The Acura TSX Wagon via JS Online

SUVs and crossovers have replaced wagons as the most popular people and cargo haulers.
That's too bad because the few wagons that remain are pretty spectacular, and the Acura TSX Wagon is among the brightest stars.

The Acura is a sporty-looking, luxury wagon with a near perfect blend of power, comfort and cargo room. It handles like a sedan, rides like a sedan and is an absolute pleasure to drive. As if that's not enough, the TSX gets decent gas mileage, too.

The TSX wagon is long, low and lean with crisp styling that gives it a sporty sedan profile and carlike nose and tail.

Power is good with Honda's 2.4-liter, iV-TEC I4 engine creating 201 horsepower. That's coupled with a 5-speed automatic transmission with SportShift, which allows you to shift manually, if you prefer. I did occasionally, but the 5-speed is so smooth that it handles the engine's power well during normal city driving.
TSX is quick to highway speeds, and while you'll hear a bit of engine noise in the lower gears, it calms down quickly after third gear.

TSX rides on a 106.5-inch wheelbase and weighs 3,623 pounds. The car feels nimble and responsive. Handling is smooth and fluid with good steering feedback from the power-assisted unit, which delivers a near ideal wheel feel.

Ride is well controlled with excellent suspension damping so you feel in tune with the road, but never more than a moderate bump to passengers, even on poor roads. TSX features four-wheel independent suspension with a multi-link setup in back and it works well.

Braking is first rate from four-wheel discs, ABS and a stability control system.  Inside, TSX is one of the most comfortable cars and best laid out interiors I've seen all year.

The test car, which was the Tech model featuring a full navigation system with voice recognition and a rearview camera, featured black leather seats with a matte gray trim, including the rings around the gauges.
Acura's seats are mildly contoured with a soft leather feel, and firm cushions. Front seats are powered and the driver's seat has two memory settings. The Acura has two-speed seat heaters.

Leg and headroom are substantial front and rear and the wagon easily carries four adults. A fifth could sit in the middle, but the bottom seat cushion is less comfortable.  Being a wagon, there is a plenty of room behind the rear seat for gear, or if you need to carry long items, the rear seats split and fold flat quick and easily. There's also an extendible cargo cover in back, and a power rear tailgate/hatch with an inside release.
Gauges are simple and the car's dash layout is extremely logical. All buttons, and there are quite a few, are big, so you can both see and use them. TSX also has a tilt/telescope steering wheel with cruise and radio controls on the hub. The trip computer is accessed via larger buttons on the lower part of the hub.
Unlike many cars, the TSX's navigation screen is not touch-screen and is located high on the dash, up near the windshield. That makes for easier viewing while driving, plus there is voice recognition for the system.
Climate controls, like the radio and navigation, are big and simple to use, including a toggle for the dual temperature controls.

Because this was the Tech model, the starting price was $34,610 and after delivery hit $35,495.
A base TSX wagon starts at $30,960.  Gas mileage was good, and it was at 26.2 mpg during my drive, a fairly even mix of city and highway driving. The EPA rates this at 22 mpg city and 30 highway. SUVs and minivans rarely average more than 20 mpg.

Now Hiring

Hendrick Acura in Charlotte, NC currently has openings in the sales department.

If you or anyone you know are seeking an opportunity with a high-line automotive company as a sales professional, we are expanding and have that opportunity!

Please visit to apply in person at :

6824 E Independence Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28227

Hendrick Acura is an equal opportunity employer.

NSX Will Live On

HENDRICK ACURA - Honda’s NSX successor may yet live, as Honda CEO Takanobu Ito announced at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show that the Japanese automaker is beginning work on a new sports car. Instead of focusing on outright speed and power, Ito instead says he intends to build a car around power-to-weight ratio – which will be dramatic, according to Autocar.

Though the original NSX, sold under the Acura brand in the U.S., was powerful in its day, Ito says that his favorite part of developing that car was the work he did specifically with the aluminum body. “I really enjoyed that experience, and learned so much, so it is my wish that Honda engineers have the experience of developing a sports car like the NSX in [the] future,” Ito said in a press conference. “Within Honda, our engineers are already looking at developing such a car.”

Though Ito wouldn’t comment on when this future sports car would make it to production, he did emphasize that it would be a philosophically different car from the NSX, a mid-engine two-seater that weighed just under 3000 lbs. and boasted 290 hp by the end of its production run.

“You can’t depend on a high power output to call a car sporty anymore,” Ito said. “The original NSX was about high power but also good driving performance, and today power-to-weight is what we have to focus on.”

Honda originally planned to launch an NSX successor by 2010, but those ambitions were cut short in 2008 by former CEO Takeo Fukui, who cited the global economic crisis and the increasingly progressive environmental position of Honda as reasons for killing development of the new performance car.
Ito is all for building a new sports car, as long as it can uphold Honda’s eco-friendly image. “…When we develop our new sports car, we don’t want to copy Ferrari for power, but to also chase efficiency as well,” he said.

Though the blending of efficiency and sportiness has produced mixed results for Honda, like the lukewarm response garnered by its CR-Z hybrid hatchback, Ito continued, “Our recent efforts have been focused on fuel efficiency, and that perhaps gives the impression Honda is behind with pushing the brand image of sportiness, but let me assure you that is not the case…we will address that impression with our new generation of cars.”