New to CTR - impressions log. What do I need to know?

[Torsion]

And that's the thing, unless you know that the cars are the same, the FL5 and DE5 just don't attract the same audience. If I was just some random rich guy off the street who wanted a sporty manual, why would I go to Honda? My poor uncle drives a Honda, I want an Acura.

The subdued design and creature comforts are also a major difference that would make someone choose the Acura over the Honda.

Being in my late 50s, I would go with the Honda because the name has conveyed quality for decades, plus Honda has meaningful involvement in motorsport. I trust Honda just as much as Mercedes. The Acura name doesn't really mean anything in my mind, neither positive nor negative.

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[Bandit_TypeR]

Can’t speak to a Porsche, but I can speak to the Integra Type-S. Wife really wanted something a bit more posh than the Type-R, so we drove a couple of them. It ain’t the FL5. Not by a long shot. They have a lot of the same DNA, but I much prefer the FL5. The seats in the DE5 were awful. As far as markup, the DE5 isn’t moving like the FL5, so you can get them under MSRP. I could have bought one about $3.5k under MSRP. Probably more if I’d been willing to haggle. We did like some of the gimmicks they DE5 had, but I would argue the FL5 feels more posh.

I test drove both the FL5 and the ITS. I wouldn't say the FL5 is more posh. However, it felt more cohesive. The mesh running along the entire front of the dash. The doors on the FL5 "thunk" differently when closing them. The seats are outstanding. The fender flares aren't tacked on. Overall, you can see the FL5 is the true representation of what the engineers set out to do. Also, being made in Japan it felt more special to me than the ITS. The ITS drove great when I test drove it, the exhaust made some nice noises, but the inside felt like an ordinary Integra and I ultimately preferred the looks of the FL5 to the ITS. With that said, the ITS in Liquid Carbon Metallic is sick. Looks like the bat mobile.

 

[Bandit_TypeR]

I think for most people the difference is one car is boy racer and the other is boy racer, but trying really hard to act mature. Exact same car underneath, but the type R is trying real hard to say "I'm a track car", while the de5 is trying real hard to say "I'm refined". If it weren't for the extra money I might've bought a de5 (mostly for the electronic seats lol), but why do that when I can pay less for the same driving experience.

I like the manual seats. I can move them faster than an electric seat. LOL

I wish the passenger side mirror would auto tilt down so I can see curbs when backing up. Otherwise, I wouldn't change anything on the car.

 

[Cueyo]

I like the manual seats. I can move them faster than an electric seat. LOL

I wish the passenger side mirror would auto tilt down so I can see curbs when backing up. Otherwise, I wouldn't change anything on the car.

Only reason I wanted electric seats is because they tend to have finer adjustments. I have funky proportions and spent the last 2.5 weeks getting my FL5 seat juuuusssst right. Just kinda wish the lower back support was higher up on my back though.

Other than that, maybe a closer clutch pedal for those of us with long femurs

 

[Torsion]

The demographics for these cars are very interesting. There are the "kids" i.e., 20- or even 30-somethings that are buying their first "nice" new car, there are seasoned enthusiasts like myself (although fortunately still a ways off from my 60s...) who've had a good number of cars and have landed on this platform as a "do everything/bargain" alternative to much more expensive dedicated sports cars they've owned in the past, and there are the wealthy owners that have them as their daily alternative to their stable of GT P cars, McLarens, and Ferraris.



As a former serial P car guy myself, I agree with most of your assessment. I will caveat that I have an Integra Type S, but I was in the market for an FL5 initially while I still had my 718 GTS 4.0 (there's a thread on here about it somewhere), and just couldn't come to grips with paying a markup and landed on the DE5. I still view them as essentially the same car.

Where I think I'll point out that it doesn't QUITE satisfy the P car itch is in the "soul" department. I know that's such a cop out; let me reference an intangible metric so I don't have to actually argue an objective point, right? But really, after almost 2 years and a hair over 10k miles, that feels like an apt way to describe the gap between the FL5/DE5 and a Porsche. Not to say that this platform doesn't have soul, it has all those "intangibles" that one could describe as soul in spades... but just not quite as much as a Porsche! That's all I'm saying.

