Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2021 Acura ILX

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Acura ILX doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Civic are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The ILX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Civic has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The ILX doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Civic Touring has standard Low Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The ILX doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Civic’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The ILX doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Civic and the ILX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

There are almost 4 times as many Honda dealers as there are Acura dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Civic’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda 19th in initial quality. With 8 more problems per 100 vehicles, Acura is ranked 23rd.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 23 places higher in reliability than Acura.

On the EPA test cycle the Civic LX CVT with its standard engine gets better fuel mileage than the ILX Auto (31 city/40 hwy vs. 24 city/34 hwy).

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Civic’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) The ILX doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Civic has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The ILX doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Civic has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The ILX doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Civic stops much shorter than the ILX:

For better traction, the Civic Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the ILX (235/40R18 vs. 225/40R18).

The Civic has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the ILX; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Civic’s wheelbase is 2.6 inches longer than on the ILX (107.7 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Civic is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.6 inches wider in the rear than the track on the ILX.

The Civic’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (61.2% to 38.8%) than the ILX’s (63% to 37%). This gives the Civic more stable handling and braking.

For better maneuverability, the Civic LX/EX’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the ILX’s (36.1 feet vs. 36.8 feet).

The Honda Civic may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 50 to 200 pounds less than the Acura ILX.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Civic has a liquid-filled front engine mount. The liquid helps further dampen engine harshness. The ILX uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Civic a Mid-size car, while the ILX is rated a Compact.

The Civic has 9.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the ILX (99 vs. 89.3).

The Civic has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 4 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.2 inches more rear headroom, 3.4 inches more rear legroom and 2.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the ILX.

The Civic Sedan has a much larger trunk than the ILX (14.8 vs. 12.4 cubic feet).

The Civic EX/Touring’s standard folding rear seats are split to accommodate bulky cargo. The ILX’s standard single piece folding rear seat is not as flexible; long cargo and a passenger can’t share the rear seat.

The Civic’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The ILX has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The Civic Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The ILX’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

While driving with high beams on, sensitive light sensors standard on the Civic detect other vehicles which could be blinded and automatically switch to low beams. The ILX doesn’t offer automatic dimming high beams.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda Civic Touring has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The ILX doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Civic Sport was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2 of the last 4 years. The ILX has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

The Civic was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” for 2 of the last 25 years. The ILX has never been an “All Star.”

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2016 North American Car of the Year. The ILX has never been chosen.