Miss the S2000? Miss the Prelude? Is the CR-Z  just not doing it for you? It seems that, save for the new Civic SI, Honda has given up on its performance roots. It’s okay Honda fans, don’t lose hope just yet, your favourite automaker hasn’t abanonded performance vehicles altogether. The grand daddy of them all is still slated to make an encore appearance.

Rumours of an NSX successor have been swirling in both “it will return” and “it won’t return” form and this time it seems the former is back in automotive gossip columns. Back in 2008 Honda confirmed that it was working on a NSX successor that was to be V10 powered. Honda quickly shelved the project when the appetite for thirsty supercars went promptly down the drain thanks to stricter CAFE standards.

Well with the Nissan GTR and the Lexus LFA taking away some impressive accolades, Honda couldn’t just sit around and watch, could they? As such, Honda President and CEO Takanobu has confirmed that they are taking the 2008 prototype off the shelf and are dusting it off to see what they can come up with. Apparently the model back in 2008 was very close to production ready, so there will only likely be some minor tweaks here and there. One of the main focuses will be on balance and handling, something Honda can do very well when they set their minds to it.

Takanobu also added that “(Honda doesn’t) want to copy Ferrari for power, but to chase efficiency as well”. This would seem to suggest that the V10 will likely be scrapped and that it may be less powerful than the 500 horses the V10 was rumoured to produce.

No matter, if it’s half as endearing as the original was, Honda is well on their way to producing a credible competitor. No word on when the new NSX will bow, but hopefully the wait won’t be too long.

[Autoblog Canada]

Who would’ve thought that when BMW introduced its polarizing X6, it would do so well that BMW’s rivals would be forced to make a competitor?

There are reports that Mercedes-Benz is the latest to jump on board the weird cross-over-SUV-coupe segment that BMW started a while back. To be dubbed the GLS and based on the newly redesigned M-Class (pictured above), the GLS will be a four seater-only with a sloped roofline a la CLS. Mercedes will also likely develop a V8 AMG version to directly combat the X6 M. Details other than that are scarce at the moment.

Mercedes-Benz is the third automaker that has now apparently seen enough X6 sales to realize they need a competitor. Acura’s ZDX, while significantly cheaper than the X6, has not been selling in droves. In fact, Acura has had to incent consumers with as much as $12,000 off before hagling. Audi, on the other hand, is confident it can be the one to slow X6 sales with its upcoming Q6.

It sure is a weird segment to be competing in, but sounds like things will heat up significantly within the next few years. Now all we need is Infiniti and Lexus to take notice, then we’ll really have a ball game going.

[Autocar]

The re-introduction of the iconic NSX from Acura has been going back and fourth between a green light for production and rumours dropping the idea altogether for some time now. The latest rumour was that Honda had decided to ditch the idea of an NSX successor because it was too demanding to develop cost-wise. Well that may not be true according to the latest rumour.

Honda Motor Company president Takanobu Ito recently hinted that the idea to revive the NSX isn’t quite off the table yet. In fact, he confirmed that Honda is still working on a successor. ito said that Honda wants to make a car that’s exhilarating to drive, but also environmentally friendly. This would suggest that the NSX successor will likely get a hybrid power train, or even perhaps a diesel unit. This also means that the hopes of Honda putting a rumoured V10 in the engine bay is extremely unlikely. Beggers can’t be choosers, I guess.

 Honda didn’t give any hints as to when this NSX successor will see the light of day, but Ito did mention that they are “working very hard on it”.

The NSX was always one of my fave sports cars when I was growing up, so the idea of a successor is pretty exciting for me!

[Auto Week]

When BMW debuted the X6 a few years back, they must’ve known something that the rest of us didn’t because everyone thought it was a bad idea and that it would fail miserably. It hasn’t. In fact, the X6 is selling surprisingly well.

Now it seems other manufacturers are taking notice of the X6′s success and are scrambling to build competitors. Acura  had a go at it, but the ZDX has been anything but sucessful so far since there are huge cash incentives to move them off the lot.

Audi is going to have a go now too, it seems. Dubbed the Q6, it is expected to be based on both the Volkswagen Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne. Engine choices would be the standard units in other models and there’s even word of an RS version in the cards to take on the X6 M,  and the ML AMG.

Which would you prefer? An X6, ZDX or Q6?

The Acura RL.

It’s funny, I was actually driving behind one of these the other day, and for the first time in a long time, I was actually stumped to name it. Granted it was way ahead of me, but I can usually name cars on a dime no matter how close or far away they are. So I had to speed up a bit and then it hit me. It was an RL.

