The reintroduction of the Acura Integra was each welcome and controversial. Some noticed the return of the Integra nameplate as outright blasphemy, for a car that’s principally a nicer Civic hatchback. Others — like myself— welcomed the Integra because it may have simply been simply one other crossover, with the Integra identify stamped on it. However irrespective of which facet of the fence you stand on this battle, we as fans ought to all be celebrating one factor in regards to the Integra: It’s serving to to maintain the handbook transmission alive.
The Integra is promoting decently, with Acura saying that between Might ‘22 and April 2023, they managed to maneuver 19,643 items. Whereas which will look low, as Autoblog identified, these figures imply it outsold each considered one of its opponents (Audi A3, Mercedes CLA, BMW 2 Sequence Gran Coupe) throughout the identical timeframe. However, what number of Integras have been manuals?
Acura says that 19 p.c or 3,732 of these Integras have been manual-geared up automobiles. That won’t look like many, particularly while you have in mind that Acura was touting 70 p.c of Integra’s pre-orders have been going for the handbook. The drop in handbook patrons may have one thing to do with the truth that Acura makes you pay a premium for it: a no-possibility Integra A-Spec with the handbook is simply over $36,000. Regardless of these realties, we will respect that they’re even nonetheless promoting a stick shift automobile, particularly as an increasing number of automakers have turned manuals into an endangered species.
Acura additionally shared with Autoblog that the Integra has the youngest patrons within the phase: 36 p.c of its patrons have been below 35. The Integra can be taking patrons from different manufacturers with a 70 p.c conquest fee. Who is aware of, the proportion of handbook patrons may enhance much more considerably with the brand new Integra Kind S on the horizon.