First drive - Acura TSX 2009

By René Gervais

St-Marc-sur-le- Richelieu, May 9th 2008. The Road-test.com team was invited to the unveiling of the new Acura TSX, the entry model in the luxury class Acura vehicles. At first glance, it’s apparent that the second generation bears little resemblance to the first generation. The TSX first generation, by the way, was due for a makeover.
In effect, this TSX wears the new signature of the Acura products, named ‘Power Plenum’. We’ve already witnessed this new design era with Acura’s RDX and the MDX. The most distinguishable feature of this unique image is the predominance of the front grill. Is this good looking? I guess it’s just a matter of taste and as a person with much wisdom as told me in the past: “taste is something personal”. This is a particular distinction added to the prestigious name, widening the gap even more with Honda products; on top of that, Acura has a new research and development centre in Japan, quite independent of Honda’s site.

Let’s examine the TSX with a little more depth, since after all, it’s the reason for this trip. Feeling the heat of other manufacturers, Acura decided to act. Hence, a totally redone Acura which meets the new requirements head on. Since the topic du jour is the price if oil, why not talk environment? I’m pleased to note Acura puts the waning on the horsepower race. This is signalled by a new TSX version with a little less power than the first generation. In spite of a tad more weight than its predecessor, the TSX 2009 uses less fuel than previously. This makes for good reading. To get there, many aspects had to be considered, like aerodynamics, the windshield inclined further, a reduction to less than one mm of the space between the front light joints and those of the bumper plus the drag coefficient reduced by 6%.

I touched upon the power train of the TSX earlier. This is the 4 cylinder 2.4 litre I-Vtech producing 201hp and 172 lb-pound feet of torque at 7000 revs pm. This represents precisely four less horsepower than on the 2008 model year but the torque is raised a tad. This translates into greater power for every day driving though there’s a slight loss of power when approaching the tachometer’s red line. Purists may shun this, yet I’m very happy when adequate power and reduced fuel consumption go together. Note that the engine has retainers for locking the high precision valves making the engine more efficient and as economical as possible. The super unleaded comes recommended by Acura for this power train. You won’t damage the vehicle with regular fuel but performance will drop and in time, wear and tear could shorten the engine’s life span. Interesting fact; we’re told that a consistent speed means consistent fuel consumption regardless of the type of fuel. I remember being told just the opposite.