2009 Acura TSX: European Flavored
February 13, 2008

By Peter Nunn

TOKYO - Acura's redesigned 2009 TSX sports sedan has broken cover, weeks ahead of its official intro at the New York International Auto Show.

In what's shaping up to be a busy year for Acura, Honda's premium brand, this new TSX announcement comes just days after the revised 2009 Acura RL flagship was unveiled at last week's Chicago Auto Show. Acura has also said it will debut an all-new TL performance luxury sedan later year as Acura's model lineup gets a substantial revamp.

Indeed, John Mendel, executive vice president of automobile operations for American Honda Motor Co., had promised last summer that 2008 would be the year of laying out Acura's new direction.

TSX: Based on Japanese-Euro Accord

The TSX continues on as Acura's compact, entry-level sedan and this keenly awaited 2009 version is set to go on sale in the U.S. as early as this spring.

Some might feel that, at first sight, it perhaps doesn't look so hugely different from the car that's been on sale in the U.S. since 2004, a model that's garnered strong reviews for its fine enthusiast chassis and strong engine.

But look again, for this is a completely new package and though Acura at this point is being economical with details of what's under hood, it's no secret TSX design and engineering are tied in inextricably with that of the Japanese/European-market Accord.

In the grand scheme of things, Honda does two Accords. One 'narrow body' car for Japan and Europe. Then a 'wider body' model for North America with different looks.

So it goes that this 2009 TSX is closely linked to the new European Accord, which coincidentally went live this week and will get its official launch party at the Geneva Salon in early March.

Though Europe's new Accord comes in both sedan and wagon body styles (it will also sell in Japan from this fall), the TSX goes with only the sedan shape. But all models are built in Japan at Honda's Sayama factory, and engines are exclusively four-cylinder

Some clues as to what drives the TSX can be gleaned from the European Accord's spec with its new range of gas engines and one state-of-the-art new clean diesel.

Although the EU Accord kicks off with a new 2.0-liter i-VTEC engine developing 154 bhp, it would be a major surprise if the TSX didn't get the stronger of the two gas engines, namely the 2.4-liter i-VTEC, essentially a heavily revised version of the outgoing TSX 2.4.

With higher compression, larger valves, revised valve timing and reduced exhaust-system pressures, it produces 197 bhp in Euro trim, but America's may develop more.

Acura: Going Diesel vs. Hybrid

The real headliner, though, is the introduction of Honda's second-generation 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel, a state-of-the-art, ultra-clean engine Honda has confirmed will launch in the U.S. in 2009 and seems all set to drop into this new TSX.

Dubbed i-DTEC, it's said to be smoother, cleaner and even more refined than the acclaimed i-CTDi engine, Honda's first diesel that's sold exclusively in Europe to date. So clean, in fact, that the i-DTEC already meets America's tough 'Tier II Bin 5' emission standards, Honda says, and the next stringent European benchmark — Euro 5 — as well.

True, the diesel won't have the outright power of the gas 2.4 but if the European TDI is any guide, (it develops a massive 258 ft. lbs. at just 2,000 rpm) it will be in another league for torque. Both gas and diesels come with six-speed manual or five-speed auto boxes.

The big question mark with the diesel will likely be price. Diesels cost more to build and to buy, but offer excellent economy over time and distance. So the price premium needs to be weighed carefully. For fast, smooth-revving driveability, though, these latest-generation Euro diesels are simply a world away from all the clattery diesels of the past. And if gas prices keep rising, the eco-charms of Honda's efficient new turbodiesel could suddenly win a whole lot of friends.

TSX's Euro Style

Visually, the Acura TSX gets a different grille and set of wheels compared with Europe's new Accord. Size, meantime, takes a sizeable leap upward, the new model being more than 2 inches longer and 3 inches wider, also sitting some quarter-inch lower.

Underneath the rakish new sheet metal lies a substantially more rigid platform with new front double-wishbone and rear multilink suspension

All along, the Acura TSX has been a worthy alternative to the benchmark BMW 3-Series, despite having 'only' four cylinders and front-wheel-drive.

So it's no surprise Acura is rolling out a new one and like its European/Japanese Accord relation, it clearly packs a lot of promise.

Photos by Honda
1 - 2009 Acura TSX for the U.S.
2-3-4 - Honda Accord for Europe

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