The motor is essentially the same as the 2.4 in our Accord but with "3-rocker i-VTEC" instead of "2-rocker i-VTEC." Essentially the difference is the same as that between the RSX and RSX Type-S. Around town, the motors feel essentially the same until you really open it up. On a test drive it's hard to feel the difference.

If Joe Schmoe car shopper goes to his Honda dealer and drives an Accord EX-L and then heads over to the Acura dealer to drive a TSX that conceivably runs a couple grand more, what's there to get him into the TSX? It probably feels like a more buttoned-down version of the Accord with more nicely proportioned styling. Plus with the money he saves on going with the Accord instead of the TSX he can spring for the navigation system or the V6 which he can tell feels a lot faster. That is the problem.