2013 Acura ILX: Car Seat Check
For 2013, Acura introduced an all-new compact sedan, the ILX, that’s based on a modified 2012 Honda Civic. Like the Civic, the ILX seats five, and even though its backseat is surprisingly roomy, it holds only two child-safety seats. This entry-level car has a starting MSRP of $26,795, including an $895 destination fee.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.
The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat. We also install the infant seat in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and convertible in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible.
Here’s how the 2013 ILX did in Cars.com’s Car Seat Check:
Latch system: The ILX has two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats. They’re not easy to get at because the seat cushions are in the way, and the anchors sit low in the seat bight, where the back and bottom cushions meet. It was just as difficult to use rigid Latch connectors with these anchors as it was with the traditional hook-like connectors. Three tether anchors are on the rear shelf behind the backseat’s head restraints.
Booster seat: The ILX’s seat bolsters pushed our high-back booster seat to one side and on top of the floppy seat belt buckle. To buckle up, the child or parent has to scoot the booster seat over before sitting down, an annoying addition to the buckling-up process.
Convertible seat: To get a good fit with the forward-facing convertible, we had to remove the head restraint. Because the head restraint behind the front passenger seat was jammed, we installed this car seat behind the driver’s seat. The forward convertible fit well in the second row.
We had to move the front passenger seat forward an inch or so to create enough room for the rear-facing convertible in the backseat. This left our 5-foot-8 tester’s knees close to the glove box, but not touching it.
Infant-safety seat: To fit this rear-facing car seat, we also had to move the front passenger seat forward again – roughly an inch. The front passenger had the same legroom with about an inch of clearance between her knees and the glove box.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
Editor’s note: For three car seats — infant-safety seat, convertible and booster seats — to fit in a car, our criterion is that a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.
