The 10th Gen Civic Si a bit ‘edgier’ than 2017 Acura ILX

While 2016 Honda Civic Si will most likely ‘out horsepower’ the current generation ILX, Acura has a few tricks up its engineering sleeve. We look to 2017.

Granted, the all new turbocharged Civic Si will be a ball buster when released sometime in the early winter of 2015. But truthfully, and this has been substantiated by Acura Public Relations and our dealership network, buyers looking to the Acura name rarely drop on over to the Honda lot and opt to purchase a Honda downline car or truck. 2016 Civic Si does not have Acura ILX in its crosshairs.

In a recent story appearing in the Detroit News, it was expressed that Honda may be stifling it’s own luxury division sales by producing an all new Honda Civic that encroaches on Acura ILX performance and refinement, at a much lower price point, perhaps.

Granted, when we first experienced 2016 Acura ILX - A-SPEC, we did look to Honda Civic EX-L and Civic Si sedan for a direct comparison, there was none.

Although, 2015 Honda Civic proved to be a much refined and capable people mover, featuring some if not the greatest standard featured passive and active safety features in the compact car segment.

No argument here, 2016 Civic is a not so entry level purchase bargain

While Detroit News contributor Henry Paine makes a valid point or two as to the possible impact the reinvented 2016 Honda Civic may have on near future 9th generation Civic based Acura ILX sales, we point to the scheduled all new world-compact-platformed Acura ILX, due to appear as a 2017 model sometime in 2016. It’s coming and may feature turbocharged hybrid performance.

And while ILX will not be as stark-performance-edgy as Civic Si, it never has been. ILX targets an affluent young family market. Hence the ‘jr. executive class’ connotation.

2016 Honda Civic Si to retain the 6 speed manual while adding turbo power

As noted by Acura Division and our friends at Kendel Auto Group, the majority of U.S. Acura enthusiasts have never manually shifted a transmission. Thus, the probability of a manual transmission Civic Si based Acura offering is most doubtful.

We predict that the 10th generation Civic, although greatly refined over past generations, will not encroach on premium Acura ILX sales to any measurable degree.

As race derived paddle shifted dual clutch 8 speed automated manual transmissions becomes the performance norm for Acura and other makers, we anticipate the same for the next generation Acura ILX. The heavy shifting will be left to the Honda Civic Si enthusiast, as it should be.

To date, 2016 Acura ILX has recorded unprecedented sales growth, despite an base MSRP of $27,900 to $34,890, smack in the middle of Audi A3 and BMW 2 country. Read our latest 2016 Acura ILX-A-SPEC drive review here.

Although a release date for the all new Honda Civic Si has not been announced, we anticipate a sneak peak of the production Si at the 2015 Los Angeles International Auto Show. Stay tuned, we’ll be there!