2000 Acura Integra Road Test

2000 Acura Integra - A Sporting Purist

It is easy to immediately decipher if a car has been designed to be readily accepted by the majority of consumers, or serve a dedicated niche following. With the former, the styling is almost always bland and inoffensive. The interior has a certain intuitiveness that won't cause its driver any unnecessary discomfort - user friendliness and conservative styling being the optimum priorities. Usually, these cars are endowed with only moderate performance capabilities - safety and functionality being the marketing spin lingo used to lure in the target audience.

The Acura Integra has never fallen into this category of cars. If a reasonably priced antithesis to the previously described vehicle exists, the Acura Integra defines it. This car is truly not for everyone. The seats, for instance, are extremely firm - with wonderful lateral support. Of course, if you are looking for basic transportation, you might find the ample side bolstering intrusive and uncomfortable, especially for ingress and egress.

Acura's hot little Integra is a car with a mission. The designers set out to develop a vehicle to entice the road warrior, the pure sports enthusiast who doesn't mind forgoing a little comfort and convenience to experience pure unadulterated performance - and that they did. Since its introduction in 1986, the Integra has enlisted a devoted following. The faithful come seeking the ideal balance of speed and control, and the Integra delivers in spades.

The 2000 Integra GL (SE in Canada) is the entry-level model of the Integra line. That said the base Integra is hardly a bargain basement special, yet considering that it's an Acura, which is positioned as a premium brand in North America, it's as reasonably priced as you can get.

From the inside its features are purpose oriented - that' a kind way of saying there aren't a lot of extra goodies that come standard. The dash is well laid out, with a minimum of clutter. Automatic climate control is available as an option, yet without dual driver and passenger settings, commonplace among premium offerings.