Acura has paid a great deal of attention to driver and passenger comfort. The seats are upholstered in perforated leather and are very similar in design to the '03 Accord's, which means they are supportive and quite comfortable. I would personally prefer regular un-perfed leather, or better yet, Alcantara in place of the perforated leather, but it's a small nitpick. For those who are lumbar-challenged, you may be pleased to learn that Schukra® is responsible for the lumbar section of the seat. Or, if you're like me, you'll wonder who Schukra® is, so click the link and find out. Rear seat room is somewhat compromised compared to a '03 Accord, but it still appears to be much more useful than a 3-series, A4, or IS300's back seat. One criterion for my evaluation in this respect is the fitment of two child seats. It should be no problem in the TSX, which is important for people with young families. Speaking of the rear seats, they also fold down in the typical 60/40 split, allowing the transport of larger objects.

Moving to the controls, the tilt- and telescope-adjustable 3-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel is reasonably fat and offers handy buttons for the cruise control, voice navi, and radio volume, tuning, and mode controls. Everything on the control stalks is consistent with current Honda and Acura convention, which means the wiper controls are the "bump 'n go" variety, rather than the "twisting barrel" design that I prefer. As I've complained in previous articles, enthusiastic driving coupled with my large hands sometimes results in the inadvertent bump of the wiper stalk, and a subsequent grating of the wipers across a dry, dusty windshield. Presto! you now have a smeared or (worse) scratched windscreen.

Moving on to more positive things, the LED-illuminated analog instrumentation is just about perfect, in terms of legibility and pure aesthetics. Again, the design is borrowed from the '03 Accord's excellent gauge implementation, only tainted with a bit more flair. Dual trip odometers and outside temperature display are part of the digital cluster centered between the Speedo and Tach. An IMAX-sized (okay, 8") LCD screen for the optional voice-activated DVD-based navigation system dominates the center of the dash. Compared to the tiny screen that accompanies the CL and TL's navigation system, the TSX's screen makes it seem like you're looking at MapQuest on your PowerBook. Acura says it's the largest LCD fitted to any current Honda or Acura model, and that claim seems to hold merit. The larger size of the LCD offers improved legibility, though unfortunately resolution doesn't appear to have been increased vs. the previous generation. It also seems to lack the brightness and sharpness of the screen found in the CL/TL, but I have not been able to make a direct side-by-side comparison yet.

In addition to the Voice command functionality, the new-generation navigation system offers a number of improvements over the system currently found in the CL/TL. These include a full trip computer, calculator (with a handy built-in unit converter), and calendar. The calendar even allows appointments and notes to be entered. Also accessible through the Navi's LCD screen are controls for the dual-zone climate control system. In addition, primary controls for the climate system are arranged on each side of the screen. This dual-zone climate control is sure to save more than a few marriages. You can even control the climate system by voice commands through the optional navigation system.

For your listening enjoyment, Acura has equipped the TSX with quite possibly the best sound system ever offered in any Honda or Acura product. Packing 360-watts of power, and a standard 6-CD in-dash changer, the system delivers a wall of sound with solid low-end punch. Audiophiles may not be impressed, but for my own tastes, the system is more than adequate. The car I drove was also equipped with the optional MP3/Windows Media player which slots in the lower portion of the center dash. Unfortunately, I was unable to test this player due to a lack of material.

In terms of finish quality, Acura has certainly raised their own bar, yet they still trail some of the competition (Audi and VW) in some aspects. Within the passenger cell, the Acura remains quite competitive, but pop the bootlid and you'll quickly see cost savings. Acura explains away the use of the intrusive trunk hinge arms by claiming they allow for a "larger trunk opening". At least the hinge arms are dressed up slightly with plastic cladding. To protect cargo from being crushed by the hinge arms, an enclosed area is sectioned off to receive the hinge arms when the bootlid is closed.