Would you have paid more for a coupe?

[Xhilr8n!]

10 months after giving a deposit at the Honda dealer for an Si and having that moved to an Integra there are no cars in sight for the rest of the year. I asked for my deposit back. Turned out they have a Red/black manual build for September. So maybe this will happen. I suspect their waiting line was shortened by someone passing on the car?

This possibility gave me pause to take an even harder look at these cars. I see a backseat that may never have a passenger, like my Gen 9 Si sedan. Maybe three in 7 years.

Then it occurred to me that I would gladly pay more to have a parcel shelf back there and a two door. I bet others might too. But how much?

Studied on it a bit and an honest $10,000 more comes to mind, in terms of how useful the car would be to me.

Just chunk a foot or so and a few hundred pounds and who needs an S? Plus it would be the car we expected and the story continues. Maybe worth $12,000 more?

Am I the only one in America who would have actually bought this?

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[JohnV]

Very interesting!
I got rid of a "better" car because it was a coupe. When I bought my 2013 BMW 128I I thought I would keep it 20 years. A fantastic car, but they don't sell the 5-door in the US, so here I am with an Acura. That configuration with the hatch is my preference. I would not have purchased an Integra coupe, even if it was $10K less!

Good luck shopping!

 

[lnf]

If this car was a coupe at the same $35k price tag, id be more all in on my reservation.

Im 24 and have no need for a 4 door, really. Maybe I should just pass and buy something smaller/fun/sporty? When I drive past the dealership there is just something that irks me about the side profile of this vehicle.

Also, I know I wont hear the end of "YOU BOUGHT THE NEW INTEGRA?!?! DOOD IT LOOKS NOTHING LIKE THE GSR". Then again, my current daily is a Cobalt SS, so I've learned to deal with the hate.

 

[pomegranate]

Why not get the 86/BRZ? Or the Nissan Z? Or if you can wait then a 10th gen Civic Coupe for when it eventually gets cheaper? I'm guessing availability is an issue, but if I had to then I'd happily wait to take those vehicles over an Integra if I really didn't need the second door.

A large reason to consider the Integra is the large cargo area and rear leg room aka space that comes with being a two door.

 

[lnf]

Why not get the 86/BRZ? Or the Nissan Z? Or if you can wait then a 10th gen Civic Coupe for when it eventually gets cheaper? I'm guessing availability is an issue, but if I had to then I'd happily wait to take those vehicles over an Integra if I really didn't need the second door.

A large reason to consider the Integra is the large cargo area and rear leg room aka space that comes with being a two door.

Ive driven older 86/BRZ, theyre cool and all but I am just not a fan. Just not a fan of the Boxster motors and the interior designs, especially the typical gaudy plastic infotainment stack from Toyota.

Nissan Z would be really cool to be honest, but I am forcing myself to try to find something practical... somewhat.

 

[RB2490]

Ive driven older 86/BRZ, theyre cool and all but I am just not a fan. Just not a fan of the Boxster motors and the interior designs, especially the typical gaudy plastic infotainment stack from Toyota.

Nissan Z would be really cool to be honest, but I am forcing myself to try to find something practical... somewhat.

Trust me I had a 370z as my daily and I regretted buying it. It was fast car but the steering was numb, it was terrible over rough roads, and my confidence level was low driving it. I got the frs after the Z and what a difference. Just a overall better car. Was it slow(kind of) but it was fun to drive, you can push that car to the limit and it would be happy everytime you did. An integra coupe would have been nice but I don't think it would have done well considering it has to go up against cars like the gr86, Z, Supra, mustang , Camaro.

 

[Xhilr8n!]

We had a 370Z Nismo. Fun car, some things to really like. But very little luggage space and I never trusted the back end. My one Tennis bag about filled the trunk. Fails the “Take a friend to the beach for the weekend” test.

But yes you have to look at it in this segment, a manual fun car. Personally I could not get past that huge square up front. Maybe a Nismo version will be different.

 

[Xhilr8n!]

