Compare the2023 Honda AccordVS 2022 Acura ILX

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Accord have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Acura ILX doesn’t offer pretensioners for its 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 Accord 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 Accord 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 Accord 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 Accord’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 Accord 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.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Accord for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Acura doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the ILX.

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 Accord’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. With 9 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Honda higher than Acura.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Acura With 14 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Honda higher than Acura.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 3 places higher in reliability than Acura.

The Accord’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 12 lbs.-ft. more torque (192 vs. 180) than the ILX’s 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Accord Hybrid’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 3 more horsepower (204 vs. 201) than the ILX’s 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Accord gets better mileage than the ILX:

Regenerative brakes improve the Accord Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The ILX doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Accord’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. The ILX doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda Accord uses regular unleaded gasoline. The ILX requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Accord’s standard fuel tank has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the ILX (14.8 vs. 13.2 gallons).

The Accord 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 Accord 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.

For better traction, the Accord has larger standard tires than the ILX (225/50R17 vs. 215/45R17). The Accord Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the ILX (235/40R19 vs. 225/40R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Accord Sport/Touring has standard 19-inch wheels. The ILX’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The Accord has a standard space-saver spare (not available on Hybrid) 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 Accord’s wheelbase is 6.3 inches longer than on the ILX (111.4 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Accord is 3.4 inches wider in the front and 3.4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the ILX.

The Accord’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (59% to 41%) than the ILX’s (63% to 37%). This gives the Accord more stable handling and braking.

The front grille of the Accord uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The ILX doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Accord a Large car, while the ILX is rated a Compact.

The Accord has 16.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the ILX (105.7 vs. 89.3).

The Accord has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 5.1 inches more front hip room, 2.3 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear headroom, 6.8 inches more rear legroom, 3.7 inches more rear hip room and 2.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the ILX.

The Accord has a much larger trunk than the ILX (16.7 vs. 12.4 cubic feet).

The Accord EX/Sport/EX-L/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 Accord uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The ILX uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Accord Sport-L/EX-L/Touring’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The ILX doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Accord Touring has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The ILX doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Accord’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 power windows standard on both the Accord and the ILX have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Accord is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The ILX prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Accord 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 Accord detect other vehicles which could be blinded and automatically switch to low beams. The ILX doesn’t offer automatic dimming high beams.

Both the Accord and the ILX offer available heated front seats. The Accord Touring also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the ILX.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Accord Touring keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The ILX doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

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

The Honda Accord outsold the Acura ILX by almost 25 to one during 2022.