My fiance and I are expecting our first child (surprise!) in July. My 99 Civic coupe is not large enough or safe enough to be a family car, so I'm upgrading in early summer. The budget I'm working with is probably about $20k-22k, thanks to some grandparents-to-be who don't want their first grandchild riding around in a tin can.

My needs are safety, reliability, and child-carrying ability. My wants are a fun-to-drive, comfortable car that's not too huge. A 2004 TSX seems to fit the bill nicely. But I was wondering the experiences of anybody here who had tried fitting child seats and the like in their TSX.

 

yeah. but 20-22k wont get you a TSX.

 

used 04 with decent miles should be about 22, I would think

 

Congrats on the baby.

The TSX is safe, check out acura.com for all the details.

My Wife has a Pilot and I have a TSX, and were expecting our first in child in June.

I was concerned with the TSX's rear door being kinda small, as you may have to move the front seat forward to put in the car seat. Luckily, there are several car seats to choose from, so you can always find a seat that works in your car.

 

Congrats on the new baby!!

Safety was an issue for me since I have been in a few bad accidents in the past. Lots of airbags in the TSX and great crash ratings.


http://www.hwysafety.org/



Best of luck with the car choice and the dirty diapers.

 

I don't think you should go with first year model (2004) TSX. I think your best part is a 2004-2005 Accord. It's bigger and more family oriented.

 

perfect for small family...the car is Japanese Accord

 

Bought the '04 in much advance of having a baby (so that I'd have time to "break it in" heh heh) in Nov of '04: 5+ months on now with a beautiful baby girl and no problems so far. We use a Graco car seat in the middle using LATCH. It's a little tight/awkward sometimes as she gets heavier but, as with everything it seems, it all _just fits_. I did feel better carting my girl around after putting good tires (Yoko Avid V4) on the car (live in Seattle so there's rain) at 2k miles.

The TSX is our only car. Stroller fits just fine in the trunk, along with anything else we need. We don't plan on buying a 2nd vehicle or trading this one in.

We are not 'big people': I'm 5'8" and my wife is 5'1" and we're both average weight (or a touch over), so YMMV.

You are in for a life altering event. Of course, everyone will tell you that but you won't TRULY understand until it happens. And, by the way, the first 6 weeks can be very rough (of course there's bright spots even then), but after that it gets better and better. Just wait until your little one first smiles and also the first giggle - it'll melt your heart and curl your toes.

 

Off topic:

Best new dad book ever (I found the rest to be pretty crappy and/or stereotypical overall): "Be Prepared : A Practical Handbook for New Dads". Also of value: "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child". And the must have reference: "Caring for your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5" (or similar from the AMA). Good luck!

 

Congrats! The TSX ranks very high in terms of collision and crash tests conducted.

 

Thanks everyone for the positive comments!

By the way, if anyone has other suggestions besides the TSX, Honda/Acura or otherwise, I'm at least willing to consider to them. Just keep in mind the list of above needs and wants.

But the Accord fails in terms of meeting my wants: sporty, sleek and luxurious interior, and an exterior that doesn't look like a yacht. Especially because the V6 6MT wasn't around until 2006, and is thus out of my price range. The Accord is a back-up plan, but not really what I'd like.

As for the roominess: Compared to the TSX, the Accord is bigger in the following ways (in the interior, which matters):
1 more cubic foot in the trunk
0.5" more front headroom
0.5" less rear headroom
0.2" more front legroom
2.6" more rear legroom
1.5" more front shoulder room
2.6" more rear shoulder room
0.2" more front hip room
0.9" less rear hip room

The areas where the Accord is substantially bigger--front shoulder room, rear legroom, rear shoulder room--don't matter as much for carrying a baby. They're great for adults in the back seat, but I don't think they matter as much with baby seats.

By the way, neither my fiance nor I are the typical "big-boned" Americans. I'm 5'6" and relatively slender; she's 5'9" and slender.

 

I have 2 car seats in the back of my TSX. Rear-facing one is a very tight fit. I love the TSX though and my wife's minivan is our primary family car.

 

I bought the TSX to replace my 1991 Teg, and we are expecting our first baby in May. The TSX is a very safe car, traction control (VSA) is nice to have in emergency situations, and we've tried a few car seats that were in friends' cars, and they all go into the TSX relatively easily.

