If the wagon had been available when you bought the sedan, who would have picked it instead? I needed the space so never would have looked at TSX had it not been introduced.

 

If it had been available with 6MT, I would have bought the wagon.

 

I would have purchased the wagon over the sedan.. I should have waited.

 

+1, but add AWD, although the wagon wasn't offered when I picked up my '09 at the time.

 

It needs a V6 option to haul lots of things.

 

i have the wagon and will trade up if awd ever shows up.
i heard 2014? Any truth or 'good' rumor to that?

 

If we didn't have a MDX already, I would have gotten a wagon. However, my dream wagon would be a CTS-V 6spd manual or the new E63 AMG. Saw one of those a couple weeks back on the beltway. Thought it was a soccer mom but was some older executive type in a shirt and tie with VA tags heading up to my neck of the woods in MD. It was truly badass!

 

complete rumor. everything i've read and seen reports nothing about awd and more in line with the tsx being discontinued.

 

I wouldve 100% i was trying to figure out what it would look like with my mods on it and I was in love with it haha

 

this

 

The wagon doesn't need AWD or 6MT, IMO, but a V6 + 6AT option would be nice. Also, they need to mount the paddles on the steering column, not the wheel, so they don't move with the wheel, which is slightly annoying when you're driving in the twisties.

 

I just came across this comment by chance. To have the paddles on the column without moving with the wheel would be plain insanity.

All paddles are mounted on the wheel from F1 cars to the TSX. You have to have the paddles on the wheel in order to keep your hands properly positioned on the wheel. To have them on the column would be a total disaster and dangerous (you'd take your hands off the wheel and search for the paddles every time you down shift/brake into a corner and upshift/acclerate out of the corner!)

I've been to dozens of PCA track events with an on-board instructor. And also to two AMG Driving Academy events. You are always taught proper seating position and steering wheel position for the track before you even begin. There's also a reason why a sports steering wheel has the lock indents for your thumb. That's the proper position of your hands on the wheel (at 9 and 3)

Having paddles on the column would make driving impossible. It's why F1 cars have buttons right on the wheel (and why Porsche put their PDK buttons on the wheel; they now offer paddles on the wheels.)

9 and 3 is where you want your hands to be and the paddles right next to that. Here's a video from AMG for proper seating and wheel position. It's about the fundamentals of seating and hand positioning which everyone should know about. It's clearly demonstrated why the paddles are on the wheel at around 2:09.

 

Not sure if serious

 

Nope, there is no correct answer, at least not for a street driven car, but I can see why F1 cars would have them on the wheel though. It's about preference and design. Paddle shifters on the column are not dangerous or "insanity" given proper design (long paddles) and driving technique, to your point. IIRC, the GT-R and some or most Lambos have column mounted paddles.

 

AWD + moar power + hatch = RDX. However, I didn't want an SUV. If there had been aftermarket support for the RDX, I likely would have gone ahead in that direction, but there is virtually none. Besides, the beak on the RDX if fugly.

 

In the context of "driving in the twisties" non-static shifters are far superior for proper wheel positioning and safety. As a basic "street driven car" it's somewhat irrelevant. But the original context was "when you're driving in the twisties."

My brother bought the GT-R when it first came out (he's since sold it; fwiw, he found it to be 'characterless.') The paddles do come from the factory as static paddles on the column. And there are the biggest complaint about the car by owners. Yes, they are huge (they definitely give credibility to the term "flappy paddle gearbox"), but they require deviation from proper wheel positioning (9 and 3.) You can't upshift when the wheel is cranked hard left coming out of a tight corner without sliding your hand down the wheel. One of the first mods that owners do is to get the MCR modified kit that turns with the wheel. The kit also comes with carbon fiber paddles since the factory magnesium paddles discolor quickly. Besides the MCR there is also the Works Bell kit that comes from Japan. Both kits are popular.

Huge column paddles on the TSX would not only look absurd but would be in the way of the column stalks for headlights and turn signals. The way they are designed now is proper and very ergonomic.

The conventional preference is always for non-static paddles, which is why 99% of vehicles have them mounted with the wheel itself. (The AM Virage also has static shifters and they suck for hard core driving which the car isn't good for anyway, it's really a GT type of car.)

