So with my last day of spring break and only day off, I decided to 'treat myself' to some car 'shopping' -outside of the photoshop world- and drove to my local dealer, Performance Acura, just 30 minutes away in Chapel Hill, so excuse the armature review and few pictures (Most of the time was spent on the road).

My salesman was extremely friendly and approached me with hand held out and a warm, open face. I didn't expect that at all, being that I had been to my Honda dealer and people just give me "Get the hell out of here kid" stares making me feel urged off the lot... nope, not here, I was greeted with a sense that they knew who I was and were expecting me! Never have I been greeting anywhere like that.

Anywho, I tell the guy I'm here to check out the '16 ILX and knowingly (just checked online) asked for the Aspec in CBP. We walk back to it and start checking it out, he gets to know me a little and my background here on TOV and my works, he realizes just how much I know when I asked about the transmission recalls and issues and went from full salesman to best friend. The awkward tension between a customer and salesman was dropped and he offers me a test drive. I'm only 18, so I questioned him on that and he said I was good as long as I had a license. HA! Well he may have been just a little excited because I actually wasn't allowed to drive it, as I had thought.

ON TO THE DRI- errr, THE RIDE!

Start up:
So first thing I noticed was the engine start up. Ooooo it made my TSX sound so much like a pedestrian Accord LX. How was all that great sound coming from a car without an exhaust? (lol) It had a very deep tone that rumbled and hummed without droning into the cabin.

Interior:
The cabin quality was a tad better than my TSX, though my TSX armrest padding areas are a but worn and broken in vs the ILX's fresh, plush pads. The vinyl seats and faux sued insert was a nice touch, sat well and added to the sporty black headliner and contrast stitching (though harder for me to notice, it was subtle and only noticeable when looked at). The gauge and dual screen set up with red illumination was different. I think I'd prefer white and blue, though maybe the red was just so different to me I needed to get used to it. Sitting in the car made me feel very small. The low greenhouse and slanted windshield was very unusual but sporty and I liked it, but feel better positioned in my TSX. The dash and doors were soft touch with adequate padding as well.

Exterior:
Not once did I look for the "clothes iron" bumper protrusions or the lack of exhaust. Not purposely avoiding those areas, but just glancing and looking aimlessly around the car I thought it was attractive, and the 18" Aspec wheels were a great touch and I feel like the side skirt was also a good touch. My car didn't have the Aspec front and rear lip, which is probably for the better, as they just stick out further and emphasize the messy bumper designs. I can't knock the paint since the car was covered in pollen, but I will say overall black or white (maybe gray) is the color for this car. The base wheels are horrid and and break the deal on purchasing. I immediately walked away form the non Aspec ILX's because those white, choppy 17" wheels with huge wheel gap turned me off so bad. The Jewel eye Headlights and LED taillights were extremely premium and while I didn't get my face in either, standing about 2-3 feet in front of the headlights I was able to see what looked like a halogen projector housing behind the high beams. It looked completely different form the other LED units. The SUV-X grill is a good choice.

The car overall looks wide and low compared to the 2015 but from the rear it still looks tall and skinny, even with the side hunches. The Aspex models help fix that with the wider wheels.

Performance:
Due to new car syndrome, I'm sure the engine and trans aren't just broken in enough yet. The first thing my driver done when pulling out of the lot was put it in 'S' mode and hammer it (with warning and my "ok") we jetted off. Redline first? Yes. Redline 2nd? yes. We hit 70mph quicker than I expected, maybe about 8.5 seconds... but what made it feel slow was 1st gear. <b>***</b>SO LONG for a 8 speed transmission. Why stretch to 42MPH when you have 8 speeds? But again the engine note was nice and growly. It didn't seem to have a peaky, metallic sounding like rev like my TSX does after the 5,500rpm mark, it stayed very 'humming' like. Not buzzy at all, just HMMMMM. (lol). I'm sure ANC and other sound deadening measures were the cause of that... plus the newer K24W's aren't as Honda as my K24A is.

Because I wasn't the driver, I didn't get to feel the steering or pedal feed back but was assured it was a tad softer than my TSX. My driver, more than willingly, pushed the car through some bends for me to show the handling characteristics. Between 45-65MPH, there was no body lean, no scattering for traction, no jerks, no rear end hop, no bouncing back and forth... it was all very smooth and flat on those Chapel Hill roads which are rather rough. Downshifts were quick and snappy too. As soon as the paddles were pressed the gear switched, and the rev match was pretty good too.

Highway performance was good too, very little wind noise (we had the radio turned down) and plenty of power. But the best thing? Those ow rpms at 70MPH.

Sensible driving:
One thing I noticed while we were crawling out of the parking lot and through city stop lights was how smooth and absent the DCT was. It kept engine rpms low by staying in higher gears and getting into them quickly. Easing up to a stop there was no jerks. Easing away there was no jerks. And as speed increased gently I kept my eye on the tach. We were in 2nd gear by 15mph, 4th by about 30 and so on. It shifted so smoothly, quickly and eagerly. It didn't stay in one gear for more than a second it seems like.


I'm sure I missed some important pieces with my amateur review, but there it was!

