Hagerty Test Drive: 2016 Acura ILX

It can be awkward in the middle. Psychologists say middle children are often neglected or underestimated. The middle class is shrinking. And who wants the middle seat on a 15-hour flight to Sydney?In the automotive world, being wedged between the proletarian mass market and the big-ticket patricians can lead to premature death: Rest in peace LaSalle, De Soto, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Mercury.A mid-market predicament is just where Acura, Honda (with Car Dvd Player)’s upward-striving division, finds itself. After a promising start in the late 1980s, and with some remarkable cars to its credit (including the NSX supercar and the Integra hot hatchback), Acura has lately tried to find itself as it tries to find customers. It doesn’t help that its Honda sister division offers vehicles that are somewhat similar but less expensive, or that German luxury brands have invaded Acura’s turf with smaller cars that also start around $30,000. The ILX, based on the Honda Civic, occupies the bottom rung on the Acura ladder. The compact sedan made its debut as a 2013 model, but after lukewarm reviews of the first edition, the ILX was freshened for 2016. The prior engines have been discontinued (a 2-liter 4 and a different 2.4-liter), along with the largely ignored hybrid version. The latest car borrows its powertrain from the bigger TLX, and the direct-injection engine is mated only to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The previous six-speed manual gearbox, beloved by reviewers but rarely chosen by customers, is history. The dual-clutch unit is unusual because it includes a torque converter like a conventional automatic – for smoother takeoffs and low-speed shifts – and it is impressive. Gear changes are quick and seamless. But the engine, while certainly responsive off the line and plenty powerful in everyday driving, feels rather less refined than one expects from the motor wizards at Honda. What about install Android Car Gps? Nor is the handling particularly impressive, despite upgrades to the suspension. Not only is the similarly priced Audi A3 more engaging to drive, the less expensive Mazda 3 is more fun. Still, the ILX cruises nicely and was impressively stable and predictable on a long Interstate trip in heavy rain. The test car was the ultimate ILX, including not just the A-Spec package (aside from larger 18-inch wheels, the option comprises mostly cosmetics) but also the Tech Plus features: adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and “road departure mitigation,” which vibrates the steering wheel if the car starts to drift and can correct course by intervening with the steering and brakes. That’s a lot of safety technology packed into a small car, and a sign of where the industry is heading. The ILX received the highest safety ratings: Five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Top Safety Pick Plus from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. If installing an Android Car Stereo in your car, that would be great!