If the alphanumeric soup of Acura's naming system means anything, the Acura TSX is supposed to split the difference between sporty compact cars and midsize sport luxury sedans. You know RSX + TL/2 = TSX, right? But with the RSX gone and the TL getting bigger, the TSX has wound up as both Acura's sportiest and most affordable sedan. The Acura TSX is as close in spirit to the original Acura vehicles that the company is now making.
Acura didn't have to look far to come up with the Acura TSX. Within parent company Honda's large portfolio of vehicles was the version of the Accord sedan sold in Europe and Japan. Slightly smaller than the American version of the Accord, the CL series Accord features such distinctive engineering elements as the dual-wishbone front suspension for which Honda vehicles have been known. To turn the CL Accord into the TSX, Acura simply redecorated the interior, slightly retuned the suspension and added new badges. And when the first Acura TSX appeared in 2003 as a 2004 model, that was enough.
Initially the front-drive, made-in-Japan Acura TSX was offered only with a four-cylinder engine and with either six-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmissions. With its tidy proportions and delicate balance, the first TSX was a sweet drive. There wasn't a surplus of power aboard, but the engine was responsive enough to keep the Acura TSX entertaining.
A second-generation Acura TSX went on sale during the 2009 model year, but the formula was unchanged. Once again the TSX was the European-spec Accord with some superficial tweaks to turn it into an Acura. Bigger than the previous Acura TSX, the second one was overstuffed with electronic entertainment systems and was slightly roomier.
However, the second Acura TSX was initially available with the same four-cylinder engine as the sole power plant. But the increase in size taxed the engine more than before and took off some of the Acura TSX's sporting edge. So the 2010 Acura TSX was offered with a 3.5-liter V6 as an option for the first time.
From entry-level sedan to V6-powered premium cruiser, the Acura TSX covers a lot of the market.
