What’s the best “hot hatch” in 2025? Good question. And there’s no right answer. Recently, my fellow scribbler, Peter Corn, wrote that Acura didn’t make enough changes to the 2026 Acura Integra. I’m betwixt on how I feel about that. I just drove the very good, if not excellent, 2025 Acura Integra A-Spec 6MT. Translating that into English, that’s the version with a manual gearbox. It’s basically the same car for 2026. You get the row-your-own gearbox, and it’s a five-grand increase from the base Integra. That’s the 2025 sticker. For 2026, Acura‘s raising that further, from $38,000 to $39,200.
But there are a few reasons why I think the Integra is still a great option for buyers who love smaller runabouts and still have other bills to pay. FYI: In a stalled economy, that’s going to bring in more buyers, not fewer, and if you’re wary of the average car costing $50,000, manufacturers who can meet more buyers 11 grand below that average will win favor.
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The Integra’s Killer App: The Gearbox
I’ll agree with Peter on one thing: The Civic Si’s gearbox is great, and it’s essentially the same manual you can get on the Integra. The key to this recipe is feel. This transmission delivers precise shifts, spot-on clutch pedal effort that’s smooth—but not soft—and the moment of gear engagement is creamily precise. This lets you play with the nanoseconds between gears, and time your downshift ahead of a tight turn, then ease back off the clutch, ideally exactly as the tires bite ahead of a corner. You want this kind of control, and to dance in that half-beat between gear changes. Acura makes this extra easy, with rev-matched downshifts, so you’re never “forcing” the car into gear, even if you’re flicking from third to second and the ensuing shift pins the engine near-ish redline.
In the Integra, all of this works superbly because there’s so much clean feedback through the transmission. Other carmakers are close, like the Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ, but you cannot get that car in a hatchback format, so it’s far less practical.
Plus, It’s A Hatchback
While Peter suggested the Acura’s most logical cross-shop is the Honda Civic Si, there’s a fly in that soup: You can only get that car with a trunk. So the more obvious competition would be other hatchbacks. Note the mountain bike stowed in the hatch of the Integra. That’s a large, full-suspension bike. I had to remove the front wheel of the bicycle, but it still fits. Cars with trunks may have similar interior volumes, but as we’ve all learned with the dominant car format, we all purchase (crossovers/SUVs) because they have a fifth door. All SUVs/crossovers are hatchbacks! For under $40,000, these are the closest hatchbacks to the Acura Integra. But note the transmissions, too.
The Acura Stands Alone
While both the Mini Cooper S and the Volkswagen GTI are fun, and the GTI’s interior volume is super close to on par with the Acura, neither Mini nor Volkswagen sells these cars with a manual gearbox. Their automated manuals are quite good—the VW’s seven-speed DSG is seriously a standout for the breed of manu-mated sports hatches. But I’m not foolish enough to claim that saccharin is sugar. If you want a stick, you don’t want to be told your eyes are lying.
There Is, However, One Exception
If you want an unlikely foe against the Integra, consider the Elantra N. At $34,350, it boasts a 276-horsepower, 2.0-liter inline-four that walks all over the 1.5-liter turbocharged Acura powerplant. And you can get it with a manual six-speed—at no extra cost. That version of the Elantra is missing a hatch, however, and even with 102 cubic feet of interior capacity, a sedan with a trunk is just a little less handy to use. Is that a dealbreaker? Hardly. Because the Elantra is so roomy, and its performance bona fides are excellent, as my colleague, William Clavey, will attest.
Could It Do With More Power?
When the Toyota GR86 was a Scion FR-S, lots of folks argued it was almost perfect—just gutless. Eventually, “Toyobaru” gave this car more punch. But I don’t think the prior models were underpowered. The Mazda MX-5 Miata is relatively gutless, and yet, it’s still magical. It’s an all-time great sports ragtop because Mazda gets the balance just right, with just enough muscle to dance around apexes, but no Mustang driver is going to feel their manhood threatened by that “chic car.” (Never mind that legions of serious racers have cut their teeth learning to race in unbreakable Miatas, and every true sports car fan knows just how priceless the Miata experience is as an extraordinary teaching tool, and a car you can wrench on, too.)
Yes, in a roundabout way, I’m here to argue that the Integra 6-MT is powerful enough. Its 192 pound-feet of torque kicks in nice and early, at a mere 1,800 RPM, when you’re just simmering off idle. It wouldn’t hurt to have, oh, 240 horsepower. Well, you can do that. Wave a magic wand (and ignore your warranty) because for under $1,000 you can do an exhaust makeover and an ECU tune and get to right about that bar without sweating. The Integra Type-S will get you 320 horsepower, too. But at $52,900, it’s playing in an entirely different arena, one populated by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi, among other rivals that don’t rub shoulders with the more prol Integra 6-MT. The Type-S is a more serious car with more serious foes.
What’s Missing? Better Looks
If there’s one misgiving I have about the Integra, it’s that it’s a visual tweener. It’s not truly “hot,” the way the Elantra N is clearly aiming for, the GR86 gets nearer to, and the GR Corolla positively pegs. I’m happy Acura’s decided to add two colors that could let it play up its stealth, though, because both a silver and gray option will enable Acura to more specifically rival brands that dress the subtle rather than brash part—like Audi.
TopSpeed’s Take: The Integra Brings An Arsenal
I never want to tell someone that their take is wrong. I get exposed to lots of cars, however, and have a few decades of seeing models change over time. I’ve test-driven everything in this segment, and the segment above this, and the one above that, too. If you want a GTI—or a GR86—instead, you want what you want. Blond, brunette, curly, or straight, your heart is yours, not mine.
What I personally dig about the Acura Integra 6-MT is that it’s fun when you want it to be, practical, too, and everyday-driver friendly. In a more “serious” sports car, you’re always eying the road for an opening, frustrated by the too-slow, real-world car populace that’s never pegged at 10/10ths. And that’s the joy of the Integra. Instigate a three-two downshift at 49 MPH while sharpening the white lines of a two-lane sweeper on a sunny Sunday, and you’re grinning widely. And you’re not even approaching arrest-me-and-throw-away-the-key hooliganism. Is the Integra kinda like a hardtop MX-5 Miata with a backseat and a hatchback? Yep. And that’s darned high praise, indeed.