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CAR REVIEWS AND RATINGS
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| Ratings |
( Maximum score is 100 ) |
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| Overall: |
  ( 80 )
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| Comfort: |
( 80 )
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| Performance: |
( 60 )
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| Quality: |
( 100 )
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| Appearance: |
( 60 )
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| Comments |
Favorite feature: |
iVTEC and the transmission is a dream. |
Least favorite feature: |
The stock tires compeletely suck. Look to buy a new set soon after buying the car. |
Advice to buyer: |
Understand your driving style before you choose between the base and the Type-S. |
Detailed review: |
Actually, I bought the 2003 RSX Type-S, not a 2004. But the 2004 is a carryover from 2003.
I love my car. It's so much fun!
Interior:
The all leather interior is pretty nice. It's a year old now and still has the new car/leather smell to it. I like the bucket seats. Originally, I thought that side-walls of the seats were too small to hold you in on really sharp turns and you'd have to use your arms, but actually your back gets nestled right in the groove and it holds you in really well. Depending on how tall you are, the steering wheel might cover the upper part of the gauges. but that's only a problem if you drive faster than 80mph. You can still see the tach redline so you're okay there. The stereo completely meets my needs. You can turn it all the way up without going deaf, but there is still a good chunk of pain with the volume that high. I typically leave it at the 1/3 volume setting. It comes with a funny looking sub-woofer that sits on top of the spare tire. Personally, this gives me just enough bass. It doesn't have the bazooka-like sound, but it meets my needs. I can still open the windows and get angry looks.
Driving:
Acceleration is pretty nice. Not M3 nice, not turbo-charged nice, but just nice. Much better than any other 4 cylinder car I've ever driven. Problem is that the stock tires completely suck. (They don't sell cars based on what tires they put on the car, so I think Acura skimped here.) In first gear, it's so easy to peel out with the stock tires. I've had numerous occasions when the guy next to me on the line thought I was racing cause I chirped the tires when the light turned green. I think this car is probably the limit as far as front-wheel cars go. If I were to buy a car with any more torque than this, I'd go with a rear-wheel drive car.
Shifting this car is a dream. The shifter is so completely smooth that you just need to flick your wrist around to get it into gear. No complaints about the clutch, it engages in an expected area a few cm off the floor. It is a bit softer than other cars though. That's not a complaint, just an observation.
The brakes rock! Be careful and don't let guys drive too close behind you or they might rear end you when you step on the brakes. It almost happened to me several times. On the track, I've found very little brake fade, and I usually wind up hitting the tire's traction ability before I hit the braking limit. I'm sure there is some more braking ability left in the car. I'll find out when I eventually change the awful stock tires. The suspension is stiffer than most cars. Personally, I think it could be stiffer. Then again, nobody else might want to ride in the car with me. It handles very well. The car defintely feels bigger and heavier than a Miata or a CRX, but it feels much more nimble than a more comparable car like a Mazda3 or a Mazda6. Don't even bother comparing it Cavalier, you won't even think it's in the same class. Strange thing is that I've been able to both understeer and oversteer it. Which is odd for a front wheel drive car. I've had several instances when the back-end came loose in a turn. Okay, granted I was going like 60mph through the turn and I lifted off the throttle, but it's still odd. (For reference, that's only happened at the track, or in the rain, and never,ever, on the freeway.) There is absolutely zero play in the steering wheel. The iVTEC is cool. It gives you a flat torque curve from about 6k to redline. It doesn't fall off much at all even at redline. One thing to watch out for though is there isn't that much torque at low RPM. You need to get it above 4k to be any fun. And you'll feel a nice boost when you get it to ~6k.
I'm very happy with my purchase. I was mainly choosing between the RSX-S and the WRX. I went with the RSX-S because it seemed to have a larger bang for the buck when comparing all the features. The WRX seemed like they put all the money into the engine and drive-train and not much into anything else. I also preferred to stay away from the turbo for reliability reasons. I also needed the big trunk. The WRX doesn't have fold-down rear seats, so you can't put furniture in the trunk, but you can put a lot of stuff in the RSX's trunk. I never even considered the base RSX. I figured if I got the base, I wouldn't be very happy with it, and I'd always be looking at what I could have gotten instead. One thing to be aware of, is that the base RSX engine has slightly more lower end torque, so for city driving, it might feel like the base RSX engine is better than the Type-S engine. Don't believe it. You need to get the Type-S engine up in to the 6k-redline range to see the difference between the two. But if you never drive up there, why bother getting the Type-S?
So, I completely recommend this car to anyone looking to buy one. I personally think it's the best in it's price range. But if you're willing to go for a larger price range, the RSX looks less appealing. If you can move up to $30k-$35k, I'd look to something other than the RSX.
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Also considered: |
2003 Toyota Celica
2003 Subaru Impreza
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Vehicle purchased: |
2003 Acura RSX
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| About This Reviewer... |
Location: |
Sunnyvale, California |
Other vehicles owned: |
None
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Review submitted: |
May 03, 2004 |
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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