mlody

After recently driving mini cooper with 6MT, I realized how much I miss driving a manual car. My last car with 6MT was my 2006 Acura TL. I have been all over the board with what my next car should be, but recently, I started thinking about Integra A-Spec Tech 6MT or Civic Hatchback Sport Touring 6MT as a replacement for my TL.
To be honest, I prefer the look and the hatch design of Civic, plus Civic has some practical items like HomeLink garage door operner, spare tire, a much better performing headlights (according to iihs.org), full leather seats (my preference), does not require premium gas, and overall lower MSRP $38,095 vs. $ $32,800.
Besides the apparent horsepower bump, is there anything going for Integra from a spec/tech perspective that it offers and Civic does not? I believe the only noticeable benefit on Integra is the standard LSD which is not present on Civic, right?

JM2010 SH-AWD

ELS sound system, which is a big part of this car's enjoyment. Not sure if the Civic comes with adaptive suspension and selectable drive modes, both of which I've found surprisingly useful on the Integra. Longer warranty on the Integra. LSD makes a huge difference if you value sporty handling. The absence of HomeLink on the Integra was disappointing, but we've managed with an old-fashioned remote. Some people have grafted the Civic mirror/HomeLink onto their Integras and others have put together a garage opening system using Siri or Google Assistant.

I've not driven the Civic ST, but I can say the ASpec Tech is quite playful on back roads. I actually thought about the Civic ST with 6MT, but when we were looking last summer, there were but a small handful within 500 miles, so we were never that serious about it.

I think all you can do is try to drive them back to back and see what fits best with what you're looking for in a car, but it's a legitimate comparison, for sure.

mlody

I appreciate the feedback. I am hoping for more people to chime in who went thru this exercise. I plan to test drive both models back to back to get an idea of how they feel. Most comparisons I saw are between Integra A-spec and Civic SI, but besides the cars sharing the same drivetrain, there is nothing else common between them, with SI lacking many amenities compared to even the Civic Touring model.

I have been debating the LSD situation, but Civic Sport Touring has 20 fewer HP's, so the lack of LSD might not even be an issue as there is less HP to put down.

Good call about adaptive dampers. I am looking for a comfortable car, as I don't want my new car to beat me up when driving on Chicago's crappy roads. If Integra's softer setting is still stiffer than Civic's, that alone might be a good reason for me to avoid Integra.

From what I gathered, Civic Touring has BOSE audio system, which is very capable and impressive for the Civic class, so I imagine that ELS in Integra, while better, is not day/night better at this point.