Honda Integra returns in China, with a twist
Honda's sports car badge is back – as a rebadged Civic sedan in China.
The Honda Integra nameplate will soon return – in China – but not as a vehicle you might expect.
Images published by the Chinese government's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) show Chinese buyers will soon be able to buy a new Integra through Honda's joint venture with GAC (Guanqi) – but it is effectively a rebadged, revised version of the new-generation Honda Civic sedan, not sold in Australia.
The Chinese-market Integra is a different vehicle from the reborn Integra teased last month by Honda's luxury arm Acura, slated to launch in the US in mid-2022 with bespoke sheetmetal inspired by past Integras, and an available Type S performance variant – though despite sitting on underpinnings rumoured to be shared with the Civic, it's unlikely to make its way to Australia.
Differences between the new Integra and Civic sedans include a restyled front end with new headlights and black grille trim, lower-profile claw-shaped LED tail-lights, new alloy wheel designs (up to 18 inches in diameter) and a revised rear bumper.
Powering the Integra is the same 134kW/240Nm 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder and CVT automatic as the Civic on which it's based, with the donor car's twin-screen interior, Honda Sensing active safety suite, LED headlights and sunroof all available on the new model.
The Chinese Honda Integra's existence is understood to stem from Honda's two manufacturing joint ventures in China with local companies GAC (Guanqi) and Dongfeng, and the need for both partnerships to offer a version of the Japanese brand's new small car – leaving Dongfeng Honda with the 'original' Civic sedan, and GAC Honda with the new Integra.
As a result, this new Honda Integra will remain a China-only model – with the four-door Civic body style it's based on not bound for Australian shores either, as local buyers will be limited to the five-door hatchback upon its local launch by the end of 2021.