The Acura RSX wasn't a sports car per se, but it is the answer to every 16-year-olds car crisis. It's sporty enough for a teenager to enjoy while also being a safe and reliable car to daily drive. In a world where most sporty cars break down just by looking at them funny, RSX's are still on the road even 15 years after production ceased. The RSX is radically different than Acuras made today. It's less refined and a little rough around the edges. That doesn't stop it from being one of the best bang for your dollar performance bargains of recent memory.
Today, let's take a trip back to the early to mid-2000s to find out why the Acura RSX is becoming a generational icon to millennials across America.
Understanding Acura As A Brand
To understand the RSX's appeal, we need to understand Acura as a brand. It's possible that people in parts of the world where they aren't sold might be unfamiliar with Acura's design language. Acura is a North American brand designed for North American buyers. Underneath, they're largely the same as their Honda counterparts from around the world, except for maybe a different engine or suspension components. The idea with Acuras is that once you step inside one, you forget you're sitting inside a Honda because everything you see, feel, and touch should be upscale and luxurious.
Is It Just A Civic?
The Acura RSX is actually a rebadged JDM spec Honda Integra DC5, so while it's technically not just a rebadged Civic, it still looks familiarly like a Honda. The RSX came from a time before Acuras truly differentiated itself from their lower range Honda cousins. Things like HVAC and radio controls are taken directly from existing Honda models, for example. Leather seats were also optional on the RSX. That's right, an Acura came standard with cloth seats as early as 15 years ago. The rear hatch gives the RSX more space in the rear than most cars of its type, and it can do 30 miles per gallon on the highway, all things that make it favorable as the first car of choice for teenagers who want to drive something more unique and special than a Civic.
While all this helped absolutely zero with making the RSX feel less like a Honda, it also meant that they weren't hopelessly expensive to repair. So while this cheapness may have detracted from the car when it was new, it gave the car second life on the used market. The Honda K inline four-cylinder engine is also easy to tune and capable of making good power, all while the glorious V-Tec system accepts every stomp of your right foot with glee. So a pretty solid package all around then, and we haven't even mentioned the really cool model yet.
The Type S
The RSX Type S is everything we like about the base model with more power and sleeker styling. The K20 engine is tuned to make 200 horsepower and only ever came with a six-speed manual gearbox. Bigger breaks and sports-tuned suspension were added to make the Type S more agile in corners. Add everything together, and the Type-S was a completely different animal than the standard RSX. For even more sporting credentials, an A-Spec dealer option was also available. This added a JDM spec body kit taken directly from the Japanese DC5 Honda Integra, including the Integra Type R's iconic rear wing.
An Icon For The Millenial Generation
Baby Boomers had the original Corvette Stingray, and Gen-X had the Buick Regal T-Type. If Millenials want to lay claim to an iconic performance car for the masses, the RSX should be at the top of that list. Millennials have a different set of parameters for what they want in a car they drive for fun.
The days where a 16-year-old could do all the basic maintenance for their car at home is over. Modern cars are too computerized and complicated for that. Braking down in a modern car likely means it's heading to the scrapyard if you're a young person with not much money, this is why the RSX is so brilliant. Everything that made people assume it was just a fancy Civic makes it perfect for the burgeoning young gearhead. The K-series engine probably won't explode as long as you change the oil regularly. The back hatch can fit all of college student's belongings and get 30 miles per gallon as it brings everything back and forth from home and school.
The RSX may not have lit the world on fire when it was brand new, but in a world of used Toyota Corollas, Nissan Sentras, and Honda Civics, the RSX and the RSX Type S are a lot more appealing by comparison.
Sources: Cars.com, Carmax.com