Until the current generation the entry-level Acura came in two- and four-door form. Then the four door was dropped, making the TL Acura's least expensive sedan. Acura soon recognized that it needed a less expensive sedan in its line-up again, and for 2004 (which began in the spring of 2003) brought over the more compact, European version of the Accord to fill the gap and tagged it "TSX."

Acura TSX Reliability

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Styling and Accommodations

The TSX is sized like the pre-1998 Accords, putting it on the border between a compact and a midsize. Its styling resembles some recent Alfa sedans we don't see in the U.S., especially in the sharply cut off rear end. It's not a beautiful car, but I've found that it grows on me if only because it looks a bit different from everything else out there.

Inside the TSX more resembles the current Honda Accord. For trim tan interiors have fake wood, charcoal interiors have fake aluminum. I prefer the look of the latter. The wood, a medium orangish shade as in the TL, doesn't look very sporting. The blue circles in the instrument graphics are a bit strange. Reportedly the instruments light up neon blue at night like VW instruments.

The interior material quality seems a half-step up from the Accord. Fits are very tight and precise, as in a European car. The Mazda6, for example, looks and feels downscale inside in comparison.

The front seats could use a bit more bolstering to serve in a sport sedan, but as is provide a modicum of lateral support. Other than that, the front seats in the TSX are, like the Accord's buckets, reasonably comfortable. The driving position is good, with good visibility all around, though the dash is higher than in Hondas of yore.

As in the current Accord, the rear seat cushion could be a bit higher to provide adequate thigh support. Rear seat room is adequate for two adults as long as the front seats aren’t near the end of their travel.

Trunk space is also just adequate. The hinges are the conventional sort. The rear seat folds in two parts to provide a pass through, but the opening is very small. Folding the small portion of the seat creates such a narrow opening it serves little point.

On the Road

The 200-horsepower, 2.4-liter engine is considerably less peaky than the smaller engine in the RSX, but lacks the torque of the sixes found in any number of similarly-priced Japanese midsize sedans. For a four-cylinder it's extremely smooth--I hit the rev limiter more than once because the engine’s note and feel provide no warning that the redline is approaching. At idle the engine is silent, and it's never loud. A bit more engine noise might lend some needed character to the car.

The shifter is among the best in a front-wheel-drive sedan, far superior to those in the Altima, Camry, 6, Passat, etc. Throws are moderately short and crisp, recalling those in the RSX. A Honda S2000 shifter it's not, but then this shifter is more remotely mounted than that paragon. Among front-drivers, I enjoyed the higher effort, notchier shifter in the Acura CL-S more, but that's personal taste. Second place ain't bad. My main complaint about the TSX shifter is easy to fix: the knob is very small in diameter. I suppose it's designed to be help lightly between the fingertips, but I prefer to get my whole hand around the things, especially on longish drives.

The TSX's compact size gives it a leg up over midsized Japanese cars in the handling department. All of those, especially the Altima but even the 6, feel too large and bulky to me. Aside from the just-right size, the steering is a bit light in effort for my taste but is well-weighted, fairly quick, precise, and provides decent if not great feedback. The chassis feels light, nimble, and very balanced for a front-driver, with little in the way of understeer until the limit is approached. Lean in turns is significantly lower than in an Accord, and the TSX generally has a tauter feel than its sibling. It’s almost German in this regard. The chassis might be a touch underdamped, with a hint of float over rises in the road, but this affords a smooth, composed ride over most surfaces. Noise of all sorts is largely absent. This is a quiet car.

As with the engine, the main thing that kept me from deeply enjoying the handling of the TSX is the bias towards comfort and refinement--an absence of sensation seriously detracts from the fun at anything short of crazy speeds.

Price

For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.

The rest of this section is from when the review was originally written.

At $27,000, the TSX seems reasonably priced. It costs about the same as mainstream V6 Japanese sedans such as the Mazda6 and Nissan Altima, trading a couple of cylinders for a higher quality interior and sharper handling. Come to think of it, the TSX is strong where the Altima is weak, and vice-versa. Combine the two and you would have a truly great car. The Mazda represents a step in this direction, with power and interior quality that fall between the others--and the lowest price of the three.

The Dodge Stratus R/T would be a suitable alternative for those on a more limited budget if it were not so unrefined, cheaply outfitted, and prone to high depreciation. Big ifs.

The much punchier, rear-wheel-drive Infiniti G35 costs about four grand more similarly equipped, and lacks the refinement and interior quality of the TSX.

To get a sedan with similarly upscale interior materials and taut chassis, you’ll have to go European, namely a BMW 325i, Audi A4, Saab 9-3, or 2004.5 Volvo S40. (A Volvo S60 has a larger, heavier, less precise feel to it.) The Audi feels heavier in part because it is heavier. The BMW comes closest in character, likely because it was Honda’s target when developing the car. It will cost you about six thousand more similarly equipped. The price of the new Volvo S40 is much closer to the Acura's. In my opinion it has too many flaws to recommend it. But if you want something European on a budget, and a VW doesn't cut it, this is the lowest sticker you'll find. The Saab's sticker is higher once you equip it like the Acura, but incentives often close the gap, and then some. I'm only a fan of the 9-3 in top-line Aero form, but for anyone considering the TSX it's probably worth a look.

For 2004 Acura has also redesigned the TL. A test drive found that the TL, though strikingly attractive and much more powerful than the TSX, lacks the junior sedan's agility and precise feel.

For an offbeat alternative, check out the new Mazda RX-8. It also costs a few thousand more than the TSX, but is a true sports car with a usable, easily accessible rear seat. The RX-8's main weakness: the TSX feels torquey in comparison.

Last Words

Technically excellent, the TSX lacks enough character to get me interested in owning one. Perhaps a TSX Type-S is in the future? That could be very nice. Such wishing aside, those more into comfort, refinement, and a generally upscale feel for well under thirty grand should be happy in the TSX as is.

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Amount Paid (US$): 27000