Test Drive: Acura ILX versions include 1 hottie, 2 notties

— -- Acura, Honda's luxury brand, hopes to snag lots of newly minted luxury-car buyers with its small ILX sedan, betting that smaller, lower-price models are the key to a long and happy life selling premium vehicles.

ILX, a new model loosely based on Honda's Civic sedan, is a compact, front-drive four-door that starts at a tempting $26,795.

While it uses the basic Civic platform and wheelbase, the ILX's track is wider and its body, interior and drivetrain array differ. Oddly, Honda specifications show the ILX has nearly 6% less passenger space than the Civic, even though the Acura is bigger overall.

The ILX is aimed, Acura says, at younger luxury buyers raised in luxury-car households who are unwilling to buy mainstream brands, but who are in the first generation likely to have lower incomes than their parents.

And, Acura says, "They put a higher priority on looking good than on going fast."

On paper, then, ILX buyers would seem willing to pay more for a car because of its badge than its contents — the underhood portion of which they seemingly consider irrelevant.

What, one wonders, will they make of the ILX 2.4-liter model, a step up from the base 2-liter. The 2.4 is an exciting, desirable car and thus, perhaps, frightening to the supposed ILX cadre.

The 201-horsepower ILX 2.4 ($30,095 and up) is an honest Acura: mechanically satisfying, dynamically stimulating. The 2.4 comes only with a six-speed manual transmission. Developers spent time and attention making the shifter feel robust, mechanical. Not as enticing as, say, a Subaru BR-Z or the B&M shifter on some Hyundai Elantra Touring wagons. But pretty good.

The 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine starts with an edgy cough, a punk on the verge of misbehaving and faunching to bolt. Leave the rulemakers and manners police behind.

It makes the most of the chassis tuning that transformed the car from a Honda to an Acura.

And it loves to run hard.

The drivetrain is geared so you can downshift less often and not as far. For instance, in cases where a tight corner might suggest that you slap the gear lever down into third, from fifth or sixth, fourth was OK in the ILX.

Seats are comfy. Rear-seat legroom is just OK, as expected in a compact car.

Interior trimmings are simple, avoiding the overwrought approach of some Asian-brand makers. But it's also somewhat uninteresting.

The 2-liter and the $29,795 gasoline electric hybrid — Acura's first hybrid — are tepid, somnambulence on wheels. They seem like pretenders, Acuras in badge only.

The 2-liter's 150 horsepower was generally adequate on a fast highway run from Virginia to New York, but needed to kick down its five-speed automatic fairly often to keep up with traffic. A small bright spot: Steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles are positioned well and encourage manual operation of the five-speed automatic, helping you extract the small amount of fun built in.

The hybrid was woefully underpowered, unable to use its 111 horsepower to confidently pull from a side road into fast-moving highway traffic, or to scoot past a dawdler.

It gets good mileage, better than the window sticker says, which is a pleasant surprise. But its 39-miles-per-gallon city, 38-highway ratings are matched nowadays by gasoline-power cars of the same size and lower price.

The underwhelming models share other of the 2.4-liter's good points — nice interior, comfy seats, generally premium sound and feel.

Here's a useful feature, not unique, but still rare: Assuming you have the proper cellphone, a voice-control system will read texts to you and let you reply with short pre-set answers, keeping hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Your reply choices: Talk to you later, I'm driving; I'm on my way; I'm running late; OK; Yes; and No.

Here's a quirk among models: No navigation system is available in the 2.4, even though it's higher-priced and otherwise better-equipped than the 2-liter base car. Acura says it considers the 2.4 the "stick-shift model" because it comes only with a manual and that too few people usually buy navi with a manual to justify the time and expense of offering it. It expects only 5% of buyers to take this model.

To a person, Acura people say, "We'll keep an eye on it" to see if the navi should be offered.

But the reality is, if you want an automatic, you get the ho-hum 2-liter model. If you want fun, true Acura personality, you get the 2.4 and give up navi (besides, $200 aftermarket navis are quite good nowadays).

And if you want mpg's, you take the hybrid and settle for mileage inferior to the more complicated (and higher-price) hybrids from rivals.

Acura might be right that smaller, lower-price models are the path to longevity. But only the 2.4-liter ILX seems to offer the image of precision, fun and sophistication that's been Acura's appeal.

•What? Front-drive, four-door compact sedan new to Acura with a modified Honda Civic chassis and slightly bigger body. Two gasoline drivetrains or Acura's first hybrid.

•When? On sale May 22.

•How much? 2-liter starts at $26,795 with shipping; 2.4-liter, $30,095; hybrid, $29,795.

•Where? Made at Greensburg, Ind.

•Why? Automakers think small, lower-price luxury models will boom.

•What makes it go? Base: 2-liter, four-cylinder rated 150 horsepower at 6,500 rpm, mated to five-speed automatic. Optional: 2.4-liter four-cylinder rated 201 hp at 7,000 rpm, mated to six-speed manual. Hybrid with 1.5-liter, four-cylinder gas engine and electric motor, rated a combined 111 hp, mated to CVT.

•How big? Roughly 2 inches longer, wider than Civic, ILX is 179.1 inches long, 70.6 in. wide, 55.6 in. tall on a 105.1-in wheelbase. Passenger space, 89.3 cu. ft. Trunk, 12.4 cu. ft.; 10 cu. ft. in hybrid. Weighs 2,910 to 2,987 lbs.

•How thirsty? 2-liter rated 24 miles per gallon in town, 35 highway, 28 combined. 2.4-liter: 22/31/25. Hybrid: 39/38/38.

Test cars: 2-liter showed 22 mpg (4.55 gallons per 100 miles) in suburbs, 34 mpg (2.94 gal./100 mi.) highway; 2.4-liter, 25 mpg (4 gal./100 mi.) on two-lane back roads; hybrid, 39.2 mpg (2.55 gal./100 mi.) in mix of back roads, small towns. Premium recommended.

•Overall: The 2.4-liter is tons of fun; base 2-liter and the hybrid are unimpressive, at best.