New wheels for us!

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Duke

Duke

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Well, we started out looking for convertibles, and ended up with a sedan. We wanted a blue car, but this was as close as we could get. After dozens of test drives and lots of internet searching - not to mention thousands of words of excellent advice from resident car expert Doug DeMuro - we're the proud and excited new owners of a new 2004 Acura TSX (aka the Euro Accord). Meteor Silver over Quartz leather (our first choice was Arctic Blue, but there were none to be had with Navigation on the Eastern Seabord between New York and North Carolina). Complete with DVD-navigation as the only option, and a 'protection package' that includes a great hoseable trunk liner among other items.

It's far and away the nicest car I've ever owned. Silky-smooth 2.4l four, and a 5 speed ATX deliver plenty of power, and it's the best-driving automatic I've ever seen. It never hunts around, it shifts like glass, and the "manumatic" mode is quite fun as well. The ride is great - well damped, firm but not harsh, with great steering feel. I haven't had a chance to really play in it but the handling seems very crisp without a harsh ride.

So far we've been using the navigator to tell us how to get everywhere; even the Dunkin' Donuts 2 miles away. Plus you can ask it to find the nearest Chinese restaurant and it will. The nav system also gives you voice control over most of the HVAC and audio controls as well. We never even thought about looking for a car with nav, but it's fun enough to almost make up for getting a sedan instead of a ragtop. Besides, it does have a moonroof.

We picked it up Saturday the 23rd. My wife has been nice enough to let me drive it around over the weekend (it's her car) but she'll be the one feeling the joy during the week.
 

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nice choice 👍.

My cousin just got himself an Altima 3.5 S... too bad he didn't go for the SE package
 
Duke bought a Honda!!!!1!!

It's a looker, and it's fun to drive... what more could you want!
 
emad
nice choice 👍.

My cousin just got himself an Altima 3.5 S... too bad he didn't go for the SE package
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That was one of the dozen or more cars we test drove - a 3.5 SE. It was a little larger than we were looking for. I liked it a lot, but my wife wasn't thrilled. It was a nice car but not quite exciting enough. In a couple years I'll probably be looking at an Altima 3.5 SE-R.
 
Congrats on the car Duke 👍 Nice colour and a nice looker.

Practicality is so teh suck ;)
 
Nice wheels, and the car connected to the wheels is nice too!

Congrats on the new ride! But what happened to the Neons? No SRT-4? :)
 
Goomba
Nice wheels, and the car connected to the wheels is nice too!

Congrats on the new ride! But what happened to the Neons? No SRT-4? :)
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Thanks!

My wife's Neon got flooded and written off by the insurance company. We just don't like the new Neons much, except the SRT. However, the SRT was not an option since this car is my wife's daily driver, and she does not like to drive a manual, although she does know how.

I may look at SRTs when this is paid off in a few years.
 
Wow, I've never seen that color on a TSX before, but it's gorgeous! And it's hard to tell, but it looks like it matches the van. :D

Out of totally idle curiosity, did you happen to test an '05 S40?
 
I told him not to look at an S40 because with his price range, he wouldn't have had much choice of options. Then again, it looks like he exceeded his "price range" so my advice was probably piss. Still, a like-equipped S40 would be a couple thousand more. Though it's a much better driver's car (as in, it's quicker and it handles better). I'd rather the Volvo, but the Acura's still damn good.

I saw a that-color TSX today. Good-looking car.
 
Sage
Wow, I've never seen that color on a TSX before, but it's gorgeous! And it's hard to tell, but it looks like it matches the van. :D

Out of totally idle curiosity, did you happen to test an '05 S40?
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Actually, it's notably bluer than the 'van IRL. It doesn't quite punch up in pictures as much as it could. However, our first choice of color was Arctic Blue, which is quite bold - but none were available with navigation east of the Mississip.

I did not actually drive the '05 S40, though I considered it pretty heavily. However, we couldn't touch a T5 S40 for less than $29,000 and IIRC that didn't include navigation, though otherwise it looked like a great car. And the non-turbo S40, which was available a little below the price we gave for the TSX, also had no nav and gave up at least 30 horsepower to the TSX. In 3-4 years I'll probably be looking at used T5 S40s to replace my car.

Our initial budget was $25-26k USD. We could easily have gotten a 'base' TSX in the lower end of that range, but we had to stretch a little to pick up the nav system. However, we couldn't reasonably have stretched to $29k for the Volvo, much as I like it.
M5Power
I told him not to look at an S40 because with his price range, he wouldn't have had much choice of options. Then again, it looks like he exceeded his "price range" so my advice was probably piss. Still, a like-equipped S40 would be a couple thousand more. Though it's a much better driver's car (as in, it's quicker and it handles better). I'd rather the Volvo, but the Acura's still damn good.

I saw a that-color TSX today. Good-looking car.
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I'm glad you like the color! And your advice was great, considering the constraints I gave you. We were also looking at a 6-cyl Accord EX, but with and without nav, it straddled the price of this TSX. It was a very nice car but it just didn't have the sex appeal the TSX did, and the V6 was punchy but not punchy enough to make the deal. Handling was not up to the TSX, either.
 
Great choice Duke...like everyone has already said, the colour looks incredible..I test drove one and compared it too the accord aswell. Most Definitely grabbd the right on in my opinion !
 
neon_duke
I'm glad you like the color! And your advice was great, considering the constraints I gave you. We were also looking at a 6-cyl Accord EX, but with and without nav, it straddled the price of this TSX. It was a very nice car but it just didn't have the sex appeal the TSX did, and the V6 was punchy but not punchy enough to make the deal. Handling was not up to the TSX, either.
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Much as I love the Accord EX V6 (I've called it the best Japanese car ever on a number of occiasions), I'd probably pick and recommend the TSX to you, solely because you and your family actually enjoy driving. The Accord's quick and it's loaded, but it's no TSX. The trade-off is a little interior room and a bit of acceleration, but if you want the handling it's a better bet.
 
Beautiful, duke!!! I love the TSX, and I agree with most everyone here that is probably one of the best colors available for the car. Great choice! 👍 :)
 
Beautiful car, Duke... The JDM Accords are always so much sexier than our USDM Accords... The TSX is hot... Good choice...


;)
 
Man, how'd I miss this thread?

Great car, Duke! 👍 👍 A real winner you got there. I'm sure you and the missus will enjoy that one.

Now that you're a Honda owner, its time to slap on the Altezza lights and resonated tips. :D ;)


M
 

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