The Acura ILX Is Now A Dirt-Cheap Luxury Civic With Extra Power And An Available DCT

When it was first unveiled, the current Acura Integra was certainly controversial. To a certain extent, it still is. Whether or not you think the name fits the car, it’s difficult to deny that Integra is a more memorable name than the one bestowed upon the car’s predecessor, the Acura ILX.

Actually, was there anything wrong with the ILX other than being a bit outdated by the end of its production run? Wasn’t it offered, at various points in the production run, with K24 power, a six-speed manual gearbox, or an eight-speed DCT? Indeed it was, and it’s now a genuine used car bargain.

Welcome back to Beige Cars You’re Sleeping On, a weekly series in which we raise the profile of some quiet greats. We’re talking vehicles that are secretly awesome, but go unsung because of either a boring image or the lack of an image altogether.

Oh, Canada

Our story starts not with the launch of the ILX, but way back in 1997 across America’s northern border. See, the Acura Integra sedan wasn’t doing so hot in Canada, so Acura had an idea — why not replace it with a nicer version of the locally-produced Civic? With some reasonably thorough restyling shared with the Honda Domani, increased amenities like a moonroof and a CD player, and a 127-horsepower D16Y8 1.6-liter single-cam four-cylinder engine under the hood, the Acura 1.6 EL was born. Overnight, the 1.6 EL became the best-selling Acura in Canada. It turns out, it was exactly what the nation needed.

For years, the Honda Civic was Canada’s best-selling car, and many people just wanted a nicer Civic. With increased sound deadening, VTEC power, and available leather, the 1.6 EL was the start of something sensible, but great. For the tricky follow-up act, Acura turned the 2001 Civic into the 1.7 EL, which was then replaced by the Acura CSX. That’s the car that took this concept to the moon.

See, the Acura CSX wasn’t just a nicer Civic for Canada, it was a Civic sedan for the rest of the world. See, Honda liked the styling direction of the CSX so much, it became the de facto Civic sedan look outside of North America. Now that’s a win. Under the hood, the D-Series four-banger was out, replaced with two different two-liter K-Series engines — a 155-horsepower K20Z2 on standard models and a 197-horsepower K20Z3 on the hot Type-S. Picture the CSX Type-S as a Civic Si with nicer lighting and leather. It ruled,

Truthfully, even the base model whipped the llama’s ass, because it was fundamentally a nicer eighth-generation Civic with a slightly more powerful engine — a great car made better. With a production run from 2006 until 2011, it built one hell of an internal legacy, and forced Acura’s American division to take notice of its northern neighbors.

Crossing Over

Just after the turn of the 2010s, Acura had a new problem in America —the German luxury manufacturers were on their way to undercut everything. From the F30 BMW 320i to the $30,000 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250, new depths in lease specials were plumbed and Acura needed to compete. Why not with a nicer Civic?

In effect, the Acura ILX did to the ninth-generation Civic what the CSX did to the eighth-generation car: Revamp the styling, add toys, give it a zestier standard engine, and sell it as an Acura. Oh, and what toys it got. How about available goodies like a 415-watt 10-speaker audio system, HID headlights, heated leather seats, GPS-linked automatic climate control, and the Zagat guide built into the navigation system? In the beginning, three different powertrains were also on offer: A 1.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid setup, a two-liter R20 four-banger, and the 201-horsepower 2.4-liter K24Z3 that came only with a six-speed manual transmission. Now that’s a lot of choice.

The result? Unsurprisingly, the 2013 Acura ILX worked alright, but was a little light on luxury compared to its German rivals. During a long-term test, Car And Driver called it “Effervescence in a plain bottle,” but noted that “The ILX let us down again once we focused on the “L” word—that’d be luxury.” In the context of a used car, it’s usually worth trading some luxury for reliability, but that tradeoff just didn’t work when new. However, that didn’t stop Acura from fiddling with the ILX, and a facelift came three model years after its 2013 model year launch.

Things got more interesting in 2016 when Acura tweaked the styling and scrapped the entire powertrain lineup for one solution. Starting with a 201 horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with 180 lb.-ft. of torque and a much less peaky powerband than in the ninth-generation Honda Civic Si, Acura then paired that engine with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission that was reasonably fast and could easily get into first gear for tight hairpins and steep driveway entries. Add in the fact that aftermarket suspension components already exist for this thing, and it could be a promising autocross sleeper. Of course, it would need some aftermarket goodies to do so, as Car And Driver noted that:

As with so many Acuras of late, there’s no interaction with the jejune ILX that we think we’ll remember in a decade. On the road, it handles competently enough, the understeer gradually building well before the tires lose grip. There seems to be more real-world adhesion than the 0.83-g skidpad score suggests, and the ILX glides through corners with surprising confidence and body control, at least some credit belonging to the A-Spec’s slightly wider tires.

However, there’s another exceptionally good reason to buy a used ILX over a tenth-generation Civic, and that’s a matter of reliability. More comprehensively equipped Civic trims got a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine known for occasionally diluting its oil supply with fuel. Not ideal. The ILX? It’s rock-solid, a compact car that just works. How about that?

For 2019, the Acura ILX received one final facelift before being replaced by the Integra for the 2023 model year, and this was the most handsome the model got. The new headlights and grille looked expensive, and even though the interior was a little last-generation, the updated infotainment system was nice.

Second-Hand Bargain

Of course, because the Acura ILX is largely forgotten, used examples are going for cheap. Want a second-facelift car with all the trimmings? Here’s a 2019 ILX A-Spec in Superman-spec blue-over-red, and it’s going for cheap. Listed with 40,728 miles on the clock by a dealership in Columbus, Ohio for $17,882, it’s a pretty good deal for a five-year-old compact car, let alone one with GPS-linked climate control and a subwoofer. You certainly aren’t getting a comparable 2019 Civic Touring for that sort of money, so if you’re feature-driven, an ILX could be a solid way of saving some coin.

Want one of the rare manual models? They’re hard to find, but they exist. This 2013 Acura ILX with the six-speed manual transmission and revvy K24 engine is up for sale in Richmond, Va. for $9,995 with 137,156 miles on the clock. Admittedly, that is a lot of money for an eleven-year-old compact sedan, but at least it has a reputation for reliability.

So, if you’re on the hunt for a recent yet well-equipped compact sedan that won’t break the bank, or an older compact premium sedan with a slick-shifting six-speed, you might want to put the Acura ILX on your radar. Sure, a nicer Civic isn’t exactly a sexy proposition, but for A-to-B transportation, it hits the nail on the head and offers a little intrigue. Plus, the K24 is a juggernaut of an engine, so imagine an ILX as the base for a modern sleeper Honda. Now that would be cool.

(Photo credits: Acura, Autotrader Sellers)

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