Acura TSX owners, can you give me your impressions so far?

I

Inzane

New member
I'm still about a year and a half from our next car purchase but I've been discussing the future decision with my fiancee and we have the list narrowed to a few favorite choices:



Nissan Altima 3.5SE

Nissan Maxima 3.5SE

Acura TSX w/ 6spd



I'd absolutely LOVE an Infiniti G35, an Acura TL or even a BMW 3-series, but those are all out of our price range.



I'm not interested in an automatic tranny, so unfortunately the Honda Accord EX-V6 sedan is not an option for me, and the Toyota Camry is WAAAAY too bland. I was also considering the Mazda 6, but I don't like the fact that the V6 option is actually a Ford Duratec, and the Mazda build quality and reliability is still a bit suspect in my mind. I also found the Mazda's interior to be smaller than the others I listed above.



This car is going to be our first real family car (to see us through having at least one kid). My current Sentra (compact sedan) and her Sunfire are well, compacts, so we want to step up to a mid-size. But I still want it to be somewhat sporty, and my future wife wants some of the luxury features like leather seats etc. (we'll be ditching her Sunfire).



I like all three of the above preferred cars. The Altima is the bargain in the group and the straight-line performance is awesome. But the car lacks a bit of refinement and its become so common its like everyone has a new Altima now. But its very spacious. The Maxima is very nice and roomy and attractive (except for the grill piece between the headlights) and has some cool features but it really gets pricy once you add the leather pkg and stuff. The Acura TSX is very well equiped. Most stuff that's extra on other cars is a standard feature on the TSX!



My only concerns with the TSX are the power and the size. For those of you that have one and have been living with it:

1) are you happy with its performance and power?

2) is it big ENOUGH to satisfy the needs of a young married couple (we'll be married by the time we buy it) as a mid-size family hauler with maybe the addition of one kid (no mini-vans!!).



Any other comments?



Thanks.
 
I own a 5spd carbon gray TSX. It is roomy enough and you will not be dissapointed with power regardless of its 2.4 liter 4 cylinder.



I absolutely love it, however, it would probably be wise to go and test drive it first.
 
I'm very happy with my TSX (6 MT / non-navi); it's a nice balance of size, handling, luxury, and price. When shopping a few months ago, my other top picks were the 325 and '04 TL; I chose the TSX even though I could have purchased the others. The TL was bigger than I wanted; the 325 drove wonderfully but the interior wasn't nearly as nice and I was concerned about reliability.



It really is a question of tradeoffs and personal preference. You mentioned you weren't going to be buying for 1 1/2 years; a lot will change in that time (in cars and in your life, based on your post). So you can test drive just for fun without any decisions to make for a long time. Have fun!



The major TSX web forum is www.acura-tsx.com, recommended.
 
Love the TSX, just one word of caution if you get black dont let the dealer wash it. I had to make the dealer give me another un washed vehicle.
 
My wife and I have a 5AT carbon gray TSX. In response to your 2 specific questions:



1. This is an extremely subjective point. It's not a FAST car, but it's much more powerful than my wife's corrola that we replaced it with. I am happy with the perfomance of it, but you might not be. In the end, you are going to have to make this call for yourself. If you're still not sure, take it on a longer test drive.

2. I can't speak to the kid aspect since we don't have one, but I don't think it's that much smaller than the other cars you have listed. The only question is probably how easy it is to get a carseat in and out of the backseat, and I can't give you any help there.



The most important point: We love it. I don't think there's any other sedan out there that offers the same combination of performance, luxury, fit/finish & VALUE. The car doesn't lead the class in performance, or luxury, but I think it's a great compromise, without feeling like a compromise. And I don't think you can find another car with the same features and build quality for anywhere near the price.



My $.02,

John
 
You're right, the Mazda 6 is a nice car and a great value but not in the same league with the Acura (in refinement or size).



As others have mentioned, the TSX is a great value considering what you get for the price and the reliability of a Honda. It's no accident that it made C&D's Top 10 its first year out and made Money magazine's best new car of the year!



I personally can't stand the look of the new Maximas while the new Altimas aren't that bad. You'll definitely get the hot performance of the Altima 3.5 but, like the Mazda 6, they aren't in the same league when it comes to the finer touches.



I am happy with the power and overall performance. It's no speed demon but it is well above average in terms of power and top-notch in handling and ride. Better tires make it stick even firmer.



I came from a 96 Prelude VTEC (190 hp) which is a driver's car and my adjustments to the TSX were minimal (just had to get use to that extra mass of tail wagging around behind you). From what I've read (and I'm a yearly subscriber to C&D and Automobile), you definitely won't get that level of handling from either of the Nissans (although the Maxima will likely be close).



