2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon Picture And Info

Our first drive revealed the 2011 Acura TSX wagon to be quite the charmer, and the car has grown on us since, especially from a styling standpoint. The public agrees. Nearly every reaction was some variation of “Wow, the wagon looks even better than the sedan.” Credit the uptick in visual appeal to the long, tapering line of windows; the retention of the sedan’s muscular wheel arches; and the long rear overhang, which fairly shouts, “I’m a wagon and damn proud of it.” Particularly in dark colors, the TSX wagon looks good.
One More Gear, Please
But looks are only a part of the equation. How would this hauler fare with our test gear aboard? Available solely with Acura’s revvy, 2.4-liter four-cylinder (it makes 201 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque) mated to a five-speed automatic, the TSX wagon is about 130 pounds heavier than a similarly equipped TSX sedan and 200 or so pounds heavier than TSX sedans with the slick six-speed manual. The only four-cylinder TSX sedans we’ve tested have been manuals, and they hit 60 mph about a second quicker than the auto wagon, which took a ho-hum 8.1 seconds. At 16.4 seconds at 87 mph, the wagon also trails the manually shifted sedan through the quarter-mile, by about a second and 5 mph.
Although it’s pointless for us to press Acura to offer the manual in the wagon—we’ve been told it’ll never happen—we will lobby for the company to equip all TSX automatics with at least six forward speeds as soon as possible. Doing so would match almost every other $30,000-plus car on the market, and it likely would improve the wagon’s acceleration and add 1 or 2 mpg to its 22 city/30 highway fuel-economy ratings. (Our lead feet managed 22 mpg during this test.) It’s good, then, that Acura already has begun phasing six-speed autoboxes into its lineup, starting with the V-6–powered MDX, the RL, and the freshly updated 2012 TL models. So we would expect to see a six-speed automatic in the TSX sedan and wagon within a year.
Character Counts: More Sport Than Luxury
On the skidpad, the wagon’s roadholding figure of 0.82 g trailed that of the manual TSX sedan by 0.04 g. It should be noted, however, that after we got our number, we continued circling the skidpad just for kicks, enjoying how willingly the nose tucked in on throttle lift-off and allowed the car to rotate in step—literally—with our right foot. Quick and accurate steering, a strong suit for most Acuras, contributes to the wagon’s fun factor. Ditto the brakes, which brought the wagon to a halt from 70 to 0 mph in 180 feet, same as the sedan.
Although the TSX wagon is decidedly sporty, its firm ride and the presence of road and wind noise at highway speeds are giveaways to its somewhat plebeian roots. The TSX is the humdrum Honda Accord in Europe; our mammoth Accord isn’t sold there. So this is no full-boat luxury car, but its modern décor and pleasant mix of black and gray interior materials represent a refreshing break from the fake wood and chrome-drenched interiors common in the entry-luxury segment. Our test car was equipped with the Tech package, which raises the price of entry from $31,820 to $35,470 and includes an easy-to-use navigation system with real-time traffic and weather, Acura’s excellent 10-speaker ELS surround-sound audio system, dual-zone automatic climate control, and a power tailgate. That’s in addition to the leather-covered seats, USB/MP3/Bluetooth connectivity, and xenon headlamps that come standard on all TSX models.
Oh, Yeah—It Can Carry Cargo, Too
Of course, most folks in the wagon market have at least one eye on cargo-lugging ability, and in this respect, the TSX wagon does not disappoint. With 26 cubic feet of space behind the second row, the wagon offers nearly twice the cargo capacity of the sedan. Fold the seats, and that number more than doubles to 61 cubes. Beneath the cargo floor are no fewer than four storage compartments of varying shapes and sizes, with another taller one tucked behind a panel aft of the left wheel well. As to its closest competition, the TSX wagon is slightly less capacious with the rear seats up but much larger with the seats down than the Audi A4 Avant, although it’s somewhere between 7 and 11 cubic feet tighter in both measurements than the Subaru Outback or Volvo XC70.
But the lively TSX wagon is appealing even beyond its practical aspects, thus rendering such spreadsheet-style comparisons less relevant. It’s one of those rare cars that needn’t be fast to be fun or have a trunk to be stylish.View Photo Gallery

 

by carmax.blogspot.com

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