The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: a 2009 TSX Review

[MemphisRheins]

Figured id post this now, incase anyone wants to subscribe, but after making friends with a salesman the other day, I am going to have the opportunity to look at and drive the New TSX tomorrow, so look forward to some pictures and a full review

- Memphis

[ATX-TX Speed]

It will be nice to get the skinny from a mod and not some critic none of the board actually knows.

[mclovintsx]

Dang makes me want to test drive one for fun.

[MemphisRheins]

My Car:

2004 Acura TSX 5AT Non-Navi
Tein Flex Coilovers, EDFC, Every Sway bar mod, Hawk Racing Pads
Intake/Headers/RTCat/Exhaust/Pulleys
Pioneer speakers, Dension Ice Link Ipod hook up.
Magellian Navi
26,425$ MSRP (Paid 24)

Test Drive:
2009 Acura TSX, 5AT Technology package
Tech package consists of:
10 Speaker 410 Watt Stereo
Navi with Live Traffic and Weather information
Bluetooth
Factory XM/ Aux hook up.
32,775$ MSRP


First off, since people will ask… I chose to drive the 5AT TSX for two reasons: First, My 04 is a 5AT, so I wanted a valid comparison, the 09 would be a completely different car if I drove the 6MT, as much as I would of liked too. Secondly, I like the idea of Paddle Shifters.
Also before I start the review I would like to thank Mike Keen at Jones Acura for letting me play with their new car, he in fact only told me to slow down once.

So the first thing on everyone’s mind is the Exterior, does it really look as much like a Hyundai as it does in the Online press photos?
Thankfully the 09 is a better looking car in person, I will still admit that the exterior styling is a big grope point for me, however it does work with the car as a whole, It is somewhat detached however, I completely forgot what the exterior of the car looked like, until it was parked.
Then once it was parked, I took the pictures nonchalantly, it kind of just reads “Car”. But still it looks a bit better made material wise then other “cars”.

Now the Interior makes up for the lack of an Exterior… the Interior reminds me quite a bit of the TL-S I had been sitting in while waiting for mike to get the keys. Its got a similar overall lay out, that’s spread out and recessed a bit, which seems to be honda’s new theme. The recessed Navi is a real nice touch, there wasn’t much in the way of glare at all.
The New Steering wheel I liked a lot, they made it significantly wider, which gives you a real nice sporty feel, I didn’t really play with all the buttons on the wheel. Mike pointed out and I agree, that the new height adjustment set up is a better way to go then the one on my 04, you push this one in and make your adjustments, rather then pull the lever down and into your knee.
The Seats are much wider then the 04 TSX seats, which should help the McDonalds crowd to actually sit in the car. Thankfully though the bolster is fairly good, its far from recaro’s, but its about on par with the snugness of my 04, (and the pleather doesn’t look nearly as worn)
The Gauges are display are also quite nice, the floating needles are a neat trick, but forgettable after a few minutes of driving. The Tech package has a push button option on that center dial, that gives you live traffic and weather updates, which is a really neat trick.
Now Ergonomically, I felt a bit more comfortable in my 04 TSX, The shifter has moved forward and up, the cup holders and center bin backwards, the Radio and Navi controls up and forward some more as well, It made the car feel much bigger on the inside, which is nice for the TL and a higher level Luxury car, however not quite the cockpit feel for the Sport Sedan Crowd. The Sunroof Controls are finally up by the actual sunroof. Which means your passengers aren’t looking everywhere for it when they want to open the roof like in the 04.
The Shifter on the 5AT has the god awful push button in order to shift, which I am really not a fan of. Its also set up in a completely straight line. I know this is a minor gripe in the long run, but is one of my favorite things about my 04’s Automatic transmission.
The Paddles, aren’t really as much fun as I would of hoped, It feels the same as the 04’s Slapstick, even downshifts respond in the same predictable manner.

Lets talk performance now, because that’s what we care about most after all right? The car has to be fun to drive, and well, it is, just quite different.

The First thing you’ll notice, and the first thing I was warned about is that the Steering Wheel is now completely electronic. At very first it’s a bit uncomfortable, and you feel quite disconnected, regular driving keeps that feel, however once it senses that you know how to drive, and you start pushing the damn thing, it begins to have a more familiar feel being stock, it had quite a bit of under-steer, even with the newer larger sway and strut bar, it took a little more to feel unbalanced however then my 04 used to, with a bit less body roll (that is at least until you really start playing). Jerking the wheel back and forth on my Tein Flex Modded TSX will make a series of very small turns, the wheels feel directly connected, the 09 felt disconnected, more like driving my Grandmothers 86 Jaguar, then the happy puppy feel of a Modded TSX.
Brakes respond in a similar matter to the 04, I gave I a few quick jabs, and a left foot brake during a turn, and it gripped well, Mike said he stopped her hard from 60 the night before and it held up well.
As I said before the power train feels identical, downshifts with the Paddles feel and respond the same way as downshifts from the slapstick, It is a bit slower to downshift in Automatic mode then mine, but I incorporate a lot of that due to the UR Pulleys.
The engine feels like it has a bit more low end torque, however you can feel the added weight to the car, still managed to hit 90 quite easy, but just feels once again a bit more disconnected then my 04. I belive a lot of that feeling has to do with the added Sound Deafening. The K24 motor gives off a bit of a placebo effect in the 04-08 TSX’s given that even pre- I/H/E it has a nice engine tone upon downshifting. This is currently lost in the 09.
Looking under the hood, there is an amazing amount of room to work, which is a nice change from my 04 having a scar or two to prove that. The Intake has been very clearly redesigned, with a smaller airbox, however the peak I had of the resonator made it look quite large. The headers are total crap though, the system looks incredibly restrictive, and these should be replaced immediately.
Back to the interior, the 10 speaker sound system sounds great, it is a major improvement from the Stock 04 Speakers Shame that it is part of a a 3500$ upgrade. This upgrade however may be worth it, the live weather and traffic is a real nice toy, and the Backup Camera is really well done, Mike said they tested it earlier, and when you think you have an inch, you do in fact really have an inch. Hopefully that feature will continue to appear in newer cars, so my 04 TSX wont get any more scratches from idiots who can not parallel park (450$ estimate to repair my current front bumper) the right mirror tilts downwards in reverse when left in the right setting as well, to further help people not hit my car.
I was unable to test the Ipod functionality, The 09 has a USB adapter rather then an apple specific one like the BMW’s, so I can not compare that to my ICE>Link.

All and All I will say that I like the New TSX, it is a nice car to drive, it is however very different from the sports sedan category our 1st generation falls in, its more A6 like then A4 like, which may or may not be a good thing for Acura. It will as Mike put, help it sell to a larger audience then the current TSX, though he agrees Acura will need a new car to fill in the RSX and now the TSX gap. A SH-AWD, K23 Turbo TSX would fit the bill, but that doesn’t seem to be in the works.


The Good:
New Interior
Back up Camera
Navi w/ live update
Stereo
Steering wheel Shape
Bigger Sways/Strut Bar

The Bad:
Heavy
Less Power
Disconnected feeling
Restricted Motor
Higher Price

The Ugly:
Headlights
Grill
Rims

[Pacemaker_Guy]

Thank you!

[BigBen]

Great write up. Feel like I drove the car myself.

[gerardo]

thanks Memphis, well clear-cut and straight forward.
<a href="http://s242.photobucket.com/albums/ff224/notsober2/?action=view&current=clapping.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff224/notsober2/clapping.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[ssm05RSX]

good write up, makes me not want one even more, i was thinking about trading in my 06 for an 09 6 speed, but ill stick to an 07-08 6 speed.

[Age]

Thanks for the nice write up.

[Saad]

Great write-up. Thanks!

[churrrddd]

nice write up thanks!!!!!!!!!

[synthply]

hey memphis, you left out the part where you gave mike a BJ to get the test drive

[ktec]

Nice write up. I saw it yesterday 4 the 1st time and it looks alot better in person. The only thing i didnt like about it is the fact that the intake manifold is now plastic like the base rsx! wtf?! Does anybody know if thats a good move or a bad 1 for aftermarket tuning?

