For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Acura Integra have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Accord doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Integra has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Accord Sport 2.0T/EX/EX-L/Touring offers a blind spot warning system.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Integra has standard Rear Cross Traffic Monitor, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Accord Sport 2.0T/EX-L/Touring offers Cross Traffic Monitor.
Both the Integra and the Accord have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available rear parking sensors.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Acura Integra is much safer than the Accord:
|
Integra |
Accord |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
160 |
576 |
Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
77 G’s |
Neck Tension |
201 lbs. |
424 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.14 in |
2.13 in |
Shoulder Force |
268 lbs. |
357 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.26 in |
1.57 in |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
959 lbs. |
1138 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head Injury Criterion |
258 |
279 |
Neck Tension |
112 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
112 lbs. |
156 lbs. |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.02 in |
1.46 in |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.46 in |
1.69 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
602 lbs. |
1004 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Integra its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Accord was last a “Top Safety Pick Plus” in 2022 but no longer qualifies.