inspired a generation of enthusiasts of normally aspirated performance.
Then, in 2001, Acura killed the Integra along with their habit of giving actual names to their cars. In Japan, there was a 4th generation Integra…but here, in North America, we got that car as the RSX. Available only in 3-door hatchback form, that vehicle was plainly an Integra by another name. It would be the last time a hot small coupe would be sold by Acura in the US market.
Follow-on entry-level Acuras would carry names like TSX and ILX, the former a 4-door sedan sold alongside the 3-door RSX in the early 2000’s. None of these later cars had the performance chops of the fabled Integra.
Now, Acura has decided to drop the alphabet soup, dip into the past, and even put the name Integra on a hatch-back body-style (if only in 5-door form this time).
The original Integra was based on the Honda Civic platform. The new Integra is, unsurprisingly, based on the current Civic. It has more than a little in common with Honda’s hot version of that car, the Si. The Acura comes to market with the Si’s 1.5l turbo 4-cylinder and an available 6-speed manual transmission. A 9-speed CVT automatic is also available, if you are in to that sort of thing.
While that is a good start, in the last couple of decades, Acura and the luxury industry have shifted significantly. Cars are bigger and heavier. Everything goes faster and stops harder. Electronics pervade every aspect of the car from entertainment to safety.
In these ways, the new Integra is right in line with modern luxury. You will find automatic climate controls, a large infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, and a wireless phone charging cubby in front of the shifter. If you still use cables for devices in the car, like an animal, it has dual USB ports for wired connections.
Our A-Spec test car came with seating swathed in bright red leather, heated in front. Entertainment duty is handled by Acura’s ELS Studio 3D system with over 700 watts and 16 speakers. The days of people replacing head units and speakers are behind us with these large touch screen systems - so it makes sense to sell an audiophile grade system from the factory.
The high-reving VTEC engines of old are out, the aforementioned 1.5l turbocharged 4-cylinder is in. The modern Integras do have the latest VTEC variable valve timing system, but they are not tuned to rev to the stratosphere like the cars of the past. In the place of raw RPM is power that comes on early (192 lb*ft of torque shows up down at 1800 rpm and stays all the way to 5000 rpm, but the 200hp peak is up at 6000 rpm). What we trade for that usable low-end power is a 6500 rpm redline - significantly down from the 8000+ RPM redlines of the past Integras. This easily accessed power allows a 6-speed manual Integra to get as much as 30 city mpg and 37 mpg on the highway.
The car we drove had both the A-Spec and technology packages. A-Spec brings 18” wheels (up from 17”) with wider tires (235 width all-season, up from the standard car’s 215’s). A-spec also brings other performance upgrades like a stiffer rear sway bar (18mm up from the standard 17.5mm) as well as a slightly faster steering ratio. Opt for the Technology package and the A-Spec car also gets an adaptive suspension that, along with the standard car’s selectable driving modes, adds an ‘Individual’ setting where you can mix and match performance settings instead of living with the pre-selected ‘Normal’, ‘Comfort’, and ‘Sport’. Those modes alter steering assist, throttle pedal aggressiveness, as well as interior lighting colors.
The Integra starts out at around $32000 (which is $3000 more than the Civic Si). This A-Spec with Technology Package rings in at a, still attainable, $37000.
While the Integra is a drivers’ car, it brings several features that help prevent collisions and unintended off-highway excursions. Three systems are all enabled by the Integra’s electric power steering and collection of sensors. ‘Traffic Jam Assist’, ‘Lane Keeping Assist System’, and ‘Road Departure Mitigation’ all help keep the car in its lane and on the road itself. ‘Collision Mitigation Braking System’, ‘Adaptive Cruise Control’, ‘Pedestrian Detection’, and the aforementioned ‘Traffic Jam Assist’ also use forward looking sensors to prevent collisions with cars and people in your path. The forward camera also enables a traffic sign recognition feature so the available head-up display can show you the speed limit on the current road.
Rear sensors provide monitoring of blind spots. Additionally, they can detect crossing traffic to help prevent backing out of driveways and parking spaces into oncoming cars. One more trick, is that the sensors allow the car to stop for you if you do not see an obstacle behind during a reversing maneuver.
That’s a ton of features that designers of the original Integra never imagined. A lot are simply the cost to be a entry level luxury car in the 2020’s. But does that result in a sports sedan that is worthy of the Integra name? Is this a car that truly lives up to the desires of driving enthusiasts of today and those that loved the Integra before?
Years ago, the Integra was a rip-snorting monster of a car. Kids fantasized about picking up one, used, so they could take advantage of all of Honda/Acura’s racing know-how by putting on a free flowing intake and exhaust, lowering the suspension, and adding fat racing rubber.
This isn’t really that car.
This car is smooth and comfortable. It is fast when it needs to be and handles well on twisting roads. It is a low to the ground sedan with sticky performance all-season tires. But it doesn’t remind you all the time that it is a performance sedan like the Integra of old. It goes and stops and corners well while being small enough to feel nimble and has room enough for small families.
And there is the secret to this car…this Integra isn’t the only thing that is 20 years older. It appears to be aimed squarely at those exact same kids who are also 20 years further along as well. They have families, they have obligations, they have much better paying jobs. They want something sporty that can be tossed around a mountain road, but won’t be taking this Integra to the track. They will appreciate the power and handling, and love that this car still allows the option to row your own gears.
They need that hatchback practicality but don’t want to be caught dead driving a ‘soccer mom’ RDX or MDX. Turbo power and light weight and a low center of gravity check a lot of boxes for the Integra buyer of old, but rear doors, a big cargo hold, and a long list of safety and technology features meet the needs of those same buyers 20 years later. Together, they make the Inegra an easy sell as a sporty family car.
This car will get the job done all week long while also making the driver (and even the kids) giggle on the weekends when the opportunity presents itself.
In that way, it is exactly the car that Integra owners or intenders of the past are likely looking for today.