The Acura EL is a

subcompact executive car A compact executive car, also known as a compact luxury car, is a premium car larger than a premium compact and smaller than an executive car. Compact executive car is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in the European car classification. A ...

that was built at

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

Alliston, Ontario Alliston is a settlement in Simcoe County, Ontario, Simcoe County in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It has been part of the Town of New Tecumseth, Ontario, New Tecumseth since the 1991 amalgamation of All ...

, plant, and also the first

Acura Acura is the luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. Acura sells cars in the United States, Canada, M ...

built in Canada. It was also exclusively sold in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The EL is a

badge-engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging (also known as badge engineering, an intentionally ironic misnomer in that little or no actual engineering takes place) is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. ...

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/Honda City, City and Honda Accord in Honda's global passenger car line-up. The first-generation Civic was introduced in July 1972 ...

with a higher level of features. Acura’s Type-S trim was not offered on the EL. The Acura EL was a sales success. Representing 51% of Acura Canada's annual new-vehicle sales in its first full year, the EL remained Acura's top seller in Canada from 1997 to 2003. The Acura EL was replaced for the 2006 model year by the

Acura CSX The Acura CSX is Acura's subcompact executive car exclusively designed for the Canadian market. Like the Acura EL, it was only available in Canada and built in Alliston, Ontario, Canada. For the 2013 model year, the ILX was introduced as the CSX ...

which, like the EL, was available only in Canada. __TOC__

First generation (1997–2000)

Seeing that sales within Canada for the four-door

Acura Integra Integra may refer to: Businesses * Integra Air, a Canadian airline * Integra Bank, a regional bank headquartered in Evansville, Indiana * Integra Home Theater, a premium audio video components manufacturer * Integra Signum, a (defunct) Swiss ...

were extremely low, Honda decided to replace it with the four-door-only Acura EL. The first generation of the EL was a somewhat altered version of the 1997–2000

with the differing front end, trunk, lights and various interior pieces. Produced by Honda Canada, the EL would also be rebadged and exported to Japan as the second-generation

Honda Domani The Honda Domani () is a car made by Honda and marketed in east Asia, including Japan. The car was mutually developed during Rover's collaboration with Honda. It was introduced on 4 November 1992, replacing the Concerto in Honda's lineup, although ...

. The EL has a moonroof, CD player, and a 1.6-litre SOHC

VTEC VTEC (described as ''Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control'', but stands for ''Valve Timing Electronically Controlled'') is a system developed by Honda to improve the volumetric efficiency of a four-stroke internal combustion engine, r ...

engine produces at 6,600 rpm and at 5,500 rpm, making it similar to the American Civic EX sedan (which was not sold in Canada) and the Canadian Civic Si Coupe (which was equivalent to the American Civic EX Coupe). The EL has additional features not available on Civics such as amber-lit LED interior dash display, tachometer, power trunk (no keyhole on the trunklid), alarm, 15-inch (195/55/15) wheels, antenna in the rear window glass, chrome interior door handles, extra pocket underneath the centre console, paint-matched mirrors, side mouldings, and door handles, slightly stiffer suspension, 12-mm rear sway bar and 26-mm front sway bar, heated mirrors, and an amplifier. From 1999, all 5-speed models had a leather-wrapped shift knob, similar to the one in the Acura Integra GS-R.

Model configurations

In addition to the above: * Base: CD player, air conditioning * Sport: 15-inch alloy wheels, CD player, air conditioning. From 1999: folding heated mirrors, a sunroof, and an upgraded grill on the front end. * Premium: in addition to the Sport, leather seats, and decorative

spoiler Spoiler or Spoilers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Spoiler (media), something that reveals significant plot elements * The Spoiler, DC Comics superheroine Stephanie Brown Film and television * ''Spoiler'' (film), 1998 American ...

Second generation (2001–2005)

The EL was completely redesigned for the 2001 model year and was then based on the seventh-generation Civic. Besides the slightly more powerful and torquier

-equipped 1.7 L 4-cylinder

SOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...

engine with 127 hp (95 kW), headlight and taillight designs and available leather interior trimmings set it apart from the Civic. Other differences include 15-inch multi-spoke alloys, heated power mirrors, cruise control, and rear disc brakes. The badging was changed to Acura 1.7EL and was dropped altogether for 2004. The second generation was available in touring and premium trim levels, the latter adding leather seats, heated front seats and a power sunroof. Automatic climate control was added for the premium trim in 2003 and the touring trim in 2004. All second generation EL models came with ABS anti-lock braking, but in 2003 an

electronic brakeforce distribution Electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD or EBFD) or electronic brakeforce limitation (EBL) is an automobile brake technology that automatically varies the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle's wheels, based on road conditions, speed, lo ...

system was made standard. For 2003 and 2004, a special dealer-installed 'aero package' was made available for both trims levels adding unique front and rear lips, side stills and a rear spoiler. In 2004, the EL underwent a slight exterior makeover with restyled headlamps, front bumper and grille, taillights, trunk lid, and rear bumper. The new look came with standard fog lights, a restyled steering wheel, new woodgrain trim patterns, and two additional tweeters powered by two amplifiers to complete the 6-speaker audio system.

Discontinuation

Despite being Acura Canada’s best-selling vehicle, Honda announced that it would discontinue the EL. In 2006, the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

was confirmed to be a replacement for the EL. Like the EL, the CSX was sold only in Canada. The CSX was discontinued in 2011. 2006_Acura_CSX

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acura EL EL Honda Civic Compact executive cars Compact cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans Cars of Canada 2000s cars Cars introduced in 1997 Cars discontinued in 2005