LexBob2

Yup. All car brands (all consumer products for that matter) strive for brand loyalty.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

exactly. while all brands have flops they pretty much all have models that sell to people who sure ain't enthusiasts.

the rdx is solid and probably a bit less 'youthful' in style than escape or sorrento. the new rav4 will probably sell great, but i don't think it's as good as the sportage / santa fe, or escape vehicles. but like the rdx, it's solid, and backed by a respected company known for making high quality reliable products.

mmarshall

The 1Gen IS (I owned one) was very quirky by Lexus standards, with the chrome-ball shifter, chronograph-gauges (which I liked), and essentially a Toyota interior (it was, in fact, an Americanized Toyota Altezza). It also offered the very slow-selling Sportwagon series. The first year (2001) had no manual transmission at all....and AWD was never offered at all. So there is little wonder that the 2Gen model sold much better

Totally agree on the 1Gen TSX....I also considered one myself. But, as you note, Acura screwed up the 2Gen's interior by using cheaper parts and deleting the woodtone trim (and did the same to the TL's interior, even worse). But, in Acura's defense, the TL, even with its awkward styling, did get a nice SH-AWD option.


Specifically, I'd say the TSX Sportwagon. By wagon standards, it's quite good-looking, though, of course, styling is objective.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

2013 Acura ILX Hybrid

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2013-...photo-6020625/

Mid-level luxury brands have always had to do a bit of leg work to distance themselves from their more common cousins. Thanks to generation after generation of pervasive badge engineering (much of it from the Big Three), buyers can't be blamed for looking at brands like Buick, Lincoln, Infiniti, Lexus and yes, Acura as tarted up versions of Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan, Toyota and Honda products. For much of its lifetime in the automotive landscape, however, Acura has excelled at putting distance between its offerings and that of its parent company thanks to cars with superior driving dynamics, quieter cabins and clean, attractive aesthetics.

Yes, outliers and dull spots can be found in the company's recent track record, but by and large, Acura products remain situated well above the Honda rabble. When the brand announced it was getting serious about the luxury small car game with the ILX, those of us with a set of the company's keys in our past couldn't help but envision an honest successor to the long-dead Integra. Turns out, that wasn't what Acura had in mind.

As you've likely heard by now, the ILX is the least premium vehicle to wear the Acura badge in some years, but where the standard car falls flat, the ILX Hybrid may have room to excel. Hybrid buyers are typically willing to sacrifice some measure of handling, cabin refinement and performance for fuel economy, and that seemingly lends this model a real shot at giving hybrid hardware from Lexus a run for its money.


From the outside, the ILX Hybrid hides its Civic roots well enough. That's thanks to an attractive take on Acura's corporate fascia. With the shield grille somewhat tamed and an upkick along the lower valance, the vehicle's nose is fairly attractive. Swept-back projector headlamp arrays pull the eye toward the sedan's side, where a character line wanders from just behind the front wheel well to just north of the taillamps. Acura also kept hybrid badging to a minimum with a simple pair of emblems on each fender paired with another on the trunk lid. Visually, they're the only indication this is anything other than a standard ILX.

Well, those and the tiny 16-inch alloy wheels on our tester. We haven't seen rollers this petite on a luxury car since velour was a regular contestant on option sheets. The sizable sidewalls on the 205/55 R16 all-season tires certainly don't do anything to make the car look premium, though we don't have any harsh criticism for the split five-spoke wheel design.

From the rear, it's clear Acura designers have finally begun to move back to basics, choosing clean lines and attractive taillamps over an abundance of angles. The look won't stand out in a crowd as particularly attractive or memorable, but it won't send the contents of your stomach scrambling for air, either. Given creations like the ZDX, we're grateful for small mercies.


But it's indoors where the ILX Hybrid begins to show its common blood lines. The cabin is choked with materials that are unbecoming of a vehicle with a price tag over $35,000. While the steering wheel, shift **** and handbrake lever receive nice leather and the dash is attractive enough, everything onboard simply feels half a step below the rest of the Acura line – it doesn't feel cheap so much as thoroughly Honda. The leather seats are comfortable enough, but seem to be wrapped in the same hide found in a top-trim Accord. That's fine for a budget midsizer, but it's more problematic for a sedan with an Acura badge on the nose.

The good news is that there's plenty of space inside. The ILX Hybrid delivers ample head- and legroom for front-seat passengers, and the rear bench serves up 34.1 inches of rear legroom. That's over an inch more than the comparably priced 2013 Lexus CT 200h hatchback, though the Lexus comes out on top in rear headroom. Still, with 35.9 inches worth of space for lofty hair, the ILX Hybrid isn't exactly cramped. Where the model does suffer, though, is cargo capacity. Engineers have trimmed the trunk capacity from 12.4 cubic feet to 10 cubes to make room for the battery pack, and that number drops even further with the addition of the optional Technology Package. The extra gear cuts trunk space to 9.8 cubic feet. For comparison's sake, that's nearly five cubic feet less than a pint-sized Nissan Versa.


But the ILX Hybrid has larger concerns. While this is the first hybrid ever sold under the Acura banner, Honda has plenty of experience wedging electric motors and batteries into the company's products. The ILX Hybrid makes use of Honda's fifth-generation Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system, combining a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with a small electric motor and a continuously variable transmission. The combination is good for 111 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 127 pound-feet of torque from 1,000 rpm. Unfortunately, this sedan tips the scales at nearly 3,000 pounds. That's a good amount of heft for so little power, and the ILX Hybrid can't help but feel slow on the road, especially when getting away from a complete stop. Our best seat-of-the-pants guess puts the machine at a little over 10 seconds to 60 miles per hour.

