2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon

ACURA TSX Sport Wagon

The TSX Sport Wagon weighs 3,599 pounds, which sounds like a V6 would be required, but why add cylinders if they're not needed? Acura seems to think so, since it's not offering the 280-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 as an option, even though it can be had in the TSX sedan.

• Power moonroof with tilt, auto-open/close, auto-reverse and key-off operation
• Xenon High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights
• Front bumper-integrated fog lights
• Heated side mirrors with passenger reverse gear tilt-down and integrated directional signals
• 17-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels
• Auto-on/off headlights
• Chrome door handle trim
• Speed-sensing, variable intermittent windshield wipers
• Intermittent rear-window wiper
• Integrated dual-outlet exhaust
• Roof rails

Being a wagon, there's ample storage space, and even with the second row upright, you can fit a commendable amount of stuff in the 25.8 cubic feet of storage out back. Stow that second row and you're treated to 60 cubic feet of space, or more room than many mid-size crossovers.

This marvelously smooth four-cylinder powerplant boasts a ho-hum 201 horsepower at a sky-high 7,000 rpm and 170 pound-feet of torque at 4,300 revolutions, but the numbers don't tell the whole story. We couldn't help but scour the road ahead to search out areas where we could safely bury the throttle in the carpet. Acceleration from a stop isn't particularly impressive – likely about seven seconds to 60 mph – but once on the move, the free-reving four moves the tach as easily as anything within earshot of 200 ponies. It's disappointing that the TSX still features an old-school five-speed automatic transmission, but this slushbox is still silky smooth, something we've come to expect from Honda and its luxury arm.

Since we're talking about a four-cylinder with a displacement of only 2.4-liters, fuel economy is still very respectable. The Environmental Protection Agency tells us that the TSX Sport Wagon is capable of 30 miles per gallon on the highway and 22 mpg in city driving. We managed 24.2 mpg in mixed driving during our time with the wagon; not bad for a vehicle with more cargo capacity than many crossovers in the mid-size segment.