I’m a person that has been in this forum for quite sometime but hardly post anything, just read the posts to get information, problems, etc. about the cars that I have bought in the past. Let me just tell you that I’m and always been a Honda fan. I really like the brand. I have had 1 civic, 2 civic wagons, 5 accords and 4 CRV’s (my wife drives a 2013 EXL right now).

Since 2003 I moved from the Accords to the Acura TSX. I had a 2004 which I think was a really good car and was a perfect size for me, I loved that car. Then I had a 2010 TSX and a 2012 Special Edition. Had 3 more months to go on the lease but the dealer bought it and got me off with no penalty at all.

A couple of months ago was decision time to see what car I would get to replace my special edition with and since I wanted to stay with Acura there were only 2 choices, TLX and ILX. When the TLX came out, I thought that was going to be my next car but soon enough found out that even though I liked the car it was too big for me.

So I decided on the 2016 ILX, got it 3 weeks ago and am really happy with it. I know that a lot of people complain about not being at par with the Audi and MB but I think it’s good enough. Got a Premium, Graphite Luster with Grey interior (the 2 tone interior looks really sharp).I did not care for the A-spec package since it is almost the same as my special edition and I wanted some kind of change, I think the A-spec package is overdone. The only thing I added was the chrome door trim (it really makes the car look more upscale) and window tinting. Wheels are not as bad looking as some people say; actually they look good with the chrome door trim. On the outside the car looks sharp, lights are really nice and people that have seen the car are really impressed by the way it looks.

To me, the ILX is almost perfect and will compare it to my previous car, the TSX Special edition. I commute 18 miles each way to work and the car performs as expected, can get in and out of traffic easier than the TSX, it’s as fast or maybe even faster. No problems with noise, audio sound is same but the ILX got more gadgets, the 2 screens are really nice and easy to use once you learn how to navigate thru the commands; it took me about 2 weeks to learn it but now everything if fine. The interior material looks fine but may be better, it kind of looks like the 2010 TSX. I think that my 2004 interior (black/ivory) looked better and more upscale than either the 10 or 12, also better than the ILX. Mileage is lots better than the TSX.

Overall I think the 2016 ILX is a more complete car than the TSX. I’m a person that is not pushing the car to the limit and performance (0-60) is not the most important thing for me, the car has a very good acceleration, good interior amenities, makes good mileage and looks decent. It’s comfortable, easy to drive during my commute in Miami which most of the time takes me 1 hour to drive 18 miles. There are only 2 things that I miss from the TSX and do not understand why the ILX do not have, a handle to close the trunk and a compass on the premium package. Otherwise, I think I found the perfect car for me on the ILX.

 

congrats!!!
and nice review!

 

That chrome tho LOL

Hopefully you don't have the same issues that I had with chrome door edge liner coming off. Although I'm not sure if you meant that or the big ass piece that also semi- works as a bump guard, never had issues with that and it does make it look more upscale. The car doesn't need a ton (of looks mods) to make it pop more.

Also agree with the size. I looked at TL and even TSX but TL was WAY too huge, and TSX was too hard to get a stick shift with low miles/ how i wanted it (not modded).

Size is perfect if you need a commuter that can find parking easier in places like busy military bases, college, or even just big workplaces, malls, or maybe fucked parking at home or apartment.

 

another ILX in miami! congrats !

 

Congrats. BTW the wheels are OK. I prefer those than the "two-color" wheels.

 

Funny, I also live in Miami and have an 18 mile commute. I think the ILX will be my next car. I drove the '11 TSX for a while before passing to my other half and getting the TL, which is a lil too big for me.

 

The one that I had installed is the one you can get thru Acura.com - you can see it in the Aero-Kit. Really looks nice and makes the car to look longer and sleeker. You can also see in the picture I attached

 

Oh wow cool. Thats a new accessory. That wasn't available for my car. I got an aftermarket one that is similar, but not the same and an OEM body color one that sits higher then that, like mid -door/body. Works, saved me from a few dings already.

If my aftermarket one gets damaged or needs replacing Ill get that OEM one.

LOL Acura loves chrome too fuckers LOL

 

Welcome to the family!

 

Congrats....I pretty much have the same exact version of the ILX as you, same color as well

It's awesome, love the car I had it for 3 weeks now

great car, proud owner here

 

Joined in 2003 and currently has 16 posts and "active". Amazing!

Congrats on the purchase, hope you enjoy your new car! I absolutely love my 2013 TSX. The 2016 ILX sounds like a winner from your books.

