Finally took delivery of my 12 tsx se a couple of days ago after waiting almost three months. Some things I noticed off the bat.

Stereo - Not impressed. I think the stereo in my civic si might've been better.
Insurance - My insurance went up $200/per 6 months. My civic si was only $400/6 months and my lexus is250 is $450/6 months.
Engine bay - There is so much freaking space. Why didn't they make the wheelbase/engine bay smaller for the 4cyl motors? I would've def preferred the smaller size.
Rear leg room - Too small for such a big car.
Size - It's too big, if it was a little smaller it would be perfect.
Brakes - Doesn't feel like it stops as well as my civic si or is250. I don't know how Honda could mess up on this part, especially when it's a luxury car they're dealing with.

Things I do like.

Black headliner - Looks great and flows with the interior better.
Bluetooth - I haven't figured out how to use it yet, but it's nice to have when I understand how to use it.
Option thingy? - I like how you can adjust the lights/door locks etc setting and it pairs up with your remote. Even the is250 doesn't have that.
Tint - The vehicle comes with a black strip on top of the front windshield and a slight tint for all the other windows. Absolutely perfect, I hate tint on cars and this is non-intrusive while doing it's job.

 

did you uh, look at the car before you bought it?

 

Look at my join date and posts, I've been wanting a Tsx for a long time. Yes, yes I did look at the vehicle. I love how the exterior/interior looks minus what I mentioned earlier. I've never seen an engine bay with so much empty space. I know they made it like that by design to accommodate the v6, but they could've made one with a shorter front for the k24.

 

No doubt about the insurance I think mine is tad higher...don't exactly know why it's so dang hight for this car. Wouldn't have thunk it. May force me to shop around.

Rear leg room was noticeably smaller...only thing I can say is that I can't drive from back there - therefore won't sit back there.

Congrats...best car I have owned and really fun to drive.

--Mickey

 

Congratulations, I guess. Sounds like you hate the car.

 

I feel like the rear seats are perfectly fine for anyone sitting in the back. I don't know how you can think it's not enough space...you said you have an IS250...now THAT is tinyyyyy in the back..

Size wise you said it's too big...well compared to an IS it's a tad longer...

Basically with all your "cons" I have no idea what you're comparing it to and what you're looking to "get" from the car...

Sounds like you're a little unhappy with your purchase which is strange...I'd imagine you would've made sure you loved the car a bit more before dropping so much on it...

 

^ Agree and I think the whole purpose of getting into a new car is making sure that all those minor things get looked at before pulling the trigger.

 

It's sad the SE doesn't come with tech - I love my 9-Speaker ELS stereo.

And you like the stock tint? lulz what stock tint?

 

A couple of comments:

Collision/Comprehensive Insurance covers the value of the car while liability covers other cars damage introduced by a driver of a TSX. Sure, I can understand why the insurance went up $200 because the Collision/Comprehensive items now relate to a more expensive car than a Civic or old IS250. If the TSX were to get totaled you would get a larger check than you would with your Civic. That makes sense.

It seems like the size of the car, and legroom issues should have been pretty obvious without even seeing the car- those are dimensions listed in the brochure or at the Acura web site even.

The reference to the engine bay size is interesting- how many car companies do you know change the body dimensions for the same model based on engine size? I think what you're really wanting is for Acura to skip making the V6 version and make people wanting a V6 opt for the TL instead.


The Bluetooth feature is very well documented in the owner's manual. Providing you have a compatible phone you should achieve BT integration in less than 5 minutes time.

The personalized remote is a nice feature indeed- I believe the radio presets are also personalized in the TSX between drivers.

 

lol so are you happy with your purchase?

and i thought the stero in the base model was pretty good actually...but maybe im just not a big audio guy lol

 

Sounds like you may not have researched or test drove enough. I remember the first time I saw the car I had the trunk, hood, doors, fuel door and compartments in the car opened visualizing the space it had. Then I took it for a highway and city test-drive each about 25 minutes. After that was complete I read reviews, got price comps and joined this site.

