In spring of 2024 acquired a blue with black interior 2024 Acura Integra Type-S! Reliving my 2007-2014 years owning a 2007 Civic Si, I believe this car may be the pinnacle of front wheel drive sporty compact cars. Unlike the 2000 Trans Am, I can drive this car nearly anywhere anytime. Over its first year of ownership I have made a few modifications, mostly interior and purchased a set of 18″ wheels with all season tires for winter driving.
What about the 2000 Trans Am?
I sold the 2000 Trans Am, sadly. If I had garage space, I would definitely have kept it. I do miss the Trans Am! Specifically I miss the LS engine, the confident acceleration, the insanely tight MSW short throw shifter and the Borla exhaust. Regrets maybe, but I am not loosing sleep either.
The 2000 Trans Am is a collectable car now. I had collector car insurance on it and found myself only driving it on weekends. Being that I also have a 1981 Trans Am, it became a bit redundant. I came to the conclusion that I should have a fun to drive daily car to replace the 2000 Trans Am. That car is the 2024 Integra Type-S!
Car Shopping Short List – Why the Integra Type-S?
I wanted a manual transmission with upgraded interior features, specifically Wireless Android Auto / Apple Carplay, leather seats, and the latest safety technology found in my wife’s 2020 Accord. This meant looking at cars that are only a few years old or brand new. Furthermore, I wanted to buy a car that is somewhat an investment, a car that will hold its value and be sought after years after it is out of production.
Quickly I listed all the vehicles available today with manual transmission as an option. These cars were then removed from the list without further consideration:
- Dodge Challenger – Not ideal for daily use (now out of production)
- Ford Mustang – Not ideal for daily use
- Chevy Camaro – Not ideal for daily use (now out of production)
- Subaru WRX – Trunk too small, not a fan of the styling
- Civic Type-R – Not a fan of styling, the rear wing ruined it for me
- Civic Si / Integra A-spec – Not enough power
- Volkswagen Golf R – Just a touch too small inside
- Volkswagen Jetta GLI – Not quite enough power / performance
Other cars that made it on the list but were eliminated early on in the process:
- BMW M2 / M3 / M4 – Just a touch out of my budget
- Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing – Just a touch out of my budget
- Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing – Too expensive, but I would love this car 100%
- Hyundai Elantra N – Styling seems rather boring
- Corolla GR – Styling seems rather boring
Final Decision
Once I saw the styling of the Integra I decided that if they made a Type-R (which they named “Type-S”) that would be the car for me, assuming they keep the crazy rear wing off the car. They did leave the crazy boy-racer wing off the car! Not only that but they gave the Type-S a tastefully integrated wide body kit – Just enough that gives it an aggressive look but not so much that it stands out. This car looks great, handles great, and includes the features I wanted.
Integra Type-S Performance
320 horse power and 310 pound-feet of torque in a car that weighs just over 3,200 pounds. This is with a 2.0 Liter 4 cylinder engine, impressive! Believe it or not it is a K series Honda engine, K20C8 (similar to K20C1 found in the current Civic Type-R). My beloved 2007 Civic Si had a K20Z3 engine, also 2.0 Liter 4 cylinder.
Handling is awesome! The car comes with 3 driving modes, Comfort, Sport and Sport+. I never use Sport, I am either in Sport+ or Comfort. If you leave the car in Comfort you can still push the car the same but it will respond with feedback and you either slow down or switch it to Sport+. In Sport+ mode you can take a left turn in a regular neighborhood intersection without the wheels making a peep at speed (25 mph), the handling is on a whole other level. Please do not drive that fast in your neighborhood, but this is to explain how well it handles. 🙂
Magnetic ride control is a game changer. I am finding myself using the “Comfort” or the “Sport+” modes exclusively. I have read comments where folks are tweaking the custom options of mixing the exhaust in comfort mode with Sport + handling, etc.. For me, Comfort mode is similar to my wife’s Accord as far as handling when her car is in it’s Sport mode. It is perfect for highway cruising or neighborhood driving. Sport+ mode is perfect when you want enjoy driving. It feels as if it maps the throttle differently, the amount of pedal needed is much less while in Sport+. The exhaust in Sport+ is awesome too!
The clutch and shifting is insanely smooth. It may be the pinnacle of Honda’s manual transmissions. Clutch weight and shifter positions is absolutely perfect. It’s even smoother when you switch in the S2000 Titanium shift knob! I have only had one shifter better than this, and that was the MGW short throw shifter in the 2000 Trans Am which had the advantage of being bolted right into the transmission.
Engine / transmission combo is nearly perfect as well. My only gripe which may come down to gearing between 1st to 2nd, you really need to bring the car to red line on the first shift, and hit it perfectly with a slight slip of the clutch to maximize 100% acceleration. With that said, it is definitely dialed in for spirited driving, just not so much from a dead stop acceleration. Once you learn the car you can cope with the difference between 1st and 2nd gear. If you are looking for a late model Camaro kind of dead stop acceleration, you really need rear wheel drive car and sadly the remaining rear wheel drive sedans with a manual transmission on the market today are priced out of this world. Sorry Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, your just too expensive otherwise you could be in my garage!