[MMsTSX]

can someone help me out here?

many of you say it looks better in person.
I don't get that.
how do the pictures lie?
in person the car looks identical to me. worse even.
you can see the cheap materials used better in person.

what in person makes the car look better than the pictures?
I'm having a hard time with this.

[jfive]

Nice write up. I saw it yesterday 4 the 1st time and it looks alot better in person. The only thing i didnt like about it is the fact that the intake manifold is now plastic like the base rsx! wtf?! Does anybody know if thats a good move or a bad 1 for aftermarket tuning?

It's good in a way because it won't absorb as much heat but it's bad because it's not as strong, but probably won't matter unless you plan on doing nitrous or major forced induction.

[MemphisRheins]

Finally got the pictures I took from my Friends Camera:

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/7533/img3025ww1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3931/img3026jq9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/5602/img3027sk9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/5337/img3028bu9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8830/img3029qg4.jpg

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7198/img3030ur2.jpg

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/6509/img3033wk6.jpg

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/4535/img3031gr0.jpg

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/1484/img3034sx7.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/2959/img3032af5.jpg

[Jays98cobra]

brent- really good write up. i can honestly say the only thing i like is the front bumper lowere part....has a cool front lip so to say...other than that the tail lights look kinda cool...anyways other than that i hate to say it but the is250 is more appealing to me than this car....

[ktec]

It's good in a way because it won't absorb as much heat but it's bad because it's not as strong, but probably won't matter unless you plan on doing nitrous or major forced induction.

Yeah that sounds about rt. Im thinking of getting it but afraid that if i add I/H/E its going to warp the intake manifold in the long run.

[ktec]

can someone help me out here?

many of you say it looks better in person.
I don't get that.
how do the pictures lie?
in person the car looks identical to me. worse even.
you can see the cheap materials used better in person.

what in person makes the car look better than the pictures?
I'm having a hard time with this.

Well let me explain myself at least. When i saw it yesterday it was wht with a nice rear deck lid and sitting in the show room looking at its best. So looking at it like that lets me c the potential of modifying it with a lower stance and nice wheels.Ill tell u i didnt like the frt grill when i saw it in pics but noticed that its not that bad in person. My opinion wheels & stance change the look of almost any car. All in all u either love it or hate it every 1 has their own opinion.

[Jays98cobra]

the more i look at it the more i think its a cross between the new toyota camrys and lexu es 300's of 2006 and up!

[nj2pa2nc]

brent- really good write up. i can honestly say the only thing i like is the front bumper lowere part....has a cool front lip so to say...other than that the tail lights look kinda cool...anyways other than that i hate to say it but the is250 is more appealing to me than this car....
Test drive one-your opinion might change. I test drove a basque red pearl 6MT w tech package. Very impressed with it-shifted even better than my 06 (and that is excellent). The front grill is something you have to get used to. No car-buying for me until at least next year. Maybe another tsx. Need to get back the milano red. the one they now have looks like a bing cherry.
I want to thank Lehigh Valley Acura for allowing me to check out the car even tho they knew I was not buying.

[fadinglionhart]

test drove a 5at w tech package today. my favourite parts of the car was that it had bluetooth 2.0 and usb audio interface.

With bluetooth 2.0 you can stream music from your mobile phone to the car and control the volume and the track number using the car's control. I don't know any $30xxx car that has this.

I also like how much more torque the car has and how the electronic throttle delay has been nearly eliminated. The engine is also a lot more responsive, but it could be because of the above two things. I was looking at the tach needle and it was bouncing up and down really effortlessly. Loving the software update to the dbw issue.

Still doesn't feel like it's as fast as my 06 MT with injen from a flat line acceleration. Not sure if it's true, but it still feels like I can beat the 09 in terms of speed. Didn't really get to test out the suspension too much, but overall, the car feels very "floaty" to me.

[robert_tg]

nice writeup but you left out ride/suspension

[DVS]

nice write up!! great visual comparison as well, our tsx look much small than the new 09.

I'm definitely be holding on to my 06 model but the PWP 09 look so hot! (remove the grill and put a 18" rims)