New Member from the MS Gulf Coast

Thanks for the welcome.

The power difference is noticeable coming from an all wheel drive, turbo, 237 horsepower /253 torque on sport suspension (I wasn't rolling around in those stock power specs either, which pushed the HP and TQ into EVO territory.)

But I will say that the 2.0 doesn't feel like it truly possesses the low numbered performance specs that it has on paper. Honda did a very good job modifying what they could so that the drive doesn't feel like the economy car from where our 2.0's are based from. I basically had a grin on my face when I stepped on it during the test drive and wondered how all reviewers pitted this car as too slow. I would say acceleration is adequate. I've driven an actual SLOW car, and this is nothing to complain about.

I actually was looking at the 2.5 as I had owned a Civic SI in the past but having a manual at this point in time would be unwise for my family. I've heard nothing but great things about the 2.5 ILX as far as performance and driver feel and engagement.

The trade off was absolutely worth it. With the Lancer, it's attention from all the wrong people. Mainly police and every immature driver who wants to street race. I grew tired of it. Mitsubishi is not know for their build quality and amenities either (exterior paint is horrible, less comforts than a true economy car). I could tell the focus was all performance and my family could as well.

I think it's the balance that caught me with the ILX. The outer appearance is just a hint aggressive while maintaining a mature flow (attention from adults). The interior isn't ballin' out of control luxury but I can certainly say it's not an economy car. The performance (even in the much criticized 2.0) to me, is far from boring and I think they did a great job adding a touch of sportiness to an otherwise good looking family hauler.

Don't even get me started on the MPG... needless to say, I think this car will be a keeper for a long, long, time.

Holy crap, sorry for replying so late... I thought I'd get an auto generated e-mail or something if another person added to this thread.

I did not get the tech package; if you can tell from my tiny wheels in the pictures, it's a base model... which is still a great deal more luxurious than the Lancer... believe me.

Also, here's what I was rolling in before the Lancer (and I was single):





I will take more pics of the ILX when I start to do mods... I'm looking right at the wheels as my first target at the moment. Still gathering data: hubcentric ring size, what offset would be plausible, and what the heck color to get with a black ILX... this is the first black car I've ever owned and I don't want to regret the wheel choice I make.

Have you guys seen the TSW Nurburgring wheels? Those are nice too and could see those be able to fit a ILX and look good. all blacked out would be a nice stealth look.

They look like these

Okay, about the baby seat:




Plenty of space for the little one. She's three years old and her legs don't even touch the backseat. That's also me sitting next to the child seat... and I made sure I was dead smack in the correct seating position.

Also, I agree with the mesh style type of wheels working for the ILX (that TSW is gorgeous); those flow well with luxury type cars, and with the ILX being so curvy; I'm sure there's not really much that can go wrong with picking wheels.

Not sure about getting black wheels on a black car... I know it will look absolutely wicked but I worry about bad drivers who have trouble seeing black parked cars on the curb at night (throwing black wheels on top of that won't help visibility at all).

And I'm actually fine with reviewers bashing the crap out of this car. If you make that judgement to not buy this vehicle based on another person's opinion, without your butt in the driver's seat, then you deserve to miss out on a good car. Besides... seeing everyone else driving your same car... I don't think anyone really feels good about that :wink: