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New Acura TSX Wagon Owner - 2015 Wagon and Hatchback Reviews
Hey All,
Happy to find such a great community of Acura fanatics to share my thoughts with. Picked out a dealership-owned 2014 TSX Wagon w/Tech yesterday and I am completely enamored with its look and feel. I am coming from a 2007 VW Jetta which made it up to 85K before having the well documented "unable to remove key from ignition problem" and I decided to trade it rather than drop $1600 for a new shifter cable.
Anyway - I thought I'd give a rundown of the subcompact hatchbacks and wagons I considered and how I came to my conclusion:
Here were the qualities I looked for: efficient, comfortable and fun to drive, rear cargo capacity, comprehendible stereo
Mazda 3 5-Door was my first look as I had heard a lot about how fun they were to drive (Zoom Zoom!) but I wasn't as impressed with the narrow foot well, poor turning radius, and gaudy and difficult to navigate entertainment system.
The Subaru Impreza Wagon was conveniently next door, and it offered amazingly tight turning, quiet cabin, and good legroom. But it was slooooww...
Kia also happened to be in this dealership so we checked out the Soul. It has a more upright posture, which, at 6'2" I can appreciate, with that you get great visibility. The short wheelbase had good turning turning radius, good radio, good pickup at least 0-30 and a quiet cabin. The interior is a little quirky which wasn't my style... Oh, and this was the only car we saw without paddle shifters -- AMEN!
Let me comment for a moment on some observations I had to this point:
Paddle shifters are apparently a thing people want? My last car had "tiptronic" shifting which was fun and useful, I don't get the added clutter of these paddles for a feature most people (myself included) will never use.
Poorly implemented smart phone features - from every review I read (I didn't bother linking my phone to every car) no car has really delivered a touchscreen interface that is safe, intuitive, and in any way future proof. Even Lexus (I stopped in for kicks) has a system that pulls in Facebook places and Yelp reviews from your phone. I don't get it, the features are so clunky you would only ever do it stopped, so why would you not just pull out your phone? Anyway...
At this point, on a whim, I took a look at the Honda Fit - while it had ridiculous cargo volume with high ceiling and seats that fold remarkably flat, it is the loudest car I've ever driven, materials were understandably cheap feeling, and the stereo. Wow. How bad a design could you possibly make?
Ford focus Titanium - I really can't say just how impressed I was with this car having tested it 7 years prior. It had great materials, sporty bucket seats to match a fun ride. It didn't have paddle shifters(!) though it's one of the only cars I thought could have pulling it off. It also had the myFord Sync 3 entertainment system (by Microsoft) which seems like one of the most intuitive systems out there.
I checked out two models at VW. The Jetta Wagon drove like a mom car, noticeably clunky even on the TDI model, which was especially unfortunate because the interior materials and cargo space exceeded my expectations. The panoramic sunroof was also cool (not so practical, but definitely cool). Here's where a real contender emerged - the Golf TDI! So, so much fun to drive (with paddle shifters!) and an interior that is gorgeous. The touch screen interface seemed intuitive and was flanked by buttons and knobs which helped. While I could have gotten by with the cargo, I stumbled into the winner last.
The TSX Wagon has a beautiful interior (I am partial to blue), a screen which can be turned off to run the stereo head alone, great cargo volume, and kicking sound system to boot! It was the second most fun to drive, but in this case the combination of form and function won out.
Reading the Graphite Ghost and PuppetMaster mod threads really made me fall in love with the outer aesthetic. I've only ordered the weathertech floor mats so far, but we will see what other mods I get into!
I love the fact, so easy to turn nav off. Hate the fact, when I am reversing, I can't go to map menu or make a call, unlike in my other cars, it allows you to do it, by turning of rear camera
Welcome to AZ! I moved your thread to the 2G TSX forum, where more of your brethren are.
Big fan of the TSX wagon here. I came within a handshake of purchasing one about three years ago during one of my regular fits of "new car fever", and after test-driving it.
You'll love the wagon. I just took mine in today to replace a leaking left axle seal and they gave me TLX tech as a loaner. I was dissapointed with the TLX which didnt feel like a Honda product. It felt like your run of the mill V6 Japanese midsize. Getting back in the TLX wagon was a joy. Although it has less power, I prefer the overall feel of our TSX. Enjoy it.
You'll love the wagon. I just took mine in today to replace a leaking left axle seal and they gave me TLX tech as a loaner. I was dissapointed with the TLX which didnt feel like a Honda product. It felt like your run of the mill V6 Japanese midsize. Getting back in the TLX wagon was a joy. Although it has less power, I prefer the overall feel of our TSX. Enjoy it.
How many miles on your wagon? Is this a common problem?
I took it in for an oil change this morning and the tech noticed it on left side. Not a big leak but defenitely leaking. The advisor walked me to the car to show me (btw, always ask to see it personally so they dont use your vin# to make fictitious claims). The car has 32k miles on it. The advisor wanted to keep it through tomorrow claiming its an all day fiasco (I smelled BS) but I decided I wanted to play 20 questions. Do you have the part in stock? What's involved in the procedure? Is there a TSB out for this (I have access to All Data)?
After all was said and done, I decided this in no more than 1.5 hour job. Told him I will be back in 4hours to pick up my car.
it really isn't a big deal. If you can do an oil change, you can replace an axle seal. The seal cost a whopping $8.00+change and 0.8hrs worth of labor. The advisor wanted to glorify it by saying it could take more than a day. I smelled BS and asked a bunch of questions. I got my car back in well under the 4hrs I gave him.
Hey All,
Happy to find such a great community of Acura fanatics to share my thoughts with. Picked out a dealership-owned 2014 TSX Wagon w/Tech yesterday and I am completely enamored with its look and feel.
...
I checked out two models at VW. The Jetta Wagon drove like a mom car, noticeably clunky even on the TDI model, which was especially unfortunate because the interior materials and cargo space exceeded my expectations. The panoramic sunroof was also cool (not so practical, but definitely cool). Here's where a real contender emerged - the Golf TDI! So, so much fun to drive (with paddle shifters!) and an interior that is gorgeous. The touch screen interface seemed intuitive and was flanked by buttons and knobs which helped. While I could have gotten by with the cargo, I stumbled into the winner last.
The TSX Wagon has a beautiful interior (I am partial to blue), a screen which can be turned off to run the stereo head alone, great cargo volume, and kicking sound system to boot! It was the second most fun to drive, but in this case the combination of form and function won out.
Reading the Graphite Ghost and PuppetMaster mod threads really made me fall in love with the outer aesthetic. I've only ordered the weathertech floor mats so far, but we will see what other mods I get into!
Welcome to the site, and to a TSX wagon. Hope to see around DC some time; I commute from VA to DC every day for work.
Just wanted to say that my experience was pretty similar to yours. I actually like the Jetta TDI, and was close to pulling the trigger, but had to test drive the TSX just once out of curiosity. As soon as I took my first turn in the TSX, I was buying it. The ergonomics of the TSX cockpit just suits me for some reason as well. I didn't get the Advance, but kinda regret it now, even though I use my phone for everything regardless. The backup cam and speakers would have been nice to have.
At the time, my other interests were the A4 Avant, A3 2.0T or V6 (used, if I could find one), along with the Jetta. I decided quickly that the A3 was just too small, and even though I found a great deal on a 2010 A4 Avant, in grey, I couldn't get over the VW/Audi maintenance costs and reliability, or lack thereof. The TSX has been great to me over the past 3 years, despite the lack of speed, and I'm still enjoying it.
01-25-2015, 05:50 PM