"The static paddle shifters themselves are also a flawed concept. If you’re coming out of a corner and need to shift up a gear, one hand needs to leave the wheel to grab the paddle, opposed to them being attached to the wheel where gear changes may be performed at any point."

 

the only problem I have with steering wheel mounted paddles is when you need to do a near full lock on the wheel, you cant really have your hands at 3 and 9, which makes it difficult to find the right paddle in order to downshift

 

The reason why F1 cars and many race cars have paddles on the wheel is that they typically have very small steering angles so there is never an opportunity to confuse up and down in a race. With the paddles on the wheel, that can happen as if the wheel is say 180 degress or more, right is no longer up. In rally cars, the paddles are often on the column as well since they have to use more steering angles for this exact reason.

In the end though it really is personal preference. It is definately not "dangerous in any way. Like said before GT-R and Infiniti for that matter have the same paddles on the column. As does Ferrari's and Lamborginis.

 

Well, I'll concede that it may be a personal choice and not "dangerous" as I had suggested. However, I just can't personally see it especially with the way I am being taught on the track by both the Porsche PCA instructors and also the AMG staff. Unless the shifters are truly huge and can be easily available and readily accessed. Which means they would be most likely be way too big in the TSX in relation to the wheel size, column, etc.. Like a steering wheel/column with big ears.

Non-static shifters just make more sense. What the TSX could use is a manual mode console shifter. In my E63 AMG I had both. Paddles on the wheel (so easy to access) and if you tapped the gear shift lever in the console to the left, it would quickly shift so as to keep the rpms near max.

A question: in my AMG I had a manual selection mode where you had to shift; the transmission would not shift under any circumstances and you would bounce of the rev limiter if you didn't shift in time. I've only had my wagon for a week and will wait until the motor is broken in to experiment, but does the S mode (or whatever it's called) let you have total manual control or does it shift before you max out the powerband? Thanks.

 

Just to add some personal impressions about "driving the twisties"....

I just got back from a run in the canyon back roads along the coast here in my one week old "sport" wagon. The driving position is perfect for me (for my size and stature.) Sight line is good and the cockpit just 'fits' right. Brake and throttle isn't off centered or anything, they seem to be in the right spot.

Now about the paddle shifters. When I lock my thumb in the wheel lock indent at 9 and 3, the fit is good. My forefingers wrap to touch my thumbs and my index fingers and ring fingers rest right behind the paddles where they should rest. I find it to be absolutely perfect. The paddles are small enough/large enough and are positioned in the right spot. I don't find them to be in the way whatsoever, they are exactly where they should be. It's all very similar to my previous 2009 E63 AMG (which is probably why it's so comfortable and 'right' for me.) I honestly feel that if the paddles were on the column that it would be a total disaster in driving ergonomics (for me.)

But I think the steering wheel needs to be beefier. It's too thin. It could also use some perforated leather at the 9 and 3 sections for added grip.

I do have a few complaints about this car's handling however. Because of the FWD, there's too much torque steer. And the understeer is pretty pronounced. The car seems nose heavy and not as balanced as it could be (maybe throw some weight in the back.) It has a tendency to plow and unfortunately there's too little low end torque to accelerate quickly out of the corners. This car does need more torque. From what I've read so far on this forum, the suspension can be tuned relatively easy (nothing one can do about the FWD of course.) So in due time I think I'll make some changes.

Also the brakes fade pretty quickly.

I wouldn't call the TSX a sports sedan (or a sports wagon) in the sense that the S4 or 335i is labeled as such (and that includes the A4 and 328i.) And of course those choices cost more, but I don't think Honda is thinking in that direction and instead is concentrating on a feel of sportiness with good freeway manners and comfort. That's all good and is actually what I personally was looking for this time around: a reliable, frugal, and comfortable small wagon cruiser, but one that won't put you to sleep when driving it. It's very capable for what it is, and I like it. But it's not a 'sports' sedan.

 

I hate wagon, ugliest in all style
It's half-sedan, half-van.
Wait, no no, it's one-third-sedan, one-third-van, one-third-suv.
The upside is ........... we gain some room.

 

^I think that's a "no".

 

it looks like more of a maybe to me. if the wagon had received some minor tweeks, like the red cluster of the SE, and the 18in wheels, he woulda totally gotten it