Acura ILX gets many things right this time
Vehicle still needs work to take on top luxury sedans
Optimism tends to take flight when a promising rendition of an otherwise staid “compact luxury” sedan comes into fruition. Case in point: the Acura CSX (or EL, depending on how far down memory lane you look). Now, it’s not a bad idea; jazzing up a compact car with an assortment of luxury bits is something many would appreciate.
However, where the CSX and original EL fell short was in execution. Looking more or less identical to the Civics of yesteryear, it is a breath of fresh air that Honda realized it cannot just change up the bumper and headlights, add a new set of wheels and cover the seats in leather while hiking the price considerably over the Civic before calling it a day.
For 2013, the Acura’s Civic-based compact luxury sedan lives on as the ILX. On first glance, Honda unquestionably nailed it. Considering the lack of a visual departure the CSX and EL boasted over the standard Civic, the ILX is a completely different car.
And I mean completely, because unlike previous generations, not one body panel, headlight or tail light resembles those found on the Civic.
As you can expect from Acura, the ILX wears the matte silver front grille treatment, affectionately known as the “beak” among Honda and Acura aficionados. As polarizing as it used to be, it is toned down on the ILX, to the point where it looks downright attractive.
The beltline seems higher than on the Civic, and considering how the C-pillar win- dow and roofline is cut (more on that later), rear sightlines can be a slight problem if you’re backing up or parallel parking. Thankfully, the backup camera helps, and besides, you could always pull the handbrake and powerslide into a spot.
Around the back, the ILX does not lose any of its chiselled styling. All things considered, the ILX is not unlike a first-generation TSX with revised, more modern sheet metal. That particular Acura has aged very well, and something tells me the ILX will do the same down the road.
It is a handsome, up scale-looking car that’s much, much more than a just gussied-up Civic.
But that’s where the love affair with this car ends. With a barrage of competition on the horizon from other compact luxury sedans such as the Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA, let alone conventional compacts such as the Kia Forte, the ILX has a few areas that need to be addressed.
Let’s start with the inter- ior. It’s not at all a bad place to spend time. The front seats are comfortable and supportive, and the dashboard layout is rather sexy and TSX-like. But unlike the exterior, it lacks execution. Yes, there are soft-touch materials everywhere, but some spots on the dashboard are as mushy as my memory foam pillow.
Acura’s entertainment system also needs work. Rather than opting for a clean and intuitive touchscreen, there is a low-resolution eight-inch display mounted on top of the dashboard and a barrage of buttons and knobs below it. Everything in the system can be accessed and adjusted through one central knob and a bunch of sub-menus, including navigation.
There are also two ways to adjust the radio: Either via the buttons and secondary text-based display above the central knob, or the knob itself. The former is a much more intuitive method to change stations or bands on the fly, and praise be to Acura for including it, but it’s also redundant. There is little sense to be made offering two methods to accomplish the same task, when there is one much easier method through just one simple touchscreen.
Now, onto the roofline I mentioned earlier: It compromises head room considerably in the rear seat. Even those a few inches short of a rewarding NBA career will find the top of their heads resting uncomfortably on the top of the rear windshield. Not only that, legroom is scarce for taller passengers, with narrow openings below the seats for feet and very little knee room behind the seat back. I pity the poor sap relegated to the middle seat.
But crank up Acura’s surround-sound system and complaints all but melt away. It is a spectacular system, with the requisite connectivity options such as Bluetooth and auxiliary inputs, as well as a built-in hard drive with ample gigabytes of storage. No complaints here after hooking up the iPod and upping up the volume.
I will grant the ILX is a significant improvement over what Acura offered in years past as a so-called compact luxury sedan. But there is quite a bit of room for improvement, especially if it wants to take on the compact luxury sedans on the horizon.