What is the Acura ILX based on?
The Acura ILX is built on Honda’s Civic platform, sharing its fundamental architecture while adding Acura styling, interior finishes, and features. In practice, the ILX functions as a premium version of the Civic, using the same underlying engineering as Honda’s compact car family.
Platform and Engineering Backbone
The ILX sits on a Civic-based platform, sharing the core chassis and front-drive layout common to Honda’s compact lineup. This arrangement provides a familiar driving character, efficient packaging, and established reliability, while allowing Acura to tailor tuning and components for a refined ride.
- Shared chassis and platform with the Civic, enabling compact dimensions and predictable handling.
- Powertrain options aligned with Honda Civic engines, including the 2.0-liter i-VTEC family and, in some model years, a larger 2.4-liter unit originated from the TSX lineage.
- Similar transmission approaches to Civics of the era, with automatic options paired to the available engines.
- Suspension geometry and overall chassis dynamics tuned to deliver a more comfortable, premium ride while preserving compact-car agility.
- Electrical and infotainment architecture adapted from Honda’s systems, enhanced with Acura branding and features.
In short, the ILX inherits the Civic’s foundational engineering, then layers in Acura’s premium interior, signature styling cues, and exclusive features to position itself as a luxury-oriented alternative within the compact sedan class.
Distinctive Acura Enhancements
Beyond the shared Civic bones, Acura added its own touches to give the ILX a distinct identity—focusing on interior quality, available tech packages, and styling cues that separate it from its Honda sibling.
- Upgraded interior materials and finish options tailored to a premium feel, including leather and refined trim.
- Acura-specific design language applied to the exterior with a more formal grille treatment and distinctive badging.
- Availability of luxury-oriented packages and features, such as advanced audio, navigation, and driver-assistance systems, exclusive to the ILX lineup.
- Ride-tuning and chassis calibration aimed at delivering a quieter, more composed experience than the Civic, with emphasis on refinement over sportiness.
- Variations in trim levels (e.g., base, Premium/Tech, and sport-oriented grades) that emphasize comfort, technology, or sport aesthetics within the same Civic-based platform.
These Acura-specific elements helped the ILX stand apart from the Civic while still offering the practicality, efficiency, and packaging customers expected from Honda’s compact cars.
Historical Context and Current Status
The ILX debuted in the early 2010s as Acura’s entry point to a more premium compact sedan, leveraging Honda’s Civic backbone to deliver luxury-oriented features without building a dedicated new platform from scratch. Over its production life, the ILX remained closely tied to Civic engineering, with updates enhancing interior materials, tech options, and refinement. Production eventually wrapped as Acura shifted its lineup strategy and introduced new compact-sport models under different badges.
Today, the ILX is remembered as a bridge between Honda’s economical compact choices and Acura’s luxury branding, illustrating how an automaker can extend a mainstream platform into a premium product without sacrificing efficiency or reliability.
Summary
In essence, the Acura ILX is based on the Honda Civic platform, inheriting its core architecture and powertrain family while receiving Acura-specific styling, interior upgrades, and technology. This relationship allowed Acura to offer a luxury compact sedan that shared engineering with its most popular commuter vehicle, while distinguishing itself through refinement, features, and branding.
Is Acura just a rebadged Honda?
They are both owned by the same company, however, Honda specializes in delivering a range of mainstream automobiles for customers, while Acura is focused on the production of luxury performance models for SUVs and sedans.
What car is comparable to the Acura ILX?
The main competitors to the Acura ILX are the Honda Civic, Mercedes-Benz CLA, and Audi A3. Other competitors include the Lexus IS and Mazda3.
This video discusses the Acura ILX in the context of its competitors, including the Honda Civic and Mercedes-Benz CLA: 59sAcuraYouTube · Oct 17, 2018
- Honda Civic: Often considered a top competitor, particularly the higher trims, because it offers a modern sedan design for a lower price. It is an entry-level compact car, while the ILX is a luxury small car.
- Mercedes-Benz CLA: A direct luxury competitor. The ILX has a lower MSRP and comes standard with features like heated seats and adaptive cruise control, which are optional on the CLA, notes Motorcars Acura.
- Audi A3: Another direct luxury competitor that competes with the ILX in the entry-level compact sedan segment, according to The Car Connection.
- Lexus IS: Competes in the luxury compact sedan market, though the ILX offers a different set of features and options.
- Mazda3: Competes in both mainstream and upscale markets with a quality cabin and a range of power options, making it a relevant competitor for the ILX, notes The Car Connection.
Is the ILX the same as the Civic?
Under the hood, the Acura ILX starts off with a 2.0-liter I4 engine, same as the Civic, but it packs slightly less horsepower and fuel economy. However, the comfort of the Acura's driving experience goes above Honda Civic with standard features like leatherette-upholstered seats.
What car is the Acura ILX based off of?
Civic sedan
The Acura ILX is a compact executive car manufactured and marketed by Honda under the Acura brand for the 2013–2022 model years, based on the ninth-generation Civic sedan.
