(first posted 8/25/2015) Do you see a Civic? So does everyone else. Like the narrow-bodied Pontiacs of old, the 1.6EL is a curious Canadian-only vehicle that has an interesting story to tell. Especially nowadays when the ideas behind the EL have graduated from Canada to being an integral part of the Acura lineup everywhere it is sold in the form of the ILX. Based on the tale I’m about to tell you, it should do fine. But will it?
One way to go around the problem of moving a brand downmarket, is to do what Sloan’s Cadillac did in 1927, and introduce a new brand to move downmarket (LaSalle, in this case) without compromising the parent’s image. The good thing about doing this is that it works both ways, as Honda demonstrated when it launched Acura in 1986. That way they got rid of all the stigma of people having to pay luxury-car prices for something with a Honda badge. Plus you get people talking about this cool new brand that’s backed by such a good company as Honda. So long as it doesn’t have a Honda badge.
Early on, Acura moved quickly up luxury car sales charts thanks to very compelling products. However, it seems that Canada wasn’t having much of the entry-level Integra. What they were having a lot of was another Honda – the Civic. During these years, the Civic was working up to become the best-selling passenger vehicle in Canada, a spot that it reached in 1997 and one it hasn’t left despite stiffer competition and that rather unfortunate redesign in 2012. Honda had been producing the Civic in their plant in Alliston, Ontario since 1988 and, I imagine, developing a new vehicle to suit their very specific (read: Civic-crazy) needs.
And so, in 1997 the Acura 1.6EL was released as a replacement for the Integra. It would come back another day in the form of the RSX. But replacing something that was always (on this continent at least) an Acura with something transparently based on your company’s value offering is very dangerous ground: the smart-buying public that wants a small luxury car can smell a phony product at fifty paces and will run into another brand’s loving arms if it feels duped.
The initial signs were not promising. Despite the TL-ized front end, exclusive alloy wheels (optional), body moldings and reworked lights, it was very difficult to hide the fact that this was very much a Honda Civic in drag. Under the hood it had the exact same 127HP 1.6-liter inline-four as in the Civic EX. From the Civic SI it got a reworked and stiffened suspension and sway bars for superior handling.
The interior also looked similarly unchanged. Comparing it to the normal Civic interior, the differences are minor. The center console was slightly reworked, better-ish materials were used and the instruments were bathed in an orange LED glow.
It also received a very generous dollop of noise insulation. The EL offered buyers features one couldn’t get in a Civic like remote keyless entry and decklid, a rear window-integrated radio antenna, and rather nice optional leather upholstery. Other features optional on Civics, such as a sunroof and cruise control, came as standard in the EL.
The 1.6EL, with its high specification and sporty suspension, was seemingly targeted at that upwardly mobile junior. Possibly buying his or her first brand new car, this demographic wanted something with Civic’s reliability and ease of ownership, but desired something with a little more prestige and class associated with an upmarket brand. This was reflected in the EL’s price: CA$17,800. That’s just a few dollars north of CA$25,000 today, or about ten grand more than what 2015 Civic sedan goes for. So, did these minor changes add up to something Acura would profit from? Did Acura manage to get their balance absolutely right? Did the Acura hit the spot with their first Canadian-built vehicle?
The EL flew off dealer lots, quickly becoming the best-selling Acura in Civic-crazy Canada. Admittedly, these numbers weren’t astronomical, as Acura sales in Canada have never topped 26,000 in their best year, but the EL did manage to account for nearly 50-percent of Canadian Acura sales in its first two years. For comparison, first year EL volume was about one-seventh that of the Civic.
When the seventh-generation Civic came along in 2001, Acura didn’t stray too far from their winning formula: take a Civic, add a touch of refinement, some additional new features, and a modicum of extra performance.
