When I did my test drive, I drove the 6MT, but my fiance would want the auto.

How is it?
If the 6MT TSX is getting mid 15's in the 1/4, what kind of times are the autos getting?

I haven't even looked, but I assume it's a 5AT correct? Does it have manu-matic function?

Thanks.

 

I get an auto TSX as a courtesy car everytime I go in for service. It is a very smooth and relatively quick-shifting automatic but compared to my 6MT is a little bit slower but not by much. I believe the literature would list the 5AT about .05-1 second slower than the 6MT given the driver of the 6MT can shift worth a lick. I would guess that the 5AT would pull middle 16's on the quarter. And yes, it does have manu-matic function with steering wheel shift buttons with the ability of holding a gear and bouncing off the limiter unlike other manu-matics that upshift automatically when you hit redline.

 

teach her how to drive MT

 

The auto is a great choice for anybody who drives in a lot of traffic. It's definitely going to be a bit slower than the MT, especially due to the gearing. The gearing for the auto does, on the other hand, provide better highway cruising at lower RPMs. Being by NYC, I'm very happy to have the 5AT. If I were back in California, I'd probably have gone for 6MT. Still, if your fiancee wants the auto... don't force her into getting anything different. It'll save you a lot of pain in the end!

By the way, the Sportshift manu-matic mode shifts using up/down flicks of the shifter... there are no steering wheel mounted paddles or anything like that. (I'd be damned happy to be wrong!).

 

The 5AT TSX will do 1/4 in 17 sec flat or worse .... that's my best result with the K&N CAI
cant do any better with the auto ... ~
which is a really poor outcome ...

 

I went from a 1999 Integra GS-R (manual 5-speed) to the automatic TSX, and I'm very happy. The decision of going from the manual to automatic is that back when I had the manual, I telecommuted, but now I have to drive 60 miles a day in stop and go traffic... I'm still very pleased with the performance.

 

and let her polish up the skill on the TSX ?..hmmm hard, very hard to do.

 

Now that I think about it, it doesn't have steering wheel shift buttons doesn't it? I don't know why I said it did... my bad... just getting it mixed up with alot of other manu-matic cars that have steering-wheel shifters these days.

 

I was going to you for that .... no it doesn't. It has what I consider to be a very good manumatic function, but not on the steering wheel. This is my first automatic car (parenthetical justification - new job, new city with bad traffic), and I'm very impressed with the tranny. If I didn't spend too much time here, I wouldn't give a second thought to my satisfaction with it

 

If the 6mt TSX does mid 15s 1/4, the auto is probaly low 16s. 17s quarter mile doesn't sound right.

 

You must not have commuted on the 405 or 101...

 

I think car and driver had 16s but I could be wrong. I thought i read it somewhere. But the auto is fine. Best automatic I've driven and owned!

 

C/D (October) reported the 6M TSX 1/4 15.7@90 mph.

C/D had previously reported the heavier V6 Accord AT with a 1/4 of 15.5@92 mph. 166 lb-ft of torque for the TSX vs. 212 lb-ft for the V6 Accord.

With a power loss of 20-25% from an AT's torque converter, those are just about the numbers that they both should produce!

 

That's exactly it.
She can drive a manual pretty good, not great...sometimes stalls at starts, but then she's only driven a manual a handful of times in the last 5 years.

But she commutes down the infamous 405 freeway here in LA.
Luckily here job allows here to come in AFTER the morning rush. She usually leaves for work around 9:30 to 10:30 am.
So it's occasionally still heavy, but usually open enough that a manual would be okay...I just know she wouldn't want to deal with it everyday.

I would of guessed the auto to run 0-60 in about 8.0-8.2 seconds and the 1/4 in low 16's at MAYBE 90 mph, but probably high 80's

This would be acceptable performance, but again, she's comig from a 255 hp 3.5 liter V6 equipped Maxima. And even in auto form, the guys over at Maxima.org are getting high 14's at 93 or so mph STOCK. Manual guys are getting 14.2-14.4 at 97 stock.

