2010 Acura TSX 5-Spd AT

Pros

Handling, comfort, styling, quality of assembly, driving position, auto transmission, features

Cons

Engine noise, power, quality of materials

Purchased As New

I just took delivery of a 2010 Acura TSX Base with 5sp auto and so far, I really like it. I?ve had an original 2004 Acura TSX and this new one is an improvement over the old one in many ways. More room inside ? it is definitely a bigger car and it drives like a bigger car. Not surprisingly, the ride is more comfortable. The surprise is that the handling has improved as well and that was a strong point for the old TSX ? the new car corners flatter and stays more planted at highway speeds. The number of standard features has also increased and it now has all the attributes of a luxury sedan. Like the previous TSX, the car offers great gas mileage, a high quality of assembly, an easy to find comfortable driving position and a very responsive automatic transmission.

On the down side, the engine noise/vibrations still let you know that there are only 4 cylinders under the hood and it gets louder as you pass 3000 rpm. The power seems a bit ?light? even though I?ve not pushed the car to its limits as yet. Also slightly disappointing is the quality of the plastics used for the interior - both soft and hard plastics do not have the visual appeal of the old ones and make the car look more like an Accord than a Lexus or Infinity.

Another item to consider is the budget and this is where the Acura seals the deal. I traded in my 2008 BMW 328I for this new Acura. Some people might see this as a step down, but I don?t. The Acura is a better choice for where I live and what I do with the car. I do mostly city/highway driving and we get some snow every winter. So having a great sport sedan does not really matter if it cannot be used to its potential and has to be parked for the winter due to the rear wheel drive. Besides, a look at the interior/exterior of the BMW and it is not apparent why the car costs $10,000 more than the Acura. Add to this the poor BMW service and the TSX looks like a sweet deal. Best part of this trade, I was able to reduce my monthly payment by $173 and that is the icing on the cake!...read morehide