With the Acura Integra returning soon to the brand’s lineup, we wanted to spend some time with the original, but this Rewind Review wasn’t what we expected. In fact, it was rather anticlimactic—not because the Integra isn’t good to drive, but rather quite the opposite. The problem is the 1986 version doesn’t feel like a classic car. It feels more like, well, like a well-used Honda.
As the 2023 Integra’s arrival approaches, delving into why the original has achieved its classic car status reveals the nameplate’s true importance. The 1986 Integra literally marked the beginning of an era, one that is only now ending. The reason the first-gen car feels like an ordinary one today is that it set a pattern that ordinary cars would follow for the next three decades.
Cast your mind back to 1985: An actor was president, girls wanted to be Madonna,—you likely chose between the 180-hp Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, the 210-hp Fox-body Ford Mustang GT, or the 215-hp Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z, all drawing power from a roughly 5.0-liter V-8 (with the Monte and the Mustang still fed by four-barrel carburetors).
