Road and Track: 2011 Acura TSX Wagon Review

Hatching a plan for sporty, stylish and practical transport.
By Douglas Kott

What’s Hot:
Tight handling
Swoon-worthy styling
Crossover carrying capacity
What’s Not:
No V-6 offered
No manual gearbox offered
Inline-4 merely adequate

Small, sporty wagons are a little like Elvis or Colin Chapman: By most accounts they’re dead, but occasionally there will be sightings. Truth is, we wonder why there aren’t more of them as they’re likable adversaries to sport utes and crossovers, lacking the tippy “command” seating position and pretense of off-road capability yet endowed with car-like handling and truly useful cargo capacity. Consider that Acura’s latest here has a storage volume aft of the rear seats that’s roughly the same as its RDX crossover, albeit differently shaped. With its 60/40-split rear seats folded down, there’s a full 60.5 cu. ft. of space, which slots the TSX slightly ahead of marketplace rivals Audi A4 Avant and BMW 328i Sport Wagon.

Acura chose not to compare acceleration times in its presentation, as the TSX Sport Wagon comes just one way, with a 201-bhp 2.4-liter inline-4 paired with a paddle-shift torque-converter 5-speed automatic. Let’s just say the combination makes for, er, adequate acceleration with, um, reasonable roll-on torque, the quick-reacting gearbox doing its best to keep the engine in the feel-good upper half of the rev range. Shifts are snappy….with the selector in S, both kickdown reaction and throttle response are really crisp, and shifts summoned by the paddles are laudably fast. The only transmission demerit? There’s no auto-blip on downshifts.
On a twisty road, the TSX Sport Wagon carries its additional 130 lb. and 3.5 in. of length well, the extra rear overhang reducing the nose-heaviness by a couple of percentage points…now 57/43 front/rear, versus roughly 59/41 for a comparably equipped TSX sedan. The electric-assist steering weights up nicely as more steering angle is cranked in, and roll control is excellent, with spring/damping rates definitely skewed toward the sportier end of the spectrum.

The same could be said of looks. With its wedgy beltline, snazzy 17-in. alloys (with P225/50R-17 Michelins) and brightwork for both the sturdy roof rails and side window trim, the Sport Wagon appears anything but utilitarian. Up front, the oft-criticized “Power Plenum” grille has been tastefully toned down—it now has a platinum-look horizontal element ringed with chrome.

Inside, all the standard TSX trimmings are there—thick-rimmed sport wheel, futuristically styled center stack, and great seats with perforated leather inserts and substantial up-high shoulder bolstering. The cargo area is well finished also; dual brushed stainless sill plates for the hatch are a nice touch, as are chrome tie-down hooks and a total of four hidden storage spaces beneath and to the left side of the load floor. The main compartment is square and quite shallow, perfect for shady types involved in the pizza smuggling trade.

Across the model line, all TSXs for 2011 benefit from slightly better fuel economy (the Sport Wagon’s numbers are 22/30 city/hwy) through measures such as low-friction engine coatings, lower-viscosity ATF, an ATF heater (!) and underbody fairings that improve aerodynamics. A noise-insulating windshield and thicker rear side glass are said to further reduce cabin noise. And the Sport Wagon featured here has a generous roster of standard equipment including a power moonroof, heated leather seats, a 360-watt 7-speaker sound system, Bluetooth, etc. Opting for the Tech Package ($3650 dearer than the base Sport Wagon’s MSRP of $30,960) buys the excellent nav system/high-def display screen, the 460-watt ELS sound system with hard drive storage for roughly 3500 songs, and a power tailgate.

Acura’s sales goals are modest for the Sport Wagon, about 4000 units for the 2011 model year. With its slick styling, sporty road manners and considerable utility, this tailgated TSX might jump-start the resurgence of the small sporty wagon. Is it possible that Elvis has re-entered the building?

Source;
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/impressions/2011-acura-tsx-sport-wagon

2010 Acura TL SH-AWD Manual - Short Take Road Test

Another six-speed hit from the makers of the Honda S2000 and Acura TSX.

If there’s one thing that imbues a car with a more sporting character, it’s a manual transmission. None of this automated-manual mumbo jumbo; we’re talking about a true manual with a clutch pedal to the left of the brake and more left-right movement in the shift pattern than just sliding the shift lever into sport. The Acura TL has always been pretty agile and responsive, but the new generation launched in 2009 without a manual.

What a Stick Is Supposed to Be
The TL gets a manual transmission for 2010, however, and although we wonder why—Acura concedes that maybe five percent of buyers will opt for the manual—we welcome any transmission as satisfying as this. In our first drive of the TL manual, we relayed Acura’s boast that these are the shortest throws in class, and we have little doubt the claim is still true. In addition to the tidy throws, the effort is nearly perfect and the action crisp and clean. The clutch, too, is wonderfully tuned with a progressive, predictable takeup and a light feel that requires just enough muscle to keep it from feeling overly assisted.

The manual is only available paired with all-wheel drive—Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, or SH-AWD in Acura lingo—and a 305-hp, 3.7-liter V-6. Additionally, it only comes on cars with the Tech package—premium leather, navigation system—which boosts the manual’s base price to $43,195, or more than $7000 higher than a base TL. You want to row your own, you’re going to pay for the privilege. The only option is the addition of 19-inch wheels and high-performance summer rubber, which our car did not have.

