2009 Acura TSX

Surprise! Another familiar nameplate has gone under the knife for an extreme makeover and emerged having lost the battle of the bulge. Yes, the 2009 Acura TSX swells by a parking space filling three inches in width and 2.4 inches in length. It's now wider, taller, heavier and way roomier than the original Acura Legend. At least by building half the body structure out of high-strength steels (up from 39 percent), the curb weight balloons only by about 150 pounds. This happens with almost every model redesign, but this time I'm taking it personally because we just added a present-generation TSX to the family fleet precisely because of its smallness. Why can't a small luxury car stay small?

The company line is that similar supersizing of key competitors like the Audi A4 (length: +4.6 in., width: +2.1 in) and BMW 3 Series (length: +2.2 in., width: +3.0 in.) forced Acura's hand, but loosen the lips of company insiders and you'll learn that the European market (which accounts for well over half of TSX/Euro Accord production) drove this decision. Honda's high-tech new 2.2-liter clean-diesel powertrain packages wider than the 2.4-liter gas motor, and squeezing it in required either broadening the beam or brooming the slick-handling control-arm front suspension in favor of struts. We like the suspension and we'll love the fuel-sipping diesel when it arrives in early 2009.

Along with the upsizing come myriad improvements. Naturally there's a welcome 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room, but with legroom virtually unchanged, the back seat still feels intimate. The new body is 15 percent more rigid in torsion and better insulated against road and suspension noise, thanks to a new roof design (cross-beams connecting the A-, B-, and C-pillars are much more securely welded to the body-side apertures before the roof panel goes on-previously they were preassembled to the roof), an isolated rear-suspension carrier, and new sound deadening on the floor and inside the structural pillars. Another interesting first: The outboard structural floor rails are inside the floorpan, for a smoother undercarriage and better side-impact protection.

To help the newly Reubenesque TSX handle as crisply as before the suspension geometry was revised to increase wheel travel and relocate the roll center to reduce body roll. Larger front and rear anti-roll bars, a wider track and 10mm-wider tires also improve stability. New Showa dual-mode dampers feature internal plates that deflect during hard-jounce events to permit increased oil flow, which, along with larger bushings, improves ride compliance. Rear-brake rotors are almost an inch larger for reduced fade. Electric power steering like the system that bowed on the NSX improves fuel economy and enables a much tighter steering ratio (14.8:1 versus 16.0:1), but sad to say transmits none of the intimate road-surface detail that its supercar forebear did. Hope future tuning will restore some of the old TSX's road feel.

Engine revisions include a bump in compression (from 10.5:1 to 11.0:1), revised i-VTEC valve timing, nine-percent-smoother intake airflow, an exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head and 15-percent-less exhaust back pressure. The new engine trades four peak horsepower for six or eight pound-feet of torque (automatic or manual) plus improved emissions and fuel economy. Shorter manual-transmission ratios in second through sixth gears promise similar performance in the bigger car. Automatic gearing is virtually unchanged, so those models might be a touch slower, but paddle shifting makes them seem racier.

Nav screen is positioned considerably higher for improved visibility. Interior color choices now number three: parchment, taupe, or black; and woodgrain trim is a dealer-installed option. Large glove compartment incorporates a separate shelf for the owner's manual.

Rear seat offers more shoulder and hiproom, but only 0.1-inch-more legroom and 0.3-inch-less headroom. It's still plenty comfy for mid-five-footers. Door panels include bottle holders and the seatback folds 60/40 for carrying long items.