I turned rev matching off in the Integra. I drove about 200 miles with it on and found very annoying. I think it is a cool feature but the way I drive I already naturally rev-match. I found that the car would rev-matching when I didn’t want it to. It is a cool option and I am glad I can turn it off. If you’re new to driving a manual, turn it on – it will help you.
2024 Integra Type-S Interior
The interior is nice! It is not overly flashy or filled with too much bling. I think Honda/Acura just put enough touch to the interior so it would have some luxury without over doing it. This is a compact sporty car, not a mid or full size luxury sedan. Yes I have heated seats, but only in the front seats. And some luxury features found in other Integra models are removed simply to save weight! The rear seats only seat 2, the center armrest and belt are removed, along with some other details like the passenger seat has no power options. If your concerned about these options throughout the car, this is not the car for you, but in that case you more than likely not into the performance aspects either. Lesson on knowing your audience and what would you rather have. When you explain that the car will go a second faster by replacing 800 pounds of feature infused parts with 200 pounds of only what you need parts, then this car makes sense.
The dashboard may be this cars crown jewel. The head up display is simple, primarily shows your speed but can also work with Android Auto’s mapping feature when that is active. The main display shows the typical tachometer and speedometer with tech info in the center of each side. Monitoring information is clean and simple. I find myself opting for the tire pressure monitoring view. Oh the Type-S uses special stem valves that are wheel swapping friendly and each report their pressures back to the car. It is perfect for someone who may swap wheels, no special programming is required. Best part, each tire reports their unique pressure on the screen.
Wireless Android Auto has changed my life
Wireless Android Auto has changed my life. For my wife’s car and the mini van I have been using the Motorola MA1 wireless dongle, it works great. Having wireless android auto built-in just makes life even better. Podcasts, Audiobooks are so much easier to listen to, and Waze maps is definitely a feature you have to start using if you haven’t already.
Made in Ohio!
If you are not aware, Honda has a pretty large presence here in Central Ohio. My first Civic was made in Saint Liberty, and both my wife’s Accord as well as my Type-S are built in Marysville. Beyond this the Honda engine plant is also in Ohio. In a world where most folks do not know where their food comes from, I know more about where my car came from and have befriended folks who make them. As a proud Ohioian, I will cruise in my Type-S and drink my POP, deal with it!
Integra Type-S is Not Perfect
The Integra Type-S is not perfect. There a few things that bug me about the car and luckily the most annoying I fixed right away.
- Garage door opener in headliner / rear view mirror (fixed by swapping in a 2023 Honda Accord Mirror)
- No Sunroof / moonroof
- No drivers seat memory
- No middle rear seat (found in other Integra models)
- No Spare tire
The options above were removed to save weight. The lack of a built-in garage door opener immediately drove me nuts. I swapped in a 2023+ Accord rearview mirror with the garage door opener options to solve this problem. The rest of missing features I can live without, but having these options would have made the car more well rounded. The spare tire is something I will need to come to terms with no matter what vehicle I got as nearly all manufacturers are switching to the run-flat tires and packaging a tire pump with tire repair kit.
Comparing the Integra Type-S
This car is awesome, exactly what I expected. This car reminds me of my 2007 Civic Si except it has over 50% more power and I can decide when to turn on/off the sporty vs comfort handling and performance.
Compared to my 2000 Trans Am that I had dialed in, this puts the Trans Am to shame. Power wise, I want to say the Trans Am has a touch more power, but the fact that it has rear wheel drive gave the Trans Am the edge with a dead stop launch. Otherwise, the Type-S is far superior handling wise and at any other speed is an absolute rocket acceleration wise.
Compared to my dad’s 2019 Civic Si, I don’t think the Si lives up to its namesakes, let alone to compare to this car. Handling of the 2019 is good, but power is not as versatile as the 07 Civic Si I had years ago.
Comparing to my wife’s 2020 Accord Touring, handling in Comfort mode is a touch better than the Touring’s handling in Sport mode (Accord Touring does not have a Sport+). The Accord is not a sports car, so nothing too shocking here.
Integra Type-S Modifications for 2024 and 2025
I do not plan on modifying this car to any significant level as many others have already done on the forums and YouTube.
This is what I have done in 2024:
- Rear view mirror with HomeLink (garage door opener) – DONE
- Set of 18″ wheels with all season tires for Fall/Winter – DONE
- Shift bezel wrapped in Alcantara with red stich – DONE
- S2000 Titanium shift knob – DONE
Modifications for 2025:
- Drivers memory seat option (As soon as such an option is available)
- Cold Air Intake
- Hondata tune for the Integra DE5
Photos of 2024 Integra Type-S
