Three Months with the Acura ILX
Friday, December 14, 2012 at 9:51AM 
December marks my first three months with our new car and in what is becoming a tradition, I'd like to share my impressions after living with the car for a while. If you have read my earlier post on how we ended up with the car, then you know that this decision didn't come quickly or easily. In a perfect world I would have preferred not to be forced to replace our previous car.
As for the car itself, I find that it is the perfect size for us. Having lived with so many two-seat automobiles, I could have gotten by with a smaller car, but this doesn't feel large. Of course, we have no need for the backseat but the extra space available with the seat folded down has come in handy a couple of times. Fit and finish on the car is quite good and I haven't noticed anything that I might have missed earlier. It goes without saying that there have been a lot of reservations about Acuras styling direction in recent years, but this car looks better to me the longer I live with it.
Inside the car I have found the lack of a (obvious) coin tray a bit of an inconvenience. Also, I would have preferred an upper tray in the center console. However, since my old RSX and our current CRZ don't have a center console/armrest at all I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Other things that I would have liked to see are a second cigarette lighter power adapter, and a place for sunglasses. Acuras current practice of placing the USB plug under the radio (in front of the gearshift) seems logical at first, but in usage, it means you have a long cord dangling all over the car if you try to access the mobile device. I think I would have preferred it to remain in the center console.
I have found (to my surprise) that my Apple iPad fits in the glove box safely out of view. Interestingly, one of the features that I have not put a lot of emphasis on has been something I've grown to appreciate. These are the keyless access system and pushbutton start. It seems kind of silly, but I've quickly gotten used to it and this is quite a surprise. I've always felt that our customers fixation on this feature (when we didn't have it) was a little superficial, but I've been forced to soften my stance on this.
On the road, the car feels very well composed. I've said this before but it bears repeating, this car does not have the hard edges of a sports car or even a Civic Si. In my opinion, that is okay because there are a lot of sports cars and there is the Civic Si If you want that kind of car. This might be a little bit more of a "niche" than Acura had intended, but I still see value in a well equipped car with a little more sport and flair than your average commuter car. Because I have the 6 speed manual version, I have the 201 hp engine. Obviously, power is more than adequate in this vehicle so there are no complaints there. I was prepared for fuel economy to top out at 32 miles per gallon and so far this expectation is mostly accurate. I say mostly because the MID is a little optimistic, it's normally showing me around 31 or 32 miles per gallon but the actual mileage works out to 29-30 MPG. It's worth noting that this car only has 2500 miles on it so it should get better over the next several months.
I've seen many reviews comment on road noise, but I haven't found it to be an issue. My feature "wish list" includes the following. Memory seats; in my opinion if you have power seats, you need to have the memory function with two drivers. Lumbar support; I'm sure me desire for this is dictated by my personal back problems, but I can't help but feel they're coming as a "running update" one day, I wish it had it now.
Reader Comments (4)
Colin, thanks for sharing your experiences with your new ILX. I've been driving Honda products since my 1983 Prelude; and I can't remember any of my cars having a memory function on the driver's seat....a curious oversight in my opinion.
It's not a common feature on Hondas (Touring Odysseys?) but it is generally standard fare on Acuras. Exceptions that I recall were '99 TL, '04 TSX, and '07 RDX. not surprisingly, all were first model years for each of those cars.
I still dislike those non-functional button place holders pictured above. As for the coin holder, I ponder if that is just a sign of the times - like the slowly disappearing CD changer. I stopped using cash years ago & altho I put change in my TSX's coin slots, I have never taken any out.
I agree, I'm not a big fan of those blank switch covers either, I would have liked to see a coin tray there.