Acura revealed its major refresh for the 2019 Acura ILX and here’s why, although necessary, it was a brilliant move by Acura.
Acura announced a major refresh for its 2019 Acura ILX earlier yesterday (Sept. 5, 2018) and it’s the best looking Acura ILX to date since Acura introduced it to North America in 2013. Although I would’ve liked Acura to come out with its own exclusive chassis for the ILX before gracing the ILX with its precision concept front end, given the market for small compact luxury cars, I think, now, that this is a brilliant move by Acura in the long run.
Earlier last month I wrote about how someone, almost to the T, rendered what the Acura ILX would look like with a precision concept front end. Towards the end, I bemoaned the ILX as not a worthy successor to the arguably more capable DC2 Acura Integra and DC5 RSX, but with this latest refresh, dare I say the ILX has finally come into its own.
First, let’s get its looks and capabilities out of the way. Acura wasn’t about to give its pentagon grille to every single vehicle in its lineup without also giving it to the ILX. And now that the ILX has its new front grille, it looks every bit as aggressive looking and tidy as the rest of the other members of the Acura lineup. The old shield front end wasn’t doing the ILX any favors.
And although, underneath it all, this Acura ILX shares its basic chassis with the 9th gen Civic, which was first introduced in 2010 at the North American International Auto Show as a concept before going on sale in 2011, it’s maximized its chassis to its fullest potential (or I’d like to think Acura finally did with this one.)
Compared to the 201 HP and 170 lb-ft you get in the K24Z7 stuffed in the Civic Si and 2013-2015 Acura ILX, this K24V7 has its 201 HP available at 200 RPM lower and +10 lb-ft also available lower at 3800 RPM. This K24, first introduced in 2001, is probably one of the most reliable Honda engines you can get for your money. It’s going to be reliable, it has enough power to get the job done, and you’re not going to have to deal with turbos.
In the Civic Si, you could row your own gears through a six-speed manual, which is great for enthusiasts. Although Acura axed the manual in favor of an eight-speed dual-clutch, this one’s VERY quick shifting. Check out someone giving the beans to an ILX below.
Earlier last month I also wrote about how car sales are dropping everywhere with the Civic being the canary in the coal mine. Acura could’ve developed a new chassis and given us an ILX that would’ve performed better than the new ILX we have today, but sales would’ve bumped up a couple percentage points across the board for ILX, at best.
An entry-level offering from Acura will always be a thing. For 2020 and beyond, the ILX will still be here. Perhaps, it might be under a different name. Obviously, Acura is preparing a successor to the ILX or an all-new ILX altogether. To use the new Civic chassis underneath this ILX would elicit the same complaints the ILX had from enthusiasts when it first came it, it’s just a dressed up Civic.
The precision concept front end will be around for quite some time. My prediction is that Acura is preparing a modular platform specifically for Acura that will underpin the TLX, RDX, this ILX, and maybe the RLX if it’s still around.
Until then, this ILX will have to do. Acura is leveraging a platform that’s still plenty capable, but now, it has the looks to match.
Cars aren’t that hot right now, so if you’re going to refresh your entry-level offering if the chassis ain’t broke, why fix it?
