Saying that you're buying an Acura for its practicality is like
saying that you're buying a Tag Heuer just to tell time. It just isn't true. Sure, Acuras are great cars. Tag Heuers are great watches.
But neither of the above is about being practical or economical whatsoever. You buy these luxury items because you've made a good
life for yourself. You have a great job and it pays you well enough that you can indulge in the finer things in life. Either that
or you really want to go into debt. It's all about the allure of joining the elite league of luxury car owners. The club of fancy
people that wear designer labels and belong to country clubs; the general list of qualifications. The manufacturers know this. They're
all about it. Acura is no different.
So it was startling when Acura
announced plans to sell its all-new ILX compact sedan in the
Acura has long had self-esteem and self-image issues. Although they are meant to be Honda's Lexus, many don't consider the two to
be exactly equal and among younger buyers, the belief that Lexus is superior is even stronger. Lexus holds an air of prestige that
Acura just can't seem to master. That’s in part because Acura has always been closer to Honda than Lexus has to
The ILX is an interesting
creature. To understand its genetic makeup, we have to go back to the Canadian Acura EL and it's successor, the CSX, both badge-engineered
twins of the Honda Civic. The Canadian market has long had an Acura to fill the compact class. It was first called the Acura EL and
later the Acura CSX. Both of these models were merely Honda Civics with updated front and rear sheet-metal. Everything else was standard
Civic. Honda knew that selling such an illusion in the
Every car enters the market to compete in the market with similar models from other automakers. The luxury auto market is a little
less saturated, but there is still competition out there for Acura’s new girl on the block. The Lexus IS and Infiniti G will be its
two closest competitors, these three being Asian, with the Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class slightly more distant,
playing for the European team.
Interestingly enough, all of the
above start above $30,000 (base MSRP, not including higher trim-lines, delivery, taxes, license, and other fees). The Lexus IS starts
at $33,795 and the Infinity G starts at $32,600. This is interesting because Acura could have easily priced the ILX to match its class
competitors but instead entered the ILX at $25,900. The price difference, for those keeping score at home, is a pretty substantial
$7,895. With that difference in price, you could easily get a higher trim-level and add on al a carte options and accessories and
really make it the full package.
I've had the pleasure of driving
some of Acura's best and believe me, they're good. The current generation TL with the available SHAWD (
First Impressions
It only takes
a few seconds for something to make an impression on you — a little less if it’s all based on looks. Walking up to the ILX, you immediately
notice that it’s definitely smaller than any Acura that’s come before it. The model I was paired up with wore a shiny black coat (Acura
calls this Crystal Pearl Black). From its profile, the ILX features a few design cues that were reminiscent to me of Nissan/Infiniti.
Its door handles are lifted from the TSX, but its overly exaggerated lines appear more current-generation Infiniti. Things get closer
to home from the front, where the ILX wears a subdued version of Acura’s in-your-face face. From the back, however, I saw Hyundai.
Not good for this car.
Acura says that the ILX is larger than a
Civic in exterior dimensions, which I believed, looking at the car. The hood is definitely longer than a Civic’s, and although design
could have been playing optical illusions on my eyes, the body appeared wider and longer. That’s good, because I’ve never been a fan
of the Civic’s small body, however it’s still nowhere near TL/Accord size. This is, after all, still a compact sedan.
The Cabin
When you first get behind the wheel, you know you're not in a Civic. Leather, faux-wood trim and chrome accents all distinguish this
car from its Civic counterpart, however there are distinct touches that scream Honda: the iMid display and “ECON” button to name a
few. That's more of a compliment to Honda than an insult to Acura. In the Asian midrange market,
Honda's iMid display is inside. iMid is short
for "intelligent Multi-information Display". It's a decently sized (about 5-inch) screen that displays various vehicle functions along
with some real-time statistics on a roll of screens. Honda currently includes it in the Civic and CR-V. I’m a bit surprised that they
carried it over to the Acura line without at least retouching its graphical interface. It’s more than satisfactory on a Honda, but
a little less so on an Acura. It's a bit disappointing that they didn't include a navigation unit as standard, but again, this car
is priced low enough that there is still plenty of money in the budget to option one in if so desired. I've never been a huge fan
of any in-dash navigation system as my iPhone (and most other smartphones) can do it a hundred times better. However, I do like the
larger display for other functions. In fact, I expect it on a high-end car. The problem with iMid and not the navigation unit is that
the screen’s setback housing doesn’t shrink to better showcase the five-inch iMid display. Instead it makes a perfectly acceptable
screen seem small and out of place. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s just another hint that Acura did only what was really necessary
to make this car an Acura.
That story continues with the backup
camera. It’s a standard feature on this vehicle, although its not really necessary as visibility out the back is descent and in reality,
this is a small vehicle. The problem is, this is the same camera and same interface used on Honda models. There are three different
perspectives that you can choose from, each giving you a different view of what’s going on behind you, and the car provides guide
markers showing where the car is going, although there are no distance markers (often distinguished by red, yellow, and green lines)
and no trajectory (where the guides move according to steering). Even on the high-end ILX equipped with the tech-package, the backup
camera still only shows guide lines. Either one of these two features (distance and trajectory) would have been easy to build in via
a software update, and yet Acura left it the way it is on a Honda.
