JTRADAR61

I got my February 2014 edition of a leading consumer magazine . Acura TSX scored 2nd under luxury car for best for money. Beating out infinity g37, Acura TL, ILX, Lincoln MKS and Cadillac XTS. To name afew. Flipping the page were ratings for luxury compact cars. TSX at top of the list. To bad Acura is discontinuing TSX. What's wrong here? Acura better hit a Grand Slam with their TLX. Or they might not be around five to ten years from now.

atsx1313

what is the source? I want to see them...

2011 TSX

I believe the poster is referring to consumer reports as I have the same pub sitting in front of me. Yes the TSX scored well and and was almost at the top. I've been following and owning Hondas for the about 17 years now and within the last 12 I've seen Honda going down a different path than want the consumer wants. That usually ends pretty badly for a business. Never force or tell what you think your customers want nor need. Take a look at the RL/RLX for example. One day Honda will come to realize the errors of their ways and actually bring to market want their customer base wants. They really missed a huge boat of opportunity about 8-10 years ago on capturing the sales of people who rode the import wave of years back who later moved on to different brands since Honda does not align itself with there core following. Which is performance. Seriously the quickest car in their line up of Honda/Acura is a 6sp accord coupe V6. Now true the new NSX will remedy that, but who can afford that, not many of us. The CRZ was a disappointment, the RSX was killed off, the last gen TL was killed and now the TSX is being put out to pasture. The only thing left worthy of putting on a track is the Civic SI coupe. These are dark days for Honda and will continue to be until Honda corporate deals with reality.

BattleofXs

test drove the civic si coupe, garbage.

my RSX felt more alive and powerful, and it is 10 years older and .4 liters smaller. BUT HAY THE CIVIC HAS BLUETOOTH AND SIRIUS AND LOTS OF BUTTONZZZZ

Acura does not have the young market in mind at all, the MDX can't really compete with other SUVs, the iLX is a joke, the TSX wagon shot itself in the foot by staying a 2.4 liter automatic only. the RDX is useless, the new TL is watered down.

The only car really decent at all for 2013/2014 is the accord coupe sport, but it is still heavy and feels cumbersome. at least it still is offered as a v6 6mt

Chenw87

iTrader: (2)

What was #1?

kurtatx

Honda treats Acura like a silly niche-market marque for fat Americans who drive around in their SUVs. It seems unlikely we will get anything remotely sporty any time soon.

opboarding

I give the Acura TSX 2.5 of out of 3 thumbs up. That is my official rating and you better believe you can take that to the bank!

WheelMcCoy

Lexus ES 300h was at #1.

At the bottom was the BMW 750Li.

Just a reminder -- this article lists marquees that are "Best for the Money", not "Best for Young People", not "Best for Sporty Drivers", not "Best for Fat Americans"

It's no surprise the expensive BMW came at the bottom. Similarly, I'm not surprised the TSX was near the top as Acura tends to offer luxury that won't break the bank... well, except for the RLX.

Simba91102

A slightly different perspective on Acura (taken from a long term test review of Acrua's hoped for replacement of the TSX) from a publication (Automobile) that might be more in keeping with those of us here:

"Acura is a premium brand, not a luxury brand. If it wants to be a luxury brand, it has a long road to travel. And frankly, if this ILX is any indication of where the carmaker is, it has further to go before we consider it a serious premium brand."

Those of us who are true Honda/Acura fans I think cut the brand(s) a lot of slack, the TSX in particular. Try out some of more newly designed competitors, and how far behind Acura is should become fairly clear. Many rest their hopes on the TLX. I don't consider myself one of those.

JTRADAR61

It finished behind the hybrid E350 in the Best for money under luxury cars. It ranked number one under the Luxury compact cars category . I have a 2012 TSX tech and love the car. My point is TSX is dated and still ranking at top of many lists. Perhaps Acura should have updated TSX platform instead of replacing it with likes of an over priced under powered civic look alike ILX. When ILX came out Acura raised price of lower priced TSX models by 1500.00 because it was out selling the new ILX. I like most of us can't wait to see what TLX is going to look like.

2011 TSX

I was at an Acura dealer yesterday ordering some parts and looked at the cars they had for sale in the showroom and out on the lot.

The Showroom had a RLX, TSX and a MDX. The lot Was made up of 2 RLX's, 9 TSX's (1 wagon), 2 ILX's and the rest was MDX's. Though there was one lonely ZDX over in a corner as if it was on time out.

What I took away was it looks like there are not selling a whole lot of civics

**I understand this is just this dealership and might not be representative of other dealers.

robpp

iTrader: (2)

50-70 % of acura sales is mdx rdx.