 

 

Thanks for your review - You are becoming a famous member here on Acurazine and I know that I appreciate your posts and especially, your design work to make us drool

Good work...

 

Really? Thanks! I visit TOV more often than I do here.

My activity here is 1.6 vs you 43.7 lol

But thank you weather!
You can check out some more of my designs HERE

 

^^ *lol* I don't even know what those activity and points thingy mean....I just come here because I like the folks here and you are certainly one that gives up great posts and designs to look at. Don't sell yourself short my friend

 

Cool review. Good job.

In your opinion do you prefer the exterior styling to the new or old ILX? Why?

 

^^ For what its worth, I prefer the front of the 2016, but the rear of the 2013-2015 model. The side is pretty much the same except a HUGE plus goes to the the 2013-2015 wheels.

 

isnt there a speaker that the ILX pumps its exhaust noise into the cabin?

 

I think it's a tube routed into one of the air vents, justnspace. I think...

Jon, I agree with weather. Despite being the first to slash out on the '16 ILX's "Clothes Iron" fascia, I actually liked it in person and didn't notice it too bad, then again I didn't exactly look for it. I could go with a more toned down version or one similar to the '16 RDX's but in person it seemed not to have bothered me since I didn't notice it.

The rear was meh. The taillights look good and then they don't. Can't figure it out fully. The lower area on the bumper just mimics Civic too much with the shapes. I think it looks too tall, squarish and high off the ground compared to the front that now looks low, flat and wide.

So I like the 15 rear and 16 front. Like Weather.

I will take the 16 Aspec wheels, but not the base wheels. I'll take the 13-15 premium and up wheels over the 16 base. If the 13-15 Accessory wheel was "18 I'd take thoughs, but 18"s fill the wheel well too nicely to go back to "17's regardless of the style and ride quality was no harder than my TSX, but was a lot smother.

I want to see these 18" TL SH-AWD base wheels on it.


The FWD V6 TLX wheels looks good.

 

man i like TLX's V6 wheels..

 

wow, no wonder i've seen very few side profile shots of the refreshed ILX, it does not look very sporty or balance at all when viewed from the side.

 

^^ You do realize that the white ILX above (the profile one) is not the refreshed model...it is the pre MMC with TLX wheels on it

 

I think the car looks sporty enough, just not detailed enough. It has good bones.

Like a good body with saggy, plain Jane skin.

 

1). NOT a refreshed ILX at all.

2). This one has no body kit, no rear spoiler, not lowered (or if lowered, very modest, hardly noticeable).

3). Per your signature, you have a Lexus, an upgraded nice one at that. You are comparing apples to oranges. Your car was probably 40k+, + mods totaling 5k or more (especially if you paid for install, guessing you did since its mostly OEM mods). This car brand new was under 30k (got mine for 22k) and plus mods maybe a couple grand.

4). Your wife has a TLX. Nicer, bigger car, your vision is skewed. You're used to bigger and better, this would seem like a (rightful) downgrade to you.

 

Saw a white one the other day, from far away driving could see the jewel eyes very clearly, they look very elegant. I was at an angle, saw the car from ever so slightly overhead. The car is more elegant then gen one because of the headlights. They also really, really distract from the hideous bottom lips/air dams. Good looking car, especially at it's price point.

But would also agree that in somewhat stock form, its a little boring. It comes alive when you tune it a little - OEM lip kit, wheels, tint, lowered, looks great. Gen one at least. I think Gen 2 has even more potential (looks wise) if someone makes a legit body kit that replaces the bumpers completely.

 

Can we stop calling the ILX MMC a Gen 2 please? This is still the first Generation ILX. Same chassis as pre MMC ILX's and 98% the same styling inside and out aswell.

Gen 2 would have a major redesign (interior and exterior parts not direct fit) and a different chassis code.

If you must call it "____ 2" then call it Version 2.1. Version(trial)2.of(Gen)1 = 2.1!

It's still just a MMC!

 

LOL good point. I'll just go along with whatever people agree to use. Forgot to mention - because of the headlights, the car legit looks even more like a Lexus. I thought it was a Lexus until it was real close. The white on this car is VERY nice.

I genuinely get looks from IS250 drivers at stop lights. Couple year older models mostly maybe maybe 2000's to present, but not really the brand new ones. When i went to see Furious 7, I sat in my car texting a few girls (before it started)... saw it by myself on opening night, midnight screening, haha LOSER... There was a lot of tuner cars (DUH), heard a few people go - "Whoa - Thats an ACURA?" or "what is that?" or "its an Acura" People are oblivious to this car's existence still. Theres another thread about still poor sales numbers.

 

Actually, it should be called a 1.1

Still a first gen, hence the first "1". But a refresh, hence the ".1"

The original ilx would be 1.0.

 

Great review. The 2016 is an all over different feeling vehicle from the 2013-2015 car, I especially notice now after having several 2013-2015 models as daily drivers, and now the 2016 Premium car. Powertrain alone is worlds different, and the car itself feels tuned and more solid, overall, especially in steering/suspension feel and the throaty engine grunt with DCT.

Fun little car with some throaty grunt, solid feel now, and excellent SMOOTH DCT.