With the introduction of the eighth-generation Civic they decided it was time for a name change, and the EL became the CSX. Once again featuring slightly modified styling from the North American-spec Civic, the CSX shared its front and rear fascias with the Japanese domestic market Civic. As a matter of fact, the CSX was developed before the JDM Civic, so in this case, one might say the Honda is actually the rebadged variant. The 2006-2011 CSX never achieved the same sales volume as the EL however.
For 2012, Acura’s smallest Canadian offering was renamed again, although still Civic-based. The biggest change was that this model was now sold in the U.S. as well. In comparison to the EL and CSX, the Acura ILX looks considerably different from the Civic. Its sheet metal (including doors) is all unique, with a longer hood, different roofline, and more aggressive lines giving it a more “cab-rearward” athletic look. The interior is also entirely different, with many upgrades and a distinctive look.
Unfortunately, it seems that not everyone in the world is as fond of it as the Canadians were of the EL in those early days. The ILX has been somewhat of a slow seller in both Canada and the U.S. and Acura hopes that a redesigned 2016 version will correct that, giving it a better chance against new competitors such as the Audi A3, BMW 2-Series, and Mercedes CLA. If you ask me, I still don’t think it will work out so well this time.
Looks like a 96-97 Accord in the front, and a 98-02 Accord in the rear.
Talk about cheapening the Acura name.
Ladies and gentlemen, the new Cadillac Cimarron… I mean Acura EL.
While reading this I had the Catara in my head, But
that was at least an RWD effort, So you’re right it is a Japanese version of the Cimaron.
If nothing else, this is proof that the Cimarron wasn’t so much a terrible *idea* as terrible execution of a mediocre idea.
I’m surprised the EL sold as well as it did with so little styling differentation though.
How did the Infiniti G20 sell in Canada, I wonder, by way of comparison? While that may not have looked very different from the Primera, we didn’t get the Primera here, so it appeared unique and I imagine would have been priced at a similar point.
Cadillac was still billing itself as the “Standard of the World” when the Cimarron debuted. It may not have been the Standard of the World in 1981, but the division could make a credible claim that it was still the Standard of the American Automobile Industry.
Acura couldn’t make that sort of claim, and didn’t try to do so. That is why the Cimarron still seems like more of a “Deadly Sin” than this car does.
Also, the Civic was a far better base to start from than the Cavalier. Many Acura buyers were quite happy with knowingly buying a plusher Civic. Yet in terms of product differentiation, Acura didn’t do much more with the EL than Cadillac did with the Cimarron.
I’ve never seen one of these in my life, but they’re certainly interesting. The EL might have been very Civic, but it looked more premium, had more features, and a nicer interior – isn’t that what an entry-level luxury car is supposed to have? It may not be to everyone’s liking, but I’d say the EL succeeded in its intended mission. That leather looks very 1998-2002 Accord-like, BTW.
As for the ILX, things are a bit different today, as this class is far more competitive with established German brands reaching further down. The ILX might not be as prestigious as an A3 or CLA, but it receives more than its fair share of criticism. Yes it is based on the Civic platform, but it has completely different styling, a totally different interior design with higher quality finishes, and abundance of exclusive technology, and for 2016 it gets an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic not found in any Honda-branded vehicle.
I’m not saying it’s perfect (interior could use a dose of excitement), or is it a direct competitor to fully-loaded versions of the A3, CLA, or the 320i (which I’d argue is more of BMW’s entry-level car than the coupe-only 2-Series), but the ILX is a better effort than many people give credit for.
Platform sharing between luxury and non-luxury brands is industry practice and has been for a long time. I don’t see much criticism of the Cadillac XTS which shares its platform with the Chevy Impala (whose base price is $17,000 cheaper) or the Audi A3 which shares its platform with the VW Golf (whose base price is $12,000 cheaper).
I think the new ILX wears the Acura badge, much better than this EL, ever did.
Why doesn’t Acura just call it Integra, give us a sporty coupe version of it… Instead of, subliminally naming it ILX?
This is a rendering, I know, but most of us miss our junior Acura.