I was in the same boat as you - wanted a safe, fun, sporty, yet practical family sedan, with some luxury and amenities, and I really wanted to stick with a Honda/Acura product. The TSX was the logical choice (2004, used for a GREAT price). First model year is fine IMO.

 

Take a look at the Mazda I4 Sport, with 2.3L fuel-efficient 4-cylinder, 5MT, 4 doors and HATCHBACK for all the stuff that goes with a baby: fold-up playpen, stroller, toys, extra clothes ...

The 06 has the revised interior, but is probably within your price range, new.

 

We just got an '06 and have a two year old girl. Looks like it's been well covered so far. Fantastic family car, IMO. Here's just a few more comments:

- I love the all the air bags in the car, but most of all I like the features that help you avoid accidents; like abs, stability control, and excellent handling.

- The biggest difference I see between the Accord/TSX roominess is the rear shoulder room. With a car seat in the back it will be tough to fit adults around it. If this is not a big problem, then go for it.

- Make sure you put down some towels or something nice under the car seat so you don't damage the leather/plastic. I didn't with my truck and regret it.

Congrats and good luck. After the first 3 months you will wonder what you did with all that time before. And marvel at how much more complete your life is now.

 

7yr ago, I also moved from a MX-6 to a Volvo S70 T5 because of our first little girl. But what a big mistake! The Volvo is pure a tank but is a damn heavy tank that running on the road looking for accident! I got 3 accidents in 2 yr(good things is my daugther was not in the car)! This tank is safe when you are in a accident but it never able to avoid the accident!

So end up I took a huge lost and traded in for a BMW 328i and it was a day & night different. The BMW is really give me a precise feedback and control over the car even it is a RWD, it still drive 1000 times safter than the damn Volvo in winter(of course with a good set of snow tire). But the BMW are so unreliable. My kids have to sitting in it in the middle of hwy and waiting for tow trunk or roadside assitance to resuce us. The add up the worst, it always happened when it is a -30C day during winter time! And oh did I mention, my 5yr old BMW is not able to start again this morning!

So 2 yr ago, we decide to give up our beloved Prelude and get the 04 TSX as our primary family car. We are very very pleased with our purchase and it fit prefectly as a family car for us(with 2 kids) and also allow my wife & I to drive it spiritly like when we driving our Prelude and BMW. If you want nice looking, fun to drive family car that is safe and reliable and also available in manual then TSX is the best choice.

 

We have a 05tsx and a 4dr 98 accord, with an 8 month old boy.

The back seat of the accord fits the baby seat and two passangers better then the tsx.
When I drive the tsx, the baby seat is almost rubbing the front seats. No such shortage of space in the accord.

The stroller barely makes it into the tsx without rubbing the top/botton of the trunk opening, where it comfortably fits into the accord.

Saying all this, we bought big baby seats and stollers, Eddie Bauer versions. Since I don't have that many passagners, I can deal with the confinement. If you plan on having another kid soon, I would get something bigger.

 

Just remember that the baby will not always be a baby....the KID will need more room in the back. I think the back seat of the TSX is extremely small if someone actually needs to sit back there. Just my opinion, but I would not want to be the one stuck back there. Just think about road trips with one or more kids back there....they can be nightmares when kids are squished in and even when there's plenty of room. Just keep the future in mind.

Have you considered a used Altima? I've never driven one, but I hear they can be kind of sporty, depending on the model you choose, and the rear seats are probably bigger than the TSX. I have no idea how the interior is on these cars though. Or maybe a used Maxima? Never driven one of those either and have no idea what the used ones go for.

I feel for ya, it's hard to find a reliable, sporty, fun to drive car, and nice looking in that price range that isn't a boat. Good luck.

 

My wife and I are in the same boat. We are looking for a car to replace her 1999 Saab 9-3. With the hatchback, that car has a great deal of cargo room. We don't have kids yet, but that could change in the next 1-2 years. There are a lot of responses here regarding child seats, but not much concerning cargo capacity. Does anyone wish they had more trunk space? Does anyone without kids wish they had more cargo room? The other 2 cars we are considering are the 9-3 SportCombi and the Sube Forester XT. Of course, the TSX is at the top of our list! Funnest to drive, sportiest, most features, best value, etc. Our only concern is losing the hatch/wagon. Is the TSX trunk big enough for a family of 2 or 3?

