2018 Acura ILX review

What We Like

Handling performance: The ILX is a Honda Civic at heart, with Honda’s characteristic balance of taut suspension and sporty handling baked in. It turns into curves with direct and responsive steering and stays composed over midturn bumps. A thick-rimmed steering wheel lends weight to driving experience, and the engine’s enthusiastic hum under acceleration is an added bonus.

Visibility: Driving with any kind of gusto requires good sightlines, and the ILX offers clear, unobstructed views all around. The structural pillars are narrow but strong — the ILX earned the government’s top five-star crash test rating, after all — and allow for excellent visibility to the back and sides. This helps not only during bouts of spirited driving but also with simple lane changes and merging. The ILX’s outward visibility is a good thing too since the 2018 ILX only offered blind-spot warning and similar driver-assist features on pricier optional trim levels.

Fuel economy: The ILX gets an EPA-estimated 29 mpg combined (25 mpg city/35 mpg highway).

That’s similar to the Audi and Mercedes small sedans and better than the Lexus IS 300. The ILX may not match the luxury trappings of those options, but it measures up well in estimated fuel economy, even offering more power than the Audi and only slightly less than the Benz. All for less money too.

What Needs Improvement

Ride comfort: The ILX falls short of its luxury target with its stiff ride. Other entry-luxury models balance a firm suspension, necessary for tight and sporty handling, with a compliant ride that subdues the shaking and jostling from rough roads and potholes. The ILX missed the ride-comfort memo and is simply too stiff and unyielding, almost to the point of distraction. Big bumps will toss you around in your seat, and taller passengers may find themselves brushing the headliner over nastier road rash.