The Perfect Shifter Makes a Car Way Faster
Although the engine and SH-AWD of this car were the same as on past testers, the performance we measured this time was anything but similar. Snicking off our own gearchanges liberated 0.8 second from the 0-to-60-mph time (5.2 seconds versus 6.0) and cleaved a full second from the quarter-mile, and we gathered an extra 4 mph on the way, for a 13.8-second pass at 101 mph.
The manual is a little lighter overall than the automatic (72 pounds), but this doesn’t much affect the TL’s fundamental dynamic balance. Skidpad grip drops some, to 0.88, from the 0.92 g we’ve reported in previous tests, but that’s the result of downgrading from the summer-only Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s on previous cars to Pilot HX MXM4s on this one. Paired with either tire, the torque-vectoring SH-AWD makes it feel from the driver’s seat as if the outside rear wheel were growing in proportion to cornering forces, helping push the car through the curve and mitigating understeer. The car just seems to lean back on that wheel and zip away. Braking likewise deteriorates from a best of 158 feet to 171, although that’s still a perfectly acceptable number.

All These Buttons Are Pushing Our Buttons
We’re not fans of the lack of on-center steering feel and the flinty ride over small, abrupt bumps, but our major complaint with this car remains the acres of buttons swarming across the steering wheel and center stack. Stare at this button crop long enough, and Homer Simpson’s workstation at the Springfield nuclear power plant comes to mind. The “twist here, push here, tilt here” Bop It!–style control knob/stalk for the navigation system doesn’t alleviate any of the stress, either.
However, the most important controls in a car are the ones that control its motion. The six-speed manual in the TL is, like Honda and Acura’s other self-shifters, an altar for those with hyperactive left feet. There are a lot of good competitors bracketing the TL—some that put up better straight-line numbers and some we’d choose over it for a day at the track—but none has a better stick than this. That should make for a very happy five percent.

Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q4/2010_acura_tl_sh-awd_manual-short_take_road_test

Car and Driver Magazine: 2010 Acura ZDX - Short Take Road Test

We’re tempted to believe that ZDX stands for “zero demand expected.” The new Acura ZDX is one of those genre-less oddballs that occasionally comes along, like the Subaru Baja and the BMW X6. They slip past the guardians of sanity at their home offices and drift into the market like pollen wafting on a breeze of optimism.

They often die quickly and are flushed.

Long ago we described just such a spore, the AMC Gremlin, as a Hornet with the useful space hacked out of it. Behold the 21st-century version: Acura’s MDX luxury people mover with at least some of the useful space hacked—no, that’s old-fashioned, it’s been carefully shaved, planed, and CNC-milled out of it.

This is styling that takes a toll. To make a ZDX, an entire seat row from the MDX goes sayonara, as does about 35 percent of the cargo space with the seats folded. Width and wheelbase remain unchanged from the MDX, and length grows slightly, but the ZDX’s roof is more than five inches lower, pruning just over three inches from the rear-seat headroom.

Getting in back involves a limbo stoop under the low-cut opening. Have first aid at the ready because foreheads will be whacked, and an ungoggled eye or two may be poked by the rear-door glass, which comes to a menacing point at the concealed door handles.

The upside? At least one seven-year-old thought the ZDX was the coolest vehicle he’d ever seen. There are, like, 22-hundred-thousand buttons and a huge sunroof to stand up in and secret compartments in the back for ninja stuff and you can fly to Alaska in three seconds on the navigation screen and you can open the remote-control hatchback from about a mile away. And stuff.

All of which is ironic, as the ZDX will appeal mainly to people who don’t have kids. Acura predicts sales of just 6000 ZDXs per year, knowing full well that in America’s vastness one could find 6000 buyers for cars with square wheels.

Prices should start in the mid-40s, slightly higher than the MDX, but one like our test car, with the extra hundred-thousand buttons of the Technology package (upgraded leather, nav system, premium audio, backup camera, and more) and the Advance package (adaptive cruise control, adjustable suspension, blind-spot warning, precollision warning, etc.), will land in the mid-50s.

Feature to feature, it’s less costly than the 300-hp BMW X6 xDrive 35i, which starts at $57,125, but that’s like saying an aardvark makes a better pet than an ostrich.

The ZDX isn’t lazy, hitting 60 mph in 6.4 seconds, rather fleet considering the 4421-pound curb weight (about 175 pounds lighter than an MDX). The 3.7-liter V-6 makes 300 horsepower, as it does in the MDX, and the new six-speed automatic and cylinder-cutoff system are mileage stretchers. We saw 20 mpg.

Nor does the ZDX fear a curve. It’s a confident, stable handler, thanks to some steering-feel improvements Acura made after our initial write-up. Also credit the system named with our favorite Japanese hyperbole, Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. When understeer attacks, the system overdrives the outside rear wheel to help turn this big bronco. It works.

On the pricey Advance-pack version, the electronic suspension—the “integrated dynamic system”—takes a page from the Corvette by fitting magnetorheological shock absorbers, or shocks filled with a fluid that changes viscosity—and thus stiffness—in instant concert with changes to electrical current. As with SH-AWD, this widget also works wonders, both restraining body motion and soothing over freeway impacts.

Acura supplies a dash dial to select comfort or sport modes. If, as expected, the ZDX spends most of its time circulating on city grids, it’s best to leave it in comfort mode and tape over the switch with a picture of your seven-year-old nephew, the one who thinks you’re Batman.

Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q4/2010_acura_zdx-short_take_road_test