Compare the2023 Subaru WRXVS 2022 Acura ILX

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru WRX 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 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 WRX 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 Subaru WRX has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps 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 WRX Limited SPT/GT has standard Reverse Automatic Braking 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 WRX has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The ILX doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

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

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, with its optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the WRX its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The ILX last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

There are over 2 times as many Subaru dealers as there are Acura dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the WRX’s warranty.

The ILX’s redline is at 7200 RPM, which causes more engine wear, and a greater chance of a catastrophic engine failure. The WRX has a 6000 RPM redline.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. With 1 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Subaru 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 Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Acura With 18 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Acura.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 1 place higher in reliability than Acura.

The WRX’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 70 more horsepower (271 vs. 201) and 78 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 180) than the ILX’s 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Subaru WRX is faster than the Acura ILX (automatics tested):

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the WRX lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The ILX doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

The WRX has 3.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the ILX (16.6 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The WRX offers an optional 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 WRX’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the ILX are solid, not vented.

The WRX stops much shorter than the ILX:

For better traction, the WRX has larger standard tires than the ILX (235/45R17 vs. 215/45R17). The WRX’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the ILX (245/40R18 vs. 225/40R18).

The WRX offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The ILX’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the WRX is 2 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than the track on the ILX.

The WRX’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (59.9% to 40.1%) than the ILX’s (63% to 37%). This gives the WRX more stable handling and braking.

The WRX Limited handles at .95 G’s, while the ILX A-SPEC pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

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

The WRX has 9.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the ILX (98.9 vs. 89.3).

The WRX has 1.8 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front legroom, 3.8 inches more front hip room, 1.1 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear headroom, 2.5 inches more rear legroom and 2 inches more rear shoulder room than the ILX.

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the WRX’s trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don’t intrude into the trunk. The ILX’s useful trunk space is reduced by its intrusive beam hinge.

The WRX’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 WRX 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 engine in the WRX is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the ILX. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The WRX Premium/Limited/GT’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The ILX’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the WRX Premium/Limited/GT’s exterior PIN entry system. The ILX doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its extra cost AcuraLink can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The WRX’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the ILX’s headlights are rated “Poor.”

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

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the WRX Premium/Limited/GT has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The ILX doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The WRX’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The ILX offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Subaru WRX outsold the Acura ILX by almost three to one during 2022.