Seriously, they need to just swallow their pride and admit the alphanumeric strategy never totally worked. At least bring back Integra and Legend for the ILX and TLX (instead of the RLX which most people don’t even know exists).
That ILX coupe rendering does look very appealing! Models like that are what get younger buyers into showrooms, even if they don’t buy that particular model (although I’d be apt to).
Actually, the TLX is selling well as it is and doesn’t need to be renamed. The Integra name could be resurrected for the ILX, and that coupe would really sell well – it looks great Sarcasmo! They only thing I truly disagree with is the Legend name. I think if they brought back the Legend name on the RLX, then people would be interested in it and it would sell. The Legend still exists in Japan on the current RLX as the Honda Legend and it sells very well. People ask me every day about the Legend and have stories about their Legends. Plus, the price point of the RLX fits the Legend name perfectly. I think Acura made a mistake getting rid of both the Legend and the Integra nameplates.
As far as our SUV’s are concerned,
My laptop was frozen – so I was going to say as far as our SUV’s are concerned they are selling great with the alphanumeric names.
I was thinking about this even further, and I think where Acura really messed up was getting rid of their entry level AND luxury level car’s names. These are the two extremes in the car line, and these were the popular nameplates that consumers knew and loved. The original Acuras introduced in 1986 were the Integra and Legend! By getting rid of them it took away consumer’s familiarity with the brand and the popular cars they loved.
Cynical perhaps, but Acura dealers need volume, and this looks like a good candidate for a lease deal.
Some time during the end of high school, there was a guy who drove one of these (paid by one of his parents) when they were fairly new. I would see them as an upscale Civic. Civics at the time didn’t do a whole lot to impress me besides run as a cheap, basic, reliable means of transportation.
The EL is actually a lightly reworked JDM market Honda Domani; itself a an upscale close relative of the Civic. These also served as the basis for the final generation Isuzu Gemini.
Beat me to it we have these here ex JDM wearing Honda badges nothing special which is usual for Japanese car makers just another fool the locals exercise.
A friend of mine is in the car buying process, and has turned down my recommendations (buy a ’91 Cadillac Brougham, it will last forever!) and we went and looked at whatever the Acura Accord is. I cannot keep up with these idiotic letter combinations.
A) I noticed, from 20 feet away, the trim on most of the cars didn’t even come close to lining up. I’m not the kind of person who notices these things, so if I noticed it, it was BAD.
The Acura Accord was about 37K on the orange markdown stickers on all the cars, the regular Accord, fully loaded, is about 30. The Acura Accord feels EXACTLY like the regular Accord, same doors, same feeling, same engine, everything.
Why do people buy . . . o wait, they don’t buy Acuras. Well, I’m surprised for all of Honda’s alleged brilliance, that Honda hasn’t done better with Acura.
You must be talking, about the 1st gen Acura TSX… Which happens to be the Euro Accord.
Not sure if the 2nd gen TSX, was still based on the Euro Accord. One of our writers, Brendan Saur, owns one, so he would know better than I would.
I don’t know much about Honda’s in general, except that they compete with the Toyota line. If the Honda line is more or less a Chevrolet, as is the Toyota line, then the Acura is more of a Buick than a Cadillac. The Lexus LS was a Mercedes E class or better when it was introduced. The Lexus ES was not so good, but more than a rebadged Camry. I have not really looked at Acura’s, although I do see a number of them around where I live. I ran into one recently, a TL (literally).
You’re right in that Acura is more of a “premium” brand along the likes of Buick (and Volvo, I’d add) as opposed to a being a direct competitor to makes like Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. I really think Acura would benefit from a further push upmarket and greater differing between its models and regular Hondas, but Honda doesn’t seem to want to invest in that. This strategy worked well for Infiniti for a while, but now Infiniti’s growth is largely stagnant.