 

Congrats!

Great review and I am glad you like it.

 

I've had my 2016 Tech Plus for 3 days and am still getting used to it. Someone at the dealer referred my to this site as an info source. My last 2 cars were 09 and 12 TSX Techs. I also tried the TL but didn't think it's as sporty as the TSX. The ILX seems to be the proper successor to the TS. I also didn't care for the A spec 2-tone wheels. After 90 miles so far I know I made the right choice. I don't really notice the smaller size; the car to me feels like an upgraded TSX. My only real complaint so far is that I had to pay extra for a spare tire and foglights.
Performance seems about the same; build quality is better than I expected after the Japan-built cars. I'll see how I feel after I get a few hundred miles on it.

 

I had 2016 ILX loaner for three days. What a piece of sh*t acura has managed to put together. it was unresponsive, loud, lacked any sex appeal. basically a glorified civic. i think toyota corolla is more responsive. if i had paid 30K for that crap, i would have killed myself.

ilx has no bussiness being in acura family, honda yes, acura hell no,

 

^^ LOL, enjoy you Accord.

 

open contact...Keep in mind that your MDX and TLX (V6) are in a different category than the ILX and not intended to target the same audience. I think that refering to the ILX as a piece of $hit might have been a bit harsh....Most, in not all reviwers, have great praises for the ILX. You have to compare apple to apple when assessing the ILX and using your MDX and TLX as a reference point is not quite fair, especially to other ILX owners here who quite enjoy and are proud of their car.

 

What you think is irrelevant but I bet that made you feel better about yourself huh? I assume mommy didnt pay you much attention growing up?

 

So, are you a sociopath or a psychopath?

 

LOL!! Glad I am not the only one who read his rants and thought "Oh wow someone must have pissed in his cheerios thus morning!"

 

You should write a detailed review of your experience with the ILX in the TLX forum.


TItle it something like "ILX review from a TLX owner"


You will get lots of agreement from TLX owners, and lots of hate from ILX owners.


This board is very interesting. RLX owners look down on TLX owners and says its a car that is lacking and over priced. TLX owners look down on ILX owners. ILX owners look down on Civic owners....




Interesting to watch it from the sidelines...




P.S. no current Acura has any sex appeal

 

one to talk coming from the guy that goes out of his way just to see if wheels are certified or not LOL...

...when no one cares

 

^^
lol

 

That is by far the dumbest more ignorant statement I have seen here today and that is including Open's rant.

EVERYONE should go out of their way to see if a part they are about to purchase and install on their motor vehicle is safe and certified. ESPECIALLY if the car is being put on public roads where other people commute. Installing unsafe non certified parts on a vehicle that sees public roads is needlessly putting other people's lives and property at risk because you were to cheap to fork out the bucks on the real thing.

You my friend are complete fool.

Go on any forums populated by tuners (these forums are populated by car owners not tuners) and you will be laughed out of the forums for claiming no one cares about certified wheels.

 

I dont think ILX owners look down on Civic owners at all. I am a member of 4 car forums. 2 Acura, 1 honda, and 1 civic specific forum. I know my car is a Honda Civic in a tux and I love that. It has its differences so yes I will argue if someone tries to negatively say "it is JUST a civic" because frankly it is not JUST a civic.
That would be like saying the Integra was JUST a civic. It wasn't.

Hell if I see a sick civic I take pics of it and post them on IG. I go out of my way to hit up meets where I know I will only see civics with the occasional accord or prelude. Hondas/Acuras are the first cars I feel in love with. Civics will always be where it started for me so there is absolutely no looking down on civic owners.

And I have to say if any ILX owner is looking down on civic owners then they need a reality check.

In the end, all I care about is a nicely modified car. My buddy all day shows me sweet stock high end cars he works on at Mercedes Benz. They are cool but eh. Id rather hear the story of a modded civic that was purchased from some ricer and now looked like you took a step into the past with nice tasteful mods.

Give me the opportuity to own a stock BMW I cant mod or a brand new civic with 50grand to mod it and I'll take the civic all day.

 

^
Wasn't talking about you per se, but many ILX owners I have seen who post pooh poohing the civic.


I have owned and modified all of the below except the 86. Heck even my 91 wagovan was lowered on 1993 GS-R wheels, back in 1998 before it became cool to do it. People on Honda-Acura forum asked why I would lower a wagon.



