 |
| 2014 Acura ILX Hybrid. |
You have no idea how much I want to say really good things about the 2014 Acura ILX Hybrid. Not gonna happen here, I'm afraid. 13 months ago, I compared the transformation of a Honda Civic into an Acura ILX to the Ford Granada/Lincoln Versailles and Chevrolet Citation/Cadillac Cimarron rebadges. Silk purse from sow's ear.
Yes, this is the ILX Hybrid, which buys you 15 miles more per gallon in city traffic, according to the EPA and 3 more on the highway than a gasoline-powered ILX (39 city/38 highway, if you're keeping track)...but that's about it.
 |
| 2014 Acura ILX Hybrid. |
It's still essentially a cleaned-up Civic on the outside (and for 2014, Civic has cleaned itself up), and its lack of kicks at the wheel only gets worse in the hybrid version. You can get a Civic sedan for $18,390. Heck, if you live in California (hello, neighbor) you can get the Civic Natural Gas for $26,640. But the ILX Hybrid Tech we drove is $34,600. With $895 for destination and handling, that's $35,495.
You do get some value for your money in the way of features, most of them expected, like anti-lock disc brakes, every possible safety nanny electronic assist and a full complement of airbags. You also get pushbutton ignition, Bluetooth, dual-zone climate control, a power moonroof, fog lamps, heated door mirrors and keyless entry.
 |
| 2014 Acura ILX Hybrid interior. |
And with the Tech Package, you fold in nav with voice recognition and a rearview camera, real-time traffic and weather, an upgrade to an Acura/ELS surround-sound system with 10-speakers, DVD, a hard drive, and XM Satellite Radio, leather-trimmed sport seats (the driver's is an 8-way power seat and the two fronts are heated), the climate control gets upgraded to a GPS-linked unit (the car figures out whether you're on a shady road, facing the sun...what angle the sun is hitting you from based on your position), an auto-dimming rearview mirror (Really? You have to have the Tech package for that?) and Xenon HID headlights.
The best I can summon up is damning with faint praise. It's not a bad car. It needs (for the price and for what Acura needs to be to move forward in an incredibly competitive marketplace) to be a great one.
There's a young man I met when I lived in Arizona named Tyson Hugie. He drove a 1994 Acura Legend 6-Speed Coupe to 500,000 miles (and now beyond). Acura gave him the keys to an ILX two years ago. He's up to 77,000 miles and change as I write this. His travels are well worth following. But I can't imagine that if he gets to half a million miles in the ILX (if anyone can, it's Tyson, a maintenance monster), he'll have the same big smile and satisfied feeling he had when he got there in the Legend.
