Acura Tsx

The platform is what sets this apart from the rest of the range. The TSX is the European Accord sold in America as an Acura, so nearly all the mechanicals are shared with a car that has been on the roads here for years. Unlike the MDX, RDX and TLX, a repair does not end in a container from the States.

The engine is the 2.4 K24Z3, 201 hp -- four cylinders, naturally aspirated, timing chain rather than belt. It lasts, it takes gas without complaint, and consumption for the size is bearable. This is the configuration the model turns up in.

There is also a 3.5 J35 V6 of 280 hp, but it is rare in this saloon. It makes the car considerably quicker, adds weight over the nose and asks more of the automatic. If one does appear, treat it as a different car rather than a stronger version of the same one.

America also got a Sport Wagon, which uses the European Accord Tourer's panels. It barely ever reaches a salvage auction, but if one does, its bodywork parts are the European estate's -- a rare case of an American car being repaired with European parts.

The cosmetic differences from the European Accord are small but real: bumpers, grille and headlamps, the American ones carrying amber side reflectors. The mechanicals are everywhere; the front end does not always interchange.