Drive by wire just means that there is an electronic, not mechanical, connection between two devices. In this case, your gas pedal inputs go to a computer, which then activates the mechanisms that make the car go faster. "Older" cars would actually have a wire or something where there was a mechanical linkage. As for better? I can only guess - more accuracy/fidelity, lower risk of something going wrong (i.e. the less moving parts, the less problems you may have).

 

....are you talking about the 'middle' of the plane where the light of the two HID's meet??? If so (I'll answer in case you don't know, to prevent yet another reply...if you know...well, than this was just a wasted reply), that is supposed to be there. Is a sharp drop off, but it not a very long drop off at all. And the reason that there is because of how bright the lights are. My mother owns a Cadillac CTS with HID lights just like the TSX's. The manufacturer purposely lowers the angle of projection in order to keep oncoming trafficers (yea, w/e....I just made the word up) from being any more blinded from our type of lights than what they already may be. I mentioned it to Reach, but....I think the lights are quite hypnotizing. lol I found myself staring at them the other day.

 

I personally enjoy the sound of the door when it closes.

And I also thought contrary what others thought...I thought it felt like a very solid door, with a crisp solid 'thud' when the door shuts. hehe

I remember looking at the interactive tour of the TSX on teh acura website before I got mine and them emphasizing the door shutting as jlukja mentioned.

 

I think we're talking about the same thing.... The very definite horizontal line where the HIDs stop at the top. I've never had these before, only Euro halogens in my modded Jeep Wrangler. I appreciate that it's better for oncoming drivers, but it's not better that there's an annoying "line" where illumination stops. This can be distracting to the driver when, as I said, the nose bounces. Maybe if it was controlled by gyros, so it remained level.... Oops, I just upped the price of the car a few thou$and. Aaaaanyway, it's not so bothersome that I want to take the car back.

When I still had the OEM fog lights on my Jeep, I had them angled so that they "filled in" the outer reaches of the headlights ... this helped in fog better than just aimed down, and (since they're mounted much lower) was useful in fog. Of course, I couldn't use them with oncoming traffic, though I had the left one turned towards center (I don't need the left side of the road illuminated so much anyway).

YMMV in all of this.

 

Hate:
Wind/road noise on the highway
Drive by wire
Speed
Paint

 

MY friend has a tsx and i finally drove it. Didnt really get to punch it or anything, but the power felt quite adequate. And i actually dont like how the door sounds when you shut it, even though he does. The interior was nice, it didnt have that aluminum trim that most TLs have which is good, cuz almost every TL that i saw had nicks and dings on the "aluminum" trim. Handle nicely, drove pretty smooth over bumps. Overall a great car.

Now im even more undecided on if i want the TL or TSX. Its about a 5grand difference in price for about the same mileage and year car.

 

Hello,
This is my third acura, i wish the turning radius was better. Overall it is a great car. 08 TSX Auto Non-Nav, in pwp
Best Regards,
Umair

 

I drove a (dealer loaner) TL Friday and can give you ... well, a strong suggestion to drive one and then drive a TSX, same test drive route.

It would appear to have more power, with a V6, but in fact, I had to put the spurs to 'er much more to get the same kind of acceleration response. The power was there, but I felt I had to coax it out. In "sport shift" mode it was readily available, but the full auto tranny was not as eager to climb up to the thin air and break the sound barrier as my TSX. The interior was very similar, with more doodads and a few more amenities. I actually found myself craving my TSX after a morning and lunchtime drive. I felt like I was back in a "cushy grocer-getter" Accord. Doors sounded the same as my TSX.

It's not a matter of "just $5000 more" or "like a TSX, with more power and more comfort." They're distinctly different vehicles in my view. Drive one of each if you're really on the fence, I think the test drives will clear your mind.

I don't know how anyone is denting the interior aluminum trim. Playing handball? Wearing big dive watches and gesticulating a lot? Sex with high heels in a secluded parking spot? It comes with all interior colors except parchment, so you're pretty much limited to it. I wouldn't discount the car just on that.

