Road Tests: Long-Term Test

This month, our feisty little Acura received a new driver. After spending almost two months with our news editor, Gonzo Schexnayder, she has decided on a trial separation. In fact, she never wants to see him again. Actually, their lawyers are talking.

This month's driver was Scott Memmer, our technical editor.

The Acura surprised him in many ways. His first thought after getting behind the wheel of this thing was, "This car is for someone much younger than me." It actually reminded him of the love affair he had with his first new car -- a 1983 VW GTI. Same sporty purr. Same rock-hard suspension. Same wonderful low-end torque.

Memmer found our Acura to be a perky little performer. Still, much about the car perplexed and annoyed him. Since he is one of our longer range commuters (check out the gas mileage increase this month versus the two previous months -- up a good five miles per gallon), he spends more time in our long-term cars than average. Add Memmer's long tenure in the car audio business to this mix, and you just know the radio will come in for some harsh words if it doesn't perform up to spec. And it did.

Considering Honda's position as an ergonomic-savvy manufacturer, Memmer considers the Integra's radio a disaster. Especially annoying is that little toggle lever just below the volume knob. Not only is it inaccurate and hard to use, it often overshoots the station completely. Even worse, Memmer found that attempting to adjust the volume control while revving through the mean streets of Santa Monica often led to inadvertent touches on this little dive board of disaster, sending the dial spinning off into radio nether land, like Darth Vadar at the end of the first Star Wars. What a train wreck! Memmer strongly feels that whoever designed this radio should be put in a deep, dark dungeon with little human contact and only Akmak to eat, but not before being drawn and quartered first.

Memmer also found the heater/AC controls difficult to use. They stick. This made it hard to dial in the correct temperature for cabin comfort.

On the plus side, Memmer found the Integra a wonder of engineering and drivability. What a pocket rocket! Although he wouldn't buy this car for himself, he appreciated the granite-like suspension, the sporty feel, and especially the torquey four-banger under the hood. Gawd Almighty, what a lot of torque this thing produces! If our dentist used this motor to power his drill, he'd make a mess 'o your jaw, folks. True, it's a noisy little beast, but that's half the point. If you want quiet, buy a Lincoln.

The Integra went in for routine service (45,000 miles) at Ron Tonkin's Valencia Acura in Valencia, CA. There was some dispute about brake fluid, which the manual suggests replacing at this interval. The service advisor there, Andy, told us that he didn't think it needed to be done, as more than likely it had already been done at 30,000. We insisted on the change, since our service notes showed no previous work in this area, whereupon the dealer reluctantly performed the service.

Andy also called us later that day, while the Acura was in the service bay, and suggested that the Integra needed a front end alignment. We told him to please road test the vehicle and see if it was pulling to either side. He called back later to say it wasn't, so we scratched the suggested alignment.

When we went to pick up the car, we found it washed and waiting for us, sparkling inside and out. We were most impressed with the appearance of the car. Aside from the few mixed signals we had with the service advisor, we felt we had a good service experience with this particular Acura dealer.

All in all, our technical editor enjoyed his time with the Acura Integra. He recommends it to college-age head-bangers and market-entry twenty-somethings, who like their engine whine as loud as their music and their suspension as stiff as a shot of tequila

Total Odometer Reading: 45,665
Best Fuel Economy: 29.8 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 24.1 mpg
Body Damage Repair: $0
Maintenance Costs: Labor, $87.36; Parts, $65.74; Total, $158.52
Problems: None