thebigos1

This is my first post on Acurazine but I have been checking this site oftenfor TLX updates so I thought I would share my opinions.

To start, I own a 2005 Acura RSX Premium 5 sp and 2008 Honda S2000 CR. Myfamily has owned many Honda/Acura products from a 2001 Acura RL, 2012 Acura RDXand 2002 Honda Accord so I have had the chance to drive many Honda products.

My hopes for the car:

My favorite Acura to date (minus the NSX) was the 3G TL Type S 6sp. I droveone when it was new and was so close to trading the RSX in but at the time thenumbers didn't add up. My hope is the TLX would bring something like that carback.

Exterior:

There was a black I4 with the optional 19" wheels sitting outside thedealer which looked really good! The demos they had were a grey V6 tech or greyI4 tech. The wheels on the V6 looked great. The I4 wheels were ok. They wouldmake good winter wheels up here in Canada but I would probably get somethingbetter for the summer. The car is a good size but it does seem a bit tall tome. The 4G being longer didn't feel as tall.

Interior:

I liked the new gauge layout. The LCD screen in the gauges was nice andclear and gave some decent information on it. The top screen in the centerstack was also nice and clear. I was waiting for the sales guy to come backwith a plate for the car so I was trying to figure out how to turn on the AC.Took longer than I would have thought to figure it out but found the button onthe screen. Maybe I have big fingers but every time I hit the AC button I hadto do it multiple times because I missed it. Maybe these "soft"buttons will just take time to get used to. Wow this car is quiet! They did avery good job making the car quiet. After my test drive, my friend was lookingat getting a deal on a 4G TL so I went in and sat in one while I was waiting.Things I noticed right away were what a sportier feel the 4G TL has. The seatsin the 4G actually have support where the TLX look also identical to my parents2001 RL. The TLX seats are flat and have almost zero bolstering. Same goes withthe steering wheel. The 4G has a nice fat wheel with more shape to it (flattishsides to the wheel) where the TLX is very basic. Went back to the TLX and yesyou jump into it and it has zero sport feel. To me this is a big deal; I want asports sedan not an RL/RLX luxury car.

Drive:

The 8 sp DCT is amazing at shift speeds. I could not believe how quick itwas. It reminded me alot of the Porsche Cayman R I drive with the PDK. Greatjob Acura! Drove mostly in sport or sport+ using the paddle shifters. Whenpulling away from about the 10-20 km/h, the car did seem to get confused onwhat gear to be in, kept on downshifting one gear at a time. Maybe the carneeded to be driven more to learn my driving style. ECO was exactly what Iexpected, dumped down the throttle and you needed to almost put it to the floorto get going. As for performance, I had three big guys plus myself in the carso it wasn't overly fast. 0-100km/h was actually pretty good but getting up to130 km/h was a challenge. I didn't get a chance to test the handling of thecar. It was rush hour and I really had no openings to do so.

After I rolled up the window on the highway I got to hear the engine. Notnice! Honda I4 can sound great and this wasn't the case.

Overall Impression:

Jumping back into my RSX I felt at home. Supportive seats, sporty interiorand great engine sound. Sometimes I feel bias towards my RSX but I went to theLexus dealer and drove an IS350 F sport and liked it alot! Great interior, boldexterior and a great driving experience. Overall I am disappointed. This carwas not designed for the sport oriented driver. The 1G TSX 6 sp and 3G TL TypeS 6 sp seem like cars Acura does not want to produce anymore. I think it's timeI look elsewhere for a RSX replacement.

Acura604

in all fairness.. i too test drove the i4 and felt it was uninspiring compared to my 3G TYPE S 6MT.

BUT... i would definitely want to let loose with the V6 TLX when given the chance to obtain a better 'comparable' feel.

Stew4HD

Sounds like a Honda Accord Coupe would be more of what you are looking for?

