2005 Acura RSX Test Drives

All in the Family

This sporty little RSX is cut from the same stellar mold as larger Acuras.

Should You Buy This Car?

As you can tell, we have problems with the RSX Type-S. It's relatively small inside. It looks slick, but it rides like what it is -- a sports-tuned sled meant for a younger crowd.

Interestingly, you could put the same thoughts behind the Subaru WRX, another "tuner" crowd car. But where the WRX is composed, even quiet, the RSX Type-S is loud and tough to take. The Subaru is taut, but it doesn't beat you up; the Type-S is taut and rattles your molars.

And although you might argue that the cars that we said are competition for the RSX Type-S aren't at all (the Mazda3, Volvo S40, the Nissan Altima), "tuner" versions of those cars either exist or are coming.

One last word. Apparently, Acura is at least mulling all-wheel drive for the RSX. That would make a huge difference in the personality of this car, allowing it to be like the WRX -- appealing to drivers who don't always want to endure screeching tires, yet also more competitive with the latest "tuner" cars.

It would have another effect, too -- at last it would bring the RSX closer in temperament to the personality of the rest of the Acura line. And that would at last give Acura a unified message to market.