Little did I know at the time that that particular RL was only one of 33 sold in the entire country. That’s right, Acura has only sold 33 iterations of the RL in the country making it the worst selling car in Canada. Even though the RL was never a big seller, I never would’ve guessed it to be the worst. If it were me, I would’ve guessed a supercar automaker such as Lamborghini, Ferrari or Aston Martin since they don’t make volume selling cars.

I’m thinking a test drive of the RL is in order to see why so many Canadians do not apparently care for it.

[Wheels.ca]

When BMW decided to create its own niche market in making the X6, the only other automaker to notice or care was Acura. As such, they made the ZDX in an effort to combat X6 sales. The X6 has been selling decently (and surprisingly) well, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for the ZDX.

This is evident by the monster discounts now available for it. Looking at the ad above, you’d think it was an ad for a domestic automaker since it’s not uncommon for them to offer massive discounts from the get-go. European and Asian automakers never do that, and Acura knows it judging from the wording of the ad.

I tested the ZDX a while back and found it to be a capable vehicle. Being in a niche market though, Acura probably didn’t expect it to sell in large numbers anyway, but clearly they expected it to do better than its doing.

Now at $46,020 with the heavy discount, the ZDX is definitely more appealing. Is that still enough to make you want one though?

[Auto North]

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.

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.

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.

First things first, BMW is one of the few manufacturers to offer manual transmission options on most of their lineup, and that includes the bigger 5-series, to which the TL competes. Acura, for some reason, did not immediately offer a 6-speed manual with its redesigned TL until now. This is strange because Honda makes one of the best shifting manual transmissions in the business. The TL’s transmission is no exception as shifts are silky smooth and throws are decently short making the TL 6-speed a very capable performance sedan. The shifter is a bit small, but that will be the least of your worries as you shift at high revs to take advantage of the V6.

It’s a 3.7 litre that produces 305 horsepower and 273 pound feet of torque. The SH-AWD adds weight, so to combat any performance hindering as a result, they added an extra 25 horses over the 3.5 litre used in front wheel drive TL’s. Power is adequate as a result, but it does not feel much quicker than the 3.5 litre. As mentioned, the engine is much more responsive at the top end of the power band. In low RPM’s the TL can feel a bit sluggish, but this is why getting the optional 6 speed on the SH-AWD TL is so important. You can keep it in the higher RPM range. As a result, take-offs aren’t incredibly fast, but fast enough to chirp the wheels 9 times out of 10 when switching into second if you are driving aggressively. Power delivery is fairly smooth and the exhaust note is quite nice as well. In general, you feel as if you have much more control over the large sedan, which should be the case – the TL is trying to be a driver’s car after all.

The SH-AWD is quite good at helping the TL feel stable in the corners. It’s not a full-time AWD system and has a front wheel drive bias which is unfortunate, but the system can still hold its own by boosting power as needed to the outside wheel which may start to loose grip. The system is the same that I tested on the ZDX and is definitely something you want to check off on the option list of the new TL (as is the 6-speed manual). Combined with a firm, yet relatively comfortable suspension and you have a large fairly sure-footed sedan.

The interior is nice, however the feel of the ZDX’s interior felt a bit more posh. That said, the TL’s interior is nicely laid out and has quality rich feeling materials throughout the cabin. Acura is known for being quite tech savvy, but in true Acura form, there is  a button overload on both the steering wheel and centre stack which can be extremely distracting from the road. It also gives a bit of a cluttered feel up front.

My tester came with the tech package which will keep most techies happy if the abundance of buttons somehow don’t. It comes with navigation, GPS linked duel-zone climate control, a very nice 440-watt stereo, keyless start with smart entry, updated leather interior and a very cool looking decklid spoiler that features a back-up camera. The back-up camera system is excellent and is one of the better ones I’ve experienced. The seats are quite comfy and offer good support. The rear seats are equally as comfortable, however rear leg room isn’t as much as one would expect given the size of the car itself. They also don’t fold flat, there is only a ski pass through. This is a huge omission in my opinion as offering a $50,000 vehicle without split folding rear seats is a bit like serving the finest caviar to the Queen without giving her a fork.

But that’s a compliment, really. Well, the first part is anyway. Comparing an Acura to caviar is quite high praise and is something that probably hasn’t been done in a long time, if ever. But like caviar, Acura’s new styling direction tends to be an acquired taste and one could be completely forgiven for not quite warming up to the lineup. However the TL is, once you get used to it, quite good. Now that it has a proper transmission finally available, it’s hard not to seriously consider it, when you might not have before.

The TL has officially been added along side the olive to the list of things I used to hate, but have now gotten used to. If you used to hate it, give your taste buds another chance with it, because I guarantee you that this flavour of TL in 6-speed SH-AWD guise is much more palatable.