Nowadays, the automatics are closer to the performance of many manuals than they were even 5 years ago, but especially 10 years ago.
With having 5 and now 6 speed AUTOS, and computers often programmed for shifting them at the best times for performance (when the hammer is all the way down), many darn close to the manuals times.

It also depends on how they gear the autos. I know the autos in the VW 1.8T's are only a couple tenths off the manuals time. They shift really fast and have a more aggressive final drive ratio.

I guess I'll see what she thinks when she drives it.

Any of you taken your AT TSX's to the track. I saw one guy said 17 seconds flat.
He must be at a bad track like LACR or something, that couldn't be possible on a good track with a driver who can launch the car good.

 

Wow. The auto accord times seems bad. I would've guessed around 15 seconds. Maybe it's just doesn't have an aggressive setup.

 

I dont think it would be that difficult to teach someone on the 6MT. Nice, smooth clutch and easy shifting through the gates (even better if you have a short shift).

 

That guy must have been looking at the 200 hp Accord times.
The current car is running 0-60 in the mid 6's and 1/4 time of 14.9 @ 95-96 mph with the auto sedans.

I just drove one yesterday. I doesn't feel nearly as powerful as my 2002 Maxima, which has 15 more hp and 34 ft-lbs of torque more.
But the Accord has more aggressive gearing so it stays close down low ( a few ticks off) but is actually trapping faster than the automatic 02/03 Maximas. The Maxima's 3rd gear is pretty tall, and 4th is just an overdrive.
So once the Accord sedan hits 3rd gear, even though it has less power, it's gearing makes up for it.
But the new Maxima's and even the Altima's now have a 5 speed auto with manumatic functions, so I don't think the Accords would hang with it at any point anymore.

 

Damn, that is pretty bad. I know that the Civic Si/Acura EL do the 1/4 in about the 18-19 second range, so yeah, that is pretty bad...

 

I taught my sister how to drive manual with TSX. Now she's having fun beating up riced Civics. She's even commuting on 405, I10 in rush hours.

 

yeah .... auto sux .. a 03 TL-S will only do low 15 with injen CAI ...
so i think the time for AT V6 Accord is pretty correct ...
seems a AT G35 can do 1/4 in mid 14 ....
AT will be slower than MT for abt 1 sec or a bit more ...
that's the result i got from last week's drag racing at Mission Race Way
so get real ... cuz it's nearly impossible to get the same result as C/D ... for normal drivers ~

 

Yeah second that. While Honda makes the best manual gearboxes in the business, leave the automatics to Mercedes, the kings of engineering automatic trannies. Take a CLK55 AMG which is heavier and has less power-to-weight ratio than a C5 Corvette 6-speed manual. The 5AT benz tears throught the 0-60 sprint in 4.5 secs and doesn't look back while the Vette takes 4.8 seconds to get there despite the weight advantage and the professional driver shifting the close-ratio 6-speed. Now MB ups the ante even more and has an upcoming 7-speed auto that will make its way into a slew of new models... euro mags have shown that not only is the 7-speed auto smoother than previous auto-boxes, it is actually faster than a 6-speed manual placed in the same R171 car in 0-60 sprints. With the transition to a new breed of automatics, guess who inherits the old 5AT's from Mercedes? You got it! Chrysler and Dodge cars. That said, the TSX's autobox is still above average when compared to its competition.

 

For me, the auto comes in very handy on the RT 1 corrodor in rush hour, especially nice to have the right hand free for making phone calls, playing with the stereo (Rio MP3 player), etc. I do use the manumatic function a lot, especially on the faster roads in NJ (95, Turnpike, Parkway). Coming from a 2000 Dodge Intrepid, I am happy with the performance. If I wanted a faster car, I would have gotten the Maxima or the Magnum with the Hemi, with Auto.

 

Well, we just got back from driving the TSX in automatic form.
I didn't drive this time though and let my fiance do the driving.
She loved the car.

I sat in the back, let the sales guy sit up front too.

With all 3 of us, and the A/C on (it was 101 degrees). And this one also had the NAV, which was nice, but don't think we'd get that.
I had her floor it at a light, it felt "peppy" and reasonably quick, she lifted right at 6000 rpm's though.
Isn't that where the iVTEC kicks in?


Just scooting around it felt plenty good.

