First Drive: 2010 Acura TSX V6

2010 Acura TSX V6

The Acura TSX packs a 201-horsepower punch from its four-cylinder engine, but there are many consumers who will always prefer the smoothness and refinement of a V6 under the hood. Targeted at this “performance-oriented luxury buyer,” the new 2010 Acura TSX V6 delivers 280 hp and 254 pound-feet of torque from its 3.5-litre, VTEC engine, which Acura expects will broaden the appeal of this midsize sports sedan.

Additional features of the $39,790 TSX V6 (the I4 TSX starts at $32,990) include a five-speed Sequential SportShift automatic transmission with paddle shifters, exclusive suspension tuning, larger diameter (18-inch) wheels, and brake system upgrades. A manual transmission is not yet offered.

All TSXs are very well equipped, even in standard trim, featuring an eight-way power driver’s seat, four-way power front passenger seat, automatic headlights, sunroof, automatic climate control, stability control, Bluetooth and heated seats.

2010 Acura TSX V6.

Like the four-cylinder TSX, the TSX V6 is available in Premium and Technology trim levels, although for the TSX V6, there is no “base” specification. The standard “Premium” trim level includes perforated leather seats, HID headlights, fog lights. USB input, XM satellite radio and two-position memory for the driver’s seat.

The $4,279 Technology Package adds a navigation system, rear camera and Elliot Scheiner (ELS) 10-speaker audio system, as well as steering-wheel mounted remote controls. Total price for the TSX V6 Navigation: $44,069.

Exterior differences between the four-cylinder and V6 models are limited to the wheels, the trunk-mounted V6 badge, and a slightly revised front fascia for the TSX V6, with functional openings to aid with engine cooling. Inside, the tachometer wears model-specific calibrations corresponding to the performance of the V6 engine.

As mentioned above, the TSX V6 has exclusive suspension upgrades. Specifically, these include firmer front springs and revised damper calibration (due to the increased weight and output of the engine). Additionally, the programming to the steering system is revised for all 2010 TSX models to enhance steering response and “on centre” feel.

2010 Acura TSX V6.

TSX V6 brakes are also upgraded in comparison with the four-cylinder model, with larger rear pads, a larger brake master cylinder, revised pedal ratio and a new brake booster.

Exterior styling is pleasing, with the TSX proportions working well and the new “face” of Acura doing its job of identifying the brand. As a sidenote, before driving the TSX V6, along with the new TL six-speed manual, Acura Canada invited journalists for a rare tour of the Acura Design Center in Torrance, California, where stylists are working to further refine the Acura “look,” described as “keen edge.” Designers there acknowledge that the Acura grille is “polarizing,” but are committed to owning a look that won’t be mistaken for other brands. On the TSX, the grille is more restrained, compared with the new Acura ZDX and TL sedan, for example.

The TSX is what you could call a “small” midsize car, but only because the midsize car segment now features vehicles that a few years ago would have been considered “large.” In truth, the cabin environment of the TSX doesn’t feel appreciably different than that of the Acura TL.

2010 Acura TSX V6.

The cabin’s fit and finish is immediately impressive; the leather finely trimmed, and the panels and carpeting of a high quality. The seats are very comfortable and supportive, with an excellent range of adjustability in all directions. The “twin-cockpit” design of the driver and front-seat passenger area has become a signature feature for Acura, and is appealing in its appearance and execution.

Acura sets price of 2010 ZDX at $45,495; On sale Dec. 15

Acura’s all-new 4-door sports coupe, the 2010 ZDX, has an official on sale date of Dec. 15 with an MSRP of $45,495, which does not include another $81o for handling and delivery.

Since it debuted at this past April’s New York Auto Show, the American designed and American-manufactured stands out with its styling and performance numbers.

“Acura dealers are seeing strong interest from customers for the ZDX well before its official on-sale date,” said Jeff Conrad, vice president of Acura sales in a press release. “The ZDX is like nothing you have ever seen before from Acura.”

The run down:

ZDX will be sold in 3 trim packages:

a well-equipped ZDX

a ZDX with Technology Package;

a ZDX with Advance Package.

Power for each package is generated from a 3.7-liter, 300 hp, V-6 VTEC(R) with 270 lb-fr of toque while producing EPA numbers of 16/23.

Also standard on each ZDX is Acura’s SH-AWD (R) or Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive that boosts handling and ensures heightened all-weather and all-season road-holding capabilities.

Standard fare includes what Acura bills as the world’s longest panoramic glass roof, concealed rear door handles, and a hand-stithced leather dash, center console and door panels.

