Payne: Acura ILX dissed by Honda?

Posted by hpayne on October 10, 2015

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If the new, 2016 Honda Civic is benchmarked to luxury performance sedans like the Audi A3, then what’s left for the Civic-based Acura ILX? It’s as if Pei Wei announced it’s serving the same ingredients as upscale P.F. Chang’s. Or Hampton Inn did bellboys like posh Hilton.

Why would anyone pay luxury prices if mainstream brands offered the same goodness?

It’s a non-issue for exclusive automakers like BMW and Mercedes. But for luxe siblings in large corporate families, the answer is crucial. What justifies a luxury brand’s higher price if it shares DNA with a mainstream badge? Why Cadillac over Chevy? Why Lexus not Toyota? Audi over VW? Acura not Honda?

Indeed, to re-establish its luxe cred, Cadillac divorced itself from the rest of GM so it could craft elite, rear-wheel-drive platforms like the Alpha-chassis. It’s for first-class compact sedans like the Caddy ATS. Chevy Cruze? You’re back in front-wheel-drive, Delta-platform coach class, fella. Pull the curtain, please.

Lexus (obsessively good dealer service) and Audi (styling, all-wheel-drive performance) have successfully established their brands.

Acura not so much. Exhibit A: The new 2016 ILX.

With a reworked fascia, Acura’s signature Jewel Eye LED headlights, and eight-speed auto tranny, the ILX took a bow earlier this year … and was promptly drowned out by parent Honda’s New York Auto Show announcement that an all-new, all-star, all-wonderful 2016 Civic was coming. Not just a Civic sedan, but a first-ever five-door Civic wagon, SI performance model, and (drum roll, please) the rocking’, sockin’ Civic Type R. Standing O!

ILX who?

Pity the little Acura for its heart is in the right place. It dares to enter the compact luxe arena against names like the Mercedes CLA250, BMW 2-series and Audi A3 with a lot of standard value for under $30k: sunroof, push-button start, 17-inch wheels, audio connectivity, etc. And it’s prettier than Civic – not that that helps much.

Because the CLA is Angelina Jolie on four wheels and the A3 is Brad Pitt. And they just get sexier. Both cars option all-wheel-drive and sensational, AMG and S3 performance models with higher-horsepower turbo engines. The ILX is a match for the Germans in base, FWD mode, but equip the CLA and A3 with AWD and they not only will dance pirouettes around the ILX (I’m still grinning from flogging the A3 through Hell, Michigan, last year), but they will pulverize snow drifts in Michigan winters.

The ILX’s free-revving, 2.4-liter, 201-horse four-banger is the same engine that motivates the Civic SI – but then Honda starves the ILX of other engine options while the new Civic Type R is promised a two-point-oh-my-goodness-liter, turbocharged mill worthy of a reported 300 horsepower. Mommy, why did Santa leave more presents in Civic’s stocking?

Even as ILX gives new Civic design hints, it will have to suffer through the next model year(s) on the old Civic platform while the Honda preens on the aforementioned, benchmarked-to-A3 global platform. Mommy, was it something I said? That means my $35,810 ILX tester will have less chassis capability, less rear seat space and … an inferior console compared to cousin Honda priced maybe $8,000 cheaper.

Yup, the new Civic ditches Acura’s antiquated multi-screens for a single, iPad-like touch screen. Even Merc should take a hint from its attractive layout.

Load up CLA and A3 with AWD, navigation and driver-assist features and they start to bump the $40 grand ceiling. Opportunity for my similarly equipped (AWD aside) ILX then, yes?

Er, well …

The thing is Acura is not alone as an entry-luxe price leader. The sleek, $28k Buick Regal is there too – and with Teutonic upgrades like AWD and a 259-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo that will have ILX knocking on Honda’s door in the middle of the night wanting to know when the #@!!** that Type-R, 300-horse motor will be ready. Not only is Acura dissed by the uppity Civic – but also by the larger Accord sedan. For the same price as my Acura tester the Accord comes with leather seats, navigation, a palatial back seat, and a 278 horsepower, ILX-eating, V6 engine. Holidays around the Honda dinner table must be tense.

Adding insult to injury, Accord has also borrowed Acura’s Jewel Eye headlights. Add the BMW-like, LED taillights and, well, can I take the Honda to the prom instead, mom?

What to do? Acura’s forthcoming NSX halo supercar shows the way. All-wheel-drive, twin-turbos. Apply that formula to the whole lineup and we’re talkin’ blown, AWD ILXs.

So even if the Acura isn’t as pretty as the rest of the class, it will never get bullied.

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com and Twitter @HenryEPayne. View all his work at HenryPayne.com.

2016 Acura ILX

Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger performance sedan

Price: $28,820 base ($35,810 as tested)

Power plant: 2.4-liter, dual-overhead-cam, inline-4 cylinder

Power: 201 horsepower, 180 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.6 seconds (Car and Driver)

Weight: 3,134 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA 25 mpg city/36 mpg highway/29 combined

Report card

Highs: Nimble handling; Snazzy LED headlights

Lows: Sits on old Civic chassis while Accord steals its headlights; AWD turbo, please?

Overall:★★

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