Spirited Driver

Or a 2016 MMC 6-speed ILX?

thebigos1

The dealer is going to call me when the SH-AWD TLX comes in.

I have looked at the Accord coupe and it is very nice but it doesn't haveAWD which I think a car with that power needs and I live in northern Albertawhich AWD is almost a requirement for the roads I drive. I've had some scarydrives in the RSX before even with winter tires on.

I sat in an ILX and it feels like they tried too hard. The center console istoo narrow to be an Acura in my opinion. I drove the CLA250 and CLA45 AMG and Ihad the same complaint, the cabin in both felt cheap.

I am waiting for the new Lexus RC350 f sport to come out and Audi S3. AfterI get to see all those cars, I think I know will what direction I am going in.I hate to leave the Acura brand because I have owned the RSX for almost 10years and 270,000 kms and had almost zero issues with it. I am not sure if anAudi will return the same reliability.

dysonlu

Four big guys in the car during rush hour with no test of the handling, I don't think you gave the car a chance.

But yeah, ultimately, I don't think this car is for you.

neuronbob

Welcome to the forum. I'd give the V6 TLX SH-AWD a chance when it arrives.

For the record, the days when Acura catered to enthusiasts with cars like the RSX, 1G TSX, and 3G TL have been behind us for a while. Hopefully, those days will return with a Type S TLX soon. Gotta give the guys time to roll out the volume model first, though as that is what pays for the enthusiast models. Stay tuned!

Tonyware

It is nice to still have people around here, like thebigos1, who remember the RSX, 1G TSX, and 3G TL S, even the Integra. What worries me is that the TLX, and the ILX, are targeting the new generation that didn't experience those Acura products of the past. So they are somewhat brainwashed about the present products.

PS The IS350 F sport is a bit more pricey than the top TLX in Canada, no?

CARLOS10

When Acura release the 2022 TLX , people will like the 2014.
and so on , until the ends of the days.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

The new Direct Injection engines don't sound as nice - my Honda sounds like a Diesel at idle.

dysonlu

I owned an RSX and 1G TSX. I didn't feel that Acura were particularly catering to the enthusiasts back in those days.

It's just that people grew to appreciate these products over the years. I'm pretty sure that will happen to the TLX as well -- with time, people will discover and more appreciate the product. I'm convinced that the TLX is a better product than the RSX, 1G TLX and 3G TL IF you are looking for refinement and sophistication. If you are looking for MT or for "coarser" feel (some may qualify it as "sportier"), then the TLX is probably not for you.

Question: In what way is the RSX better than the ILX?

thebigos1

dysonlu -> I totally agree I didn't give it a fair chance in terms ofperformance. I will say it felt painfully slow anything after 100 km/h which Idid have some opening to floor it. What made the RSX better than the ILX.First, Acura did a great job making the RSX much more different than the Civiccoupe of the time. It felt like a premium car and was also priced as one too(at least in Canada). My RSX was $31,000 back in 2004 which was fairlyexpensive but you got quite a bit more car vs a fully loaded Civic SI which wasaround $25,000 ish (not the K20A3 SI like in the US. This had the D17) AlsoAcura gave it Acura only parts (K20, leather, auto temp, frame upgrades, bosesound....) Now we go to the ILX. First, honestly in 2014 a 150hp luxury car! In2002 when the base RSX had 160hp, that was very acceptable but in today’sstandards, even my S2000 with 240hp seems like nothing. The K24 should havebeen a base engine and the R20 never offered. The RSX was never an upscaleluxury car; I would call it a premium tuner car. When I first sat in the ILX,the first thing that really bugged me was the size of the center console. It'stoo narrow. It reminds you that you are in a civic sized car. I think theexterior is pretty good and they did a good job there making it look premium. Idisagree that Acura didn't cater to the enthusiasts with the RSX and 1G TSX.The RSX had to fill some big shoes with replacing the Integra. Introducing theK20A2 in that car was a big deal. The engine was way past the competitors atthe time. Same goes with the 1G TSX with the K24A3? (Think that is model) withtrue VTEC heads. It gave an option for someone that needed four doors butwanted the fun of the RSX.

