Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Before justifying my personal bias, the ILX’ true compact luxury competitors include Audi’s A3 sedan, Buick’s Verano, and Mercedes’ CLA sedan, the latter of which is more of a four-door coupe albeit still reasonably accommodating in back. Of course,
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
From a market acceptability standpoint it’s highly evident Canadian consumers prefer four doors, the CLA leading the charge with 3,352 year-to-date CLA sales as of September 2016, and Acura nipping at its heals with 3,125 ILX deliveries. Audi places a respectable third with 3,059 A3/S3 models down the road, but it takes four body styles to measure up, one of which is a hybrid, whereas the Mercedes
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
It’s clear that Acura has played its compact cards right, the ILX slightly longer than its most obvious A3 sedan competitor, albeit almost identical when it comes to width,
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The Acura eight-speed, first introduced in the larger TLX, is a dual-clutch automated gearbox just like Audi’s seven-speed S Tronic, so it gives up nothing in the
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
I could go on comparing the two throughout this review, the ILX coming standard with Acura’s trademark “Jewel Eye” LED headlamps, remote start, proximity-sensing keyless access, a colour TFT multi-information display, adaptive cruise control, a multi-angle rearview camera with guidelines, and a slew of AcuraWatch active safety features such as Collision Mitigation Braking, Forward Collision Warning,
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
To be completely fair the A3 gets a few standard items that will cause you to pay more in an ILX, such as powered heatable front seats, leather upholstery, and satellite radio, all of which can be had in loftier ILX trims, but here’s the crux: this well equipped ILX starts at only $29,590
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
On that note you can up the Audi’s engine performance while adding all-wheel drive, albeit at a starting price of $37,600, whereas my mid-range ILX Premium tester hit the road running at $32,090, still less than the base A3 yet including the leather upholstery and powered heatable front seats missing from the base model, with two-way driver-side memory no less, the driver’s side getting eight-way adjustment and the passenger four-way, while additional upgrades include an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a larger 8.0-inch backlit colour VGA top display controlled by a rotating knob and various buttons on the centre stack, a second 7.0-inch multi-use colour touchscreen display below that, a higher-grade seven-speaker
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
I should also mention the ILX comes standard with a lot of the same types of features you’ll find from most cars in this class, such as auto on/off control for those LED headlamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, heated power-adjustable side mirrors, ambient interior lighting, pushbutton ignition, a leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, a leather-wrapped shift knob, filtered dual-zone automatic climate control, AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA audio with Bluetooth streaming and hands-free connectivity, Siri Eyes Free, a powered moonroof, and more, while tire pressure monitoring, hill start assist, and all the usual
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Of course, as with any ILX competitor you can add many more features including rain-sensing wipers, navigation, voice recognition, 10-speaker ELS surround-sound audio with Dolby Pro Logic, upgraded AcuraLink connectivity, and a HomeLink garage door remote with the Technology package, or all of the above plus 18-inch alloys, fog lamps, an aero body kit including side skirts and a rear spoiler, metal sport pedals, Lux-Suede upholstery, and a black headliner with the A-Spec package, but I must admit the ILX Premium tested came with everything I needed and more.
It all
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Likewise there are still carryover items from the Civic this model is based upon, including the rocker switches for the two-way heatable seats, the push or pull fuel door and trunk release lever at the base of the driver’s seat, etcetera. It hasn’t hurt ILX sales so far, or at least it’s difficult to quantify any negative impact, but it’s not great for the luxury brand’s image.
Fortunately the ILX drives really well, the aforementioned i-VTEC-enhanced four-cylinder
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The ILX is certainly a car I could live with day in and day out, its interior more accommodating
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Of note, the trunk is a bit smaller than the A3 and some others in the class, especially the hatchbacks and wagons, measuring just 348 litres (12.3 cubic feet), plus its folding rear seatback is just that, a seatback and not seatbacks, meaning it doesn’t offer a 60/40 or 40/20/40 split to facilitate a rear passenger and longer cargo,
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
I know I’m getting picky, because most of these issues can easily be overlooked by ILX owners that get a lot more car for their money, as detailed above. Even its claimed fuel economy is better than average at 9.3 L/100km city, 6.6 highway and 8.1 combined, while Acura enjoys an above average dependability rating from J.D. Power, the ILX actually tied for third in the 2016 VDS Compact Premium Car category with the A4, which it doesn’t compete with, both of which are beaten by the two-door BMW 1 Series in second (now the 2 Series, although this study rates the reliability of three-year old models), while the first-place Lexus ES doesn’t compete with the ILX one iota as it’s not compact in the slightest (think about it: the
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Yes, the ILX has a lot going for it, which is why so many compact luxury buyers choose it. To once again be fair to the A3, I drove a 2017 model recently and was once again impressed, so it’s an excellent choice too. It’s just more expensive, especially when filled up with features. Even if you opt for a full load 2017 ILX A-Spec it will only cost you $34,990 plus freight and fees, whereas a front-drive lower powered A3 with similar options to the top-line ILX will set you back $41,550, and you still won’t get full LED headlamps.
Yes, the ILX delivers excellent value in a sporty looking, nicely finished, well made, strong performing premium package. It’s hard not to appreciate that kind of logic.
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