1991-2003 Honda NSX

November 17, 2005 - By John LeBlanc

Led by Nirvana, Jane's Addiction and Mudhoney, you may remember 1991 as the year grunge surfaced its grimy head. Former indie band REM achieved mass appeal with a shiny, happy album, and Guns N' Roses rode the crest of its pop-metal wave to various extracurricular arrests.

Automotively? It was the pinnacle year of the Japanese sports car renaissance that arguably started in 1989 with the Mazda Miata and Nissan 300ZX. With Honda battling Ferrari on the Formula One circuit, a road car was needed to spank the prancing horse from Maranello as well. Going straight to the top of the car-to-die-for charts in 1991, Honda debuted the most expensive Japanese-brand vehicle for the North American market—the mid-engined, rear-drive, two-seat NSX.

Branded an Acura only in badge-conscious North America, with its exotic sports car looks and technically advanced aluminum body and suspension, the NSX became the Princess Diana of car buff magazine covers. Here was an exotic sports car that was priced like a Chevrolet Corvette or Porsche 911 but received the attention of a Ferrari, at less than half the lira.

Performance-wise, the NSX put up similar numbers. The original 270-horsepower, all-aluminum, 3.0-litre V-6—subsequently enlarged to 3.2-L with 20 more h.p. in '97—may have relatively mediocre numbers. However, combined with the lightweight aluminum body and suspension, it has more than enough cojones to get a five-speed manual transmission NSX to 100 kilometres per hour from a standstill quicker than either a contemporary Corvette LT-1 or a Ferrari 348tb. Even fuel consumption is exemplary at 11 litres per 100 kilometres. A four-speed slushbox was added during the '91 model, but it castrated the V-6 by a further 18 h.p.

Arguably, the NSX is one of the best-handling sports cars ever. Laser-precise steering? Pancake-flat handling? Excellent braking? Check, check and double-check. Sure, the ride is firm (Don't like it? Get a Legend), but the NSX is limber enough for most of our mottled pavement.

Where the NSX veers from the competition is in how user-friendly it is. It's much easier to get in and out of than either the Porsche or Chevy. Unlike a Ferrari, you can actually see what's behind you before you dent the precious metal against a lamppost. Standard equipment on the NSX is generous with leather upholstery, air conditioning, Acura/Bose stereo system, a tilt steering wheel and automatic climate control.

Build quality and ergonomics are excellent (i.e., Honda) and will make you wonder what the Corvette engineers were sniffing when they designed the Corvette's Legoland cockpit.

Early '91-'93 NSXs had problems with water getting into the automatic tranny, the ABS quitting because of a leaking modulator solenoid, low-reading oil pressure gauges and the in-trunk CD magazine not ejecting properly. Arcing between the ignition coils and spark plugs on '95-'97 models was heard as radio interference, but simply replacing the ignition coil(s) fixes the problem.

These same models suffered from door lock knobs that could fall off if they were not screwed down properly. The gas cap door cable and hinge spring were fragile on '91-'96 models as well, and the original-equipment Yokohama tires tended to last only 20,000 kilometres before needing replacement. All of this should have been taken care of under the car's original warranty.

Pre-owned, a '91-'03 Acura NSX is more expensive than a Corvette or 911 of similar vintage. But it's still less than half the cost of a Ferrari 348 or 360 Modena. And if you want to turn heads, the NSX's exotic sports car looks and the fact there just aren't that many out there will make every parking lot you turn in to an event -- something the Chevy and Porsche can't achieve.

Notwithstanding all of the deserved accolades from the motoring press for Honda creating an exotic sports car that could be driven daily, the NSX fell from grace quicker than the one-hit-wonder Australian group The Divinyls (c'mon, don't pretend you don't remember I Touch Myself).

Within 24 months, the NSX was off the short lists of car enthusiasts, and Honda never met its annual sales projections of 3,000, ultimately selling only 18,000 NSXs worldwide during its 15-year run before production stopped last month.

- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com

THE SPECS

Type of vehicle: Rear-wheel-drive, mid-engined sports car
Engines: 252/290-h.p., 210/224 lb-ft of torque, 3.0-L/3.2-L DOHC V-6
Transmission: Five-speed manual (six-speed 1997-'03), four-speed automatic
Safety: Antilock brakes, traction control, front and side air bags
Recall history: Seatbelt-buckle release buttons can break and pieces can fall into buckle assembly, causing improper operation (1991)
Pros: Exotic car performance; No-hassle daily driver; It's a Honda!
Cons: Ferrari-wannabe looks; Relatively wimpy V-6; It's a Honda?

© National Post 2005. This article originally appeared in The National Post's Driving.