This being said, as an Acura owner I’m very happy with my choice in car. It might be hard for some people to see, but there is a noticeably upgraded feel over Hondas, even ones that are newer. Beyond basic maintenance, I’ve had to invest no money into it, and it’s six years old now. I don’t think I’d be saying that about any same age German luxury car or Cadillac.
The 2007 Cadillac SRX that I had with a RWD northstar V8 gave me 6 years and 91,000 miles of trouble free use. It did need shocks near the end of that run, but otherwise nothing ever broke.
The Acura should give a more luxury feel than the comparable Honda. I think that for Acura to be affordable for Honda, the models need to be based on the Honda line up. This will limit what they can do.
Acuras are the current Honda lineup just not a lineup you get to see.
“It might be hard for some people to see, but there is a noticeably upgraded feel over Hondas, even ones that are newer.”
Why do people think this? Why do Acuras get such a hard time from consumers and press? I’m glad you like your Acura, Brendan. Nearly everyone that drives one likes and /or loves their car. What I can’t understand is why some people feel they have to make an excuse for looking at or driving an Acura. It is a luxury level car, no questions asked. It is Honda’s luxury line, so it WILL feel noticeably better than a Honda because it is.
The Lexus LS was meant to compete with the top of the line Mercedes, the S-Class… not the midrange E-Class.
It was called a Japanese S-Class, by the automotive press, back in the day. It bears a vague resemblance, also.
The other competitor, the Infiniti Q45… Showed the world the Japanese can build a serious luxury automobile to compete with and exceed where the Europeans couldn’t…. In cost of ownership and reliability.
The ES250/ES300, were meant to compete with the E-Class… Reliable cars, but not really sporty with their Camry underpinnings and FWD.
The GS was more of a competitor with the E-Class and 5 Series BMW… With 6 and 8 optional power plants, and available RWD and AWD.
The IS was and is a viable competitor for the 3-Series BMW.
Well what Lexus was meant to be and what it actually is are not necessarily the same thing.
What do you mean, by that?
You don’t think Lexus, makes a well built, reliable automobile, that CAN compete with and hold its own against the other makes out there?
J. D. Power, Edmunds have said so for years… But also take what they say with a grain of salt, but I don’t think Yugo ever made their list and for reasons being.
Not being mad at you, or a big fan of Lexus… But your comment just perplexed me. Bad experience? Just curious.
I don’t really know what Toyota was aiming at with the Lexus LS. We do not have a Lexus (or Mercedes or BMW or Audi) dealerships near here (350 miles away). What I remember is that they were priced low for what one got. Most of the magazines that I read then seemed to feel that it was better than the Mercedes E-class, but not quite an S-class. Note that the S-class was moved up to a new platform (W-140) in 1991, which would have moved it further away from the Lexus LS. Since the LS came out it seems to me to be much the same car that it was, although improved. Mercedes recently started to move the S-class closer to the Rolls Royce, particularly the Mercedes Maybach model.
So I don’t know where Toyota was going with the Lexus, but they don’t seem to have gone anywhere. This is not a bad thing.
J D Power has rated Lexus at the top of their list. Buick has been #2 at times with Cadillac in the top 5. (this year Buick is 2 and Cadillac is 4)
Aucra is about halfway down the list to industry average for those who might have an interest. Fiat is at the bottom and Land Rover just above the bottom.
Yep, it seems like Lexus’ biggest achievement, I can recall in the last 5 years, is the big deal(to them), that the current LS can park itself.
Other than that, I can’t recall anything remarkable by them. Like, the LFA… Is it still a concept car?
It might as well be, because I’m sure a production model’s price would be astronomical.
No thanks… Rather put that money towards a nice AMG Gullwing.
Owned one 1.6 EL for a while. Acura made this just to get more sales on their door. Half of the sales gone to this model is a reasonable guesstimate.
My impression of the car? I can’t call it a tarted-up civic. It rides better than any 4 door civic. Rides low enough that even a new Audi A6 can blind me.
