The Acura TSX is relatively unchanged for 2013, except for a modest price increase that prevents Acura from bragging that its entry-level luxury car starts “below 30 grand.”
Whereas the outgoing TSX started at $29,810, this new one gets a $700 increase to $30,510. That gets you a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder TSX with a 5-speed automatic. A Technology Package is $3,100 and adds the excellent ELS digital audio system, rearview camera, and voice-activated navigation. For the V-6 model, it comes standard with the Tech package at $39,150.
None of these prices include the $895 dealer destination charge.
Because manual transmissions are as cool these days as parachute pants, if you want to sample Acura’s excellent 6-speed manual you’ll have to get the Special Edition, now the only model with a row-your-own option. That starts at $31,510, exactly a grand over the base 5-speed automatic. Special Editions with automatic transmissions are the same price.
Presumably the price increase is to distance the TSX from the newly-released Acura ILX, its entry-level luxury car (more so than the TSX) that’s priced from $25,900 to $34,400 for the Hybrid model. If you’re of the performance-minded type, the manual ILX comes in at $29,200, which is now 2 grand away from the sportiest TSX’s $31,510 price.
Compare this to the Buick Regal, if you will, which starts at $27,055. Or the 2012 Lincoln MKZ, which starts even higher than the two at $34,755—startlingly overpriced, for a car whose replacement will be far newer and better in every way.
