2004 Acura TSX - Too Much Fun for This Much Refinement
At first glance Acura's new TSX hardly looks ready to battle its V6 powered competitors. A 2.4-L 4-cylinder engine compared to 3.0 and 3.5-liter 6-cylinder power? Come on Acura, who's going to buy into that?
Me? After a full day scaling Acura's latest up and down serpentine mountain roads, running circles around a hairpin twisting coastal highway, stretching to stratospheric speeds along a sweeping four-lane freeway and finally, through no choice of our own, coursing through big city rush hour traffic, I'm sold. Acura has created a car worthy of premium marque status, and enticing enough to lure in competitive brand expatriates, let alone maintain a relationship with its own steady flow of aging, upwardly mobile 1.7 EL sedan and RSX sports coupe Acura customers.
While 200-hp and 166 lb-ft of torque are respectable numbers, especially from a sedan that weighs in at only 1,465 kg (3,230 lb) in manual trim, the TSX wins even higher marks for overall balance. Its poise, whether driving at sensible speeds around town, cruising on the highway or carving up apex after apex at double-posted velocity, is quite remarkable. A little understeer has been dialed in for safety's sake, causing the front end to push a little if a corner is taken too quickly, but its rigid structure and 4-wheel independent double-wishbone suspension joined to 17-inch alloy rims surrounded by P215/50R17 all-season performance tires, maintain composure even when deliberately pushed to otherwise overwhelming conditions.
At first glance Acura's new TSX hardly looks ready to battle its V6 powered competitors. A 2.4-L 4-cylinder engine compared to 3.0 and 3.5-liter 6-cylinder power? Come on Acura, who's going to buy into that? Me? After a full day scaling Acura's latest up and down serpentine mountain roads, running circles around a hairpin twisting coastal highway, stretching to stratospheric speeds along a sweeping four-lane freeway and finally, through no choice of our own, coursing through big city rush hour traffic, I'm sold. Acura has created a car worthy of premium marque status, and enticing enough to lure in competitive brand expatriates, let alone maintain a relationship with its own steady flow of aging, upwardly mobile 1.7 EL sedan and RSX sports coupe Acura customers.
While 200-hp and 166 lb-ft of torque are respectable numbers, especially from a sedan that weighs in at only 1,465 kg (3,230 lb) in manual trim, the TSX wins even higher marks for overall balance. Its poise, whether driving at sensible speeds around town, cruising on the highway or carving up apex after apex at double-posted velocity, is quite remarkable. A little understeer has been dialed in for safety's sake, causing the front end to push a little if a corner is taken too quickly, but its rigid structure and 4-wheel independent double-wishbone suspension joined to 17-inch alloy rims surrounded by P215/50R17 all-season performance tires, maintain composure even when deliberately pushed to otherwise overwhelming conditions.