Test Drive: 2012 Acura TSX V6-Tech

2012 Acura TSX V6-Tech. Click image to enlarge

More Acura TSX reviews on Autos.ca Manufacturer’s web site Acura Canada

Review and photos by Chris Chase

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2012 Acura TSX

To the target market for a sport sedan – as in, those buying it for the sport it promises – nailing the basics is arguably the most important thing to focus on. Stick a nice motor under the hood, tune the chassis for entertaining handling and sit the driver in a supportive seat.

Acura got most of that stuff right in the TSX, and I’ll elaborate shortly. First, though, what’s most striking about this car is what it doesn’t offer. To wit: no intelligent keyless access; no one-touch turn signals; no all-wheel drive option; and the optional automatic transmission remains a five-speed.

The TSX arrived in 2004 as a dressed-up version of the Honda Accord sold in Europe and other overseas markets. This is a much smaller car than the Accord that Honda builds for North America, being sized and priced to compete with a fleet of sport sedans that includes the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Infiniti G and Cadillac CTS. A redesigned, second-generation TSX came in 2009, and continued to make do with naught but a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder engine for horsepower until the addition of a 3.5-litre V6 option in 2010.

2012 Acura TSX V6-Tech. Click image to enlarge

Here we are in 2012, with another drive of a car that shows, in some ways, that Honda knows exactly how to build a good sport sedan, and in others, seems totally clueless.

That Honda waited until 2010 to offer a V6 option in this car is a head-shaker, considering the company it runs with. This engine, the same one used across the Honda and Acura ranges, is a good one. It runs smoothly no matter how much of its 280 hp and 252 lb.-ft. of torque it’s being asked to deliver, and provides a decent soundtrack when working hard. But it always seemed to me that what this car really wanted was the peaky turbocharged four-cylinder that wound up in the little RDX crossover, a motor that would have turned the TSX into a more playful car; instead, the V6 makes it feel just a little too grown up.

Contributing to that grown-up notion is the five-speed automatic transmission that comes bundled with the V6. This isn’t the smoothest gearbox in the world, but the small amount of “shift shock” that accompanies gear changes provides some mechanical interest, especially when the steering wheel-mounted shift paddles are used for manual control. I’m of the opinion that there is such a thing as too many gears (BMW’s eight-speed works well, but with that many ratios, it seems like it’s always shifting), so while this Honda five-speed is one, two or three gears behind the times (depending on what it’s being compared to; I think a six-speed automatic is ideal in most cars), it’s well-matched to the engine, whose torque helps offset the large gaps between the ratios.

Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency estimates the TSX’s fuel consumption at 10.7 L/100 km (city) and 7.0 L/100 km (highway) when powered by the V6 (a four-cylinder/automatic version is the most efficient, at 9.3/6.2 L/100 km). My tester averaged 10.5 L/100 km in city driving that included a handful of crosstown freeway jaunts. That result is notable, too, as my right foot got along well with the deeper reaches of this car’s gas pedal.

Whether a sport sedan works as such depends mightily on its suspension tuning. The TSX is not head-of-the-class for handling or steering feel, but it does have what I consider the best ride comfort of any wannabe-sporty car I’ve tested in a long time. This is a car that works best at seven-tenths, street-legal driving.

2012 Acura TSX V6-Tech. Click image to enlarge

The TSX’s interior environment is typical of a modern Honda product, in lacking the smart-and-simple dashboard layouts the company used to be known for. Still, this centre stack is lighter on buttons than other Acura models and is pretty easy to get used to within a day or so behind the wheel. Kudos to Acura for sticking with toggle switches for the heated front seats that, for one thing, can be left in the ‘on’ position for the next cold start. I fail to understand Japanese cars’ hesitancy in adopting one-touch, three-flash turn signals. This handy feature – you don’t realize just how much so till you’ve used it – originated in higher-end European cars but has migrated to really basic cars like Kia Rios and Hyundai Accents and Chevrolet Sonics. Honda, Nissan, Toyota, I ask you, where’s the beef?

The front seats are supportive and well-bolstered and seemingly perfectly tailored to my small frame. Wider riders will find themselves sitting on the bolsters instead of between them. Climb into the back seat and you discover why Honda doesn’t simply import this car to sell as the North American Accord as well. This is by no means a tiny space, but bigger-is-better North American tastes dictate something larger for the mainstream market. Nonetheless, only tall-in-the-torso passengers will find their crania getting close to the headliner.

The 400-litre trunk is oddly shaped, as is the case in most of the TSX’s Japanese competitors. (I still contend that German sedan trunks are a model of cargo-carrying ability that should be the envy of the world.) The rear seats fold, not quite flat, to open up a so-so-sized pass-through into the passenger compartment.

TSX pricing starts at $31,890 for the base model, which comes with powered front seats, 17-inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth, fog lights and a sunroof. Six-cylinder power is only an option once you’ve anted up for the Technology Package of six-CD changer, back-up camera, navigation and 60-GB hard drive; as such, my tester carried a price-tag of $41,890 before freight and taxes.

That’s a solid price for what this car can do and comes with, but you can spend a little more money to get the kind of features we’ve been taught to expect in this class of car. An Infiniti G37x costs $2,500 more and includes two key items – all-wheel drive and ‘intelligent’ keyless entry with pushbutton start – that have practically become de rigueur – at least as options – in entry-level luxury sedans. Many of the items conspicuous here by their absence are becoming desirable even among economy car shoppers.

Taken on its own, the TSX is a very nice car and would probably make great sense if it had some more personality – say, a snarkier exhaust note or that turbocharged engine. As it stands, though, this is an average luxury sport sedan notable mostly for the luxury car features it doesn’t have.