Now That There's A New Honda Civic, Why Are Sales Of The Old Acura ILX Rising?

There is a new Honda Civic on a new platform with a very well-equipped Touring trim available. The tenth-generation is a hot seller and it claimed top sales honours among passenger cars in April.

Yet sales of another car, based on the old Honda Civic’s platform, are on the rise. Indeed, sales of the Acura ILX, admittedly updated for 2016 but very much a close relative of the ninth-generation Civic, have risen nine percent in a car market which tumbled eight percent through the first five months of 2016.

Why?

No seriously, why?

Despite Honda conditions that suggest ILX sales should be falling, we’ve got a few theories about why ILX sales are on the rise.

HORSEPOWER?

The ILX’s 2.4 produces 201 horsepower; the Civic’s 1.5T only 174. Perhaps buyers believe the extra 27 horsepower will be evident, but because the Civic’s 1.5T makes all of its torque so low in the rev-range, the Civic is just as punchy in the real world, if not more so.

HONDA MONEY?

Mainstream compact car pricing reaches into some uncomfortable regions. Regardless of how well-equipped and spacious that Civic Touring may be, for some potential ILX buyers who could (and should) be looking at an alternative Honda product, $27,335 will seem like too much for a non-performance Civic.

PRESTIGE?

The Civic’s structure is more solid, enabling superior ride and handling balance. The cabin is significantly roomier. The tech interface is better. The steering is sharper. The brakes are better. A $27,335 Honda Civic 1.5T Touring feels like what a $30,000 Acura ILX should feel like, while a $28,930 Acura ILX would line up better against a $24,000 Honda Civic.

And in this environment, with the Honda Civic improved to the extent that demand for the Acura ILX should dry up, sales of the ILX are on the rise. Could it be down to reason number three, the flip side of reason number two, that we’re not giving enough credit to Honda’s upmarket brand for the cachet of the Acura badge?

Is the Acura ILX, dare we say it, desirable? Does it make people jealous?

One thing is certain: it’s still not popular. Acura is on track to sell 20,000 ILXs in the United States in 2016, the ILX’s best total since 2013. Yet Buick is killing off the Verano, a car which has typically sold twice as often as the Acura. Pricier entry-level luxury cars at Audi and Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, are significantly more common than the ILX, though U.S. sales of the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA are both declining in early 2016.

[Image Source: American Honda]

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.