2013 Acura ILX Hybrid – Road Test and Review

BOTTOM LINE

The main problem for the ILX is its price. I just can’t wrap my head around the nearly $35k that Acura asks for the ILX Hybrid Technology model that I tested. Sure, that’s top of the line with all of the bells and do-dads but still, that’s a lot of coin even for a fully loaded model. Many people who sat in the ILX during my week with it remarked that it really “wasn’t that bad” follow quickly thereafter with a “oh no, not for that price!” after I divulged the mid-30k price point of my tester. I feel like that’s a reaction Acura is going to have to get used to until they can find a way to shave about $3,000 off the price.

The MSRP doesn’t tell the entire story. Acura is currently running a lease deal that offers the ILX (a base model, which is still high on content) in the low $200s per month. That’s Toyota Corolla territory and, compared to the Corolla, the ILX is a world apart. So this is where the ILX might find its niche: in being a manufacturer subsidized lease deal queen. Something to keep the lower end of the market in an Acura showroom by any means possibly.

Of course that’s not exactly a glamorous position to be in. Unfortunately for Acura, the ILX is a wallflower in its class, just like the brand itself. The 2013 Acura ILX is not markedly good, but also, almost frustratingly so, it’s not really bad either. Does mediocrity have a market? Early ILX sales figures seem to say no. I’d have to agree.

THE DETAILS

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