In realizing Acura needs more distance from its parent’s mainstream cars if it wants to be perceived as a luxury brand, Honda may push its upcoming turbocharged engines on its premium cars.
In an interview with Car&Driver at the launch of the facelifted 2016 Acura ILX, Acura product planner Gary Robinson dropped a not-so-subtle hint that Honda’s upscale brand would benefit from the new turbocharged VTEC engines coming soon:
“Obviously, a 2.0-liter turbo is more of a must-have in the luxury world than it is in the mainstream world, so …”
Not that a 2.0-liter turbo four makes a car a luxury car, but when all of your major rivals have one (Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, etc.) it makes sense that Acura might consider gearing up. And not that any of this will have an effect on the current ILX, but it likely will on the next-generation car due in a few years.
Taking a bit of a leap here, but the next ILX could have more in common with the Honda Civic and Civic Tourer sold elsewhere in the world. But consider that the Civic Type R due for the Geneva Motor Show next month will have a 2.0-liter turbo VTEC that’s also destined for a U.S. product. While Honda will likely put that engine in larger cars and crossovers, a 300-horsepower turbo ILX sounds like the kind of car to get those old Integra fans back in the showroom.
If Honda has learned anything in all the work they’ve done to fix the first ILX, they’ll just give us the European-market Civic and Civic Tourer, complete with its diesel and manual, and call it a day.
OK, wishful thinking.
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