NYT Previews the Honda/Acura TSX Diesel

John Horner
by John Horner

The New York Times reports that the diesel version of the European market Honda Accord is headed for your Acura dealer as a TSX in 2009. Bosch, a key supplier, "sneaked" a demonstration version of the Honda Diesel into The Big Apple, where The Old Gray Lady got her hands on it. With no official EPA test numbers to speak of, the Times achieved "a remarkable 53 miles a gallon on the highway, 34 in the city and 44 in combined driving… including a bumper-to-bumper crawl through Manhattan." My personal TSX clocks-in at around 20 mpg in city driving and the 30s on the open highway; the Times' numbers a big jump in the right direction. Honda might be onto something here. Unlike Mercedes' Cailfornia-compliant oil burner, the Honda's mill doesn't require a urea tank. So much for German Engineering Superiority. If the final US market TSX can hit those fuel economy numbers… the diesel fuel price premium will still kneecap sales. The $5.13/gallon question is, since when is diesel the upmarket alternative to hybrids (including the ill-fated Mercedes 300SD)? The high-end Accord V6 hybrid was a flop. Will the TSX Diesel face the same fate?

John Horner
John Horner

More by John Horner

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 25 comments
  • Joeaverage Joeaverage on Jun 06, 2008

    I'd love to have a good Honda turbo diesel and a six speed manual tranny in one of those "ugly" CR-Vs. However they need to be careful the CR-V does not get any bigger. If it does then the Pilot and -V are competing for the same customer. Our '99 has been an excellent vehicle.

  • Paul Niedermeyer Paul Niedermeyer on Jun 06, 2008

    I don't want to come across as consistantly anti-diesel, because, as Martin said, it has its uses. But any unrealistic expectations about Honda's diesel need to be put in perspective. I've been following reviews of it for almost ten years in auto, motor und sport, and although it was praised for its smoothness and relatively high-revving capability (it can hit 5,000 rpm, if you try), its fuel economy was never any better than the competition (VW, etc.). Take those NYT numbers with a grain of salt; I sincerely doubt the US EPA numbers will be much better than the VW Jetta TDI. I'll throw out my guess: 32/42.

  • Geotpf Geotpf on Jun 06, 2008

    The fact that diesel is a buck more than gasoline, and pollutes more (or has to be extremely neutered to pollute less), negates a large amount of the benefit of diesel, unfortuantly. As usual, I'll believe it when it's available at a dealership near me.

  • EJ_San_Fran EJ_San_Fran on Jun 06, 2008

    This Honda sounds like a really neat car. HOWEVER, it is out of the question that a lot of people in the US can switch to diesel. Diesel is a European specialty, promoted by the taxation they have over there. To switch the US fleet to diesel on a large scale requires diesel fuel that doesn't exist, won't exist and therefore will be so expensive it remains reserved for Europe.

Next