6SpeedTA95

Guys I was curious for those who have owned both or spent substantial time in both which do you prefer and why? I drove my mother in laws 08 6MT (a car she bought off my recommendation ) again tonight and forgot just how truly fantastic these cars are. The 2nd gen from what I've read is about as good or in some ways better, but the guages/dashboard in the new one is soooo godawful ugly...I also heard the suspensionw as softer?

How do you guys compare the two? Pro's Con's of each?

ccarbajal08

I owned both and love both. Aside from the newer being larger with more gadgets, they feel like the same car.

wackura

I had an '07 and now have an '09. You should definately test drive the '09 6MT because what I experienced personaly didn't come close to what I had expected after having read numerous reviews and specs. I found that all the reviews are overly harsh because the 2G TSX is less purist than the 1G and they must have felt burned by Honda/Acura for moving further away from their own personal values. That's not even to talk of performance, most of them seem to blow off the vastly improved torque curve. Most ignore the improved MPG but atleast they have the decency to aplaud the silky shifting.

Here's my '07->'09 TSX experience begining last weekend. First I test drove an RSX-S with the intent of using it as a fun second car, something to mod maybe. I ran away from it fast. It felt cheesier than my old '98 Integra and not much faster. A purist should love it, it was loud, cramped and rough.

So I was still looking for more fun, and in order to avoid more cheesiness I test drove a 3G TL-S. My wife said we're too young for a car like that. I didn't like how much worse it handled than the TSX, that it's needlessly large and it's features are only a marginal improvement over the TSX. It's a car that only does one thing well; accelate quickly down a straight road from a dead stop.

I assumed the 2G TSX would be too similar to what I already had so I wrote it off early, but it was looking like a happy medium between the cheap small RSX and the boatlike TL, so we test drove a 2G TSX immediately thereafter on a lark and I was thinking within seconds of leaving the lot, ah, this is what I was looking for. That improved torque really makes the 2G TSX more fun to accelerate. You don't get that sense that you're waiting for the car to wake up. The electronic steering makes the car feel as light and tossable as a cardboard box. Wherever you want to go the car will go there. No fuss.

What I've learned from all this is that people like driving for different reasons. I actively hated the two Acura's that enthusiasts would most prefer and yet I derive lots of pleasure from the one they like the least. I really like reving the four cylinder and and rowing through the gears while effortlessly whipping the car around corners and yet not being forced to take note of every flaw in the road by way of an unforgiving suspension. Is that so wrong?

6SpeedTA95

How do the interior noise levels compare? The 09 is supposed to be noticably quieter with less wind intrusion.

Also was it hard to adjust from a perfect set of guages to god awful guages?

AustinJay

^^^ Hey, I like the new gauges. ha ha...

SSFTSX

2G is way better interms of noise reduction, comfort, stability and high speed fuel economy. Yesterday i spent couple of hrs on free way driving at 80 to 90mph. My 1G could barely do 29mpg at those speeds and 2G is already past 34mpg. the fuel needle barel moved and it has still under 1000 mile.
It is 5speed auto though. 550 mile on tank in mix driving is possible. 1G was limited to atmost 420mile at most.
Guages are very nice. it has old charm from 60s& 70s. where everything is individually light up.
not the plasticky designs of 80s era. just the zoom function in navigation where u can see the big pictures and small just by rotating.

6SpeedTA95

You're getting better mileage with the 2g? How is that considering the 6th gear ratio is a shorter gear? That doesn't make sense to me...I guess the motor tuning is a bit different and thats helping high speed mileage?

Were both your cars 6MT cars or auto cars? Auto cars have been getting better mileage but it seems the 6MT is about the same as the 1G?

SSFTSX

I only had 5speed auto. couple of times i used the sport mode for spirited performance during overtaking. there is difference in power delivery, fuel economy and refinement.

wackura

The mileage improvement isn't just a result of different the gearing. Changes to the engine and the electronic stearing help also. The 2G 6MT will get better mileage than the 1G AT when driving around town. According to the EPA the 1G 6MT is 19 mpg city while the 2G 6MT is 20 mpg city, although how they got something that low in either case is a mystery to me.

jcygts6

I like how the 1st gen tsx look

dom

If you like the styling of the 2nd gen, I don't see why you shouldn't get one over a 1st gen. It's an overall better car.

If you like the styling.....