bowersan

Found these on 's great forums.
Hope they dont mind me linking them here.

As you can see, even Honda engineers in Alliston, Ontario are trying to incorporate the TSX design into their models.

I think it looks good... very good. (For an EL)

J.

http://www..com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31692

Can someone post these directly on this site? Thanks!

accsuperstar

where did you find that? link is blocked out

bowersan

http://www..com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31692

where the blank is, add in acura world (without the space).

J.

fdl

You've got to be a member to see them. I just posted a couple pics in this thread...

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=3266

I dont have a scanner so if you want a real good look the ones from Bowers link are probably much better. I also left out one page.

bowersan

Tada. I like it.
J.

gilboman

i wonder if it now has 90% more civic parts than before and looks even more like it... there is this civic that parks downtown and it has an aftermarket grill..i was looking the thing for a good 10min to find out its a civic and not a EL.... but i'm stillnot sure b/c it has Acura steering wheel but Honda rims... i cant tell it apart.

ecsw

hmmm.. I think they r OK. Still like them, but I don't feel a lot of change on it. Especially the interior, it's practically the same.

gilboman

well the civic hasnt had a redesign yet..once it does..the EL will change more i would think.

ecsw

That's what I think too. Civic only got the light and bumper refresh. Not much change at all.

jackspat2

just go to www.acura.ca to look at it.

bowersan

Jackspat- thats last years model.. they havent updated the acura.ca website. as you can see from the photos, they've made some minor modifications.

J.

dom

So I guess I don't have to scan my "expressions" mag?

I think it looks better than the 03's but still way too much like a Civic.

But it has standard fogs and we don't.

majormojo

I like the new EL tail lights, they seem familiar somehow... But the headlights look like just new housings in the same shape as the old one. The 04 Civic has a completely new shape, it's not as tall, looks more swept back rather than swept up. Ironically, the Civic design is less of a departure from the TSX and TL than the new EL. Odd.

MikeMa

That's not bad.....I can appreciate the simplification of the front bumper. I feel the look on mine is a bit cluttered. That signal/fog combo makes it look a little WRXish to me, though.

The crystal-y tail lights look okay. I'd be nice if they did a TSX-ish treatment on them (took it down to a strip instead of a huge "swash").

Hoop type door handles would be nice, as well as projector style halogens (or Xenon--but that'd be expensive). Sleeker looking side mirrors would be good too (but, I do love how much visibility the current ones give--those mirrors are HUGE!). I'd also have liked it better if they offered a "Type S" version with the base RSX engine in it and maybe a sportshift AT.

But, if they did that to the EL, I probably wouldn't be looking to go all the way up to a TSX.....

And, cheer up, domn! At least the TSX has Xenon headlights. And the Fogs on the EL look like they're out of necessity, since the signal light would look stupid just hovering there with nothing below it. They look more utilitarian, rather than making the front look "racier".

dom

I'm thinking 1999 - 2002 Honda Accord Sedan rear end?

majormojo

I was thinking the clear/silver backup lights were very TSX-like.

DjElucid

I never understood why Canada has the EL and it never came to the US.

ecsw

Me either.

DjElucid

how much more is the EL then a fully loaded civic? Anything different besides looks inside and out?

dom

The EL starts at about $22,500 and is only availabe with the 127HP Vtec engine. The top rung Civic with the 115 HP engine, is about $20,000 or so. From 1996 onward the 4 door Civic in Canada was never made available with the Vtec 127HP engine as to protect the EL.

For 04 we now have a Civic Sedan Si which comes equipped with the 127HP Vtec engine and I think costs about $22,000 or so. So the line between the Civic and EL is practically non-existent now. You can get the EL with Leather, Auto Climate Control and a few other minor things that you can't get with the Civic.

The US never got the EL because you guys don't buy enough compact cars to justify it. The Civic has been the number one selling car in Canada 5 years running and is on pace to become the best selling vehicle period in Canada this year. Canadians buy compacts and lots of them so a luxo Civic made sense at the time. I don't think it does anymore though. I don't expect the EL back for the 06 model year.

