my 1st gen Tsx and Rsx typeS days. We racked up a few miles this weekend getting some chores out of the way and it continues to impress me. It has a very nice ride and handles corners and curves very well in daily driving.

Some reviewers mention some minor bodyroll but as I don't drive through slaloms on a daily basis I don't notice it. It is quite responsive when you run it up through the gears and a quick downshift brings it up to speed very quickly. I am still getting use to the handling as I have been spoiled by the SH-AWD in my last 3 vehicles but the more I drive it the more confidence I have in its capabilities.

I am still impressed by the gas mileage as this weekend we averaged 7.6L/km
(37mpg/Imp gal, 31mpg/US gal) and there has been no freeway driving. Mix of in town, rural back roads and local highway (speed limit 80kmh or 50mph). Approx 35/45/20, just guessing. My GPS stated top speed 110 kmh. avg speed 37.5 kmh.

A nice thing I didn't know it had is hill holder which automaticallly kicks in when you are stopped on a hill or even small gradients up or down. It makes it so much easier to start off on a steep hill. I knew the automatics had it but didn't realize the 6mt had it until I read it in the manual. My wife thought she was just getting better with balancing the clutch when starting on a hill. I think I burst her bubble.

We do miss some of the things they left off the ILX but they are slowly being forgotten. I find the interior to be quite nice (not even close to the ZDX though) and the seats are quite comfortable.




Still trying to find the right arm position though as it doesn't have driver position memory which is a bit of a pain as each time we change drivers we have to find our best positions again. I would say this is the feature we miss the most and yes I know the TSX has it.

I detailed it this weekend just to top off the wax job I did last weekend.

 

That's great to hear about the Hill Start Assist! I didn't know that was a feature offered on the ILX. Do you find the 6MT to be jerky at all? There were some TSX owner's that mentioned the 1 > 2 shift to be a bit jerky due to the DBW throttle.

 

Not at all, I find the shifting to be very good through all gears.

 

How much does it cost to put that in the car?

isn't it just electronics? a chip?

I've only had the feature in my new TSX for a few months. It is amazingly useful. Also like the HID headlights.

These are features that should come standard on every Honda. Used to be you paid more, and got a better product.

Another thing that bugged me when I test drove an accord: No latch to open the trunk at the back of the car. No keyhole either. Now how much it cost to add that latch? People buying a new accord don't wanna pony up for stuff like that anymore?

 

Dumbing down the ILX is meant to get you to buy the more expensive TSX if you want these features. They do the same with the TSX and TL. If you just want a smaller car then you have to suck up a few things. But some of these may come in the MMC like they did with the 1G TSX. So there is hope if you want to wait a few years ;-).

 

I am sure there is a little more to it than just a chip but yes it should be there. The HID headlights are the same as the TSX. Not in base but included in the other trims.
There is a button on the trunk lip of ILX to open it or you can use the remote.

 

If they're not going to bother with the memory, then
I think they should not bother with the electric motors in the seats altogether. That would at least cut down on weight, and mechanical complexity.

Quite frankly, I'm not all that impressed with all the fancy crap in modern cars designed to save me from burning 10 calories in effort over the life of the car. It cost me almost three hundred bucks to replace the electric window on the driver door of my 12 year old Dodge. And neither one of the back windows work either.

One of my buddies has got a sequoia that he paid a shit-ton of money to purchase slightly used. The power mirror on the drivers side resonantly failed on it. Toyota fixed it under warranty, but the figures on that invoice came out to over eight hundred dollars. I'm looking down my nose at the fancy steering wheel tilt that hums and moves with different keys, and video cameras on the back hitch that you can move around with the touch of a button. Is it really necessary that whoever is sitting back in the 8th row of seats can adjust it with an electric motor?

The replacement parts divisions of car manufacturers are laughing all the the way there and back to the bank.