The 2011 Acura TSX combines Honda reliability with a fun-to-drive luxury car to give buyers an alternative to the traditional luxury brands. The 2011 Acura TSX uses either a 201-hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine or a 280-hp 3.5-liter V6. The four-cylinder engine is available with a six-speed manual transmission or automatic while the V6 is automatic only. The 2011 Acura TSX starts at $29,610.

The 2011 Acura TSX is rated at 22-mpg city and 31-mpg highway with the four-cylinder engine and 19 city, 28 highway with the V6. The 2011 TSX comes with an optional navigation system with real-time weather and traffic and available Zagat restaurant reviews, voice activated stereo and a GPS linked climate control system that decides if one side of the car is being heated more by the sun and needs additional cooling.

The 2011 Acura TSX competes with the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Infiniti G37 and Lexus IS in the small luxury car segment. All of the cars in this segment are pretty evenly matched, and all are very well built and comfortable, so making a choice boils down to personal preference.

What really sets the 2011 TSX apart from its competition is its front-wheel drive layout. Every other small luxury sedan comes with rear-wheel drive, which impresses driving purists (who should be buying sports cars, not family sedans if they plan to really drive their cars to the limits) and helps in magazine tests where most readers skim to the statistical results rather than reading the articles. The front-wheel drive layout of the 2011 Acura TSX has a significant advantage for anyone who lives in a cold weather state because it makes the car easier to control in low-traction conditions like ice, snow, rain or sand. Of course, the optional all-wheel-drive available in the competition takes care of bad weather driving, so the TSX doesn’t have a clear advantage there, but the base model will give most buyers a more familiar feel when traction gets low.

The 2011 Acura TSX is a good looking car. There are no ugly ones in this segment, but its more sporty, angular styling is refreshing when compared to the 3-Series and G37, and is still more restrained than the new C-Class. The TSX’s angular styling might be enough to let it stand out in a crowd of 3-Series, C-Classes and G37s, provided you buy it in a bright color, but the C-Class’ more aggressive styling will probably win over more buyers interested in looking fast.