The Acura brand offers a group of some of the easiest cars there are to drive, manual or automatic. This past week I drove the attractive 2015 Acura ILX 2.4 Premium. Overall, this Acura comes in with plenty of extras in the world of the compact luxury sedan choices.
Competition includes the 2014 Audi A3, Mercendes-Benz CLA-Class and also the Buick Verano. The Acura ILX has undergone some minor changes for the new year depending on the trim. However, the biggest disappointment is that the ILX Hybrid has been discontinued.
Acura devotees might consider they are paying a bit more for this compact luxury sedan considering the mid-size sedans like the Honda Accord and the Nissan Altima cost about the same price, but the drivability of an Acura really does stand out – a fact that Acura fans know all about.
There are four trim levels on the 2015 Acura ILX, including the 2.0, 2.0 with premium package, 2.0 with technology package and 2.4 with premium package.
The regular features on the base 2.0 include 17-inch wheels, sunroof, automatic headlights, heated mirrors and front seats, full power accessories, keyless ignition and entry, leather upholstery with an eight-way power driver seat, a fold-down rear seatback and a five-inch screen with a rearview camera and all the necessary audio connectivity including seven speakers with a CD player and USB/iPod interface.
On the 2.0 trim with the premium package and the 2.4 with the premium package there are xenon headlights, fog lights and an auto-dimming rearview mirror also included.
The 2.0 with the technology package has all of the premium package features as well as a navigation system and a larger screen, voice commands, AcuraLink and a GPS-linked climate control.
Under the hood, the 2015 ILX has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that will give you 150 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque with a five-speed automatic transmission using the front wheels.
The ILX 2.4 with the Premium package, which I drove comes in much faster with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and 201 horsepower with 170 pound feet of torque. You get a six-speed manual transmission only on this trim.
For safety the 2015 Acura ILX has antilock brakes, stability and traction control, front-seat side and side curtain airbags and active front head restraints as standard equipment as well as a rearview camera.
Inside this ILX the interior is well-crafted and looks and feels fine. While it does not feel like the Mercedes, the ILX does have a tech vibe that you can’t beat and the knobs and buttons are well placed so you never have to question the intuitiveness of this car. The cup holders are also spaced comfortably and there are plenty of nooks and crannies for things you need to stash. Consider too, there is the five-inch display screen or a six-inch with the navigation system.
You will also find the seats easy to get comfortable in, very soft, and adjustments can be made for just about any body type stepping behind the wheel. Add to that a lot of interior space even in the backseat. In the trunk you have 12.3 cubic feet, but the rear seats fold down if needed for more room. However, if you fold one seat down both must go down so in that case it means no backseat passengers.
Driving the 2015 Acura ILX is a fun time, the engine purrs pretty loud and you can definitely handle getting on the highway easily as well as the bumps and turns as you navigate the road. I am not a big fan of the manual transmission, but on this vehicle I had a good time driving it, expect the easy and tuned in needs of the driver front and center.
Indeed, quiet, comfortable and a pleasure to drive, the 2015 Acura ILX fans know the value of this brand, really enjoyable, perhaps it’s time you learned the value too.
Should You Need to Know: On the 2015 Acura ILX 2.4 you can get from zero to 60 miles per hour in an easy seven seconds.
MPG: On the 2015 Acura ILX 2.4 you will get 25 mpg combined or 22 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.
Cost: The 2015 Acura ILX 2.4 will cost you roughly $30,200.
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