The good news is that the drivetrain is as smooth and quiet as we've come to expect from Honda, and the CVT is entirely tolerable. The transmission doesn't feel awkward or out of place here, simply putting the driveline where it makes the most power when the driver needs it. Unfortunately, the ILX Hybrid still suffers in the noise, vibration and harshness department. There's no missing the road noise that makes its way into the cabin at highway speeds, and we noticed plenty of racket from the rear suspension over uneven pavement. Whether this is the ILX showing its Civic roots or simply the Acura notion of an entry-level hybrid, the experience falls far short of our expectations of a car with a price tag of $35,295.


That's not to say there aren't bright spots in the driving experience. The ILX Hybrid doesn't commit any crimes against driving in the steering, brakes or handling departments. The ride is appropriately soft while retaining a certain level of confidence. While the suspension doesn't exactly goad you into hammering from apex to apex, body roll and understeer are all kept at bay. And then there's the fuel economy. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the 2013 ILX Hybrid will return 39 miles per gallon city, 38 highway and 38 mpg combined. Refreshingly, those numbers are right in line with what we observed during our week with the hybrid. Combined driving routinely saw our fuel economy sit dead on 39 mpg, with occasional jumps into the 40-mpg realm.

Even so, those numbers still fall behind the CT 200h at 43 mpg city and 40 mpg highway. The base, non-hybrid ILX starts at $26,900, and at that price, we'd be willing to forgive some of the vehicle's quirks. But stepping up to the hybrid will cost you an additional $2,000, and, as was mentioned earlier, our Tech Package-equipped tester rung the bell at $35,295 with an $895 destination fee. That price tag will net you navigation, a 10-speaker surround sound system and leather trimmings, but the similarly sized, more efficient CT 200h can be had for less money, and it doesn't remind us of a Toyota like the ILX reminds us of a Honda.


Some buyers will inevitably prefer the sedan styling of the ILX hybrid over its hatchback Lexus competition, and in that respect, Acura has quietly cornered the efficient entry-level luxury compact (sedan) segment. We just wish they'd done a better job of it. The 2013 ILX Hybrid lacks that feeling of something special that buyers expect to find when they move up to a brand like Acura. This model doesn't differentiate itself in handling, performance or refinement in any substantial way from its less-expensive family members on the Honda lot, and that's a shame.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/07/10/2...hybrid-review/

mmarshall

I don't agree with this criticism. I see nothing wrong with 16's or 55-series tires.....nothing at all. Not everyone wants (or needs) sports-car handling or pounding over bumps/road-imperfections.

This, though, is the primary reason why the Verano, even with somewhat stiffer-riding 18" wheels and 45-series tires, is wiping the floor with the ILX in sales. Buick clearly spent money on sound insulation....Acura didn't.

Of course, I don't want to sound like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth at once....by panning the ILX's lack of sound-insulation, praising its tires, and then giving the Verano kudos for outselling it with even firmer-riding tires. My honest opinion, as a Verano owner myself, is that, while its ride (with the standard Buick/Opel suspension) is acceptable to my tastes with the 18" wheels, I would have preferred that Buick use the ILX's 16" 55-series (or even 65-series) rubber. Where the Verano simply blows the ILX out of the park, though, is in the Buick Quiet Tuning, even considering the fact that the ILX is likely to be somewhat more reliable.

LexBob2

Yes the Cruze/Verano combination are doing very well for GM. It's nice to see U.S. brands finally doing well in the compact class.

mmarshall

True, but, IMO, it would be wrong, as some do (I'm not necessarily saying you are) to label either the ILX an upmarket Civic or the Verano an upmarket Cruze. I've test-driven all four of them, and there are notable differences between all four of them, despite some vague and loose platform-sharing. The ILX and Verano aren't just a Civic and Cruze with some added trim and equipment.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

this car is a dud - hard to see why they bothered except to try to lower their fleet CAFE, but that assumes you can actually sell any...

spwolf

their IMA crap doesnt work anymore in western world... they need to make new system based on one in new Accord.

LexBob2

Most sources have the Cruze/Verano and Civic/ILX as siblings or at least 1st cousins. Not a bad thing as each benefits from the other.

LexFather

The article clearly disagrees with you as the quote below

Sulu

At least the ILX does NOT look like a re-dressed Civic. Here in Canada, we have had Acura Civics since 1996. We had the EL for 2 generations, followed by the CSX for 1 generation, and from 10 paces you could hardly tell the difference between the Acura and Honda Civics (subtle differences to taillights and front ends).

That said, I have seen a few ILX on the road now and I must say that the ILX looks better in PICTURES than the real thing. The real thing just does not look very upscale, looking like just another generic compact car. Talk about losing your (luxury) car in a shopping mall parking lot.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

^^ I've seen a circa 2002 Acura CSX here in Cali once. Literally looks like a 2002 Civic with Acura badges

mmarshall

Yes, I know that review-articles sometimes disagree with me (and also with you, for that matter). But that doesn't mean that you and I aren't intelligent enough to analyze a car and come up with our own valid opinions, even if we sometimes even disagree with each other.

mmarshall

Except for traditional Honda reliability and assembly-quality, I'm not sure the ILX would actually benefit from much association with the Civic. The ILX, of course, debuted last year, and last year's (2012) Civic was, by Honda standards, a disaster.....this year, of course, brings a number of rushed-through improvements. The ILX, except for some road noise and a firmer-than-necessary suspension (balanced out somewhat by the tall-profile 16" tires), unlike the Civic, seems clearly designed to be an upmarket compact from the start. The Cruze came mostly from a GM-Korean platform source, while much of the Verano is taken from the European Opel Astra sedan, substituting a GM Ecotec drivetrain and adding large amounts of Buick Quiet-Tuning.