Exclusively Ours: Acura Gives Canadians A-Spec Option For TL

Auto manufacturers tend to show Canada some love every now and then, even though in the grand scheme of things, our market is pretty insignificant compared to our southern neighbours, Europe, and Asia.

Acura has always given us a bit of exclusivity with the EL now turned CSX. Now we are going to get a little taste of A-Spec flavour for the TL.

Starting at $51,290, the A-Spec will add special 19 inch wheels, a dark crhome grille, special areo body kit, A-Spec badging along with SH-AWD and your choice of a six speed automatic or six speed manual. Get the six speed manual. My test revealed that it really adds more personality to the car.

You Were So Close, Acura

We were pretty excited that Acura had finally decided to make its wagon version of the TSX available to us, but then they had to go and ruin it.

Stupidly, the new TSX wagon will be automatic only and will not have SH-AWD. What?!

Good luck trying to take on the likes of BMW and Audi with that set up, Acura. You might as well make the paint colour beige only and make it only available to people 70+ years old.

The same 2.4 inline four found in the sedan will make its way under the wagon’s hood. Still no report on when it will be available for sale, but after what we’ve just learned, its release date pretty much irrelevant now.

Next.

Test Drive: 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD 6-Speed Manual

By Kevin Harrison

Isn’t it funny how things can sometimes grow on you? I once hated olives. So much so that the mere mention of the word made me cringe. Picking them off pizza or salads wasn’t good enough either. If olives were in the vicinity of any type of food I was to consume, I would have preferred to stay hungry. These days? Sure, put olives on my nachos,  put them in my martini, hell, you can put them in my bed for all I care. They’re great. I’m not sure why all of a sudden I have grown accustomed to them, but I have.

The same can be said for the new Acura TL. I absolutely loathed the redesign when it first came out, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt as pictures usually don’t do justice to most cars. I thought it had a disproportionate robotic like exterior that seemed like it belonged in an episode of ‘What Not To Wear’. Seeing it in person just reinforced my urge to regurgitate whenever I saw it.

But something strange happened. The TL, it seems, isn’t so bad as I once thought. In fact, I’d even go so far as saying that it looks quite good from certain angles. Perhaps this is because Acura has decided to put its massive shield on the front grille of all its products so now the look seems somehow more modern and normal? All I know is, it is definitely a looker and I’m happy to say, for the right reasons.

But the TL needs a lot more than just edgy looks if it hopes to offer a different flavour of sports sedan from its rivals.

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Wagon Comeback: Acura TSX To Get More Junk in the Trunk

Call us crazy, but we are going to predict a swift return of the wagon. That’s not to say the end of the SUV, but CUV’s are definitely becoming all the rage, and let’s face it, they’re just jacked up station wagons. The term ‘station wagon’ is pretty taboo in the car world so you’ll hear car companies come up with new cooler sounding names such as ‘Sportcombi’ or ‘Avant’. Call it whatever you want, they’re wagons.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes you just need to haul more stuff more often than not and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice performance and fuel consumption (like an SUV) in order to get it. Hence, our prediction of the return of the wagon.

Honda has officially announced that the Acura TSX wagon will make its debut at this year’s  New York Auto Show. You don’t debut a model at a U.S auto show unless you plan on selling it in the U.S, so it’s safe to say it’s on its way and insiders are whispering rumours or a fall debut at dealerships. No word yet on powertrain options, but the RDX’s turbo’d  4-cylinder is a strong possibility along with SH-AWD. If they make a stick available then colour us officially intrigued.

Acura is just the latest to step up to the wagon plate with Cadillac introducing a wagon version of their CTS (with rumours of a CTS-V wagon in the works), Saab continuing on with 9-5 and 9-3 wagons, and Volvo slotting a new wagon in their lineup as well.

Test Drive: 2010 Acura ZDX

By Kevin Harrison

People who are indecisive are pretty much the worst. I know, because I’m one of them. At any given moment, I can never make up my mind. Even over little things that one shouldn’t have to think about. For example, today I couldn’t make up my mind at Subway.

“Do I want a six inch or a foot long today?” I asked myself. That’s-what-she-said jokes aside, how difficult can it actually be to decide your level of hunger? And how annoying was it for the people behind me, who have already made up their minds, to wait for me make up my mind? I can only presume most people decide these sorts of things before leaving their cars. I ended up with a six inch and after consuming it in about 30 seconds, my worst fears were realized. I had made the wrong decision. I could have easily eaten a foot long.

Luckily this annoying tendency is non-existent for me when it comes to cars. I know what I like, and I know what my priorities are. If a car doesn’t meet them, it’s on to the next one. No second guessing.

But there are others in our indecisive club that aren’t so lucky when it comes to cars. They can’t make up their minds and usually end up with a minivan of some sort with ridiculous wheels and a spoiler. They want a coupe-like car that’s fast, that can handle off-road and snowy conditions, that has enough room for cargo and their family, that turns heads, is good on gas, good on power, has the latest luxury and technology and gives you a commanding view of the road.

Acura thinks they have an made something for those indecisive folk: The all-new ZDX.

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