1991 Acura Integra LS 1.8L from North America
Summary:
A quick car for the savvy investor
Faults:
Nothing so far, but that could be because it was repaired pretty much from the ground up right before I purchased it by a qualified local mechanic with many years experience with Honda/Acura machines.
Burns a little oil, but that is to be expected with a nearly 20 year old car.
General Comments:
This is a quite speedy, comfortable vehicle.
It is good on gas, I am averaging between 27 and 33 MPG soft through spirited mixed city and highway driving. The harder you drive it, the less your fuel economy will be.
This is also an incredibly light car packed on top of some very good suspension. If you aren't careful, you can easily bite off more than you can chew. That being said, this is also a very nimble and responsive car, which will treat you very well as long as you're doing the same. Make sure to have good quality all terrain or high performance tires put on this little beast.
Learning standard in this car has seriously been a joy. The shifts are smooth, and feedback is such that you're more than able to sense where the sweet spot is in each gear. I tend to maximize my fuel economy by shifting as low as I can, but others may find this method to not be conducive to extremely spirited driving.
I was blessed to find a model whose interior was in fantastic shape, so I must comment on the good quality materials that Honda used in building this car. Even now it feels very solid. There is hardly any strange rattling or shaking that I can feel. The plastics are all very solid feeling, and have managed to retain their quality despite the obvious amount of sun this car has been through. All of the fabrics are in really great shape with hardly any wear spots.
I enjoy having a hatchback, as I am provided with ample storage space should I need it, but still have a fairly sporty car for just myself. I don't particularly need a sedan to haul around lots of people. Originally I had wanted to buy a 1995ish Civic hatch, but it is so hard to find one of those that hasn't been thrashed by the ricers. I was very lucky to find this Acura. The build quality is such that I have great confidence that with care I'll be able to pull another 50-60 thousand miles out of it.
Not much more to say. Just don't thrash it (old cars like being treated nice) and this model car should last you a goodly while. Oh yes, if your specimen has been riced with a fart can, sub, NAWWWWWSSSSS, non-spec blue tinted HIDS, and mad-tite RIMMMZZZ, please do the world a favor and put a stock exhaust and wheels (and headlights) back on. This is a rather dignified little car, and like VWs, you just don't want to mess with something already perfect.
For reference I am not a car collector. I am not a ricer. I am just a moderately savvy young man who set a budget and knew what he needed out of a vehicle. I am happy with my purchase, and hope that a soccer mom in her F350 battle wagon refrains from planting her bumper in my head.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 17th March, 2008
7th Feb 2009, 12:50
Ricers?
Swapping in a bigger engine, better suspension, rims, and tires is not being a ricer.
Ricer mods are the cheap crap like fart pipes, lame paint schemes and Altezza head lights.