2006 Acura RSX Hatchback

What’s New?
Other than a new shade of silver paint and a revised method of calculating power from the unchanged engines, Acura’s sporty front-driver rolls into 2006 identical to last year’s model.

Overview
Acura, Honda’s luxury-car division, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. (It is interesting to note that Acura was the first Japanese-branded luxury channel, and that the name “Acura” was created solely for the U.S. market. In other countries, Acura vehicles are branded with the Honda nameplate. The RSX (which the rest of the world knows as the Honda Integra) doesn’t quite fit that mold: it’s a sporty, relatively inexpensive front-drive coupe. RSX is available in one body style, a three-door hatchback.

The RSX is a blend of utility, economy, and style that carries on Honda’s reputation for building quality vehicles and providing a good ownership experience. The engines offer both respectable power and low levels of tailpipe emissions. Standard equipment includes a 2.0L, 155-hp four-cylinder engine, a five-speed manual transaxle (with an optional five-speed automatic), power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering, four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock capability, 16-inch wheels and tires, dual-stage and dual-threshold front air bags, five mph bumpers, an anti-theft engine immobilizer, power windows and moon roof, a cabin air-filtration system, a 6-speaker AM/FM/CD stereo, a clock, and the ability to drive to 110,000 miles before a tune-up is required.

Order up the quicker, slicker, and higher-revving Type S, and you get athletic power and handling prowess to boot. Beyond the high-revving, 201-hp four-cylinder engine and 6-speed, close-ratio transaxle (unavailable on other RSX models), you’ll also get larger 11.8-inch front brake discs with ABS, larger anti-roll bars, 17-inch alloy wheels and tires, a deck lid spoiler, leather-trimmed seats, and a seven-speaker Bose stereo with AM/FM/Cassette and 6-disc in-dash CD changer. But, there is one downside; that power comes with a price as fuel economy estimates drop from 27/34 to 23/31.

The Competition
The Acura RSX is part of the Compact Premium Sporty segment, an eclectic group of thirteen vehicles that includes a mix of front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive vehicles; coupes, convertibles, and roadsters; domestic, Asian, and European-branded vehicles.

The Acura RSX (20,809 sales in calendar year 2005) is the second-best selling model in the group, behind only the Nissan 350Z (27,278 units in 2005), according to the J.D. Power and Associates Sales Report.^SM Other top sellers include the Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class (18,227) and Chrysler Crossfire (14,665). Rounding out the field are the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class, BMW Z4, Porsche Boxster, Honda S2000, Saab 9-2X, Audi TT, Volvo C50 and C70, and Porsche Cayman.