 

I'd say yes, the trunk is large enough if you pack reasonably.

My wife and I took a 1600km trip home for the holidays, and had 2 large suitcases, 2 "carry-on" bags, some gifts (relatively large), and a few pillows, and everything fit in the trunk with the exception of a basket of gifts that were breakable, so they rode in the back seat.

Everything was comfortable, and considering the amount of gifts we had, if you were to take those out, you'd have enough room for a kid's suitcase, and said kid in the backseat, no problem.

 

My problem with the TSX trunk is that the opening of it is not big enough. I can't seem to fit a lot of things through it, although I know they'd fit inside the trunk if only I could get past the opening. The rear doors are also pretty narrow, so getting bulky things in the TSX is a challenge, at least from what I've found.

I have no kids and rarely have to haul stuff around, so the TSX works fine for me at the moment. However, if I had kids, I'd get an Accord or something a little bigger.

 

Are you guys try to compare cargo room and trunk space to a pick up truck or a mini van? The trunk of the TSX is huge! It is the biggest trunk I ever have! I still have tons of room after I put my bulky stroller in which my E46 is barely able to fit the stroller. And I have a 3 yr old on car seat and 8 yr old on booster in the rear seat and my wife still able to sit between them. I am 5"11' and my son sit behind me still have good deal of leg room.

 

Yes, I agree that the trunk is surprisingly large for a car this size, but the opening itself could be bigger, that's all. I've had several occurances where I couldn't fit something in the trunk only because of the opening. IMO, you are going to want more room than that if you have kids. With kids comes more crap, it is inevitable, and while the TSX is wonderful in many ways, it does have its shortcomings....namely the trunk opening and the tight rear back seat. Just my .

 

I agree. The sloped roof makes the fore-aft trunk opening impractical for boxes of any medium or larger size (except the flat ones, like IKEA).

Our TSX is relatively new to us and replaces a Passat Wagon, and we are planning on driving it on long hwy. trips (2 kids). Our other car, used primarily for camping and skiing, is a Subaru Outback. There are huge utilitarian advantages to a hatchback, which I discovered lugging around tons of stuff, including camping gear and band equipment in college in my Civic hatch and my friends' CRX. You can get a lot of bulky stuff into the RSX with its hatch.

I wish that the TSX was a hatch, but we'll used the Subaru for the big stuff. If we didn't have another car, I would probably not consider the TSX due to this limitation.

That being said, and to bring this back on topic, the trunk opening doesn't really diminish its use as a family vehicle any more than other sedans. You can load quite a bit of soft-side luggage in the trunk, and we have done well fully loaded (2 car seats, full complement of luggage) on a long-ish trip (couple hundred of miles). The kids, by themselves, had plenty of room. But the space in the back-middle, for a third adult to read to the kids, is smaller than, say, the Passat was.

One thing to think about -- we found that as the kids get older and progress to booster seats and the stroller is no longer mandatory, the kids and their stuff take less, not more, room.

 

I have an 8-year old son, and he fits back there just fine. He's still in a booster only because the shoulder belt still rides a little too high on him. Otherwise, I think the TSX is fine. Just him and his Game Boy and he's happy.

Keep in mind too that I still drove a 1990 Integra LS hatchback for his first 4 years of life. Talk about fun with a rear-facing baby seat in that thing. The back of baby seat, which had to go in the middle hump of the car's back seat, fit snuggly against the back of both front seats. It was a good thing that I'm not so tall that I had to have my seat slid all the way back. It was easier once we could face the seat forward.

I'll second the idea of placing a towel under the baby-seat. Also, make sure it laps up the seat back a good bit too to catch any projectile vomiting that will occur.

 

Ewww. There will be no baby vomit in my car!!!

 

But it gets only 3 stars for side impact from the NHTSA and got a "poor" rating for side impact from the IIHS.

 

Like the Mazda3 and Mazda6, the Nissans just don't get good enough safety ratings.

If only There was a TSX hatchback...

 

Why don't u either buy the current Accord Coupe? It's actually longer than the TSX and a bigger back seat, even though it doesn't appear to be.

Or get a used 02 6th Gen Accord sedan V6, I still think the 6th Gen Accords sedan and coupes still look better than the current 7th gen Accords.

