ILX First Impressions
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 1:48PM 
Our New ILX with Technology Package arrived yesterday and I've had a chance to look over the car and I wanted to share some of my initial impressions. First, a little background. The Acura ILX marks a return to a small car for the Acura brand. Acura feels (and I agree) that there is a growing market for a fully featured car that is compact and easy to park, as well as good on gas. Here in North America where a "bigger is better" mentality rules, the idea of high content compact car has struggled to gain ground. However, with the rising cost of fuel and our ever increasing desire for more features and better connectivity, the time is right for something different.
At 179" long, it's about the same size as an old Acura Integra sedan (178"), and a full 6 inches shorter than our current TSX (185"). However, the ILX is over 3 inches wider than an Integra giving it a more aggressive stance without sacrificing too much headroom in the process (more on that later).
Sitting side by side with a 2012 TSX, the ILX looks more athletic and has great proportions. Seen in person, it's amazing how much surface detail there is in the sheet metal. For example, the aluminum hood has a characteristic Acura center crease, but as it moves towards the fenders there are subtle bulges that match the other character lines from the bumper and the windshield A-pillar. The bumpers themselves have a good deal of surface detail to keep them from being large, flat, expanses of plastic. As you move down the flanks of the car, the doors are heavily creased with aggressive lines that arch from the front fenders into the rear haunches. In the rear, the C-pillar character lines are gracefully carried into the trunk lid, creating a "mini-flying buttress" look.
When you open the trunk, you are greeted with a smallish opening. However, the lift-over height is very low, and the trunk lid opens very wide, so it's unlikely that anybody would hit their head. Inside, you will find 12.4 ft.³ of trunk space and a fold down rear seatback. It is important to note that the hybrid model places the battery pack behind the rear seat so there is slightly less trunk space and (obviously) the rear seat will not fold down.
Speaking of the rear seats, accommodations here are going to be a little tight if you are tall, specifically, tall in torso. Actual legroom is above average in class, especially considering the overall size of the car. I can think of a good number of cars that have less space in the back. Hip and shoulder room is excellent for two, but if you're planning to put three in the backseat, they should be children. However, there is no center tunnel intruding into the back seat foot wells, making it feel a little more spacious, especially for someone sitting in the center position.
Up front, there is an airy, open feel. The windshield and dashboard stretch far away from the driver, contributing to a spacious feeling. The driver is greeted by a straightforward speedometer and tachometer with the usual Acura "multifunction display" located between them. Centered on the dashboard above the audio system is a hooded pod for the navigation system and its 8 inch screen. The same pod will house the new 5" iMID display in Premium Package models. This is where the backup camera displays it's image in the Premium and Tech models. The Technology Package in the ILX mirrors the system in the all-new 2013 RDX. This means that it has an astounding array of inputs (AM, FM, XM, CD, DVD-A, USB, headphone, and streaming Bluetooth) as well as a hard drive for internal music storage.
Directly beneath the navigation system are the climate controls. Acura has finally decided that fully automated climate control systems don't need constant adjustment, so it makes more sense to locate these lower in the dashboard rather than towards the top. As with all of our other cars, this is a dual zone climate control system and in the Navigation equipped models, it is linked to the GPS. This allows the system to compensate for solar heating if one side of the car is getting sun (like when we are driving Ewa bound in the afternoon) but the other is in the shade.
In our Technology Package ILX, there are perforated leather seating surfaces, and a power drivers seat, the passenger seat is manual. All ILXs will have Keyless Entry and Pushbutton start standard, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink mobile phone interface, USB connectivity, and Auto-On/Off Headlights.
This post is getting a little long, so I'll add my driving impressions in the next day or two.
Reader Comments (3)
Only the passenger seat has the back pocket?
It does seem like an odd choice. However, it is much easier for the driver to reach the back of the passenger seat that the back of his own seat.
I suppose but it ruins the symmetry.