Acura has always had a thing with buttons. The more the better,
they must think. All their cars suffer from this philosophy. It's not as strongly implemented in here as it is on the MDX and TL,
but it's still present. Compare the dash boards of the ILX and the Civic and you'll see a profound difference. This isn't a bad thing
if you're a current Acura owner, but if you're moving up from a Honda or any other automaker, it might be a little overwhelming. The
first thing that struck me was the clusters of buttons on the steering wheel. From experience, there are only five buttons I really
want on the steering wheel: volume (up and down), voice-activation, and dedicated answer/reject buttons. Other than that, nothing
else. Having a cluster of buttons on the wheel does two things against you: having more buttons means that each has to be smaller
to fit on the already small panel, and having a handful of buttons distracts you since you have to find the function you’re looking
for.
Physically, the ILX is larger than a Civic, so it’s surprising
and disappointing that it feels more claustrophobic than a Civic. Everything from the width of the cabin to headroom and legroom felt
more cramped. The ILX opened up for me featured a dark interior: black leather, black paneling, black everything, which could have
made the cabin seem smaller. Personally I prefer a light interior color palette over a dark one, however the dark interior is definitely
a signature of a high end car. The ILX is offered in a variety of exterior/interior combinations so finding a match shouldn’t be hard.
Do note, however, that leather is not standard and if you want a light interior, you’re going to have to move up to a model with leather.
The base ILX comes with cloth seats in “ebony black”.
Other than
that, cabin fit and finish is quite acceptable. It's definitely not at the level of a TL, but then again, with an MSRP $10K less than
that of a TL, perfectly acceptable. The drivers seat can be adjusted to your comfort, although when I adjusted my seat to the position
I wanted it to be in for optimal visibility, my hair was brushing against the ceiling. The story continues into the backseat where
again the seats are plush and comfortable with sufficient (but not more than that) headroom and legroom for tall adults (I’m not sure
but I think the Civic may have a taller cabin than the ILX). It will do when you pick up your clients for lunch at the Ritz, but won't
if you're using it to take a road trip. Realistically though, if that's what your lifestyle is like, get a Honda CR-V.
Behind The Wheel
Driving the ILX is a mixed bag. The ride is refined, smooth, and controlled, with much better isolation of road noise than your standard-issue
Honda Civic. Handling is good, though not great, and driving over metal plates and uneven pavement can make your passengers feel as
though they’re on some kind of theme park ride. Honda/Acura has never done too well with that. It’s obvious that they’ve improved
it over the Civic, though I’m still not sure they’ve quite gotten it up to Acura spec. Watch steep driveways and some speed bumps
as this car has very little ground clearance. Depending on your height, that could also mean getting in and out of the car will be
a hassle. Even for me, at five-feet, five inches, I had to duck down to avoid knocking my skull into the A-pillar while getting into
the car.
Driving the ILX is like driving any other Honda. That would
be good if we were talking about a Honda. It lacks the premium luxury-sedan feel of the higher-end models like the standard TL and
has nowhere near the sports-handling of the TL SH-AWD. Acura claims to have dialed back some of its pep in order to squeeze a few
more miles-per-gallon out of the engine. I don’t buy that because even with this pep dialed back (even more so if you engage ECON
mode), the car is still only rated at 24 city/35 highway with an average of 28. That’s a little lower than the Civic’s, which uses
the same engine. Acura does offer a hybrid version of the ILX, rated at 38/39. That’s not bad, but when put against the Lexus CT200h
which does 43/40, it does pale a bit. It’s also $3,000 more than the base ILX. The base ILX comes with a 150-horsepower, 2.0 liter,
160valve, SOHC iVTEC 4-cylinder engine. It’s fine for everyday driving but really takes all the fun out of driving it. Upgrade to
the more powerful engine and you get 201-horsepower, 2.4 liter 16-valve DOHC iVTEC 4-cylinder engine with paddle-shifters mounted
on the steering wheel. Although there’s no need for a V6 or AWD in this car, it would be nice to have as an option. A V6 would increase
ride comfort and AWD would increase sport handling. Neither of which this car has.
The ILX is also offered with a manual gearbox, although in what seems like a middle finger to enthusiast drivers, if you opt for the
manual gearbox, the tech package (which adds a better sound system, the eight-inch navigation screen, and a few other touches) disappears
from the list of options. That’s a shame, because this car could benefit from having a manual gearbox. Adding the manual doesn’t make
it a sports car or even an enthusiast car by any means, but for those who enjoy driving a manual, it’s not a bad ride.
The Judgement
The ILX is an interesting creature. It’s the baby-Acura. It’s like BMW’s 3-series and Lexus’ IS. This is the car that will get you
into the exclusive club without doing too much damage to your bank account.
Here’s the bottom line: you fall off of the fence on one of two sides. You either want the image so you sacrifice a little car for
the price, or you want a really good car. Walking into the showroom, I really wanted to like it. Walking out, I found myself thinking
that I’d rather get a top-of-the-line Honda Accord instead. More car, better engine (the Accord shares its engine with the Acura TL)
essentially the same interior, and same tech. It’s a draw. Both are great cars. And it’s even harder because the Honda Accord, when
properly equipped, can be quite a luxurious ride. I also prefer the Accord’s looks.
The ILX isn’t for everyone, but it’s surely not for no one. If you’re in the market and have twenty-seven to thirty thousand to spend,
the ILX is a definite consideration. However, you may want to first check out the high-end Honda Accord and even the high end Toyota
Camry.
And, if you end up an ILX driver, don’t get too red in the
face if people ask you if that’s the new Honda Civic. It’s bound to happen. Just smile and drive off — making sure that they can see
the Acura badge as you do.