 

I have a 15 month old beautiful baby girl and she does very well in the TSX. Her seat is in the middle and I can still carry 4 adults in the car in addition to her. It is tight in the back seat but you can do it.... The rear facing car seat fit fine in the middle but would have been tighter in any of the outbound seats. Those are not as safe though so in the middle she went.
The TSX is not our primary car though (we have a larger SUV for that) but it definitely does the job for us. I'm sure that when/if we are lucky enough to have another, the TSX will be just as accommodating for #2! I was much like the OP and did not want an Accord. The TSX fit the bill. Good luck!

 

It seems to me that twisting around to put a child in the rear-center seat of a coupe would be very, very hard. You're bending over AND twisting to the side AND holding a baby. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it just seems that a sedan would give much better access for putting the baby in the car and getting it out.

I alluded to this above, but to be clear: I'm only interested in manual transmissions. There's no manual for an 02 Accord sedan V6.

 

Yeah you don't want a coupe with kids, trust me. I have an old Civic Si hatchback that will be retired when insurance runs out. We've done it for two years, but ouch, enough already.

 

That would be the RSX...

 

Congrats on the baby . . . . I don't think you should have any probs with an infant car seat in the back . . . .my two girls do just fine back there in two booster seats, plus you got the LATCH system to make things easier/safe . . . .and all the air bags . . . .moreover, the trunk is plenty big for big stroller and "umbrella" stroller (if you don't understand, you soon will . . .plenty of gear/crap to buy for first baby) . . .as far as accord goes, it might be bigger, but the fun quotient more than favors the tsx . . . .Good luck

 

the TSX is not a family sedan (atleast here in the US)...the suspension rides harsher and stiffer, but cornering and handling is also significantly improved than any other sports sedan in FWD.

that being said, its still a very safe, nice luxury sports sedan..but i wouldn't call it a "family" sedan. if you want family sedan, go for the Accord. Car and driver's 10best family sedan...whilst the TSX is car and driver's 10best sports sedan.

I just took a 276 miles trip to vegas in my moms 2001 Camry LE and I'm glad I did over the TSX.... once I got home and drove my tsx, I can tell the Camry just rides smoother on longer trips....(such as my trip to vegas on I-15)

in the end, if you don't travel much or far, you can go TSX....but if you travel long,far...i don't think the TSX will be too comfortable of a car... atleast not for me...i'm 22 years old...

but between choosing a TSX or Accord for city driving, I'd take the TSX hands down...the accord will be comfortable, but won't be as luxurious and sporty.

now the new camry's would be a nice family sedan... =) or if you want, fork out for the more luxurius Avalon.... the avalon is basically a Lexus without the Lexus name and badged as a Toyota.

 

I would agree that the Camry might ride slightly smoother on long trips. HOWEVER, I would highly DISagree that the TSX would be uncomfortable on long trips.

My pregnant (5 months) wife and myself drive about 1500km each way over the holidays, and NOT ONCE were we uncomfortable. Trust me, my wife not complaining about this kind of this is very, very rare. So, in my mind, and obviously hers, the TSX is very comfortable for long rides, provided you aren't on gravel washboard roads or anything. We drive the Trans Canada, which in many spots isn't a great highway, but even in snow, ice, rough pavement or smooth, the TSX was comfortable, smooth, responsive, and had PLENTY of room for luggage and gifts (my wife also packs like we drive an 18-wheeler with room to spare).

My opinion is that overall, the TSX might be a tad on the small side in comparison to the Accord, but really isn't too bad at all. It more than makes up for that in its driveability, smoothness, fun-factor, and most importantly, safety.

 

Disagree. I've taken my TSX on many long trips (300 miles+) and it is comfortable. Maybe the Camry is softer (a negative in my mind), but that doesn't mean the TSX isn't comfortable. It is.

 

I meant a five-door hatch, like the A3 and the previous-generation Saab 9-3.

 

We have three kids under 4, and the TSX is great. We also have a Volvo V70 wagon. We use the TSX whenever we can for the fuel economy.

We've even taken it on a 4-night beach trip 250 miles away with all 5 of us and our gear. It was just great. My brother-in-law showed up with his 3 kids in their Suburban, and I think he felt pretty silly - especially when we started talking gas mileage, and how it cost him $125 round-trip for gas.

 

I'd like to second that. I'm 24 and I drove the car on an 1800 mile trip to PA and back and was more than pleasantly surprised with the ride.