NY Show 2010 Highlights: 2011 Acura TSX Soprt Wagon

Let's say Acura does as well as the premium wagon market leader, and 10 percent of its 2011 TSX sales are of its new 2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon, which is making its debut at the 2010 New York auto show. That's little more than 3,000 units per year in the U.S., figuring that TSX sales next year will be closer to 2008's 32,000 than '09's 28,650. In many cities, chances are you'll go months after launch without seeing one.

Yes, we know, the average Motor Trend reader would rather have a wagon than a crossover sport/utility, just like you'd rather have a turbodiesel than a hybrid. How many of you have a Cadillac CTS SportWagon in your driveway? Thought so.

Like the Audi A4 Avant, which in a good year sells about 4,000 units in the U.S., and the CTS SportWagon, the TSX is a five-passenger model made more for golfers and weekend road trippers than the kind of growing families who bought wagons by the truckload in the '60s and '70s. The cargo space features a removable side panel to make room for wider items.

Like the TSX sedan, the SportWagon is essentially a well-equipped version of the European Honda Accord wagon rolling on special 17-inch, five-spoke rims. In North American trim, it's 3.3 inches longer than the sedan, but otherwise identical in dimensions. Special features aren't specific to bodystyles, either; including power glass moonroof, dual-zone climate control, leather seats, Bluetooth capability, USB and auxiliary jack connections, and the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure.

A hard-drive based navigation system with real-time traffic and weather, and Acura's impressive ELS Surround Premium Audio System are optional.

Unlike the TSX sedan, but like the A4 Avant, the TSX Sport Wagon will be available here with only one powertrain, the 2.4-liter, 201-horsepower, 172 pound-foot twin-cam inline four mated to a five-speed automatic with paddle shifters (the A4 Avant also is four-cylinder/automatic only, but with a TFSI turbo). EPA fuel economy should be unchanged from the four-cylinder/automatic sedan's 21 mpg city, 30 mpg highway numbers. Whether the TSX Sport Wagon can generate big sales numbers for Acura is another question. American consumers who shop Acura wagons are much more likely to stick with the RDX and MDX.

Thanks to: Motor Trend