Just sayin

 

[Linas19]

Good looking design. I like it better than the Nisan but I am not in a life stage to purchase a coupe.

 

[NeoDiNardo]

Even without friends in the back I prefer to have the 4 doors for extra storage places. And if you are giving me 4 doors, how about giving me enough backseat headroom for 6-foot tall people? Not everyone is 5-foot 9-inches Acura.

 

[BKK Jack]

Even without friends in the back I prefer to have the 4 doors for extra storage places. And if you are giving me 4 doors, how about giving me enough backseat headroom for 6-foot tall people? Not everyone is 5-foot 9-inches Acura.

They can sit behind me. I'm only 5'5" so plenty of leg room behind my seat.

I also prefer 4 doors. I may not have little kids to ferry about anymore, but I do have a dog. Also, the doors are shorter on a sedan. With fewer and fewer coupes out there, there's less of a chance of one of them parking next to me, throwing their door open and dinging my car.

When I'm driving, I can't see or feel how many doors there are.

 

[ITAGI]

10 months after giving a deposit at the Honda dealer for an Si and having that moved to an Integra there are no cars in sight for the rest of the year. I asked for my deposit back. Turned out they have a Red/black manual build for September. So maybe this will happen. I suspect their waiting line was shortened by someone passing on the car?

This possibility gave me pause to take an even harder look at these cars. I see a backseat that may never have a passenger, like my Gen 9 Si sedan. Maybe three in 7 years.

Am I the only one in America who would have actually bought this?

I don't mean to come off as some snobby elitist or anything, but the answer to your question is, without question, yes.

Not in absolute terms, you're not the only single person in all of America that would, but you're one of the very, very few who even say they would. And of the small number who says they would, fewer still will ever put their money where their mouth is and actually go out and buy it.

What you are looking for is the 10th gen Civic Coupe Si. Two door coupe, 6 speed manual transmission, almost a foot shorter at 176.9 inches versus 185.8 inches, more or less same engine and power, and it came in under $30k. Even reviewers like SavageGeese praised it as one of, if not the best in class, really really close to. And yet, the sales were so abysmal that Honda axed the Coupe body style for the 11th gen entirely.

Fact of the matter is, sedans are a shrinking market as people decided they want SUVs and trucks and CUVs instead. Two-door sports cars are an even smaller subsection for auto makers. Subcompacts have been axed pretty much across manufacturers, and hot hatches basically don't exist in North America outside of select models.

If the sales supported the Civic Coupe Si, we might have seen a true successor to the DC2 Integra this generation. Or maybe see it competing with the 86 twins as an actual sports car. Or even just saw it in continued existence. But it didn't, nobody bought it, and now we have people dumping on Acura for attempting to go after the compact CUV/SUV and entry-level luxury segment.

Everyone SAYS that they would buy the sports car coupe Integra, but they wouldn't even put up the money for the Si Coupe when it was sub $30k. Like, it was objectively better than the previous generation 86 twins in SO many ways, but the 86 twins live on while the Civic Coupe got sent to an early grave. Meanwhile, the Civic Hatch took nearly a quarter of the Civic sales in it's first iteration on North American shores in decades. Can you really blame Honda/Acura for not believing the "enthusiasts"?

Hell, look at the Type R. It's based on the civic Hatchback because, ultimately, cars aren't cheap and for many, their purchase is going to be their do-everything car. That means utility will be a big deciding factor.

It is what it is.

 

[RB2490]

I don't mean to come off as some snobby elitist or anything, but the answer to your question is, without question, yes.

Not in absolute terms, you're not the only single person in all of America that would, but you're one of the very, very few who even say they would. And of the small number who says they would, fewer still will ever put their money where their mouth is and actually go out and buy it.

What you are looking for is the 10th gen Civic Coupe Si. Two door coupe, 6 speed manual transmission, almost a foot shorter at 176.9 inches versus 185.8 inches, more or less same engine and power, and it came in under $30k. Even reviewers like SavageGeese praised it as one of, if not the best in class, really really close to. And yet, the sales were so abysmal that Honda axed the Coupe body style for the 11th gen entirely.