Please note that my prices were just estimations. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Lorne Miller

...hey guys, I still have a '99 1.6EL Premium, when I was looking for a second vehicle to augment our Honda Odyssey, I started by checking out a Civic at our local Honda dealer, one of their sales guys is a friend of mine, he said because I was a car freak I should check out the EL if I was looking at a car in that size category...so I did, it was a no brainer decision. At that point in time, the price difference between a top of the line Civic and the EL premium was 1500.00 cdn. For that you got the following extras: "bigger" 127hp vtec engine, 50 series tires on alloy rims, the suspension bits from the Civic SRi coupe, folding heated mirrors, the antenna built into the rear window, heat absorbing glass, leather upholstery with heated front seats, the front seats are the same type as those in the Integra, leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, power sliding and tipping moon roof, red instrumentation lighting, CD player, completely different front grill, fenders, bumper and lights, and a completely different rear bumper, trunk deck and taillights. The write-ups at the time said the EL only shared 40% of its parts with the Canadian Civic, so you can see why it was a no brainer and why the 1.6EL was a popular car up here, and why I snapped one up soon after trying it out. The new 1.7EL did not fare as well in the "difference" area, it was mostly all cosmetic with all the mechanical stuff virtually the same as the new Civic, and they both did away with the old double wishbone suspension system - a BIG mistake.
I still have my 1.6EL and its still doing yeoman service in the family fleet with my son now driving it quite a lot, he keeps eyeing the TSX and I have to say "don't even think about it...!!"

Lorne Miller

majormojo

The EL also has better sound-proofing than the Civic. Noticeably quieter inside. Plus, you get a free space pen and expressions magazine with the EL.

I think the MSRP on the EL Premium with all the goodies is $24,500.

The EL is "built by Canadians, for Canadians" or so the line goes.

MikeMa

I've heard lots of explanations of why there's no EL in the States....the biggest one is that there doesn't seem to be a huge market down there for an "entry level compact luxury car".

That, and what domn said. You guys have the option of moving to a high end Civic where you get basically the same equipment as our EL. I figure that now that we have the Civic Si Sedan, the EL is going to go away pretty soon. I was told by a sales guy (at a car show just after the TSX was released) that the EL is going to continue for about 3 more years.

majormojo: HEY! What free space pen and Expressions magazine!!?? Or is that just recently? I didn't get jack squat when I bought my 01 EL.....

dom

I think the space pen thing only started for 03 models, and maybe even TSX only.

You should definently be getting the Acura mag though. I use to get a mag when I bought my 98 Integra. Not sure if it was "expressions" though. I'd call Honda Canada and complain.

bowersan

Only three more years with the EL eh? Whats that mean for Acura... sales of the brand are going to slide downhill without the EL.... i see so many of them on the road...

They should supe up an Accord and sell it under the acura name.

Wait, wait. Didnt they already do that?

J.

MikeMa

I'd love to see the EL continue....but to do that, they have to distinguish it more from the Civic, which I don't think Acura's willing to spend money doing. You know, the whole "I wanna be a luxury line too!" thing, where the EL was bringing the Acura name down for being much too "working class".

I guess with the intro of the TSX, they now *have* their "entry level luxury sedan" and have no need to continue the EL.

I'm just hoping 3 years is right...cuz I don't want to see what happens if I try to trade/sell my EL in the next few years if the model line not being sold any more!

majormojo

MikeMa, the space pen came in the mail about a week after I did a satisfaction survey by telephone from Acura Canada. I assume they'd do it for all new Acura purchasers. Maybe they don't do it for the EL-cheapo.

Same for the expressions mag, I figure they put my name on a mailing list after the survey as the caller did confirm my address.

If/when the EL is discontinued, I don't see that affecting used EL prices much, given the huge popularity of the Civic. Anyone in the market for a used Civic is also shopping for an EL in a sense.

ecsw

Almost bought a 1.7 EL myself 6 months ago. But later decide to get something bigger in mid-size. I like EL, but it's just not big enough and not powerful enough as a family sedan. As compare to CIVIC, I'd spend a little more for EL for sure.

MikeMa

I totally agree with the power thing. Although, I was quite surprised to edge out a Neon driver where only he was in his car, and I had 4 140+LB guys in the car including me (and, I have a slushbox). Maybe he didn't know we were "racing"....but maybe he did since he beat me like 3 times before that.

But seriously, even though the EL does have some pep around town, if it had the RSX engine, I'd still be quite happy with it.

As for size, though, I thought the EL is actually quite large for a car in this class. It's actually got more people room in the back than the Sentra and other cars of that ilk. I think the back is even comperable to some of the American cars. I was actually cross-shopping an Alero V6, Protege ES, Golf 1.8T, Altima SE, and Sentra SE and all of them had comperable interior dimensions to the EL. And, if BMW actually cared, there's more passenger room in the back, as well as better cargo capacity than the current 3 Series. But, after they re-design the 3, they'll probably fix that.

major: I guess you're right about that. I'm not sure why that fact didn't really occur to me since the 1.6EL is still selling well.