Hi, I am looking to buy a car for my daughter as she goes off to university. Originally I wanted to buy her a 2-3 year used TL but after thinking about it, an off lease car that probably wasn't taken care of very well doesn't seem like a great choice. I'm looking at buying a new car now and the base ILX price is reasonable. The only thing I'm hesistant on is the car's safety. I know its based on the Civic and to me, a Civic isn't exactly a safe car, especially for a teenager driving in winter conditions. However I've heard, and read, that Acura has done a lot of changing to the body with things like higher strength steel and an overall more ridgid sturcture but I haven't gotten a real grasp on how much they actually did. If anyone knows a bit more on what changes were made exactly from the Civic and how safe this car actually is can give me some info, it would be greatly appreciated.

I'm mainly looking at the ILX because I've had a good experience with Acuras. I've owned 2 Acuras to date and they both have been very reliable and safe cars. (Had an accident in one and while the car was totaled, I walked away fine.)

 

As far as I know there are no crash safety tests yet published on the ILX. However the 2012 Civic gets a "good" across the board from the IIHS. "Good" is the highest score given. So you might expect the ILX will be fairly similar. Even if the car was built better with stronger steel in certain locations it will not provide a score higher than 'good.'

When I went to college I didn't have a car for the first 3 years. My parents let me have their ~6 year old car for my senior year. Certainly kept me focused on my studies! Being a EE major at a military school I didn't have much free time anyway. Your daughter is lucky.

 

Here is Acura's take on ILX's safety features, directly from the source:

http://acuranews.com/channels/acura-...013-ilx-safety

BTW, ACE body structure FTW.

I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

No safety tests yet as others have said, but I had to make an emergency maneuver at a high speed and the car responded very well and didn't skid or roll, so I have confidence in it.

 

New ILHS-HLDI safety tests for the ILX. Top Safety Pick. Scored the best in all categories.

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=752

 

Good job Honda

The new Accord is expected to do the same so the TLX will be a safe car as well. Sounds like a good time to take up drunk driving!