That says a lot ^^^

Nedmundo

I definitely agree with Automobile regarding the ILX. I tested a 2.4L model, and was shocked at the poor steering, road noise, and decidedly non-premium ride and handling characteristics. This is a shame, because in theory a compact sport sedan from Honda/Acura should be extremely appealing to me.

I also agree with you about Acura generally. The SUV's appear competitive, but the TSX and TL aren't even close to the segment leaders when it comes to refinement, luxury, and performance. I am hoping the TLX is competitive, but based on recent history I'm not optimistic. Maybe the VTEC Turbos and a trick AWD system will give us a reasonably priced S4 alternative...we'll see.

VR1

What the hell? Only consumer reports..

musty hustla

Maybe Acura should get out of the car game and stick to SUVs. They could be the Japanese version of GMC.

BattleofXs

The MDX is slightly competitive, the RDX is a joke.

I drove both for 2 weeks and the MDX was more nimble though it was larger, it felt stronger, the SH-AWD was nice, the gas mileage was absolutely unbearable 13-17mpg, even pussyfooting around. But it has a long way to go before competing directly with those in its price range.

The RDX? cramped, underpowered, and not a lot of carrying or towing capacity. (little 2.3 what are you doing in there?)

I don't get why they are killing off yet another meal ticket car. could the bean counters not see the RSX, TSX, and TL were the bread and butter of this company?

kurtatx

It is really shocking how poor the RDX is when you consider the CR-V is arguably at the top of its class.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Acura's troubles are not new to any of us. However, I am not surprised at the high rating on the TSX seeing as how it meets many of the criteria that makes it popular among the type of person who subscribes to Consumer Reports. Namely:

1. Excellent reliability
2. Lots of features for a moderate price
3. Excellent safety ratings
4. Good driving characteristics that walk a fine line between sporty and luxury

Manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota, Acura, and Lexus typically perform well in Consumer Report rankings because to average consumers, they provide the safest bet in terms of an all around value for money. Are they going to be the most appealing cars to enthusiasts? Not necessarily, but to the bulk of the car buying populace who look at very limited criteria, they make sense.

That said, having owned 3 TSXs over the years, I generally find the TSX a solid platform, but is a bit behind its competitors on in-cabin technology and feels a bit long in the tooth nowadays. The fact that it is being killed off in favor of a single mid-size model, the TLX, makes sense for Acura since having two models that overlap a single competitor class does not make a lot of sense.

WheelMcCoy

I think you are describing earlier generations of both the MDX and RDX? The 2014 MDX gets 20 city / 28 highway. The 2nd gen RDX is a 3.5L V6. And I think both are selling quite well.

I'm not adverse to criticizing Acura, agree with Simba's post, and agree with Automobile Magazine. But you need to put in a little more thought before trashing a company I have mixed feelings about!

Simba91102

I totally agree with the sentiments toward the RDX and MDX; both are selling quite well. And though I'm not a battle wagon/cute ute fan, they're both really nice vehicles. Something that tends to get lost in discussions about overall Acura sales figures is the fact that in many areas, the brand is not well represented. I think few people will travel to buy/rent and automobile unless they're a hard core fan of a particular brand (something that statistically anyway, is become fairly rare). Just as food for thought, both the RDX and MDX had their best monthly sales ever in December (and that's with one less selling day). And RDX sales were up almost 52% for the year, with the MDX up 29% in December and almost 5% on the year. While I'm at it, compared to 2012, TSX sales were down over 52% for December (wagon down 74%), and almost 40% on the year. I realize that some of this decrease may be TLX buyers in waiting, but that many? Oh, as a memo, ILX sales for December were down almost 37% compared to 2012. Seems that's a lot of buyers going elsewhere.

BattleofXs

I had the 2013 MDX with the 3.7, and driving through Phoenix streets and freeways, I got nowhere near that rated gas mileage. Other than that I liked the MDX but not for 48k. I had the 2013 RDX about a month later, and it felt like a complete letdown compared to the MDX, I was reminded of the little rav4 but with a decent smelling leather interior.

I am not trashing the company by any means, just expressing my disappointment at the direction is has gone in.

On a side note, quoting magazine specs to someone who actually drove both vehicles doesn't sound like much thought either. :p

kurtatx

The in cabin technology in the TSX feels even behind the ILX, which must be intentional to sell the ILX. That being said, almost everything that really matters about a car is better in the TSX.

ressling

Acura is trying to go even more "upscale" to compete with BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc. The fact that the TSX and ILX are very similar cars (pricewise at least), is likely why they are phasing out the TSX. I think it's funny that Acura beat out one of its own cars. Having owned an '09 TSX, and now a '12 TL SH-AWD, all I will say is that they each have their own unique qualities, for better or worse.

