By now, most of Acura fanatics are aware that the 2008 model has ended production. The new 2009 model should be hitting our shores sometime later this year. Dan Carney, an MSNBC contributor reviews the 2009 Acura TSX and the bag of goodies this new ride has to offer. (Here is the article)

Couple of things to note:

• The engine comes in with a revamped 2.4-liter four-banger. The horse power remains relatively unchanged, but there’s a slight bump in the torque department.
• A diesel engine will be available, giving you approximately 40mpg and I’m almost certain that a significant bump in torque will be be present in this “new” engine.
• Unfortunately, diesel probably means that poor Californians probably won’t see this diesel model due to our strict emission standards. (Sucks to be me)

How does this affect the leasing world? Well, for one, right now its probably the best time to snatch up the remaining 2008 TSX sitting in the lots. I’m almost certain that they can be had at invoice price or maybe slightly below, same goes for the 2008 TLs where I got an offer for almost $1000 under invoice last month ($29,631). I actually didn’t manage to get a quote on the TSX because they only had 1 left…nasty Silver, no thanks.

The TSX is well appointed and comes standard with many features that are optional in cars in its class (for far less). So if you don’t mind having to rev past 5000 rpm to squeeze the most out of that 4-cylinder engine, TSX is not a bad choice. However, if enjoy the rush of low-end torque, wait for the diesel version.