When luxury car owners buy new vehicles, they pay a premium price and have certain amenities expectations. They are willing to pay more for the luxury extras, including higher quality materials, luxurious spaces and ultra-convenient technology.
You can also expect a soundproof cabin when purchasing a luxury car. But according to Consumer Reports and its noise evaluations, one luxury vehicle, the Acura ILX, received a negative rating. Before you buy, you may want to make sure you’re not buying the noisiest model in the luxury car segment, the Acura ILX.
Some of the luxury cars with negative reviews regarding noise
When Consumer Reports evaluates a vehicle, the team carefully considers every detail important to consumers who buy a car. One of those dealbreaker categories is in-cab noise. Understandably, some vehicles are noisier than others, especially at higher speeds. But when buying a luxury car you do not expect that noise will be a problem.
According to the results, Consumer Reports suggests that several luxury models are doing very well in terms of noise reduction. The 2022 Audi A3, the 2022 BMW 2 Series and the 2022 Cadillac CT4 score well and are above average in terms of quiet rides in the luxury entry space. In addition to the different sizes of luxury cars, a few other models also have quite high noise levels, including the BMW 4 Series, the Genesis G80, the Lexus ES, the Tesla Model S and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
The luxury car with the lowest noise levels
So, which luxury car does Consumer Reports rank as the noisiest, with the lowest noise scores? Pointing to the 2022 Acura ILX, the team gives it an almost dismal review and negative rating after spending time with the deluxe ride.
The consumer organization expressed its disdain for the Acura ILX’s sound, saying it is almost “a tiresome affair”. Acura did make improvements to the ILX, but apparently not enough attention was paid to the sound-damping properties of the cabin. Road noise is reportedly so bad that it could put you off buying an Acura ILX, especially if you spend much of your travel time at highway speeds.
Car and driver isn’t a fan of the Acura ILX’s noisy cabin either. The team says the wind and road noise “penetrates through the cabin” much more than other luxury cars. The Edmunds team claims the ILX’s cabin is also “just too loud,” especially when driving at highway speeds. They were disappointed that this luxury car did not meet the “same level of insulation” as other vehicles in this luxury segment.
Runner-ups with average noise ratings
Now that you know which luxury cars are the quietest and the only contender as the noisiest, what about some of the more average noise ratings? When it comes to average road noise ratings, a few models fall into this category, based on Consumer Reports’ overall noise rating effort.
For the semi-quiet, sometimes noisy experiences, take the Jaguar F-Pace, Cadillac XT4 and Mini Cooper Countryman for a test drive to see what you think. The Land Rover Discovery Sport and Buick Encore GX also earned an average noise rating if you’ve got your eye on either one as your next luxury contender.
It comes down to how well you tolerate interior noise and whether you’re willing to spend the premium price on a luxury car that comes in on average or below average with noise ratings. But for everyday drivers who commute on the highway, it’s probably best to steer clear of the Acura ILX until the automaker can improve its cabin.
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