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If the new, 2016 Honda Civic\u00a0is benchmarked to luxury performance sedans<\/a>\u00a0like the Audi A3, then what\u2019s left for the Civic-based Acura ILX? It\u2019s as if Pei Wei announced it\u2019s serving the same ingredients as upscale P.F. Chang\u2019s. Or Hampton Inn did bellboys like posh Hilton.<\/p>\n Why would anyone pay luxury prices if mainstream brands offered the same goodness?<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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\u2019s higher price if it shares DNA with a mainstream badge? Why Cadillac over Chevy? Why Lexus not Toyota? Audi over VW? Acura not Honda?<\/p>\n 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\u2019s for first-class compact sedans like the Caddy ATS. Chevy Cruze? You\u2019re back in front-wheel-drive, Delta-platform coach class, fella. Pull the curtain, please.<\/p>\n Lexus (obsessively good dealer service) and Audi (styling, all-wheel-drive performance) have successfully established their brands.<\/p>\n Acura not so much. Exhibit A: The new 2016 ILX.<\/p>\n With a reworked fascia, Acura\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019, sockin\u2019 Civic Type R. Standing O!<\/p>\n ILX who?<\/p>\n 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\u2019s prettier than Civic \u2013 not that that helps much.<\/p>\n 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\u2019m still grinning from flogging the A3 through Hell, Michigan, last year), but they will pulverize snow drifts in Michigan winters.<\/p>\n The ILX\u2019s free-revving, 2.4-liter, 201-horse four-banger is the same engine that motivates the Civic SI \u2013 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.\u00a0Mommy, why did Santa leave more presents in Civic\u2019s stocking?<\/em><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0Mommy, was it something I said?\u00a0<\/em>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.<\/p>\n Yup, the new Civic ditches Acura\u2019s antiquated multi-screens for a single, iPad-like touch screen. Even Merc should take a hint from its attractive layout.<\/p>\n 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?<\/p>\n Er, well …<\/p>\n