Fact of the matter is, sedans are a shrinking market as people decided they want SUVs and trucks and CUVs instead. Two-door sports cars are an even smaller subsection for auto makers. Subcompacts have been axed pretty much across manufacturers, and hot hatches basically don't exist in North America outside of select models.

If the sales supported the Civic Coupe Si, we might have seen a true successor to the DC2 Integra this generation. Or maybe see it competing with the 86 twins as an actual sports car. Or even just saw it in continued existence. But it didn't, nobody bought it, and now we have people dumping on Acura for attempting to go after the compact CUV/SUV and entry-level luxury segment.

Everyone SAYS that they would buy the sports car coupe Integra, but they wouldn't even put up the money for the Si Coupe when it was sub $30k. Like, it was objectively better than the previous generation 86 twins in SO many ways, but the 86 twins live on while the Civic Coupe got sent to an early grave. Meanwhile, the Civic Hatch took nearly a quarter of the Civic sales in it's first iteration on North American shores in decades. Can you really blame Honda/Acura for not believing the "enthusiasts"?

Hell, look at the Type R. It's based on the civic Hatchback because, ultimately, cars aren't cheap and for many, their purchase is going to be their do-everything car. That means utility will be a big deciding factor.

It is what it is.

This was very well said. A two door coupe would have been nice to see but I can bet half the current integra owners wouldn't be integra owners if it was just a coupe. My kids love the back seat and as you can see there's enough space back there. I'm only 5'7 though

 

[mlive87]

I would have definitely bought a coupe! I had a 2020 si coupe that was recently totaled due to the girl who hit me texting instead of driving! I couldn't find another one so I ordered the integra which I have had for a few weeks now and although I was worried about it feeling too big, I must say I am quite pleased with it. I have owned a 92 Integra GS and a 95 GSR and I can say that this new one is exactly what its supposed to be, a nicer Civic.

 

[RobbJK]

Everyone SAYS that they would buy the sports car coupe Integra, but they wouldn't even put up the money for the Si Coupe when it was sub $30k. Like, it was objectively better than the previous generation 86 twins in SO many ways, but the 86 twins live on while the Civic Coupe got sent to an early grave. Meanwhile, the Civic Hatch took nearly a quarter of the Civic sales in it's first iteration on North American shores in decades. Can you really blame Honda/Acura for not believing the "enthusiasts"?

Agreed, very well put. I personally LOVE a coupe. I've owned multiple civic coupes. I would own a coupe again (i'm single, no pets, no kids, and put value into the style and personal feeling of a 2 door. Would I have been one to jump on a new 2-door integra? Absolutely. But like you said, the 10th Gen Si coupe (and even the non-Si coupes) were hands down awesome, fun, sporty cars that were just as much spiritual successors to cars like the integra, crx, and even the prelude. Honestly, the only thing I would change about my civic coupe, if I had been in charge, would have been to make it a liftback instead of having a traditional trunk, just for a bit of extra versatility for cargo.

And still... hardly anyone bought them despite all the wishing and hoping for a sporty coupe offering you see going around. Honda gave us that in the 10th gen and it didn't materialize into sales, despite being basically the LAST FWD sport compact coupe on the market with almost no direct competitors.

As much as I like the new integra, and will test drive and give it a fair shot at wowing me. I've also got $2000 set aside for performance and visual modifications to my 1.5T 10th gen coupe that honestly will make it just as fulfilling to drive daily, and it won't have extra size, weight, or doors that I just don't want/need. It's just going to come down to whether the refinement, fun to drive factor, and features of the new Integra will wow me enough to bid fairwell to my coupe or not. (I'd keep both, but I just don't have the space or finances to keep both, happily would keep my coupe as a project car and have the integra as my daily).

Sadly, coupe buyers/enthusiasts have only RWD or luxury offerings to choose from, which goes without saying that it alienates a large portion of buyers who can't afford luxury offerings, or live in climates where RWD is not an ideal all-season choice.

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