The back lip spoiler is a source of rust as water can seeps thru the bolts. It also got affected by the rust at the rear wheel wells.
Extremely tiny batteries, which ran out promptly as that thing has so many electronic goodies running (while the car itself just parked and not running).
Now, the 1.7 EL? that is more like a tarted-up civic.
CSX has a 2L engine so that’s different than a civic. Sales are down perhaps because people can now get (lease…get it?) the German cars at the same price
ILX? I’m guessing it will have the same fate as the CSX – sales wise.
For further reading, the EL was featured once before on CC:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtake/cc-outtake-acura-el-honda-makes-a-plodge/
I thought I remembered that Canucknucklehead gave this car a lot of praise at some point.
Which reminds me, I don’t think I’ve seen him post here in a long time.
Wow, there’s a name I haven’t seen in a while.
Any idea where he is?
Less than 2 weeks ago he was here, on August 14 and 15.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/qotd/challenge-of-the-day-say-one-nice-thing-gm-edition/
Thanks, for the update, Johannes.
That was one article, I didn’t comment on, yet.
If I did, probably woulda saw his post. Thanks. 😉
Somehow I just can’t get past the design of these late model Acura’s looking like Darth Vader’s mask at least the front end. The back end looks even worse to me. Something out of a B grade space movie. Don’t know how these never became the Edsel of the 21st century to date.
In the say something nice theme – I’m sure you get a lot of car for the money, not that they are inexpensive or anything.
My theory is that the Integra 4 door became too expensive to import to Canada. While a premium could be charged for the sporty hatchback, the sedan buyer might not have paid for the higher priced model. The cheaper EL got more people into the dealership. Integra 4 doors did quite well in all generations it was offered in. I think it became too expensive to bring in and for Acura and it’s dealers to make a profit on.
I guess Honda didn’t get the memos about the Lincoln Versailles and Cadillac Cimmaron. At least the Versailles got a new roofline for it’s last 2 model years that made it look significantly different from it’s plebian donor Granada/Monarch.
Saw this Acura CSX Type-S on the Vancouver-Victoria ferry a couple years back. Very cool, I’d take a slightly more luxurious Civic Si.
The Acura EL could have been a competitor to the Lexus IS. In the same manner in continuity, the Acura ILX would have competed with the Lexus IS since both were in the Compact Sized range much like the Corolla is to the Civic.
With RWD and 6 cylinder power, the IS competes more with the BMW 3-Series, Acura has always stayed out of that market. A non-hybrid version of the Lexus HS250 or CT200 would be more of competitor to the EL.
I live in Toronto and the Acura EL was well respected in this country. I can smell I cynical badge job a mile away, but for some reason the EL always seemed liked a considerably tweaked, upgraded and refined version of the Civic even though it didn’t look much different.
Theres a JDM version of your EL its just you dont get to see them like the Lexus models you guys rave about we have them with Toyota badges the IS is the ever popular Altezza boy racers love to rice them up thinking they have a performance car.
Literally every single Lexus buyer ever knows they’re buying a Toyota with a fancy badge. Toyota’s reliability reputation, along with the Lexus dealership’s facilities being 100x nicer than Toyota’s, are why Lexus does well in the US in the first place.
Love the unintrusive console and sense of roominess. And after hating Acura’s styling direction have come to love it
I first time I saw an Acura EL was in Florida during 1997. It seems somehow appropriate that it was in the vicinity of Disneyworld.
You know, like the Powler article I wrote earlier in the month, I like how mixed the opinions are regarding the EL.
I’ve started seeing a trend up here with that generation civic/EL. They swap the from clip of an EL on a civic coupes. …looks original and actually nice when we’ll done.
I’m surprised to see that nobody has pointed out that the EL was powered by the D16Y8 VTEC engine as found in US spec Civic EX’s of the era; this engine was unavailable in Canadian market Civic sedans. It certainly adds to the distinction between the two vehicles.
