MotorTrend editor Joe Berry takes an in-depth look at Acura's hot new Type S sedan to see how it measures up.
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00:00 This newest iteration of the Acura Integra was released to cries of scorn and heresy.
00:07 And then people drove it and they went, "Hold on a second, this is actually really rather
00:12 good."
00:13 So, what makes it such an attractive package?
00:16 Well, let's begin with the looks, and you've got to say, it looks fantastic.
00:21 What I think they've done so well with the design of the Type S over the regular Integra
00:26 is they've made it look more aggressive, yes.
00:29 But without it looking gimmicky, it doesn't look like they've just bolted on a load of
00:33 parts.
00:34 It looks purposeful, it looks meaningful, it looks the right amount of menacing, fun.
00:41 It still looks like a grown-up car.
00:44 Power is fed through this six-speed manual from a two-litre turbocharged intercooled
00:51 inline four, which produces 320 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque.
00:57 And the chassis too, I mean, as you can see, the grip level is quite fantastic.
01:03 Yes, I'm really throwing this car around.
01:07 It's handling everything remarkably well.
01:10 That will be at least in part due to the fact that the front wheels are 3.5 inches wider
01:17 than on the standard Integra.
01:20 The rear's 1.9.
01:22 I mean, it's a modern car, of course it is, but it does have a feel of the old Integra
01:26 about it.
01:27 Whoa, overcooking it.
01:28 Yes, it does have the same K20C motor as is in the current Civic Type R, though due to
01:41 a little bit of intake trickery, the Integra S actually has five horsepower more.
01:47 The dual-access front strut and the multi-link rear suspension were also borrowed from the
01:53 Civic Type R, though the Acura engineers were very quick to point out that they'd done a
01:58 lot of work with the anti-roll and dampers to make this Integra Type S have a more Grand
02:06 Tour-like feel.
02:09 That isn't to say it's soft.
02:11 Quite the opposite.
02:12 It's still a fantastically pliable and responsive, sporty, dynamic ride.
02:20 But everything is just half a degree softer than in the Civic, a car which, let's be honest,
02:26 a lot of people find too harsh.
02:28 And that, in essence, is what the Integra S is.
02:31 Yes, it comes from the Civic.
02:33 It shares the bare bones of the Civic Type R. But what Acura did so well was add a touch
02:41 of driving refinement without taking away from the driving experience.
02:47 Whoa!
02:51 For a front-wheel drive car, it handles its power miraculously well.
02:56 I mean, I'm throwing it around these corners like a bit of a lunatic.
03:03 You can play with the braking and the steering and even the acceleration controls whilst
03:07 you're mid-corner.
03:08 It doesn't really punish you for it.
03:11 Wow, very charming, this car.
03:14 I love it.
03:15 I really, really do.
03:21 [MUSIC]