dkelly3854

Hey all,

I am thinking about trading in my 2001 CL Type S for a TSX. Has anyone driven both or owned both? How would you compare the two?
Any insight would be appriciated.

Anyone looking to make a trade plus cash?

oneilc

Don't you like the power of the CLS? The TSX while being a good car simply does not have anywhere near the power of the CLS.

einsatz

I used to have an 03 CL-S (auto + navi). I bough it in March 02, soon after the 03's came out. I absolutely loved that car. It was a fantastic car and to this day I miss its sexy looks (regardless what everyone says, I still think it looks damn good), comfy seats, kickass power, and that oh so sweet growl of the V6 when you get over 5k RPM.
Unfortunately in May of this year, 2 years and 2 months after I got it, some jackass pulled a left turn into incoming traffic and hit me almost head on. The car was totaled. The CL held up amazingly well, there was no damage inside at all.
With one week to decide what car to buy with the insurance money, I considered a number of cars (G35c, 330Ci, Accord Coupe V6, 2004.5 T40 T5, A4 1.8T, Mazda 3, Mazda 6) and after lots of test drives I decided to give Acura another look. I test drove the 04 TL and almost bought it on the spot, but it felt too big for me. I asked to test drive the TSX (dealt with the same salesman I bought the CL from) and he told me to take it home overnight and bring it back after work the next day. So I did and loved the car!

Things I miss from the CL-S:
- heated side mirrors w/ pass. side tilt on reverse
- onstar
- comfy seats
- the engine

Things I love on the TSX:
- 26-27 average MPG pretty consistently at fillup time.
- good looks inside and out
- The kickass handling (marred by the oem shitelins)
- The stereo sytem is better (marred by vibrating door panels with some bass freqs)
- Great room in the front, back and trunk w/ rear fold-down seats

Things I don't like on the TSX (compared to the CLS):
- With my driving style, I'm always revving high to get the power I want. If it wasn't because most of my commute is highway, gas mileage would be much lower!
- off-the-line performance is poor
- the sunroof opens/closes too slow
- brakes seem flimsy when stopping from high speeds
- The driver's seat took weeks for me to get used to
- Some cheap plastics in the dash

That's all that comes to mind off the top of my head. The only reason I didn't get a 330Ci which is what I really wanted, was that I was also shopping for a house, so I decided to spend insurance money on a downpayment for a TSX rather than spend insurance money + house savings on a BMW. I'll be closing on a house in Oct 26, and I think the TSX is an excellent commuter after 2 months of owning it, so I think I made the right decision

Jason

If you like cars that put a priority on handling, get the TSX. If you can't do without power, keep the CL-S. I made the switch and have never regretted it.

tsxhondatuner

trade it in.....our h.i.d's are better lol

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Make a trade plus cash huh? I guess you haven't seen the re-sale value of our CL-S's lately. I'd be lucky to get 15k on my '02 CL-S.

Unless your CL is paid off I'd keep it, for financial reasons more than anything.

I love the TSX. The interior is nice, especially the gauges. But the seats SUCK compared to the CL-S seats. The CL-S also has so much more power.

CL-S > TSX IMO

Jason

What are you talking about? The seats in the TSX are as good or better then the CL-S. And while the CL-S has much more power, it doesn't handle nearly as well. So that's an even tradeoff AFAIC.

JOZMAN

I agree on the seat on the CL-S..their chairs are heaven....wish I can say the same...oh well...

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

No the TSX seats totally lack the side bolster support the CL-S has. Also they cushioning seems much more thin in the '04 TSX/TL seats than those found in the CL-S.

I agree about the handling comment, although that is to be expected. Heavier car vs. lighter car; Not as much weight upfront in the TSX than in the CL-S.

Then again, if we wanted a car that would really carve up the corners we'd all be driving rear-drive cars and not Acuras...

... I know someone will come back and say "well if we wanted a car with more power we'd all have Mustang GTs..."

It's all a matter of personal preference.