She really liked the car and like the Arctic Blue with black interior.

We'll see, it wouldn't be enough power for me, but since she'd drive this car 90% of the time, it would be no big deal.

 

 

You live in Los Angeles. Get the auto. ......and maybe the fiance should get her own car.

 

I'm surprised the 6MT snobs havn't jumped all over this thread.

I have the autobox and am quite happy with it.

 

While I lived in LA, having the 5AT was nice, but not a huge problem to have the MT. I drove an MT Integra for over a year without any problems.

Here in DC, I'm extremely greatful for the 5AT because of the way people drive around here. It's nice to be able to keep both hands on the wheel in an emergency situation where you have to swerve to avoid a taxi that decides to stop in front of you suddenly to left off a passenger.

 

we've had this MT vs AT war several times already on this board. in fact, one member, cant remember who, claims that he can tell no difference between the two transmission.

ignorance is bliss

i drove the AT and MT, and the AT felt awkward to me, it felt like it was always a gear to high, the sequential shift had a huge delay.

i was not impressed.

the 6MT shifts very smoothly, and i wouldn't change to a 5AT if someone paid me.

but either way, you get a refined car that is an excellent value.

 

I don't see what the problem with getting a manual tranny is, then.


I tried my best.

 

I know, that 0.7 seconds seems like forever

 

to that!!!!

 

for some odd reason I always thought you drove a MT...

 

The auto TSX would be for the fiance.
I ordered and am getting the Legacy GT Limited sedan manual on Sept. 20th.

Sure I would love for her to get the 6MT, but ultimately since it would be her car and the one she'll drive 85-90% of the time, it's her decision.

The reason I was asking about the auto TSX's performance is I was trying to get an idea of how it would match up to the GTI 1.8T auto we had.
The Auto TSX feels a bit slower, but a lot of that feel is probably due to not having the turbo.
The GTI 1.8T even in auto form feels strong almost right out of the gate. It's at peak torque at 1900 rpms and holds that to like 5000 rpms.
But the TSX has more top end, so in traffic, the TSX feels quite a bit less powerful, and probably is...it's not until you get above 5000 rpm before the TSX feels as strong as the GTI 1.8T

I think she really liked the TSX and it may very well be the car she gets.
I want her to drive the Honda Accord EX V6 first though. It offers close to the luxury of the TSX, but has better straighline performance. And since she's not interest in canyon carving or overly spirited driving (she does like to drive fast on the freeway) the Accord EX V6 might be a better choice for her, I'll see. She may not care about the performance now, she really liked the look and feel of the TSX.

 

Nope...I've always had the AT. I do love to drive MT when I get the chance to, so my next car is going to be MT for sure, but that's at least 2.75 years down the road so no point thinking about it just yet.

 

Why not get the nav? It is sooooo sweet.....

 

Whether she ultimately goes for the Accord or the TSX definitely get the NAV. My girlfriend loves it. She feels secure knowing she can't get lost and that the car can talk her home.

 

Well, mainly because she was born and raised in Los Angeles, so she knows her way around town.
And since we don't go on too many road trips that take us into "strange" areas, we'd never use it.

Then there's the factor of $2K.
A Thomas Guide costs $25 bucks.
And MapQuest is free.
And cell phone calls to somebody for directions is pretty cheap too.

We just don't need NAV, I also don't like the idea of knowing that someone else probably knows where you are....too Big Brother like for me.

 

To be fair, the autostick in the TSX does not have a huge delay. If you think so, try driving the one in the old (pre-04) TL. That being said, even my wife says the autostick is like a water-downed manual tranny. That was the gist of her reply after an Acura salesmen tried to sell her on the sportiness of the autostick. Needless to say we'll be getting the 6MT when we finally decide to pull the trigger on the TSX.

 

I got the auto and I am really impressed. I drove a G35 coupe auto and it was a complete slush box. Just awful.
All shifts are very smooth. Punching the car in first is really slow. All quater mile times will vary greatly depending on how the driver brake-torques. Getting the revs up to 2.5k rpm at launch can probably take off a third of a second.

 

Can you clarify why the auto Gcoupe is a slushbox?