The Acura TSX, an entry-luxury level sedan, has been redesigned for 2009. It’s not just bolting a slick new body on an old platform; the 2009 Acura TSX is new from the ground up, longer, wider, lower and roomier, too.

The 2009 Acura TSX is a four-door, five-passenger sedan with a 2.4-liter, 201-hp four-cylinder engine and a no-cost choice of either a six-speed manual or a five-speed sequential SportShift automatic.

What’s new?

The 2009 Acura TSX, redesigned to take on Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series sedans, comes with one robust engine and a choice of transmissions. The new TSX is different from other vehicles in terms of technology. Acura’s superb navigation system is now standard and can be operated using voice-recognition.

An optional system displays real-time traffic with congestion re-routing and local and national weather. An airlines display lets the driver track a flight’s progress across the country. The top of the line audio system is a benchmark for the class with crisp surround sound. Not only this, the hands-free, Bluetooth cell phone architecture has been built right into the TSX’s electronics.

Model lineup, packages and accessories

The Acura TSX comes standard with leather upholstery, dual-zone automatic climate control, steering wheel controls for cruise and audio, heated seats, eight-way adjustable driver’s seat with memory, four-way passenger seat, power seats, windows and locks, heated outside mirrors, seven-speaker AM/FM/XM/6CD stereo; USB and auxiliary audio input jacks in the center console, power tilt-and-slide moonroof with shade; Bluetooth connectivity; garage door remote; two power outlets; xenon HID headlights; fog lights; speed-sensitive wipers.

The TSX with the Technology Package replaces the standard audio system with a 10-speaker, surround-sound, 415-watt, AM/FM/XM tuner with multi-format, six-disc CD/DVD audio changer. The navigation system comes with a rearview camera, AcuraLink Real-Time traffic (in 76 major metropolitan markets) with dynamic re-routing, AcuraLink weather and AcuraLink satellite communication system.

Acura-approved, interior and exterior accessories are available. Dark Metallic and Titian Silver interior trim kits, trunk tray, trunk hooks, cargo organizer, and cargo net, 18-inch, 10-spoke, chrome-look or ebony-finish alloy wheels to replace the stock 17-inch aluminum alloys; backup sensor; wheel locks; sport bumper kit; rear bumper applique; deck lid spoiler or wing spoiler; moonroof visor; car cover; and nose mask are among these accessories.

Interior and exterior

The front end nicely blends elements from Acura’s other two sedans, the sporty TL and the more serious RL, and from the MDX sport utility. The headlight housings remind of the TL. The hood sculpting defines the TSX’s centerline and front fenders.

Styling stays true to Acura themes. However, for 2009, it cleans up here and there to lend the car a more aggressive, more buff look in order to emphasize its more planted stance.

Everything inside, that is important, has been powered, including the adjustments on both front seats. Dual-zone climate control and heated seats and outside mirrors are standard. Safety has ensured with a full array of airbags to electronic stability control to tire pressure monitors included at no extra cost. The interior is comfortable without being plush, sporty without being sparse. Communication between driver and car is open and easy.

The front seats are comfortable and supportive with sufficient side for journey on twisty roads. The bottom cushion could have been further deeper, a common shortcoming in today’s cars. The front seat passenger still gets shortchanged with no height adjustment making taller people feel as if they are sitting in a hole.  The rear seat is more like a bench than twin buckets. The space for the lower extremities is snug, measuring just a one-tenth of an inch roomier than the 2008 despite the addition of more than two inches to the 2009 model overall length and almost an inch and a half to its wheelbase. The rear head restraints adjust for height, a plus point for its occupants. All four doors have dual inside pulls, one horizontal and one angled up, for easy closing by passengers.

Gauges come with easy-to-scan graphics and floating needles. The steering wheel sports push buttons and toggles controlling more than a dozen functions. The center stack, with either the base sound and navigation system or the optional Technology Package, has been arranged with large, finger-friendly buttons and a reasonably easy-to-learn multi-function joystick-like knob for the multi-layered information center-cum-map screen.

Storage space is more than adequate. Every door has a molded-in space for a water bottle, the front doors room for the proverbial map, although given a navigation system is standard, think guidebook or CDs.

The glove box has a partitioned nook for the owner’s manual and associated booklets, leaving the rest for smallish flat items. The front center console has a bi-level storage bin and two cup holders. The fold-down center armrest has two more. There’s a bin in the front foot wells on each side of what once was called the transmission hump.

Trunk space is down from the 2008 model, by between more than one-half a square foot to a couple tenths of a square foot, as it houses some of the hardware of the   navigation system, standard for 2009.

Driving Impressions

The driving does not deliver as much fun as a sporty sedan could or should for one simple reason: front-wheel drive. Any car burdened with a front/rear weight bias of 60/40 simply cannot deliver the responsiveness and agility of a rear-wheel-drive car.

The horsepower is down slightly from the 2008 model, but torque is up slightly, so any difference between the ’08’s and the ’09’s response to the pressure of the driver’s right foot on the gas pedal is measurable only by a stopwatch. The fuel economy improves by two miles per gallon, to 21/30 city/highway, over the ’08’s with the SportShift five-speed automatic. The fuel economy remains unchanged with the manual and has improved with the automatic transmission. The TSX is available with a front-wheel-drive configuration, whereas a true sporty sedan is a rear-wheel drive one. However, the TSX comes across as one of the better-handling front-wheel-drive sedans.

Gear spacing in the six-speed manual easily keeps the engine in the best part of its power curve. Clutch action is smooth.

The TSX is an enjoyable, moderately sporty car. Suspension balance is good. It can take corners at speed with more confidence and less body lean than the previous-generation model, thanks in part to ’09’s two-and-one-half inch wider track. The steering gives a numb feeling. There’s no lack of precision or response to steering inputs, just very little tactile feedback from that all-important contact patch between tire and pavement.

Safety features

A full complement of airbags to protect occupants front and rear in frontal and side impact crashes are standard. Rear outboard seats have anchors (LATCH) for child safety seats. Antilock brakes, electronic stability assist, traction control and tire pressure monitoring system provide safety and security.