Forgotten Japanese Hybrid: A detailed view of this Acura -Sedan

Acura, as the luxury brand of Honda, has been influenced by its parent company in various ways to create various iconic and cultural cars. The most important of these is the Acura Integra, whose reputation for offering a fun and sporty driving feeling with a little premium flair about his Honda Civic Coupe brother or sister at that time earned the respect of car enthusiasts.

The successor, however, was a bit of a hit-or-Miss situation. The Integra was succeeded by the RSX, which is still called the Honda Integra in Japan. It was a great car to drive even when it was the double Wishbone foreel suspension of the former required. What it stopped somewhat was the name because of the lack of recall. Oh, how even a name can influence the biggest lines.

However, the RSX was also stopped, indirectly replaced by the TSX in 2006 as their Sedan offer at entry level. In short, a recovered European and JDM agreement (smaller and not related to the North -American agreement), the TSX also earned the reputation to be fun to drive and be reasonably premium. In the end, following the TSX was the ILX, a vehicle that is a step forward in some respects because it is the first acura hybrid, but it is also two steps back for the brand.

Few will probably remember the ILX

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Let’s say that Acura is not necessarily good at making iconic names, and it is certainly proof that taking random letters from the alphabet -soup can often lead to forgetful models. The ILX is unfortunately one of these and it is not even surprising if you forgot it existed.

The good aspects of the ILX were completely shown

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Part of the reason why the ILX did not necessarily have moved the target post well for the brand is that it is based on the ninth generation of Honda Civic, who had the “FB” generation code. Unfortunately, this platform was not necessarily great. Believe me, I know, because this was my first car. The Civic on which it is based is a step-down from the previous FD in various ways, less sporty and more ho-hum to ride. It also had a cheap interior, a huge downgrade of the soft-touch materials found in the FD.

Fortunately, the ILX has not inherited these premium shortcomings, with a much better sorted car when it comes to observed quality and design. The car is also well founded, again better than what the Civic of its time turned out to be. At the time, the media reviews noticed how the ILX was a better car to drive, as it should be, given the Acura badges.

The bad, unfortunately, exceeded the good

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Unfortunately, the hybrid system of the ILX is one of the most important weaknesses, and that is why it is only two model years to live (2013 and 2014). To understand why, we must first look at the hybrid system of Honda Integrated Motor Assist (IMA). The IMA system was revolutionary in the early 2000s, but faintly by the time it reached the ILX. That is because it is a weak hybrid system, often considered a mild hybrid, because it cannot feed the vehicle in pure electric mode.

2013 Acura ILX Hybrid specifications

IMA is a parallel hybrid system, where the electric motor is between the engine and the transmission, while the current E: HEV systems from Toyota and Honda are both series-parallel hybrids. As a result, the 1.5-liter IMA system in the ILX HO-bum acceleration, with only 111 hp and 127 pound-foot torque through a CVT. Unfortunately, at 38 mpg it was not as economical as the 44 mpg of the Civic Hybrid at the time. Let’s say that the Lexus CT 200h and the Prius-based hybrid system have done better work to be a luxury entry hybrid than the ILX.

Not a great purchase when it’s new

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Acura is perhaps the more premium brand of Honda, but sometimes the vehicles that the brand floods is difficult to justify its price premium because of how much it shares with his Honda opposite hangers.

Nicer than the Civic, but too pricey

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We did say that one of the good points is that it is a well -rounded car versus the Civic on which it was based. But the point is that the Civic has been relegated for this generation, so that doesn’t say much about the ILX. Look at the outside, and you will be satisfied with the appearance versus the Civic. Likewise, the interior is also more beautiful than the Civic, although compared to an Audi A3 at the time or the Lexus CT, the ILX still does not extend the same level of prestige as these two models.

To make matters worse, the biggest crime was the price tag, which can vary from $ 4,000 to no less than $ 10,000 more than an equally specified Civic. In the case of the ILX -Hybrid, it was a full $ 10,000 more than a civil hybrid. For reference, the $ 28,900 basic price of the ILX Hybrid was a full $ 4,000 more than the Civic, while a fully charged ILX-Hybride was sold for nearly $ 35,000 in 2014 for almost $ 35,000. That was steep, and it seems that buyers agreed that the price jump was not worth letting this model only go for two model years.

As a used purchase, the case is different

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However, as a used purchase, the Acura ILX hybrid is a better choice now. However, because this model was not popular in the first place, there are not much on the cars used either. Reliability is at least a guarantee, because the CR-Z, which shares its ima-hybrid powertrain, has proven to be robust. ISEECars gives the ILX -Hybrid a 7.7 out of 10 reliability classification, together with a Average used price of $ 10,646.

Now that may sound high, but it is due to one only low mileage that is sold for $ 15,990 against only six other offers on their website. However, most models sell for around $ 7,000. For reference, a Lexus CT 200h has a Average used price of $ 12,855Especially since this model is a little more desirable than the ILX. On the other hand, if you are just behind an affordable but premium-genoeg hybrid, a used ILX hybrid can be worth considering.

Why Acura now has a better shot

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When the ILX Hybrid was for sale for the 2013 model year, the IMA system of Honda was already on the road. The following year, Honda released the Sport Hybrid I-MMD, the precursor of the fourth generation E: HEV Hybrid System of today. Shortly thereafter, the Acura RLX and the powerful hybrid system with three engines were finally released.

It learned to make a sporty hybrid system

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Ironically, it is Honda’s premium brand, Acura, which has no hybrid today. After the ILX, the RLX Sport Hybrid flagship came on stage with a 3.5-liter V-6 parallel hybrid system. It had a parallel hybrid system with three engines, one of which was in the seven -speed gearbox with double clutch, while the other two fed the rear wheels. It was a hybrid system with performance intention. In the RLX, the system offered 377 hp and a lot of sportiness, while a related system was also developed for the MDX. However, since the MDX system used a smaller 3.0-liter V-6, the MDX Sport Hybrid had less power, but with a still very sturdy 321 hp.

There are signs of a comeback

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Nowadays, however, there are no hybrid models in the Acura brand, which is a shame, because Honda of the Honda fourth generation of hybrid system is fantastic. Good enough for its application in the Civic Hybrid to win the North -American car of the year from 2025. The reason why the MDX does not have a hybrid for the current generation is not due to poor sale. After all, this is not like the misstep of the ILX. Instead, when Honda announced in the early 2020s that Acura would lead to a carbon -neutral future on the path of the brand by completely skipping hybrids and going directly to electric vehicles (EVs).

This is why we now have the RSX prototype that will be released prior to the Honda 0 SUV, which was pushed back because of the EV delay in North America. However, because Acura also realizes this janky path to full electrification, They no longer completely exclude hybrids. Although the general path of Acura is still to lead the EV charging of the group, it acknowledges that the flexibility of the powertrain to meet ever-changing market dynamics is crucial to survive. Spend against Automotive newsMike Langel, Acura’s assistant vice -president of sale in America, says: