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For $26,490 you can have new a four-door Acura TSX.
That is, you can get a car that is currently sold in Europe and Japan as the Honda (nyse: HMC - news - people ) Accord and rebadged in this country as an Acura. See, we get an Accord that's bigger inside than the one that the carmaker sells in its home market and to Europeans.
So to sell us the smaller Japanese/Euro Accord (and to fill a hole in its upscale Acura lineup), the carmaker has revised the car by adding goodies such as standard stability control, leather, multiple airbags and a more powerful version of the same 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine that sells in the lower-rung but larger American Accord.
Confused? You will be.
The TSX not only has less cabin room than an American-market Accord sedan, but it also has about 20% less horsepower than the top-of-the-line $25,800 Accord V-6 sedan that comes with a leather interior. Wait, it costs MORE to get a car that's smaller inside and has a smaller, weaker engine? Why?
Click here to see a video clip of the Acura TSX.
One big reason: You cannot get the American Accord Sedan with a V-6 and Honda's fantastic six-speed manual gearbox. To get both the big engine and that gearbox, you have to get the Accord Coupe, which has about the same interior dimensions as the TSX, but lacks back doors, so it's a less convenient car to own overall.
The TSX is a smaller car, so it handles better than the larger Accord Sedan, and several suspension modifications ensure that the TSX is tauter-riding than the Accord Coupe. Also, you get a swankier interior, and that Acura badge. Don't discount the latter: Acura dealers are some of the most pleasant in the business. J.D. Power and Associates' 2002 Customer Satisfaction Index put Acura well ahead of the likes of BMW, Jaguar and even Porsche--and several rungs above Honda, as well.
Then again, Honda isn't the only carmaker playing chassis games. Volkswagen (otc: VLKAY - news - people ) sells the Audi A4 on the same chassis as the VW Passat for a competitive $26,700 and that gets you quattro all-wheel-drive. Nissan (nasdaq: NSANY - news - people ) wisely uses the same chassis as the 350Z sports car for its $27,800 Infiniti G35 sedan (which is larger inside, handles exceptionally well and is more powerful than the TSX). And let's not forget BMW, which sells the 325i for $28,495.
So much competition muddies the picture even more. Can the Acura TSX play in this field, is it worth what it costs, or would you be happier in the Honda Accord or one of those other near-luxury models?
HIGHS:
Silky ride, ideal four-door commuter car, fun at higher speeds.
LOWS:
Tough competition, an engine that needs to rev to develop accelerative muscle.
That is, you can get a car that is currently sold in Europe and Japan as the Honda (nyse: HMC - news - people ) Accord and rebadged in this country as an Acura. See, we get an Accord that's bigger inside than the one that the carmaker sells in its home market and to Europeans.
So to sell us the smaller Japanese/Euro Accord (and to fill a hole in its upscale Acura lineup), the carmaker has revised the car by adding goodies such as standard stability control, leather, multiple airbags and a more powerful version of the same 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine that sells in the lower-rung but larger American Accord.
Confused? You will be.
The TSX not only has less cabin room than an American-market Accord sedan, but it also has about 20% less horsepower than the top-of-the-line $25,800 Accord V-6 sedan that comes with a leather interior. Wait, it costs MORE to get a car that's smaller inside and has a smaller, weaker engine? Why?
Click here to see a video clip of the Acura TSX.
One big reason: You cannot get the American Accord Sedan with a V-6 and Honda's fantastic six-speed manual gearbox. To get both the big engine and that gearbox, you have to get the Accord Coupe, which has about the same interior dimensions as the TSX, but lacks back doors, so it's a less convenient car to own overall.
The TSX is a smaller car, so it handles better than the larger Accord Sedan, and several suspension modifications ensure that the TSX is tauter-riding than the Accord Coupe. Also, you get a swankier interior, and that Acura badge. Don't discount the latter: Acura dealers are some of the most pleasant in the business. J.D. Power and Associates' 2002 Customer Satisfaction Index put Acura well ahead of the likes of BMW, Jaguar and even Porsche--and several rungs above Honda, as well.
Then again, Honda isn't the only carmaker playing chassis games. Volkswagen (otc: VLKAY - news - people ) sells the Audi A4 on the same chassis as the VW Passat for a competitive $26,700 and that gets you quattro all-wheel-drive. Nissan (nasdaq: NSANY - news - people ) wisely uses the same chassis as the 350Z sports car for its $27,800 Infiniti G35 sedan (which is larger inside, handles exceptionally well and is more powerful than the TSX). And let's not forget BMW, which sells the 325i for $28,495.
So much competition muddies the picture even more. Can the Acura TSX play in this field, is it worth what it costs, or would you be happier in the Honda Accord or one of those other near-luxury models?
HIGHS:
Silky ride, ideal four-door commuter car, fun at higher speeds.
LOWS:
Tough competition, an engine that needs to rev to develop accelerative muscle.