The Acura ILX is the junior member of Acura’s trio of sedans and it offers a fine combination of luxury, sport and modern technology.
My week spent with a Catalina Blue Pearl 2017 ILX Tech Plus showcased many of this four-door’s better attributes. At $27,990, the ILX is priced competitively in the small sporty sedan segment.
Rather than offering different trim levels, the ILX buyer can choose from a number of packages. The $1,300 Watch Package contains adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation braking, lane keeping assist and road departure mitigation. Normal cruise control and a backup camera are standard equipment.
The $2,000 Premium Package includes more than I have space to detail. My favorites are the sport seats. These are covered with perforated Milano leather and include two-positon memory for the driver, and four-way power adjustment for the passenger. The premium audio is a good thing to have, but the rear cross traffic monitor and the Blind Spot Information System could be downright life-saving.
My tester was equipped with the $1,700 Tech Plus package, which requires the Premium Plus and Watch Packages You get an even better audio system with three additional speakers. You also have a navigation system which not only offers traffic reports and rerouting, but it is linked to the solar-sensing, dual-zone climate control. That’s a first for me. The total sticker price was $33,930 with the $940 destination and handling charge.
If you’d like the sportiest version of the ILX, might I suggest the $1,990 A-Spec package? It is primarily an appearance package. Fog lights, side sills, a rear spoiler and aluminum pedals are all fairly common upgrades.
I suppose the red illumination for the instrument panel is to help sporty drivers experience that “racecar driver’s red mist” I’ve always heard about. But what I found most fascinating is the inclusion of 18-inch noise reduction alloy wheels. I’ve heard of tires designed to be low in noise, but never has the idea of a car’s wheels being noisy or quiet ever entered my head.
All Acura ILX trim levels get the same drivetrain. Honda’s, I mean Acura’s, 2.4-liter normally-aspirated four-cylinder engine is good for 201-hp. and 181 lb.-ft. of peak torque. An eight-speed automatic transmission is the only gearbox available, but the ILX does come with some perfectly-placed paddle shifters. These do fairly well to add a sporty touch to the ILX’s driving experience.
The engineers have found a nice balance between ride and handling, with perhaps a leaning more towards comfort than sport. I found the steering to fall on the above-average feedback side, with a just-right leather-covered wheel. The steering wheel mounted controls for the adaptive cruise control, sound system and such were very easy to use.
The cabin is more driver’s oriented than some if the ILX’s competition. Thanks, Acura, for including a CD player and an actual volume knob. I like using the dashboard-mounted knob way better than the latest Honda touch screen radio. The cupholders were especially well-placed, but I was disappointed that the console lid didn’t adjust fore-and-aft for better armrest placement.
All in all, the ILX offers an excellent choice for those folks interested in adding sport to their four-door sedan ownership.
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