The 2013 Acura ILX: What the critics say
How did the Acura ILX fare with the critics? The price starts at $25,900.
Toronto Star
The ILX shares a familiar Honda platform, so it’s fair to ask if this new entry-level Acura is “just a Civic with a fancier set of clothes and a softer ride.” The Millennials it aims to attract should appreciate that its cabin is far plusher than the current Civic’s “low-rent digs,” but “even the sportiest” of the three editions available, which pairs a 2.4-liter engine with a six-speed manual transmission, doesn’t feel very sporty.
MotorAuthority.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The cheaper base model is actually more fun to drive because of “the sheer pep and personality” of its smaller engine. Opt for the gas-electric hybrid and you’ll regret it: It’s “almost painfully slow to accelerate” and adds only 6 mpg in highway fuel economy. Both gas-only models come much closer to achieving that mix of near-luxury and “sportyish” performance you might remember from small cars of the 1990s. But with its somewhat “vague” steering and suspension, the ILX doesn’t quite hit that sweet spot.
Automobile
It might even “butt heads” with the next-largest car in the Acura stable. Load the ILX with such basic options as leather seats and a navigation system, and its price inches to within $900 of the TSX. Is the TSX meant for an older audience? Maybe. But “only time will tell” if the kids really care enough about having an Acura to call their own.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The Waterboys
Feature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
By The Week US
-
Are bonds worth investing in?
the explainer They can diversify your portfolio and tend to be a safer investment than stocks
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
Elon has his 'Legion.' How will Republicans encourage other Americans to have babies?
Today's Big Question The pronatalist movement finds itself in power
By Joel Mathis, The Week US