Keen new exterior lines define the 2006 issues of Acura's compact-class sports sedan with a fresh front fascia and integrated foglamps, swoopy side sills plus new nine-spoke alloy wheels. The five-seat cockpit -- with bolstered sport bucket seats clad in perforated leather -- also gets a make-over this year. There's a sports steering wheel aboard plus restyled gauges in the instrument panel and a new auxiliary audio jack on the center console for connecting a digital music player to the audio system.

Engine output rises too -- it bumps to 205 hp from a twin-cam 2.4-liter in-line-four plant with close-ratio six-speed manual shifter or no-load electronic automatic five-speed Sequential SportShift.

Electronic Brake Assist (EBA) has been added as standard hardware for 2006 on the TSX, which also carries Honda's vehicle stability assist (VSA) equipment operating in conjunction with an anti-lock brake system (ABS) and traction control system (TCS).