agranado

Hey brothers and sisters, I currently own a 1gCL (I post over there often lol) and have been thinking about getting out of it recently. It's a 5spd and lately I've kinda gotten over the whole 5 spd thing. I just want a nice cruiser I can lower, put a system in, throw a lip kit on, and add some nice rims to, and that's it.

I've been eyeing the 01-03 TL-S's very carefully and I must say I've fallen hard for it. There are a few in my area that are within my price range once I decide to sell my car, but the one thing always in the back of my mind is the tranny issue. I see they're still dropping like flies

Also, another car I've been looking at is an 01/02 IS300. A couple friends of mine own and I've been driving one around recently, and I think it's a great little sedan.

Of the two, which would you guys prefer? I understand I'll get alot of "TL for sure" type posts, but I want some reason behind it.

Thanks in advance,
-Alex

datzdaboi

tls ftw

badazzTL

lol this is a TL forum, most of us are going to say go for the TL. With that said... go with the TL-S.

03bl AC k CL

i almost bought the is300.... it was an incredribly smooth ride... outside of that i hated it... i felt way too big for the car... stock it is slower than my old 2000 maxima... the seats are ugly, the system is nothing to brag about... ill stop there come to think of it i dont think there is anything good i have to say about it... it was boring, and impractical for me... but if you can justify your reasons for choosing over the tl have fun with it... im sure they are fairly reliable... id go with the tl and make sure its under the 100k mark so you have no worries what so ever when purchasing it

AznBalla

I'd take the IS300... haha I have one.. I seem to enjoy it more than the TL now a days.. I dunnos.

agranado

I understand that; I was just hoping for some un-biased opinions is all.

CL Platano

Alex it depends on how much you wanna mod it. The IS300 has gobbles of modding possibilities. You can easily get a 300whp out of IS300 and being in Miami you don't have to worry about the RWD factor. I think the TL-S is better looking cause I can't stand those damn altezzas.

CL Platano

Oh..I don't regret ever buying the TL-S and the TL-S is from 02-03 and not 01-03..get it straight cubiche

agranado

lol.. my bad puta. I was waiting for you to chime in on this.. I really love the TL-S, its gonna be such a hard decision when it comes around. The only thing that makes me not jump right for it right now is that damn tranny. I cant afford to drop a new one in 6-7 months down the road from when/if I buy it

Those are some nice pics of the IS btw... lol

NauTiC*

What’s good Ag?

I see I'm not the only one looking towards a TL-S upgrade. I've only had my 5-speed for a little over a yr, but seem to have gotten tired of it real quick.

Anyway, my reasons for going with the TL-S choice is because I'm a member of an Acura forum and have access to loads of info and pics. I've been brain washed by this forum to keep it in the fam I guess. Besides , I've always loved the 2nd gen design regardless of the glass tranny (There’s a warranty). The TL-S is sexy, has power, nice roomy int, Navi, nice color choices, standard equipment, etc, ect,.

The IS is a nice car and all, but I'm more familiar with the Honda/Acura brand.

Try reading some consumer and professional reviews of both cars to better compare and contrast.

Good luck w/ your decision because while your deciding I’ll be in your area TL-S shopping

CL Platano

The trannies are warrantied till 100K and you can get a low mileage TL-S for about 17K so you'll be fine unless you plan to drive your car everywhere to visit your hoochies in Chicago. I haven't had any problems with mine and you know how I drive even with all my mods.

dro_15

well what kinda system are you trying to install.... the IS3 have very small trunk space as compared to the TL... the cabin space also seems smaller if you roll with people all the time.... those are some things you might want to consider.... the IS3 has nice lines to it though... i like my car slammed and it seems i can't get that with my TL as compared to the IS3's..... this is in comparision with my friends IS300......

