The Forgotten Acura: A Look Back At The Short-Lived Vigor

With the arrival of the big Legend and the compact Integra, Acura’s lineup only featured cars at either end of the sedan spectrum in the very early ’90s. They sought to bridge that gap with the Vigor.

Based on a stretched Accord chassis, the Vigor featured an unusual drivetrain in the form of a longitudinally-mounted inline-five powering the front wheels. That engine was attached to a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission, which sent power to the front wheels. The driveshaft attached to an asymmetrically installed limited-slip differential, which powered the wheels via half-shafts.

The performance it returned was pretty good. It made a healthy 176 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque and Motorweek deemed it a handy little performer, as it hit 60 mph in just 8.3 seconds and finished the quarter-mile in 16.4 seconds at 86 mph.

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It also braked straight and managed the slalom well. And with enough comfort on real roads to live up to its luxury aesthetics, the drivetrain and chassis did their jobs well.

There was one problem with the unusual engine layout, though: interior space. Despite being front-wheel drive, the long engine and transmission cut into the cabin, making the back seats feel cramped, especially compared to its V6 competitors.

Apart from the space, though, Motorweek was complimentary about the Vigor’s interior. Filled with leather and wood veneer, it was fancy enough for anyone’s needs. And it even contained a function in the audio system that could make it sound like a club, a studio, or even a church. Volvo’s still bragging about those kinds of features today.

Sadly, the Vigor was short-lived in the US. Introduced to the market in 1991 as a 1992 model, poor sales and a lack of interest from the market made Honda drop the model in 1994.