TSXgal

Interesting - I wonder if this has impacted the brand's image or whether Acura simply isn't marketed as a "lux" or "upscale" brand up North. For example, in China Buick is considered a luxury brand from what I've heard/read.

Rocket_man

Maybe it is a cost saving measure. Cars in Canada are always priced higher than in the States. I personally wouldn't mind a nice quality cloth seat, especially here in the hot south. My wife's 6 year old civic has cloth seats (obviously) and they show less wear than my 6 year old TSX. BMW sells a lot of cloth seats in Europe. Here in the states there is some equivalence given between leather and luxury, but there is not much luxurious about the Acura leather (and vinyl) on my TSX seats. I understand the 'leatherette' in the new 3-series is much improved. Lexus has their 'nuluxe' (not sure if I spelled that right) so there are alternatives to leather. I don't need leather seating, but it is usually a standard or comes in a package or there is just no other choice. The other problem is that most cloth seats are cheap looking because they don't put effort into making cloth an attractive alternative to leather. Marketing.

Acura_Dude

CoquiTSX

+1. A nice quality cloth seat is much cooler than leather seats. Unless they put cooled seats.

nj2pa2nc

we owned a 07 Mitsubishi Raider Truck that had nice black cloth seats. They were great on hot summer days after a day at the beach.

Acura_Dude

^I like how your tag on the TSX is your screen name, NJ.

lmbebo

saw the ILX today at the NY auto show. Looked pretty nice. Spoke to the acura rep there. He said late May availability. Said starting at 25-26k.

mb1976

Ok, this car looks good and all but I will not ever pay close to 30k. I rather buy the new 2013 Altima. That car looks nice and you can get SL model for 29k fully loaded.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...sl_first_test/

Rocket_man

We have yet to see what the market will pay for the ILX. If the cars pile up on the lot then I suspect people can get a deal. Asking for a price doesn't mean Acura will get that price.

frack

I agree....I think the 2013 Altima 2.5 SL is a better value on paper. I saw the ILX in person today @ the dealer...and it does look awesome. Just too pricy.

I'm going to wait until the 13' Altima is released for test drives & compare it with the ILX back to back. Although I was at Nissan today....and was told they won't have new Altimas in for test drives until July 24th.

Has anyone else heard when the Altima will be available at dealers? Their website says June 26th.

SSFTSX

Problem with ILX is it is using premium fuel so any savings compared to regular V6 sedan will not be much.
ILX has very quietly gone on sale.


Edmunds got avg 22mpg from 3.5SL suppose if they get 24 or 25mpg from ILX 2.0 with premium fuel. it will not make statistical difference.



If you pre order Altima. They give 3 year free maintainance. Alone savings worth couple of hundred bucks.
3.5SL comes standard with HID and 18inch rims, heated steering wheel, LED tail lights. Tech package is bargain.



http://www.insideline.com/nissan/alt...nts_sort_form1
2013 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL Full Test
The Best Car That No One Ever Talks About
The Tech package — which includes navigation with a 7-inch display screen, the aforementioned lane departure warning and rear moving object detection systems along with blind-spot warning — is a bargain at $1,090. They all work as advertised and provide another layer of safety on top of the car's standard wide assortment of passive safety features.

Rocket_man

There are probably lots of cars that, by the numbers, on a cost per feature basis, are better value than the ILX. If that is your criteria for picking a car then the Altima, perhaps the Camry, Accord, etc is better on paper. But I think Acura's target audience is someone who wants something more than an Altima. Personally I don't care much for the Altima. Others will disagree and buy it. But people are willing to pay more for a car with something that is not on the features list. They do it every day for BMW's, Audis, MB, so I think Acura's hope is to capture this. But like many I think the ILX is just a bit over priced. We'll know better after the first full month of sales figures.

I think the ILX will get better than 24-25 mpg. It's average is estimated at 28. The cost difference between regular and premium over a year of driving isn't that much. Yeah I'd rather a car take regular but it is not a deal breaker for me. I've been buying premium for 12 years now.

SSFTSX

New Altima is pulling 0.86g and 66mph slolam run and 60dba NVH on wide 18 inch rubber.

All those numbers are better than Accord/Camry/ILX.
Camry SE has 17inch. Only Accord coupe V6 comes with 18inch.

turn radius of Altima with 18inchis 37feet. only 1 feet different from ILX on 17 inch. By all objective handling measure Altima surpasses smaller ILX.
There is no such thing as HID/integrated turn signals on Accord/Camry.

Edmunds are pretty strict with fuel economy. V6 Altima achived same fuel economy as 4 cylinder Hyundai and only 2mpg worse than 4 cylinder Honda Accord 2012.
so if it is 2mpg worse than 4 cylinder Accord so it cannot be more worse than 3mpg than ILX. as Accord is 27mpg EPA rated car. Accord and ILX use same Honda technology.
http://www.insideline.com/hyundai/so...gination_top_2



You dont have to be rocket scientist to figure out the leather. of Altima, Accord and RDX from same source. ILX wont be better than RDX.

SSFTSX

ILX interior is basically carbon copy of RDX which feels cramped and lack quality for information on dash board. Even the push button start is not properly designed in Acura.
I fail to see how 150 bhp $30k car with premium fuel has any value on it. It is not Audi A3 with turbo charged engine.

Mowgli

Paying for premium fuel just to get 150hp and 148lb/ft is more than a little pathetic.

Rocket_man

Then by all means you should buy the Altima and not waste your time on here complaining about the ILX. It is clearly the better car for you.

WheelMcCoy

I couldn't place my finger on it, but I think you gave me a key insight about the interior design. The front passenger area has a curved, carved out personal space, but it looks crowded to me. This would make sense in a roomier SUV, but not so much in a sedan.

Regarding leather seats, I find I prefer good quality cloth seats. They stay cooler, age better (won't dry and crack), and hold you in better.

SSFTSX

I will not be looking at $30k car. more like TLX/RLX. if they dont make it wider than 72inch. Altima still missing stuff like navigation system not on the top.