What do you get when you combine a close-ratio, six-speed gearbox with an engine that makes its most horsepower at 6800 rpm and redlines at 7100 rpm? You get to change gears a lot. Just kidding. Fact is, with the Acura TSX it really is get to change gears, not have to change gears. And the engine is so sweet at 6000 rpm that you want to stay there. The red zone on the tach begins at 7100 rpm, but it's not electronically limited until 7400, and it will easily get there.
Another thing is the broad torque, which makes it easier not to shift if you don't feel like it. The TSX draws 200 horsepower out of the basic Honda four-cylinder, and, at 2.4 liters, provides 166 pounds-feet of torque at 4500 rpm, with a good chunk of that torque also there at even lower rpm. That's a big improvement over the torque of the 200-horsepower, 2.0-liter RSX-S engine. Third gear in the TSX is always there for you, which is saying something for a four-cylinder. It's useful at 3600 rpm/40 mph, all the way up to about 75 mph.
Even in sixth gear, cruising at 70 mph and 3000 rpm: put your foot down and the TSX will go, right away.
The drive-by-wire throttle helps the torque curve out, by being so responsive. The acceleration is linear from the drop of the gas pedal, without strain or surge. But smooth power delivery comes mostly from the i-VTEC engine, using Honda's latest variable vale timing and lift system.
It's simply a wonderfully tuned engine. It doesn't feel as if 200 horsepower has been squeezed out of the four cylinders, more like it's been pumped out. That's what 2.4 liters and twin cams can do for a four. And it's fast. Downshift to third to accelerate to pass another car on a remote two-lane, open 'er up a bit, and before you know it you're doing 90.
Automotive journalists used to complain that the U.S. never got the good cars. European drivers appreciated good handing more than we did, so they got the cars with the tightest suspensions, at the least. They got more powerful engines too, often because of lower environmental standards. But nowadays that's much less true. The TSX is the state of the art of building the perfect little European sports sedan (never mind that it's Japanese), as revealed by the suspension. Double A-arms support the front, with a multi-link system in the rear. Tender loving car has been bestowed upon the shock tuning.
The TSX makes a dancer out of you, and the suspension is your partner. It's heavy for its size, but it's delicate to handle. It's sweet, but not touchy. It makes you a better driver, not because it requires you to be one, but because it enables you to be. If you can coordinate your hands and feet, and maintain a delicate touch, the TSX will pirouette on a dime for you. It's the same with the gearbox; it doesn't like to be speed shifted or otherwise abused, but it will perform beautifully if you let it.
The TSX stops as smoothly as it goes and shifts. We did our usual panic stop at 70 with no hands, and the TSX aced it. And they will bring you down from triple digits so smoothly and quickly you would never have believed you were up there.
Despite the attitude of the tailpipes, the exhaust note is decidedly civilized. We would have liked some aural attitude commensurate with the engine's capability and the tailpipes' promise.
The suspension says no sweat to patchy roads. It swallows the worst of it with no bouncing or tipping or jolting. It usually takes a softish suspension to deliver a comfortable ride on roads like this. The suspension's combination of firm for the curves and comfortable on the street is exceptional. It can get a little twitchy on uneven surfaces at very high speeds, though.
We pushed the TSX through some curves, and it came out the other end flying its colors. Understeer has not been inherited from other, bigger Acuras. The broad range of third gear again was useful, tremendous, even. Braking and downshifting was idiot-proof, thanks again partly to the drive-by-wire throttle.
We loved the VSA stability control, which we couldn't feel working during those the moments when it bit for traction. The anti-skid system doesn't activate too early and it doesn't activate too much. When we turned VSA off the TSX still didn't understeer.
Acura plans to build 15,000 TSXs, and the market will decide if it's worth its $26,490 sticker price. You can get more performance for that money: Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, or even Mini Cooper S. You can get more stature for that money: BMW 325i. But you'll have a hard time finding that much of both in one car. Ironically, the main competition for the TSX might be the Honda Accord six-speed coupe with its fantastic 240-horsepower V6 (which has a great sound), and costs $1000 less than the TSX, but it's a softer car and doesn't have the sports appeal of the TSX.
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