And depending on what Porsche you're referencing, I'd even say that the FL5 has more... I'm still quite torn on my overall thoughts of the 2.5T 718 GTS I had. I loved the car, but it sounded like a Subaru, and a sewing machine at idle. That was tough to get past, especially when considering that car's $103k MSRP but I digress...

It did take a good amount of time for that logic to set in. I truly could say I didn't miss any of my past Porsches for at least a year and a half after buying my Integra... but recently some pics of my past cars have popped up in my timelines and have got me truly nostalgic... and the fact I just spent the past weekend at a PCA autocross event didn't help either.

I miss the sound, I miss the presence, the "aura" of a Porsche. (I miss placing within the top 10 on a given day at an autocross event even on PS4S because the PDK is a cheat code)... But I don't miss the cost, or the external perception. I can drive this car anywhere and not have to worry about extra attention, or god forbid what a client might think. And I love the net new ability (and honestly primary driving factor of considering this platform in the first place...) of being able to fit my giant dog in the back when I want to- without having the added expense of a whole other car like I was doing with the Porsches. And without having to worry about if he marks up the seats with his claws, or gets slobber on the leather trim panels.

So TL;DR, saying it's a 4-door designed by the Porsche GT department really isn't too much of a stretch, if you take into account the obvious compromises that would have to take place if they also had to fit it within a $50k MSRP budget. It is truly the best of breed for a fast, fun to drive sports car with 4 doors... but I'll be back in the market for an augmentation soon, and another Porsche will probably be at the top of the list.

I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my CTR, and time will tell how I feel about it with thousands of miles on the odometer.

But right now, I'd say that the CTR has just as much soul as any of my other cars, hence it being addictive to drive, but it has a different soul than the other cars.

The main benefit of a Porsche is a higher tier of performance, and more track reliability for the GT cars, but you can't really use that extra performance on public roads, and even the CTR is bordering on 'too fast' for public roads. With the torque, power, grip, and handling, the CTR is a serious performance car, and I really think it's a bargain at $50k.

I really don't feel that I'm 'stepping down' when getting into the CTR after driving a Porsche that costs a multiple of that amount (e.g., 991.2 3RS and 992 Turbo S).

I do love how the CTR is more low key than Porsches and exotics, and I'm amazed that it's as light as a GT3 while having a roomy back seat and trunk.

 

[Torsion]

Only reason I wanted electric seats is because they tend to have finer adjustments. I have funky proportions and spent the last 2.5 weeks getting my FL5 seat juuuusssst right. Just kinda wish the lower back support was higher up on my back though.

Other than that, maybe a closer clutch pedal for those of us with long femurs

Yes, finer adjustment is a benefit of power seats. I like to make micro adjustments to get my positioning just right, and that's not possible with the CTR seats.

 

[Bandit_TypeR]

I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my CTR, and time will tell how I feel about it with miles on the odometer.

But right now, I'd say that the CTR has just as much soul as any of my other cars, hence it being addictive to drive, but it has a different soul than the other cars.

The main benefit of a Porsche is a higher tier of performance, and more track reliability for the GT cars, but you can't really use that extra performance on public roads, and even the CTR is bordering on 'too fast' for public roads. With the torque, power, grip, and handling, the CTR is a serious performance car, and I really think it's a bargain at $50k.

I really don't feel that I'm 'stepping down' when getting into the CTR after driving a Porsche that costs a multiple of that amount (e.g., 991.2 3RS and 992 Turbo S).

I do love how the CTR is more low key than Porsches and exotics, and I'm amazed that it's as light as a GT3 while having a roomy back seat and trunk.

