2005 Acura TSX Test Drive

Dancing Around The Competition

The 2005 Acura TSX is a lithe and willing performer that can be too stiff over the long haul. It's also a superb value and much more reliable than competing German sedans.

Interior

A high-quality interior is important to affluent consumers, and it's clear that Acura worked hard to get the inside of the TSX just right. The interior is beautifully crafted and elegantly styled. The textured dash, chrome-plated door handles and perforated leather on the seats exude high quality.

Engineers labored over such minutiae as the sound that the doors make when they shut and the environmentally friendly dashboard material that precludes any visible seams for the passenger-side-airbag cover. There's even soft-blue mood lighting spilling down the center console.

Controls on the instrument panel and steering wheel are well placed, intuitive and easy to use — unless you order the optional navigation system. Its large touch screen forced us to consult the manual for such routine tasks as switching the stereo from radio to CD or adjusting the fan speed — and this despite having separate buttons to control some of these functions.

The optional navigation system's large touch-screen controls heating, A/C and stereo. + enlarge image  |  view gallery >

We never did figure out how to adjust the brightness of the screen, even after consulting the manual several times. It turns out that there are a couple of different ways to do this, but we only found out after our test drive. While driving at night, we resorted to turning off the whole system, stereo and all, to thwart the screen's distracting glare.

Other journalists who have reviewed the TSX and consumers who post comments about the car online generally praise the TSX's touch-screen system as one of the best in the industry. Personally, I thought it was annoying and that its convoluted interface was the only wart on an otherwise immaculate interior.

The $2,000 DVD-based navigation system calls out directions and responds to verbal commands. But in the course of our test, it didn't recognize the address of a destination in Pennsylvania and twice misguided us in New Jersey. We eventually stopped using it and wouldn't order it as an option. Nevertheless, you should try it for yourself. Many people find these systems helpful.

The powerful (360-watt) eight-speaker stereo is one of the best in the industry for sound quality. It's a shame that the standard, in-dash six-disk CD changer doesn't play MP3s. A separate MP3 player costs a whopping $551 and eats up storage space in the center console.

The eight-way power-adjustable driver's seat is comfortable and supportive and works with the tilting/telescoping steering wheel to tailor the seating position to drivers big and small.

There are useful storage bins and pockets and conveniently placed cup holders. The Acura's interior space is adequate, but it would benefit from a few more inches in each direction.

The trunk is commodious, but marred by the high bumper that makes it difficult to load and unload.