The Technology Package adds an Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™, AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™ with Traffic Rerouting™, AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ with radar image maps, a full VGA display screen and an innovative new multi-view rear camera. It also includes an upgraded Acura/ELS Surround® 415-watt Premium Audio System with a built-in 15-gig media storage system, which Acura says could hold up to 3,500 songs; a GPS-linked, solar-sensing, dual-zone automatic climate control system and Keyless Access System (with Smart Entry and push button ignition).

2010 Acura ZDX: conventional crossover

The ZDX's ultra-rakish coupe profile is limned in a dark-tinted glass canopy that stretches from the hood all the way to the taillamp assembly. The sides of the greenhouse taper inward dramatically to the rear, creating outrageous rear haunches that might as well have been lifted from a Paris-Dakar Porsche.

In the last couple of years, BMW, Porsche, Honda and VW/Audi have all separately arrived at a wagon/coupe/crossover solution because they are all dealing with the same retail ecology. For one thing, many buyers are maturing out of their cretinous SUVs and crossovers. They want something sporty and coupe-like but they still want the commanding outward view and some modicum of utility.

For another: Product development systems are now so streamlined that carmakers are able to cheaply riff off established chassis, offering subspecies of vehicles to make sure they have something in the showroom for everybody. BMW, for instance, has grafted a fastback rear end to its 5-series sedan to make the 5-series GT. To me it looks like the car has developed an egg sac.

The latest and, I assert, the greatest of these efforts is the Acura ZDX, a ferociously dynamic, red-in-tooth-and-claw styling exercise from Acura's Torrance design studio.

If only this major-league body didn't have a minor-league chassis to go with it.

This is the first Acura designed, engineered and being built in North America (Alliston, Ontario. That's Canada. Can you smell the bacon?).

The ZDX's Yankee designers -- all trained at Art Center in Pasadena -- have managed to transcend the dictates of the marketing weenies to make what I think is a lasting contribution to the designed world. Forget the modernism of the Tokyo skyline. The more you look at this thing the more you expect it to have a license plate from Alpha Centauri.

Based loosely on the mechanicals of the MDX, the ZDX's roofline is 6 inches lower, its ultra-rakish coupe profile limned in a dark-tinted glass canopy that stretches from the hood all the way to the taillamp assembly. The sides of the greenhouse taper inward dramatically to the rear, creating outrageous rear haunches that might as well have been lifted from a Paris-Dakar Porsche. The side window daylight opening (the DLO in industry parlance) is sports-car narrow, slitted and menacing -- the effect you'd get if you spit in Clint Eastwood's eye. To further de-emphasize the four doors, the rear door handles are hidden in the corner of the DLO.

The whole thing is as taut and engaged as a crossbow aimed at your temple. Nifty.

Five years ago, such a car would have remained an auto-show concept, a turnstile queen, virtually un-buildable. The rear quarter panels, with their complex hyper-paraboloid shape and deep "draw" -- which is to say, the depth of the metal-stamping form -- would have been too difficult and expensive to manufacture. Advances in tooling technology have changed that.

The ZDX's glass-to-glass panels around the panoramic roof mean there's hell to pay in fit and finish, wind-noise attenuation and weatherproofing. This is not an easy car to build.

Nor is it cheap to build. Acura lavished a lot of money on the interior, including couture-quality leathers on the dash, seats and doors; a suede-like headliner material; and a fully finished cargo area with plated metal handles and high-quality carpet. Another interesting bit of hardware is the new "monolith" center control panel, a bank of black switches that remain dark until the relevant systems are activated. It kind of reminds me of the "dark panel" feature in Saabs.

Under all its exotic skins and complex surfaces, however, the ZDX is a more-or-less conventional, and less compelling, Acura crossover.

Behind the Cyclops visor of a grille is the company's sweet, tractable 3.7-liter, 300-horsepower V-6, married to a new six-speed automatic transmission, and the so-called super-handling all-wheel drive. Ordinarily, 300 hp, six gear ratios and AWD would add up to significant off-the-line thrust and punchy passing power. Here, not so much, thanks to the Acura's galling curb weight of over 4,425 pounds.

Who knew pretty weighed so much?

This tonnage can make the ZDX's performance feel downright dreary. Acura says the car's 0-60 mph acceleration is less than 7 seconds. That seems to be wishful thinking, based on my test drive. Also, at Los Angeles freeway speeds, the ZDX feels a little out of breath when passing.

And, while none of the competitive cars -- the Infiniti FX35 or BMW X6 included -- gets any better than criminal mileage, the Acura's 16/22-mpg city/highway rating isn't anything to write home about. At that rate Acura might as well buy Ford EcoBoost crate engines.

All the chapter-and-verse refinements from Acura are here -- well-isolated chassis, deft and well-strung suspension (struts and multi-links), powerful brakes. But it doesn't quite add up to driving arousal.

