Mark Glover’s AutoGlo
reviews also can be accessed on the business page of The Sacramento
Acura calls it the brand’s new “gateway” car, which is auto
industry-speak for “you might want to try this one first because it’s a
practical and relatively affordable ride in our luxury-heavy lineup.”
The bottom line is, yes, I’d agree with all that. And man, Acura pulls out all the stops to make
this small-size luxury sedan attractive to a lot of folks. You get six trim levels playing off the same
architecture, with the various offerings mixing engines (even a hybrid), glittery
options, transmissions and technology goodies.
My ride was the ILX with a 2-liter, 150-horsepower in-line 4 engine and the technology and premium packages. Base price of the car is $31,400, with the $895 destination and handling charge pushing the bottom line on the sticker to $32,295. Keep in mind that you can get the basic ILX for as little as $25,900.
The tech/primo packages on the tester included a lot:
leather-trimmed sport seats, satellite radio, heated front seats,
high-intensity xenon headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, navigation
system (with voice recognition), rearview camera, a top-tier audio system with
Surround-Sound and a 60-gig hard drive to name just a few.
On top of every other standard feature, just sitting in the
ILX gave me the feeling of getting a special luxury experience sans a major
output of cash. All of it in an
attractively wrapped, midsize-feeling package.
Interior space, in my view, was rather impressive for a car in this
segment.
The exterior look is typical Acura: Understated sportiness
with just a right touch of elegance. The
sculpted hood is particularly fetching. Will the neighbors notice it when you
bring it home? Count on it.
On the fly, the four-cylinder VTEC handled things pretty
well, but the power plant is what I’d call one major consideration in the
pricing scheme. It does OK but labors on
hard uphill runs, and you’d better press that accelerator hard if your freeway
merge looks like it’s going to be a tight experience. Bottom line: 150 horsepower is what it is.
The interior cabin was nicely quiet, even when I asked the
ILX for everything it had. Fuel mileage
is pretty good as well: 24 miles per gallon in the city and 35 mpg on the
highway.
More good news: The ILX earned a top safety pick rating from
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Must-communicate-while-I-drive types have that option with a
sophisticated in-car phone and texting hookup built into this ILX.
As for me, I opted to cut off all communication and enjoy
the ride. Best decision I’ve made in a
long time.
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