Tonyware -> You are right with the IS350 F sport; Starting to get intoanother price point. On the other hand, you get some performance goodies likeadjustable suspension that Acura doesn't offer. When I bought my RSX in 04 myfriend got a 2002 IS300 at the same time. Great car but I never felt that itwas any more upscale from the equivalent Acura of the time. I feel now the separationof the cars is huge. Acura is really trying to hit a price point while missingout on consumers like me that want that little extra. Maybe I am the minorityof customer now.

I hope my review of the TLX didn’t come off as it is a bad car. I think it’s a great car for the major ofdrivers out there. It has so many hitech toys and looks pretty good. It justisn’t what I am used to from 90’s and 00’s Honda/Acura. After thinking about it last night, Acurareally is starting to remind me of KIA/Hyundai. Lots of high end features at a very competitive price but lacking thedriving dynamics that should come with a high end car.

jeich182

I posted this before but I wasn't as blown away by the I4 as all of the press reviews prepared me to be. It really came down to the engine (and the wheels I couldn't live with) because the overall design, features, and ride of the car were good. I guess the reviews led me to believe there was something "un-4cyl" about it but there wasn't. The I4 felt/sounded coarse, maybe that's not the right word but just not as healthy as the I4 in my '12 TSX. And despite the excellent transmission the 55-75MPH while merging felt labored. If the car (Tech) was $32k I'd bite but for ~$35-36K I couldn't pair the increase in payment with an engine that didn't feel or sound as good as my TSX even if it is up on power. Instead I left a deposit on a V6 P-AWS. They still managed to make the V6 handle a tiny bit better than my TSX (though not as good as the I4) but more importantly I felt I could justify where the money was going when feeling the smooth and potent V6.

a35tl

I think you should go back to the dealer and test drive the V6. I'm sure it will give you a completely different experience.

Quandry

Not sure what browser or facility you are using, but your posts come out with very small fonts compared to other posts, and many words are jointed (seems that line breaks are ignored joint the words). Changing these would improve the readability of your posts..

thebigos1

I noticed that too. Maybe my version of Java or something.


I am going back to drive a SH-AWD when they are in. I didn't see the point of driving the FWD V6 as I would never buy it. Even with the increased power, that doesn't change the things about the interior I didn't like (seats, steering wheel overall feel). I know all us Acura people keep on hoping for a Type S which might fix all these but I don't know if Acura is going that way anymore.


I am really hoping Acura keeps working with that 8sp DCT tranny. That thing is amazing. Curious what the RLX 7sp DCT will be like. I am hoping with the management shake up that they will go back to their roots of exciting cars to drive again.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I suspect the big statement this car is making is that they need to sell more cars and to do that they need to focus on the needs/wants of the many and not the few (enthusiasts).

The compromise is a great price point (that's why I just bought one - I've been a Honda Accord guy since the 80's) but you're not going to get BWM-like driving dynamics or super high end materials inside. I (obviously) think it's a great deal for blokes like me but for the true enthusiast I can understand the need to look elsewhere. The good news is that there are tons of great choices out there today.

Cheers!

Tonyware

So what will make or brake the TLX in Canada is how well Acura listens to their customers. Of course the TLX isn't designed by committee, that would have been a disaster. But somehow they need to read all comments (the honest and sane ones) and adjust, perfect the product.

I am anxiously awaiting for someone (Colin?) to post the August sales numbers.

Quandry

But listening to customers and reflecting that feedback is at least two years down the road, and likely more. By that time the "make or break" status has already been determined.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I'm sure the customer surveys will be hitting the email in-box shortly after the purchase! I think Honda sent my half a dozen different surveys in the first couple months after I purchased my last Accord.