The Three R's - Honda Civic v Honda Integra

The Three R'sIs Honda short-changing us by importing the Civic but not the new, sleeker, sportier-looking Integra? And is the old Integra better than either of them? There's only one way to find out...Text: John Barker / Photos: Kenny PFebruary 2002Honda UK has decided it's not worth offering the new Integra Type-R for sale here. It's too close to the Civic Type-R, apparently. Maybe for Honda it is, but what about for you and me, the enthusiasts? You can get one from a specialist importer such as Warrender for a little over ΂£20K, though that's for the stripped-out, wind-up-windows, non-air-con version. For deluxe spec you can expect to pay around ΂£23,500, which isn't bad considering the 180bhp Audi TT, 3.0-litre Alfa GTV and BMW 325Ci all cost over ΂£24K. It only looks pricey when you consider that essentially you're getting the ΂£16K Civic Type-R's hardware in a different box. Or, rather, not in a box.

And that's central to this discussion. Because to pay ΂£7K more for the Integra you've got to either a) love the idea of the Type-R Civic but hate the looks, b) be bowled over by the Integra's looks, or c) believe it's significantly better to drive than the Civic. There is also a fourth reason, d), as voiced by the owner of the new Integra you see here, Russell Martin. It's simply this: 'The Civic is fine but I could afford the Integra, so I bought it.'
Can't argue with that, nor with the fact that he's got himself a very exclusive coupe. Right now there are just three in the UK and Russell knows where two of them are at any time because one is his and the other is his partner Alison's.
He's a bit of a Type-R fan, then? You bet. While he was waiting for the Integras to arrive, Warrender had his part-ex'd Mitsubishi Evo up for sale in their showroom, leaving him car-less. So they kindly lent him a Japanese-spec last-generation Integra. He liked it so much he bought that too. It's the third car in the pictures and we'll come to it a bit later.
Head-on or from the rear, the 2001 Integra is distinctly different to the old model, yet in profile the genealogy is clear. It's grown a bit in all directions, though perhaps most obviously in height ΂- it stands 60mm taller than the old model, allowing room for crash-helmeted heads... The body is said to be twice as stiff, yet the weight penalty for this toughening and the mild expansion of its dimensions is only 72kg, giving a kerb weight of 1173kg. Russell has done his homework and reckons that's the figure for the stripped version. His is probably nearer 1250kg.
That makes the comparison with the Civic even more interesting because although the 2-litre i-VTEC engine fitted to both is pretty much the same unit, in the Integra it's rated somewhat higher ΂- 217bhp versus 197. A quick stab at a calculator reveals a power-to-weight ratio of 176bhp per ton for the Integra against 167 for the Civic.
Russell is a keen driver and a top geezer and was happy to see his Integra figured at Millbrook when we were putting the Civic and its group test rivals through their paces, allowing direct comparison of the performance of the two Type-Rs. Or so we hoped. Conditions were erring towards damp, with random squalls of rain blowing in, so we couldn't be sure that the two enjoyed identical (or ideal) conditions.
The configuration of our Datron test gear means that only the standing start figures can be instantly assimilated. In-gear flexibility ΂- 30-50mph, 40-60mph, etc. ΂- requires a calculator and a mug of tea. On the spot at Millbrook, a cursory glance showed that the Civic was the quicker car: having posted the same 0-30mph time, it delivered a sub-7sec 0-60 while the Integra just wouldn't dip below 7. Had I looked further down the tape I'd have seen that by 100mph the Integra had not only clawed back the deficit, it had turned it into an advantage ΂- 16.7 plays 16.9sec.
Back in the office, it was gratifying to see the full range of figures emerge and confirm the impression that the Integra has a stronger, beefier delivery. The Civic is bloody quick, no question, but somehow its performance feels 'thinner'. Compare the in-gear acceleration and TED times in the performance table and you'll see that the Integra is more responsive right across the rev range in every gear except, oddly, sixth.

