LiQiCE

I took my car in for service yesterday and I got a TSX as a loaner. Thought I'd post my thoughts on the TSX in a separate thread though...

First of all, for a N/A 4 cylinder this thing has got a pretty decent amount of power. At least when I'm the only one in the car... When I'm in my TL-S with other people, you don't really feel the car slow down that much because of the extra torque ... When you're hauling around people with the TSX you definitely notice that there's not enough power. But by yourself there was ample power. Not what you'd call high performance, but its definitely enough to get you moving when you're merging onto the highway or whatever.

Second thing is handling ... For a stock car the thing handles pretty well. It definitely had more body roll than my car modded, but it was able to hold the curves at pretty much the same speeds that I normally take with my modded TL-S. Now, I understand the TL-S even modded isn't exactly a dream car for handling ... Its a big car. But I was impressed with the stock TSX setup, and I can only imagine it getting better with some aftermarket swaybars, coilovers, and better tires.

Third thing is the interior ... As everyone probably already knows, this thing has got a great interior! I felt bad getting back into my own car since the interior is not nearly as nice. The seats felt more comfortable in the TSX to me than the TL-S too.

Oh the turning radius was also a lot better than the TL-S. The TL-S is known for having a huge turning radius, but it was nice to get back into a car that didn't turn like a minivan. (I believe the Oddysey has the same turning radius as the TL-S)

The engine note was also very non-4cylinder. It had the same kindof growl that the TL-S has although it was not as nice as the TL-S's engine sound it did sound better than any other 4cyl I have ever heard/driven.

I didn't like that (as best I could tell) the TSX didn't have any sortof tilt or telescope for the steering wheel. I might have just missed it but I felt around and I couldn't find it.

Overall I'm pretty impressed with the car. If I was in the market for a new car at this point I don't think the TSX would be in my target because of the lack of power ... but if you're not necessarily looking for something with gobs of power but is still pretty fun to drive and you want something thats got a pretty pimp interior and some nice looks outside too .. the TSX definitely should be on your list.

If the rumored AWD Turbo TSX really does come out down the road, I'd have to seriously think about trading in the TL-S though ... The turbo should give you the extra hp and torque that you need and the AWD would hopefully make the car handle even better.

I also heard that Hondata has a working ECU upgrade for the existing TSX that makes an additional 40hp (rumored). We'll see if that holds true or not, but it'd be pretty sweet to get that much extra power out of just a chip (kindof like what Audi owners have been enjoying with their 1.8Ts).