 

Overall, I believe the TSX is a great car with good balance between sportiness and luxury. That being said, here are my dislikes:

1. Radio doesn't display radio station info and no CD text support, either.

2. Door locks!!! These drive me crazy! I cannot rest my arm on the door when I open the window because the damn lock hurts my elbow. Why couldn't they put the lock on the door handle like most other cars?

3. Can't unlock the door by pulling the handle. I can understand this in the rear seats, but it's frustrating for the driver to have to hit the unlock button just to get out of the car. As a result, I drive with my locks "up" all the time (which hurts my elbow if the windows are down and I want to rest my arm there).

4. That damn "OK" nag screen every time I start my car. Why can't Acura make it so that if the last thing I had displayed was the Audio, the next time I turn the car on it comes to the Audio screen? You can leave the "OK" nag screen there, but it should only come up when you have the map function on, not the audio or the A/C.

5. Turning radius (or lack thereof). Why does it seem like I'm driving a full-size pick-up truck when I'm actually driving a COMPACT car?

That's all I have, really. My car would be so much more enjoyable if these things were fixed. Next time I'll go with a Lexus if these things aren't fixed by the next gen.

 

He's talking about the TL. This is especially common on the aluminum pieces near the seat belt buckles, which get dented when people buckle in haste and miss.

TSX's trim won't dent - cuz they're not aluminum. They're painted plastic instead.

 

Im not digging the trunk space and especially the small hole when folding down the rear seats.

Front seat is hard to get comfortable. But I think I got it now.

DBW can be annoying.

 

Yea you are right, i can take the fact that is not displayed through the aux, but at least show me some track names when i am playing my cd's. But again just small things on an overall great car.

 

i hear that the tl seats dont fold back. what about the tsx?

 

As someone stated before I really hate the turning radius! Its just a real hasel to make 3 point turns when you just could of made a U turn.

 

The TL's rear seats only have a passthrough behind the center armrest. The TSX has a 60/40 folding rear seat. To me that's one feature that trumps the TL and the Accord (which only has a full folding rear).

 

05 TSX AT non Navi

Likes:
- fuel consumption is increadible for the performance
- when tinted properly the car looks awesome from the exterior
- trunk size is great
- HID lights rock
- in dash 6 CD is nice
- centre console layout
- ???

Dislikes:
- No MP3
- Paint is not durable enough
- DBW is a bit distant
- handling is a bit soft for me
- interior seat leather is not durable enough
- stock tires are complete crap
- moonroof button doesn't auto open/close
- pasenger window controls don't auto open/close
- rear defroster is a bit small at the top
- ???

 

Pros:
Loads of standards
Nice exterior look
Nice interior look with Navi.

Cons:

Road Noise.
Another 20 Wheel Horsepower.
Less plastic.
Paint.

 

I just drove across the country in the TSX, and one thing that realy bothered me was the stiff steering. If the freeway was grooved funny and tried to steer the car for me than I had to apply a good amount of pressure to correct the direction of the car. Looser steering would have made this less tedious and tiring.

The pressure checker was awesome though. If I drove over something clunky I could check to see if any of the tires had sprung a leak. I used to worry that I'd find out by driving on my rims, but now I should know well in advance, in time to get to a gas station or something.

I drove around 100mph for a good distance and checked the mpg and amazingly it was around 30.9 on flat stretches. I expected the mpg to dive at that speed, but no.

The handling of the car is nice at any speed under 80mph but once you get up past 90 it starts getting twitchy and bumpy, and I'd think a more boat-like car like a USDM accord v6 sedan might have eaten up the road imperfections better. Since I usualy drive uner 80mph I wouldn't make the trade in general. It would be cool if the degree of tension could be adjusted somehow while driving. Maybe someday.

The seats were very comfortable, especialy compared to the Integra. I never once felt any particular part of my body getting cramped, whereas in the teg by right foot would cramp with that awkward inverted angle and having my legs coler together caused an unfun nut cracker effect which was one of my primary reason for getting rid of it finaly.