 2010 Acura TSX V6. Click image to enlarge |
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2010 Acura TSX
I’ll be among the first to suggest that four-cylinder power is usually sufficient for almost any small- to mid-sized vehicle, even in the luxury category. BMW’s Mini is mighty zippy with its 1.6-litre four, and the VW/Audi group’s turbocharged four-cylinder is one of the best in the business, in my opinion.
Over at the Acura camp, the compact TSX has been all about the four-pot motor since its introduction in 2004, but that changed this year with the addition of Honda’s 3.5-litre V6 to the model’s option sheet.
This is one of those rare cars where I might actually recommend the V6 model over the standard 2.4-litre four-cylinder: while the four is a very good engine, it tends to be a little weak on low-end power, a problem that the V6 fixes, and handily. After all, choose the six and you get 280 horsepower and 252 lb.-ft. of torque, compared to 201 hp/170 lb.-ft. in the base engine.
The TSX’s new V6 is the same one used in a variety of other Honda and Acura products including, most notably, the (barely) larger TL sedan. So, while a smaller car might normally be expected to outperform a larger car using the same motor, that advantage is nonexistent here. This is among my favourite six-cylinder engines, though: it moves the little TSX with ease and is very nice to listen to while it’s at work.
   2010 Acura TSX V6. Click image to enlarge |
Differences in this car’s driving experience versus the TL are rooted in each car’s origins. The TL is based on the North American Accord, while the TSX is a near-copy of the smaller Accord sold in Europe, and I like this Euro-sourced platform better. It feels more playful, more willing to be tossed around than its bigger sibling and, thanks particularly to a 2009 styling refresh, I think it looks better than the TL.
Tossing a car around assumes some sort of playfulness on the driver’s part, too, and many a frisky driver will no doubt be turned off by the lack of a manual transmission option with the six-cylinder engine. Certainly, even in the sport sedan segment, many buyers do choose an automatic, but as an enthusiast, I think the lack of a manual is an oversight in a class ruled by the BMW 3 Series – which can be had with a manual transmission with all but one engine (the diesel).
That quirk aside, the TSX’s five-speed auto used here is a good one, and is well-matched to the engine. It shifts unobtrusively in stop-and-go commuting, but will also bang off smart, quick gear changes at full throttle and always seems to shift – both up and down – just when you expect and/or need it to.
Another thing you’ll find in many of the TSX’s competitors – cars like the aforementioned 3 Series, the Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class – is all-wheel drive. Acura’s own SH-AWD setup is very good, but it isn’t available on a sedan below the TL, which itself only got it as an option last year. So, there’s another knock against the TSX V6: its front-drive arrangement has a touch of torque-steer in response to gratuitous use of the loud pedal. There are also the inherent traction and performance limitations of a high-powered front-driver: the need for traction control intervention in full-throttle starts, and the tendency for the car to understeer when accelerating through a turn. The lack of an AWD option might be driven by a platform that wasn’t designed to accommodate it, but regardless, it will cause some shoppers to pan the TSX.