Base Price: $44,990

Price As Tested: $48,490

Pros:

• Smooth shifting 6-speed
• SH-AWD
• Good handling capabilities
• Good exhaust note
• Exterior looks
• Decent value

Cons:

• Cluttered interior
• Rear leg room
• No folding rear seats
• 6-speed manual only available in most expensive trim level

Overall: 9/10

Special thanks to Scott Hall of Atlantic Acura

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.

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.

First things first, this is one of the more unique looking vehicles currently being offered. If I’m honest, when I first saw pictures of the ZDX, I wasn’t all too impressed. But pictures really don’t do it justice as it is quite an eye catcher (for the right reasons) in person. The sloping coupe like profile is classy and it helps keep the mirage going with the rear door handles being hidden away almost next to the C-pillar. The rear is definitely unique as the high belt line meshes nicely with the slim glass hatch, topped off with LED tail lights. In fact, I’d venture to say that this is probably the ZDX’s best angle.  One strange omission from the glass hatch is a rear wiper. Given how angled the hatch is to begin with, there should really be one as snow and rain will build up quite easily. The front is definitely all Acura as the now signature shield can be found gracing messing up the front grille. I want to like this new front end styling direction, but I just can’t. It may very well grow on me as I don’t find it to be as offensive as I once did, but I still feel as though it’s like putting braces on Beyonce. Why mess up an otherwise lovely package? Xenon headlights and a low stance help save the ZDX’s front end from any further embarrassment.

Power comes from Honda’s infamous V-Tec engine – a 3.7 litre V6 making 300 horsepower and 270 pound feet of torque. This helps the ZDX make its 0-100 kph sprint in 7.3 seconds. Being a V-tec, power is definitely more noticeable in the higher rpm range. Therefore, in order to get the most out of this engine, you really need to keep the automatic in manual mode and shift the gears yourself via the flappy paddles on the wheel. Otherwise, the automatic will switch gears too soon, robbing the ZDX on power. One neat feature is that the paddle shifter will work even if you are in drive mode. The gearbox will return to ordinary drive mode if you leave the paddles alone which is quite convenient. Gear shifts are decently quick and the exhaust note has a nice growl to it in high rpm ranges which is a nice change from the traditionally whiny note of v-tecs from the past. The only downside to having power in the top end is that fuel economy inevitably suffers. The ZDX is rated at 12.7 l/100 kms city and 8.8 l/100 kms highway. But fuel economy will be the least of your worries once you drop it down a cog on the highway to zing past a slow moving vehicle. It becomes quite addicting.

19 inch wheels come standard as does Acura’s ‘super-handling all-wheel drive’ system. This system gives the ZDX the ability to actually boost power to the outside wheel. In a tight corner, the result is almost sling-shot-like as the ZDX feels planted. The steering itself, however, is a bit numb. The ZDX could do with more feedback to the driver, especially since the SH-AWD allows for aggressive driving.

The ZDX will swallow about 26 cubic feet of cargo with the rear seats up and will take 55 cubic feet of stuff with the rear seats down. The rear seats fold completely flat, which is refreshingly convenient from almost every other car’s 60/40 split seats. Although the cargo area isn’t deep, there’s an abundance of cubby holes back there for added versatility.

Acura is known as being pretty tech savvy and this is quite obvious by the amount of buttons on the interior. There are way too many. There’s twelve buttons on the steering wheel alone! Not to mention an assorted medley on the dash to distract your eyes from the road. At least with Acura, all their gadgets and gizmos don’t beep every time you command it to do something like Lexus’. The interior has a quality feel with an abundance of leather, even on the dash, and rich feeling materials. Since rearward visibility is almost non existent thanks to that slopping roof line, the standard rear camera is very much appreciated. This makes parking the ZDX a breeze without almost any need to even look back. It’s one of the better back up systems I’ve experienced.

Also thanks to that sloping roof line is the inability to enter or exit the rear seats with grace. You will either hit your head on the roof, or your rear end on the door jamb as the rear doors don’t allow much room for entry or exit. Rear headroom isn’t all that great either, but it’s definitely doable for shorter trips. There is no shortage of knee room however and rear passengers will be delighted to know that their seats can be heated to their liking at the touch of a button.

At the end of the day, this is really a very unique crossover in a crowded crossover market. It blends style, performance, handling and versatility in a tidy package that definitely rivals other manufacturers.

But is this the answer for people who just can’t decide on what they want and would just rather have everything in one car? The verdict is still out. But making a decision on buying a new car just got a whole lot easier though, because the ZDX is decisively good.

Price As Tested: $59,990

Pros:

• AWD system
• Attention to detail for interior
• Unique styling
• Lots standard, good value
• Good paddle shifters

Cons:

• Sloped roof impedes interior room & outward visibility
• Too many buttons
• Numb steering

Overall: 8.5/10

Special thanks to Scott Hall of Atlantic Acura