I agree the value proposition for the performance and driver engagement is hard to beat. The car handles like a beast. It is so flat in corners, it's unbelievable. Brakes and steering exceptional and shifter feel is wonderful. It's more than enough fast for me and the pure joy I get from the all feedback the car provides completely justifies the price of the car.

Also, I very much love having knobs to adjust the AC and radio. LOL!

 

[Cueyo]

I agree the value proposition for the performance and driver engagement is hard to beat. The car handles like a beast. It is so flat in corners, it's unbelievable. Brakes and steering exceptional and shifter feel is wonderful. It's more than enough fast for me and the pure joy I get from the all feedback the car provides completely justifies the price of the car.

Also, I very much love having knobs to adjust the AC and radio. LOL!

This is my first sports car, but it seems like the FL5 is somewhat of an exception with its handling. Specifically in the fact that it goes exactly where you want on turns. When people would tell me it stays flat on turns, I never believed them, until the point where I took a tight turn really fast and the car felt like it would kick out, only to "slide" then stop and follow through the turn perfectly. On my super stiff civic sport hatch that same behavior would never happen, and that's with a 26mm sway bar, coils and a bunch of other suspension mods. I want to stay it's the brake torque vectoring, but I couldn't tell you 100%

 

[Nanook]

@optronix By “posh” I meant it has more goo-gaws and widgets. Real TPMS, heads-up display, heated seats, back up sensor, etc. Lot of creature comforts that honestly I don’t’ care about, but the wife really liked. So I really misspoke when I said the FL5 was more posh. It’s just the seats I think that really do it for me. I also like the way the car drives better.

Seats. Subjective? Definitely. For my wife and I it was a no-brainer. The FL5 has better seats. Agree though, completely subjective.

Inventory. People search high and low for FL5. The dealership I went to had two of DE5’s. I got to test drive both. Dealers rarely if ever let someone test drive an FL5, much less two different ones.

I don’t need to justify my purchase to you or anyone else. For me the FL5 was the better car. I didn’t pay a mark up nor would I purchase the car had been forced too.

Sorry if I hit a sore spot. My limited interaction (not 300 units or whatever your number was) with shopping for cars was the the DE5 was more readily available and nearly as affordable. The $5k markup people talk about wasn’t there. In all honesty, had the seats suited me, I would have traded my FK8 in and purchased the Acura and never driven the Honda. Am I glad I didn’t? Of course.

 

[Torsion]

This is my first sports car, but it seems like the FL5 is somewhat of an exception with its handling. Specifically in the fact that it goes exactly where you want on turns. When people would tell me it stays flat on turns, I never believed them, until the point where I took a tight turn really fast and the car felt like it would kick out, only to "slide" then stop and follow through the turn perfectly. On my super stiff civic sport hatch that same behavior would never happen, and that's with a 26mm sway bar, coils and a bunch of other suspension mods. I want to stay it's the brake torque vectoring, but I couldn't tell you 100%

A car can corner well even if doesn't stay relatively flat, but staying flat does tend to improve grip.

Best and safest place to learn the dynamics of the car is on track. Finding that you've exceeded the limits on public roads can lead to bad outcomes.

 

[Torsion]

First bath today. Really made me appreciate the aesthetics of this car and the attention to detail.

Took my nephew for a ride. He’s long lusted after this car, but never had a chance to test drive or ride in one. He said it exceeded his expectations, now he badly wants one.

I LOVE this car. It’s masterfully dialed in.

I’m leaving it in +R almost all the time.

 

[zumbooruk]

Only reason I wanted electric seats is because they tend to have finer adjustments. I have funky proportions and spent the last 2.5 weeks getting my FL5 seat juuuusssst right. Just kinda wish the lower back support was higher up on my back though.

Other than that, maybe a closer clutch pedal for those of us with long femurs

same here, even after over a month and 1000 miles, I keep adjusting the seat height lever, the tilt of the back, and fore/aft, and the steering wheel too...

the worst thing for me is that it seems that for an "ideal" fore/aft I need it in between two stops...

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