My wife and I took our 2-year old on a 800 mile trip shortly after getting the TSX last summer. It was incredibly comfortable, quiet and we had plenty of room. And I did get over 32 mpg on more than one of our 200 mile leg stops (this is with the MT, cruise control around 75 and A/C on). We'll likely use it again this year for the same trip and we now have two kids (because as nice as my wife's '03 CR-V is, it is a bit noisy - which adds up over 800 miles - and the seats become a bit tough to handle after 4 hours).



I consider this car a steal for all that you get (luxury, performance, reliability, quality and resale value) and I paid just under 26k.



Best of luck with your decision!
 
:) The TSX is a little bigger then my '97 Accord. I've had a carseat in the back seat with no trouble. There's a lot of room, it seems Honda's rear most front seat position is very far back, put the seat forward a few inches and you'll find a lot more rear room.
 
I would not let the IHI report affect your decision as this test means little to you. It has absolutely no bearing on safety as it only tests the cost of repairs for a low speed collision.



The TSX was expensive to fix...but that isn't much of a concern if you have collision insurance. The only party that might take this into account is the insurance company as they will have to pick up the tab. It might show itself as higher premiums, but you can check that ahead of time.



This research is valid, but the reporting of it is less than responsible. Stone Phillips needs to present this as less than life-threatening...but then again, he would no longer have a job.



On paper, IMHO, the TSX sounds awesome. I have yet to drive it, but I don't think you could go wrong. The only drawback is the lack of power compared to the Nissan/Infinitis. I drove the G35 and the engine was great...but the feel and luxury were lagging. When I am in the market for a sedan, a respectable 0-60 time is all I need. I don't need to hang with Ferraris. :)



Good luck!

Max
 
ottoman said:
I think safety should be the most important issue when purchasing a family car and Acura TSX did not fare well in a recent crash study.
Click to expand...



Safety is an important consideration.



Too bad your link was to a story about the repair cost for replacing a bumper in a 5 mph hit. I'd hardly call that related to safety by any stretch of the imagination.



The TSX safety features include:

  • Driver/passenger dual-stage front air bags
  • Front side air bags
  • Front/rear side-curtain air bags
  • 4-wheels ABS
  • Traction control
  • Vehicle Stability Control
  • Door mirror turn signal indicators



And I've not yet heard of the results of the TSX in crash tests by the NHTSA or IHI.
 
Considering the fact that no one has condemned the previous generation Accord or the current Accord, and that the TSX is essentially the European market Accord.... chances are the TSX is fine WRT to crash-test safety.



You'd think?? :nixweiss
 
I'm looking at simialr car choices, so here are my thoughts



1) any of the cars will be fine for a young family. Kids are small and you can fint them in the back. Look for trunk space though since youhave to carry a lot of stuff if you take the kid out.

2) the TSX is pretty powerful, but it's a 4cyl comapred to the others that all have 6cyl so it will be the weakest of the bunch. As long as it meets your needs, you should be fine.

3) Safty should be fine on all of them. The Acura will problaby have higher insurance costs since their theft rates and repair costs for parts are higher.

4) Ive driven the mazda 6 (4cyl) and I wasn't impressed. I haven't tried the 6cyl, but even with the bigger engine the feel of the car just seemed unrefined and weak.

5) my preference: TSX, Maxima, Altima, Mazda 6
 
The link I provided does not simply reflect repair costs. It states that "A good bumper system should absorb the energy of these minor impacts and protect expensive body panels, headlamp systems and other components from damages, the Institute said. " And it doesnt take a link to know that information, should be common knowledge. So if the bumper does not absorb the energy of the impacts, guess what does. Thats right, the frame. If these minor tests affect the frame and cause damage imagine what an accident with more force can do.



I'm by no means an Acura-hater or anything, its just simple physics. If these light accident tests cause this much damage to bumper and not protect other components from damage the frame will be damaged. What else is there to absorb the damage if the bumper fails??? It makes perfect sense that if the frame is gonna be absorbing more damage than it should, then the passengers are gonna be absorbing more force than they should. Once again, not trying to demote the quality of Acura TSX. I just think this is an important thing to consider.
 
I agree that safety is a very important consideration but I think the relationship of poor bumper safety automatically meaning poor crash test ratings is unfounded.



I just did some research and there are many cars in this class that have "Marginal" or "Poor" bumper ratings and excellent crash test ratings all around. There are also several with good bumpers and poor crash test performance. The bumper test is simply to test the bumper's resistance to damage, its not a safety test.



Cars with marginal or poor bumper performance and excellent crash test ratings in this class:



Mercedes C Class (bumper poor)

Lexus IS300 (bumper poor)

BMW 3 Series (bumper marginal)

Saab 9-5 (bumper poor)

Jaguar X Type (bumper poor)

Volvo S60 (bumper poor)



In fact, NO entry level luxury car had a good bumper rating, and most had poor! but all of them have excellent safety ratings.