That being said I do agree with only one point in your list, Insurance, but I came from a 2001 VW Jetta and moved to a 2011 TSX with payments so I expected a spike, just not as much as it was.

However, coming from a Jetta i'd have taken a camel with 4 wheels and headlights. I love my TSX like day 1 and hate to see it buried in snow right now ... lol!

 

yah brah dont mean to be a dick but sounds like a few of these gripes you couldve noticed on your test drive or walk-around before you purchased

for example when i went to look at the IS myself i thought it had for too little rear legroom and that was one factor that drove me away from the get go

 

you should have waited for ILX

 

No regrets at all. Best car I've owned. Even better than my 2005 RL.

 

Like I said, don't get me wrong, I love the car. There were some things I pointed out that I didn't like. Come on now, there is no perfect car and a huge contributing factor to me purchasing this car is that it's a Honda and it's MIJ.

 

My car is perfect.

 

I came from a civic si too and can tell you that, with respect to the stereo, the highs are crisper in this car and the audio is generally a bit more clear. You should know that the stereo in the car is an evolution of the stereo in the si (note the same wattage, speaker dimensions, driver placement, etc). The only gripe I have with this car is that there is a huge performance gap in acceleration between the manual and auto..and that my shifts are not smooth in the at.

 

I hav no complaint with the base stereo but i do agree about the brakes. Fortunately those can be upgraded.

 

I am the exact opposite... Before I really took a close look at the TSX, my opinion was that it's an over priced accord. Glad I was wrong. Loving this car more and more each day

 

This.

The ELS stereo is great but you traded that for a cool black headliner

 

Love my Tsx style plus fuel economy is amazing. And come on the comfort of the drivers seat...

 

the v6 has a lot of extra room in the engine bay too. i suppose its a safety feature.

 

I don't know why the insurance is so high..........oh wait.....yes I do....

I got tapped on the side by the rear wheel well. Just a scratch really, with a little bit of metal pushed in. Th whole thing was about 4 inches long. It cost $1700 to repair and paint. This is from a dealer-recommended, insurance company-approved body shop.

 

stereo: it's better than the 1st gen, and i think it sounds pretty great. the XM obviously sounds average because it's compressed audio over satellite.

engine bay: honestly, having a little extra space in the engine bay is not a bad thing. it makes it easier to work on the car. and yes, it needs to accommodate the larger V6 anyway.

rear leg room: it's not a full size car, or even a mid size, to be honest. there might be marginally more space in the 2nd gen vs. the 1st gen.

brakes: brakes have never been a strong suit of most Hondas. they might even be one of the weaker points across the brand.

many of your complaints are that the car is too big. perhaps you would have been better off buying a 2007 or 2008 CPO TSX instead? the 1st gen TSX is almost a perfect size, and you would have saved ~8-10 thousand dollars buying what is generally considered a bulletproof car.

i owned a 2005 and now a 2010, and i honestly wish i had an '06-08 instead. i miss the smaller size and the more nimble handling. the 2nd gen is just a little too boat-ish, but i bought it to be my DD so it fits the bill nicely.

 

Buyer's remorse?

You completely contradict your arguments with the following statements:

Did you even test drive?

 

I think the 2nd gen is the perfect size. It looks like a full 4 door car on the outside but inside its just an extended 2 door if you know what I mean. It's not really meant for 4 people to be in it. But it has just enough extra space that I need without having to climb behind my seats to access my crap in the back seat.

 

one thing i love about this car is that, regarding the engine its reliable as hell. Its an old 2009 tech tsx...and i have about 73k miles on this thing and not a single problem with the engine.

electronics/gadgets however...Not sure if other tsx owners experience the same but its been nothing but a nightmare for me. My navigation doesn't work anymore. The rear camera didnt work at times like 60 percent of the time, 3 of my speakers blew up, fortunately 2 of the problems I've had covered under warranty except the navi since i was over the miles for that be covered :[

Great car overall though, very honda reliable.