Performance only gets you so far, though. Here at evo we're more interested in what a car can do with what it's got, and it's at this point, on-road, that the two cars ought to diverge more decisively.
The Integra has the same wheelbase as the Civic but is almost 250mm (5in) longer nose to tail, some 35mm (1.4in) lower and its wheels tracks are slightly wider. Positive differences. They share the same suspension, with MacPherson struts up front (Honda has resisted fitting them for years in place of its beloved double wishbones) and a quasi-double wishbone set-up at the rear. The extra you pay for the Integra does buy you some premium features, though ΂- a Torsen limited slip differential and a Brembo braking system.
The Integra feels instantly different to the Civic, and for exactly the reasons you expect. You drop down into its lower-built bodyshell and find yourself at the centre of things, the blood red Recaro gripping your hips more assertively and the more stylish facia wrapping around you. This is one of Honda's best cockpits; busy but not cluttered, sporty with its silver dials, but not overblown. The materials chosen are a definite cut above the Civic's, too.
Clamped into the Integra, it feels as if you're sitting three feet lower than in the Civic, yet chasing the hatchback's square rump shows that it's only a matter of a few inches. Still, as any race car engineer will tell you, the lower you can get the major masses ΂- engine, gearbox, driver ΂- the better a car will handle.
The Integra does feel better configured for snicking in and out of bends but it's that Torsen diff that's responsible for the very different feel. It's quite forceful in its action and the Integra's steering is already a good few shades heavier than the Civic's. You need to apply more muscle to turn in and then keep up the pressure as you power through because if the inside wheel loses grip, say because it has hopped over a mid-bend bump, the Torsen responds instantly. In a front-driver with a free diff like the Civic, that bump will result in a smidge of understeer and a lightening of steering weight as drive escapes as slip. But with a Torsen, drive isn't allowed to escape; the diff diverts drive to the outside wheel, and the car tugs into the apex.
This takes time to get used to. Under full power the Integra feels quite willful down your average British B-road (are roads smoother in Japan?), especially in the damp, because until you've dialled into it, every time you expect the Integra to understeer wide it seems to find an invisible lamp-post to hook its arm around. On a track, where everything is smooth and predictable, I'm sure the Torsen is a boon, but in the unpredictable world of road driving, the simple, predictable reactions of the Civic are easier to exploit.
To be honest, in the dry the cornering speeds of the two Type-Rs really aren't so different, either. As far as is prudent to push them on-road, neither car makes a great play of getting the tail mobile to assist turn-in or mid-corner balance. The Integra finds more bite, sure, but the inside front tyre of the Civic rarely spins up, and when it does you're expect it to, so you cut a tighter line accordingly.
It's odd, though. Logic suggests that the lower-slung car should corner more keenly. I couldn't help feel a tinge of deja-vu each time I hopped out of the Integra into the Civic. It reminded me of driving the bizarre Peugeot 806 racer that competed in the Spa 24-hour race a few years ago. It looked so ungainly and the driving position was oddly tall, but under its boxy MPV body (housing just one race seat, not seven), were the underpinnings of a full-on Super Touring car. It went surprisingly well, amazingly really (even though it was a bit like being in the front seat on the top deck of a double-decker), with strong grip and plenty of poise, yet it did feel remote.
That's how it is with the Civic. It feels remarkably adept at snuffling its way through a series of S-bends, and no slower than the Integra, even if ultimately you feel less embroiled in the action. Dynamically, that's what it boils down to between the Integra and Civic; the steering feel and front-end responses you can argue for equally. Being a hardcore driver, Russell knows this. He's impressed by the Civic, even though it has run out of suspension travel a couple of times, recognising it as a genuine performance bargain in its class. I reckon he'd have one if he couldn't afford the Integra, but he can, so he hasn't.

Source: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/19393/honda_civic_v_honda_integra.html