Check it out http://www.iihs.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/summary_midlux.htm



The evidence supports only one conclusion, there is no correlation between bumper performance and full crash safety.





When I look at Acura's safety ratings, I would be very surprised if this were an unsafe car.
 
GoodnClean,



Your link is for frontal offset crashes only. I dont think this is a much more valid claim for safety than a bumper test. More accidents are from bumper-bumper than any other kind. I think that people have to take both in to consideration when evaluating safety. Not just scores from front, or side, or rear. Need to take a look at all available data.



That being said, not much info available on the TSX other than this bumper safety test. So, maybe the best thing to do is wait till the car is fully tested in all components of crash safety before we can make any certain conclusions of its safety.
 
Umm, 5 MPH bumper tests aren't about safety. They're about saving money in parking lot situations.



The Acura TSX/European Honda Accord did very well in European NCAP tests.



http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/details.php?id1=3&id2=169



It got four stars overall, the same as BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-Class, or Volvo S80. Plus, in case you hit a pedestrian, those weak bumpers earned the car two green stars in pedestrian safety... the highest in its class.



ottoman said:
GoodnClean,



Your link is for frontal offset crashes only. I dont think this is a much more valid claim for safety than a bumper test. More accidents are from bumper-bumper than any other kind. I think that people have to take both in to consideration when evaluating safety. Not just scores from front, or side, or rear. Need to take a look at all available data.



That being said, not much info available on the TSX other than this bumper safety test. So, maybe the best thing to do is wait till the car is fully tested in all components of crash safety before we can make any certain conclusions of its safety.
Click to expand...
 
ottoman said:
So if the bumper does not absorb the energy of the impacts, guess what does. Thats right, the frame. If these minor tests affect the frame and cause damage imagine what an accident with more force can do.



If these light accident tests cause this much damage to bumper and not protect other components from damage the frame will be damaged. What else is there to absorb the damage if the bumper fails??? It makes perfect sense that if the frame is gonna be absorbing more damage than it should,
Click to expand...





I think what you may have missed, and the author of the article, is that a "bumper" and a "bumper cover" are NOT the same thing. This is poor journalism for them not to distinguish the difference. Quite often on the modern car the bumper cover or front fascia is a sacrificial piece that will self destruct, crack or otherwise be in need of repaint and/or replacement after an accident. The condition of the bumper cover in no means reflects on the relative effectiveness of the actual BUMPER that's behind it. That's the part that's actually protecting the frame and the rest of the car and the occupants from the major shock of the accident.



Yeah when you crack/destroy the fascia on any recent car and you're going to be looking at several hundred dollars in repairs. And of course Japanese and European cars are generally going to cost more to fix because their parts are usually more expensive than your typical cheaply made domestic fare.
 
Inzane said:
Yeah when you crack/destroy the fascia on any recent car and you're going to be looking at several hundred dollars in repairs. And of course Japanese and European cars are generally going to cost more to fix because their parts are usually more expensive than your typical cheaply made domestic fare.
Click to expand...



Exactly. I consider the test to be one of the cost of repair and not related to safety (except in maybe the most minimal of fashions).



The bumper _cover_ on the TSX is HUGE, is not domestic and needs to be painted by the body shop to match the car color. This all adds up to more $ to fix a cosmetic problem and why I think the TSX performed so poorly in this test. But if you want to play with the bigger boys you'd better be willing to pony up to the table with bigger bucks.



What's a real stickler is how the new Chevy Malibu scored just as poorly but it's a $20k domestic. I can see why Chevy went out of their way to be quoted in the article as saying they would work on correcting this.



As I said earlier, I'll wait for the full crash test results before I start telling people they better rethink their choice if they're leaning toward the TSX.



P.S. Nice Z, Jason! At one time I owned a '91 TT Black Diamond Pearl.
 
ottoman said:
GoodnClean,



Your link is for frontal offset crashes only. I dont think this is a much more valid claim for safety than a bumper test. More accidents are from bumper-bumper than any other kind.
Click to expand...



Thats actually not true at all. Thats why the offset crash tests were implemented, because people complained that the dead on bumper on bumper tests were not realistic. Think about it, what is more likely, hitting a car or something at a weird angle, or square on perfect? Its 1 in 100 that you'd hit it square on perfect. Real car accidents are almost always offset.



And offset is the MORE DIFFICULT test to do well at, cars dont do well on the offset and poorly at the straight on. They do well at the straight on and poorly at the offset. You need a new source of information.



And here are the 40 mph results:
Click to expand...



Surprise surprise, its a best pick :rolleyes:
 
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