A bit of theater: In the center console is a big rotary dial, the switch for the Integrated Chassis System. This two-mode system (Comfort and Sport) stiffens the suspension and dials back the power steering boost for sportier steering feel. But since the steering ratio remains the same, and the suspension remains fairly limber even in Sport, the ICS seems like just another excuse for a tasty acronym.

The trade-off in these four-door coupe crossovers is, naturally, rear headroom, which is sacrificed to the gods of swoopy rooflines. Such is the case with the ZDX. If you're sitting in the back, the roof doesn't so much seem to slope as fall in, coal-mine style. As for the cargo space, I was able with some difficulty to get my full-size standard poodle in the back. He's still not speaking to me.

Highly evolved on the outside but relatively un-morphed mechanically, the ZDX's main compensation is its outrageous looks. For active empty-nesters, DINKs and every-other-weekend parents, the paucity of rear headroom and cargo space will be no problem. For sports-coupe enthusiasts, they might want to wait for the inevitable performance variant to come.

Excitement builds for Acura's ZDX

2010 Acura ZDX

2010 Acura ZDX

2010 Acura ZDX

2010 Acura ZDX

The all-new 2010 ZDX four-door sports coupe is set to go on sale at Acura dealerships on Dec. 15 with a manufacturer's suggested retail price starting at $45,495, plus a destination and handling charge of $810.

Designed, developed and manufactured in North America, the ZDX has already generated a tremendous amount of excitement since its world debut at the New York Auto Show in April, thanks to its stunning coupelike styling combined with flexible utility, a commanding presence and outstanding performance.

"Acura dealers are seeing strong interest from customers for the ZDX well before its official on-sale date," said Jeff Conrad, vice president of Acura sales. "The ZDX is like nothing you have ever seen before from Acura."

The ZDX will be available in three trim packages, the well-equipped ZDX; ZDX with Technology Package; and the ZDX with Advance Package. Highlights of standard features on the ZDX include the world's longest panoramic glass roof, concealed rear door handles, and a hand-stitched leather dash, center console and door panels. Powering every ZDX is a 3.7-liter VTEC V-6 that generates 300 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. of torque while achieving a class-leading EPA-rated city/highway fuel economy of 16/23 mpg. Standard on every ZDX is Acura's exclusive Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system that provides outstanding handling as well as excellent all-season capability.

The ZDX with Technology Package adds an Acura Navigation System with voice recognition, AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic with traffic rerouting, AcuraLink Real-Time Weather with radar image maps, a full VGA display screen and an innovative new multiview rear camera. Additionally, the technology package includes an upgraded Acura/ELS Surround 415-watt premium audio system with a built-in 15-gigabyte hard disk drive media storage system (that allows the ZDX owner to download and store up to 3,500 songs), a GPS-linked, solar-sensing, dual-zone automatic climate control system and keyless access system (with Smart Entry and push button ignition).

In addition to the features found in the technology package, the advance package adds several premium technologies including a new blind-spot information system, adaptive cruise control, collision mitigating braking system, an integrated dynamic system active damper system, heated and ventilated front seats with perforated milano premium leather seating surfaces, premium brushed tricot headliner material and a sport steering wheel.

Acura sales down

American Honda’s November sales, including its Acura luxury division, fell 2.9% to 74,003, as increased sales of its Pilot SUV and CR-V crossover vehicle didn’t offset declining sales of its Civic compact sedan.

“Consumer interest is returning in several segments, including light trucks,” said John Mendel, American Honda executive vice president of sales.

The Accord midsize sedan remains Honda’s best-selling model in the U.S., despite a 1% drop in its November sales from a year earlier. Sales of its Fit subcompact fell 27%, as moderating gas prices didn’t attract consumers to the industry’s smallest cars.

Acura sales down

American Honda’s November sales, including its Acura luxury division, fell 2.9% to 74,003, as increased sales of its Pilot SUV and CR-V crossover vehicle didn’t offset declining sales of its Civic compact sedan.

“Consumer interest is returning in several segments, including light trucks,” said John Mendel, American Honda executive vice president of sales.

The Accord midsize sedan remains Honda’s best-selling model in the U.S., despite a 1% drop in its November sales from a year earlier. Sales of its Fit subcompact fell 27%, as moderating gas prices didn’t attract consumers to the industry’s smallest cars.

Acura sales down

American Honda’s November sales, including its Acura luxury division, fell 2.9% to 74,003, as increased sales of its Pilot SUV and CR-V crossover vehicle didn’t offset declining sales of its Civic compact sedan.

“Consumer interest is returning in several segments, including light trucks,” said John Mendel, American Honda executive vice president of sales.

The Accord midsize sedan remains Honda’s best-selling model in the U.S., despite a 1% drop in its November sales from a year earlier. Sales of its Fit subcompact fell 27%, as moderating gas prices didn’t attract consumers to the industry’s smallest cars.