1986 Civic Wagovan Manual
1991 Civic Wagovan 4wd Manual
1990 Civic HF, 67horsepower, 4 speed manual
1991 Civic Si
1991 CRX Si


Then I moved on to Accords, Integras and S2000 before jumping to the Lexus ship for years. Great cars.


I am a lowly TSX driver, what I do I know.


Just enjoy the banter of politics around here

 

Maybe he had too much attention from mommy? Anyway, short circuit er.. open contact is closing in on a whole 90 posts. It's kinda like pulling the pin and throwing the grenade in the room to see what happens. Definitely troll-like behavior.

 

Good thing I don't care, I shouldn't even respond but its just too funny to see you get mad and type up an essay defending your point on a forum... Have a good night bud

 

I like how when people know they are wrong they instantly resort to either correcting your grammar or in this case calling you mad.

Get over yourself. You arent anywhere important enough to make me upset. If anything you gave me a laugh. Laughing is a positive reaction. If anyone is mad Id say it was you for calling me out unprovoked. Unless I guess that is simply how you get your jollies; by talking shit.

P.S. If you truly didnt care you wouldnt have taken the 2 minutes to respond to me either times. You obviously care enough to waste that energy.

Don't worry about me man. I check my parts before purchasing. It's you id be worried about since you dont care to rock safe parts it seems.

 

For sure. Just making it clear though I will argue these cars arent just civics, the part that is civic is great. Civics are great cars.

I havent seen anyone pooh poohing civics. If I did Id laugh.

Frankly the only cars I will pooh pooh are Saturns and Kias. Literally. And that is only because I see no following in them. They are fine cars Id just never buy one myself.

 

Like jdm there is a pretty big kdm following

 

Yeah that's hyundai I believe not kia.
When I say following it gets misinterpreted. I need to find a new word.

I mean brands like Honda/acura-ilx-discussion ha e a huge following. There are multiple companies pushing these products and just as many race groups that used Hondas for the development. It really created a huge tuning community for Honda owners new and old.

Other companies have huge followings as well like BMW, vw, Nissan... Even scion has created a huge tuner following that is lacking if you buy a kia or Saturn.

I have yet to see an all kia tuners meet. If they had one I might go for a good laugh. That's a sweet turbo Rio you got there said no one ever.

 

There is a thread on this forum about guys hopping up their Kia . Search it.

When I first got in the Honda game, people laughed at us. Slow under powered fwd cars. We used to go to lacr to watch people run 15-17 second quarter mile. That was long before 9 second Hondas

There isn't any reason to laugh at kias. We are all car enthusiasts . Everybody has different liking

Just like people laughed at us Honda guys back then you are now laughing at kias

It's a dying hobby. Just appreciate it. Whether someone drives a Kia , Honda, or a lambo

 

I guess to each his own. I see love for Nissan. I see it for Toyota. I see it for most domestics too. But not kia. Just not for me. Oh well.

But just because there is a thread here on kias doesn't mean kias have a tuner following. Majority of the members are are simply car owners. Not tuners. He'll I'm not even a tux tuner if you base it off what I have done to my ilx.
I made these same comments to osu about the Buick he posted.

Yeah sure you can turbo anything. But Buick also doesn't have a tuning community the way Toyota does.

What race group has a kia or Buick as their development platform? Many race groups have picked up civics for modding like Jun, walker, crow, as well groups like megan or DC pick up civics for their race events and promotional purposes because those platforms sell the most. They don't mod kias because people typically don't mod kias.

I don't see kias in the community so kias have never found a place in my heart. If some race group picks up a kia optima and starts tracking it against Nissan Toyota and Honda then maybe just maybe will my eyes then be opened to kia.

Hyundai I see a tuning community but I've personally never seen a non riced out Genesis coupes in person so hyundais aren't my thing either. Loud and obnoxious if you ask me. But that's just the Genesis coupes I see molded in the scv.

 

there's a big Kia Optima following, but you wouldnt know because you're closed minded.

open your mind a bit, enjoy cars, man.

 

here's a pretty sexy Kia that's coming out soon

 

^^^

Are kia optimas certified and considered safe on the road ? Lol

 

again, be more open, jon.

your opinions are too closed minded and its off putting to hear you push your agenda on others.

 

safer than Jon's opinions.

 

I'd buy 10 of those Kia wagons before I buy 1 ILX...

 

paired with the current engine offerings, it would move!
however; Kia stated that they will do a performance version of this.

this thing will be hawt with 300+hp