I drive the Civic version of this car every day (and thrash the hamsters hard to eek out the 106HP from the D16Y7 engine), and I would love to have an EL. Unfortunately where I live down here in the states, it would probably get stolen within a day or two.
It’s everything an Acura should be – a tasteful, visual and performance upgrade from a Honda. A bit more motor (but same as Civic EX in this case so n/a), a bit nicer interior (sunroof) with better seats, and a bit better handling (and if they could add some sound deadening materials, THAT would be a huge plus in itself).
the article had many mistakes
first of all the EL never replaced the integra 3 doors
it replaced the 4doors since the sells kept dropping
the integra 3doors kept going until 2001 like in usa
the EL have the same engine of the EX (us market) but not the same in canada
in canada the EX is cheaper than the us version (engine code d16y7 the EL d16y8)
the main difference outside the exterior the interior is different the front brakes are bigger than civic (except for civic SI canadian)
honda canada just brought in canada soil the honda domani
and no the rear end doesn’t look like the 98-00 accord since the EL/domani was release in 97
I own one of those and I love it!
it’s basic in term of luxury but reliable as hell!
THANK YOU!!! I’m about to s#!t in my chair the further I read into this fairtale. Also I was starting to think I was inept and had imagined the JDM second gen Honda Domani in my head after having to school so many clueless sheep. I’ve tried to keep my eyes open and funds available for the day I stumble across a 1.6EL for sale that I can obtain but that battle is a hard one to fight when the I’m looking at legally imported JDM Honda’s from Japanese classics. It can be frustrating so I either end up jumping on my CB500F ABS or ’02 Honda 919 or put some effort in and mow the lawn with the power assisted Honda push lawnmower my parents manipulatively gifted me. Oh well;Live, eat, breathe Honda.
That is a damn fine looking automobile you have there sir.
Cheers-
The Civic is still the biggest selling car in Canada, as it was in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Interesting, same segment as in Europe (C-segment, compact cars). Not the Honda Civic though, but the Volkswagen Golf. This year plus 2014, 2013 and 2012. Earlier years probably too, although I haven’t checked.
Funny how markets varies. In the UK Honda has a reputation as an “old man s car” so they never bothered With the Acura marque, even on the NSX super car. The exception now is the Civic Type R and 20 year old coupes popular with boy racers.
>>“old man s car”<<
Honda got a reputation as a "pensioner's car" because smart retired folk bought them knowing that their fixed incomes would not be threatened by running/repair costs.
Unlike the case w/British and German marques.
Maybe in your place but in canada it’s something else
It’s the corolla that earn that title since it’s very close to boring to drive the civic and 1.6EL are more dynamic in that category of cars
if they buy one of those it’s because they are used to buy honda cars
This is the old Todd motors assembly scam done here for 30 0dd years translated into Japanese it seems they paid attention, Todds created a new model of car simply by pressing vertical bar grilles locally casting a flying lady bonnet ornament and stamping out some badges oh and changing the hubcaps and thus the humble Hillman Minx became the upscale Humber 10/80/90 and sold at a separate dealer network.
I seem to recall Ford also offered a higher level Focus for Canada than we got in the US back in the early/mid 2000’s. It had fake wood trim on the dash and door panels and more luxurious leather seats and trim. Ford also toyed with the idea of a more luxurious Focus in the US with Mercury and later Lincoln badges. I think that all got scuttled under Alan Mulally.
I remember going to a wreckers and getting trim pieces off an Acura 1.6 to retrofit onto my son’s Honda Civic. The similarities were plentiful, inside and out.
I’m American but used to live in Toronto. I’d see these all the time and wanted to get one but didn’t because we knew we were there temporarily and wouldn’t be able to import it back to the states. It’s very nice in person.
The exact same badge engineering exercise that’s popular for flaming attacks against the American automakers!
How much is the 1997 acura El worth now ?? I got one here in California but I dont know how much these go for ?