http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...topanel..1.*#14
I was disappointed enough when the second-generation TSX didn't come with the turbocharged engine and SH-AWD from the RDX. I was even more disappointed when an Acura exec told Automobile Magazine that the turbocharged engine wouldn't fit under the hood of the second-generation TSX, so there's no possibility of a turbocharged TSX Type-S.
Well now, my disappointment is complete. Acura has not only failed to improve upon the driving experience of the pretty-darned-good-for-2004 first-generation TSX; they've taken a big step backward. The car is now utterly free of steering feel, and to add salt to the wound, the new power steering system has an "unsettling lack of predictability." Until you go above 4000 rpm, the engine sounds "as if someone has tried to smother the engine with a down comforter." It's 1.5 mph slower through a slalom than a V6 Accord. It gets a 0.79g on the skid pad. It takes 127 feet to stop from 60 mph, and there's a lot of brake fade after the first run.
On the plus side, it's got comfortable seats. Yay.
Full Version: You know you DON'T want one
QUOTE
It’s always more difficult to make a front-wheel-drive car ride and handle properly, because not only do the front wheels need to drive and steer, but they also carry a disproportionate amount of the car’s weight. Yet in this class, the only similarly configured car to reach standards as high as those set by the Accord is the Ford Mondeo.
Indeed, Honda would like you to believe the Accord’s chassis compares favourably to that of the BMW 3-series; while it’s not a contention we’d support ourselves, when you consider ride and handling as a whole, nor is it quite the implausible flight of fancy it might at first seem. Certainly the Honda’s ride quality reaches far beyond that of any Accord we can recall and probably any Honda, Legend included.
Yet instead of falling over in the corners as you might expect from one with such an accommodating ride, the Accord feels precise and assured all the way from turn-in to exit. What it lacks, and where the BMW (or a Mercedes C-class) scores so highly, is a degree of driver interaction that distinguishes a merely good-handling car from a real driving machine.
Indeed, Honda would like you to believe the Accord’s chassis compares favourably to that of the BMW 3-series; while it’s not a contention we’d support ourselves, when you consider ride and handling as a whole, nor is it quite the implausible flight of fancy it might at first seem. Certainly the Honda’s ride quality reaches far beyond that of any Accord we can recall and probably any Honda, Legend included.
Yet instead of falling over in the corners as you might expect from one with such an accommodating ride, the Accord feels precise and assured all the way from turn-in to exit. What it lacks, and where the BMW (or a Mercedes C-class) scores so highly, is a degree of driver interaction that distinguishes a merely good-handling car from a real driving machine.
^ Autocar's take on the Euro-spec Accord. Seems odd, considering that the Europeans are usually much harsher about subjective things such as steering feel. Perhaps the US suspension tuning is different...
EDIT: Full article is here. They also mentioned that it failed to move the game on. They didn't think it took a step backwards though.
Well, they're making room for that better TL, I guess. 
Anyway, it being slower than its Honda counterpart and having a miserable, Prius-esque skidpad score of .79g is terrible. Definitely DO NOT WANT.
However, the only issue I foresee with the TL now is the steering...
EDIT: Just checked. It's as bad as a Yaris on the skidpad and only .07g better than the Prius. Seriously, no thanks.
Anyway, it being slower than its Honda counterpart and having a miserable, Prius-esque skidpad score of .79g is terrible. Definitely DO NOT WANT.
However, the only issue I foresee with the TL now is the steering...
EDIT: Just checked. It's as bad as a Yaris on the skidpad and only .07g better than the Prius. Seriously, no thanks.
QUOTE(moethepaki @ May 16 2008, 12:55 PM) 
Perhaps the US suspension tuning is different...
Entirely possible.
QUOTE
What it lacks, and where the BMW (or a Mercedes C-class) scores so highly, is a degree of driver interaction that distinguishes a merely good-handling car from a real driving machine.
Curious that they say this. I thought that the C300 I test-drove was utterly lacking in steering feel and driver involvement, though it was a very pleasant rolling bank-vault.
QUOTE(Razor @ May 16 2008, 12:58 PM)
Well, they're making room for that better TL, I guess.
I wonder if enthusiasts quit buying the TSX when the Civic Si sedan came out, and Acura decided to not even try to get them back into the TSX with the second-generation? The Si sedan offers all the practicality of a first-gen TSX (though obviously not the luxury) for about $7000 less. And even though they're both 200hp torqueless front-drivers, it goes without saying that the Si is a far more brilliant driver's car.
QUOTE(Mitlov @ May 16 2008, 04:02 PM)
I wonder if enthusiasts quit buying the TSX when the Civic Si sedan came out, and Acura decided to not even try to get them back into the TSX with the second-generation?
I think enthusiasts quit buying the TSX before it even came out... I think enthusiasts stopped buying the entry level Acura when the RSX hit the chopping block.
QUOTE(Mitlov @ May 16 2008, 10:59 PM)
Curious that they say this. I thought that the C300 I test-drove was utterly lacking in steering feel and driver involvement, though it was a very pleasant rolling bank-vault.
Once again, I believe the enemy here is suspension tuning. All the UK and ME literature I've read for the C-class has it placed on level-ground with the 3-series (or just about). The US journos, and you, thought it lacked driver involvement.
QUOTE(moethepaki @ May 16 2008, 01:10 PM)
Once again, I believe the enemy here is suspension tuning. All the UK and ME literature I've read for the C-class has it placed on level-ground with the 3-series (or just about). The US journos, and you, thought it lacked driver involvement.
Man, I wish they gave us a new-generation C230 Kompressor with that sort of suspension and chassis tuning. Except for the driver's experience, I liked the C-Class much better than the 3-Series. Nicer interior, far nicer seats, nicer exterior, better trunk, and the peace-of-mind of a dipstick and a spare tire.
Um, the article I read on the 2nd gen TSX in Automobile magazine definitely gave a positive review. I'd like to see more reviews than just this one.
I'm confused. Edmunds's first drive was very positive and so has every other test I've read on this car. Granted, I think it's kinda crappy that it gained weight and not power (would've been ok but I always felt the 2.4 was a little weedy for the segment), but I think it looks good (grill excepted) and it's definitely extremely well-equipped for the cost.
QUOTE(hexagone @ May 16 2008, 01:22 PM)
Um, the article I read on the 2nd gen TSX in Automobile magazine definitely gave a positive review. I'd like to see more reviews than just this one.
Now that you mention it, I remember reading that too. Maybe this reviewer woke up on the wrong side of the bed? Maybe the Automobile Mag reviewer was too generous? You're right, we'll have to see more reviews to tell.
Or maybe the cheque from Acura bounced? 
QUOTE(Mitlov @ May 16 2008, 03:59 PM)
Curious that they say this. I thought that the C300 I test-drove was utterly lacking in steering feel and driver involvement, though it was a very pleasant rolling bank-vault.
The new C-series is a great drive IMO. I've driven both the old C230 and the new C300, and the new one was a seriously better total experience.
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