To compare the TL to the TSX however, is ludicrous (unless you're using the TSX V6 model as your basis for comparing the TL). While similar vehicles, I would not consider them in the same class. Among many reasons, this is why Consumer Reports is a joke if you ask me.

WheelMcCoy

I had to call that out. The 1st gen RDX was a turbo 2.3. The 2nd gen RDX is a naturally aspirated 3.5L V6. This made me wonder if you knew what you were driving or were you just trolling.

BattleofXs

I can see where you're coming from, I knew about the 2.3 because I was going to swap it in my RSX at one point but I realized how horrible of an engine it was after reading more on it. So automatically it sucks worse for a mini suv.

the j35 was not a bad engine for the TL, but IMO did not belong in the RDX, the move to the J37 was the saving grace for the MDX. The RDX then feels like it doesn't belong.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

No one compared the TL to the TSX.

Whether you like it or not, the rather arbitrarily assigned sedan classes seem to be clustered as such:

- 1-series, A3, CLA-Class
- 3-series, A4, C-Class
- 5-series, A6, E-Class
- 7-series, A8, S-Class

Where Acura has slotted cars with their current line-up is to have the ILX fit the first category and the RLX fit the second to last while it has no car competing in largest class and both the TSX and TL compete against cars in the remaining space occupied by competitors like the 3-series and A4. This was a problem that Cadillac had in the past as well with the CTS, which they have subsequently moved up in size and price in order to make room for the ATS.

Having multiple cars compete in the same class is a waste of time and money and ultimately leads to stealing sales from yourself. However, if you eliminate one of those vehicles, then you need to make sure that an alternative is provided in the replacement that still retains as many of those customers as possible. The new TLX needs to cover the entire expanse of potential owners from between those at the top end of the ILX all the way to the bottom of the RLX.

kurtatx

I'm really not sure where the TLX is supposed to fit in. It had better be an absolute home run, however, or there will be problems. Reminds me of late 90s Cadillac. Forcing a lot of models that people don't want.

ILX is a misstep. RLX isn't good enough. TSX and TL are great, reliable DDs. The obvious choice is to consolidate them into one car

5 Acuras

iTrader: (1)

Traded a 2011 RDX SH-AWD/Tech for a 2014 AWD/Tech, very big difference. 0-60 in the same time as the Regal GS is pretty good for the RDX, overall gas mileage since August is 23.6 and near 30mpg highway isn't too bad. Newer AWD much better than the SH-AWD IMO.

number17

ILX is a Civic Si dipped in gold ... having driven the Si sedan, which wasn't impressive at all, not a surprise ILX is boring and feels 'cheap' if it's branded as a premium vehicle.

That said, the Acura EL (only available in Canada I believe?) sold very well and that was basically a Civic wrapped in a pseudo-luxury vehicle skin ... so as much as I don't know the ILX, I can't say the ILX is a flop until the sale numbers suggests so.

Honda / Acura has clearly moved off from building 'driver's cars' to building middle of the road, bland, boring, reliable vehicles. The TSX is the last vehicle I actually enjoy driving from the entire Honda / Acura lineup (Accord coupe V6 comes close, and they canned the RSX already). I'm not sure what happens with the TLX but I hope they keep it as a fun to drive car instead of making another bland middle of the road mid-sized sedan.

vtec407

Love Honda reliability and sharp styling. Owned a Civic before buying my '10 TSX. My only serious gripe is the horribly thin paint that they use. I just hope they improve their paint procedures or I may never buy another Acura/Honda again.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Running two cars that share the same sales category does not make sense. Every manufacturer has realized this and is moving away from doing cars that are "tweeners" and instead focus on matching the accepted classes. Cadillac did this with the CTS by moving it up to make room for the ATS and now Acura needs to do it with the TLX.

I think the mistake was introducing the ILX off the Civic platform instead of shrinking the TSX down a size to fit that smaller class. It would have made the car feel more premium by just skipping the association with the Civic entirely.

That said, the TLX does pretty much need to be a hit or Acura will only continue to flounder as far as sedans for the rest of this decade.

BattleofXs

Integra = Front DWS = Awesome

TSX = Front DWS = Awesome

RSX = Front Mcpherson = Fail

ILX = Front Mcpherson = Fail

my biggest gripe

johnrh

are you f***ing kidding? the second generation RDX is NOT underpowered.

johnrh

are you f***ing kidding? the second generation RDX is NOT underpowered.

BattleofXs

no I'm not kidding

plus it looks like a lifted station wagon

Mr. TTL

All I can say is I'm glad I got my 2012 TSX SE 6MT while they were still available. Great car made even better with an upgraded rear sway bar and summer tires. If they don't come up with something comparable in the future, I'll have to look elsewhere....