Blazin_TL

iTrader: (1)

do your homework and see if any of the cars you look at have had the trannies changed after feb 05 thats when they were fixed.

vzuptnguyen

i was close to getting that car but the reason i didnt was cause the preference i prefered luxury cars with class

that is technically a luxury car but does not feel as luxury plus its too small.

vzuptnguyen

is stock is3 faster than tl-p?

reloaded

TL-P is not that much slower than the Type -s, I would say that it's faster than the IS3.

Looks are all based on opinion honestly..so ur gonna get a bias from me and most of the people here leaning towards the TL.
But i will say that the IS is slow as hell stock form. THere's little room for passengers on the back. and the built material is so cheap like. TL will rape it in all ways if u compare stock for stock. NOw the only thing the IS has that I would see as an advantage is its handling. Goddamn it is nice. I will admit to that. And about the altezzas, honestly, it blends with the car, it does look nice...and no i'm not a ricer lol.

Nothin' but Da Truth

I just recently purchased my 02 TL-S with Navi. It was either the TL or an 02 IS3, but I couldn't find a 5-sp in my price range that compared with the TL-S with Navi. As far as the IS, I definitely wanted to the manual transmission - suppose to have sub 7.0-sec, 0-60-times versus the AT. I migrated from a 98 Maxima so I wanted something similar in size, which the TL is a tiny bit bigger. I think the IS3 is a very nice car, but in a completely different class (size, power, etc.). I don't regret my choice in the end.

agranado

Thanks for your answers guys - I really appreciate it.

also, quick question while im here... how's the stock stereo system in the TL-S? I imagine it's gotta be nice, but I was wondering just because I love listening to my music while I cruise.

CBRTLS47

decent for a stock system but if your into sound then your going to want to go aftermarket. which it sounds like you already want to do.

GreeneggsandHam

I was in the same situation as you last year. I went ahead with the TL-S b/c I liked the seats better and I thought the exterior of the TL looked a lot better also. I purchased with 30k miles so I would have quite a bit of warranty left on the tranny. Good luck!

reloaded

yea its decent..i forgot to add that the IS stereo is awful ... some say the bass is bad in our...damn...get into an IS and you'll know what bad really is.

agranado

lol.. reading this thread makes me excited to get into a TL already I Love my CL but damn its just getting tired. Gotta have patience... and also probably gonna jump on over to an IS board and see what they say to balance things out

But so far, the TL's got my eye again.

ATJ32

I own a auto 04 TL and a auto 03 Accord Coupe 4cyl. Here is my random thoughts.

I would take a IS300 over the 2nd gen TL-s. I would take the TLS over IS ONLY if I really need bigger back seat and trunk. The IS's trunk is not that small, plenty of room for amps and subs. I drove my friends 5sp IS and test drove a TLS, I know the TLS is faster.

Engine - The I6 in the IS300 is smooth, great torque delivery. V6 in the TLS is typical Honda smooth with ok low end torque, great high end kick. I would take VTEC over VVT-i any day.

Tranny - Havent heard of any complaints or major problems with the IS, auto or manual. We all heard and share our horror stories with the trans on Honda V6's. My friends 2000 Accord started to F up with only like 30K. My friends friend wanted to sell his TLS with 88K on its 3rd tranny. I am keeping my on my 3rd gen, everybody said its been fixed but I am still scared.

Handling - I give it to the IS300 hands down. IS300 feels a lot more balance with real wheel drive layout, TLS front wheel drive with a heavy V6.

Exterior - Gotta love the TLS, lip kit and polished 17 in 5 spokes. I would still take the IS300, put on a lip kit. Drop it, staggered wheel looks hot and actually make sense on RWD.

Interior - Both dash looks pretty bland to me. I love the IS300 Chrongraph style gauges, TLS gauges looks good too. I like the IS optional suede seats over the TLS. IS has more of a sporty feel. As for the sound system I don't know which one is better. I am not too into ICE, they both sound good.

THIS IS JUST MY THOUGHT and I hope I don't offend anyone.

My clear choice is the IS300.

Lawaia

This thread belongs in Car Talk. You WILL receive unbiased answered there. Feel free to repost there.