Let me start out by saying that I'm a hands-on kind of guy. I've ben driving a stick since about 1985 and my last car was a 93 Mazda MX6. Sure, not a barn-burner, but it was nice and agile, the shifter was decent, and I never seemed to need to slow down once I got to speed, so it was great for a poor man's RX7.

But times change, I wanted a 4-door(tired of that 2-door crap), and I wanted a bit more luxury while still having some meat under the table so to speak. Hence the 2003 TL-S.

Now, I'm glad I grabbed the TL-S when I did(and I got it quick before the 2004 came out as I wasn't quite sure whether I liked the styling of the new model), but even though the car has pleased me in most every aspect, I've found myself a little asleep at the wheel, and jonesing for a manual again. Since July(when I bought the 2003) the new model's styling has grown on me a bit, and even though it would mean losing some hard cash in the transfer, I was willing to check the 2004 to see if it would fit the bill.

Now I'm sure that my initial instict was the correct one. Being the hands-on type of guy that I am(as stated above), the first thing I did when I jumped into the front seat was to touch every inch of surface area, every button, and especially every area of leather. Not only has the new model opted for a more Nissan-ish approach(look, don't touch) to the controls(aside from the volume and tuner knobs), but the leather that absolutely blankets my current interior has been butchered to a part leather/part rubber hybrid. And the leather, well, I don't know, but it doesn't feel as lush for want of a better word. The door doesn't thunk quite the same, the dash doesn't rap with the same solidity. Well, you get the picture.

Now, the 2004 I'm sure is a fine car(and I'm sorry if I offended anyone here), but it's downfall with me is the fact that I've already driven the 2003.

So, here I am to stay, gents, and thank you for reading

PS - how do I swap out the current tranny for the CL-S tranny again?

 

the new TL sucks, the 2nd Generation is the sh!t

 

the construction quality in the 04 TL is better than the previous gen IMO.

at least it's better than my 1999 TL..


@cUr@-TL

 

i agree. how can you say (not you @cUr@-TL) that the new one looks kinda nissan-ish? the new ones interior is far superrior to ours and the materials are alot nicer.

 

Doesn't look Nissan-ish, just the approach, as in 'it looks nice, but it isn't as solid'. Like I said, if I hadn't already been a 2003 owner, I would have been pretty keen on the interior, as it is way above what I was driving before.

But just to give you an example of my meaning, hop in the back of a 2003 and get a feel for how much leather is back there. Then jump into a 2004 and you find that the leather is replaced in many spots by the cheapo rubber substitute.

Same with the knobs and buttons. Solid hard rubber/plastic in the 2003...hollow in the 2004. Nice slow-opening console cup holders in the 2003... flimsy slidey thing in the 2004. Same with the back cupholders. Solidly built into the armrest in 2003...flimsy pop-out thing in the 2004.

And the leather steering wheel just sucked. The stitching was crappy, the leather bumpy and wrinkly(maybe I just saw a lemon, but it was the showroom car fer Christ's sake).

That's cool if y'all like the new car. Heck, I still think it looks good going down the road(took awhile to warm to it though), but the interior "far superior"? Looks nicer, yeah. Superior? No friggin' way.

Where the heck is the team spirit on this board? Don't you guys love your second gens? I remember when the 3rd gen first came out, everyone here was on about how glad they had a 2nd gen, cause the 3rd gen didn't do it for them.

I guess to each his own. And that's cool. I love the 2003 interior. Classy. Solid. Understated.

 

well the ones i sat in i thought were alot better than the 2nd gen. and the 2nd gen has the fake leather on the sides of the seats too

 

team spirit.... well we all love the TL.. that includes the 2004

the quality of the materials used in the '04 is better than my 99, almost everything feels better and stronger. and the 2004 interior is sportier than the 99-03, but it looks as classy IMO..

anyway glad you're happy with your '03


@cUr@-TL

 

Yeah, maybe I sat in a clunker at the showroom, and got lucky with my 2003 purchase. But I tell you, the 2004 does look nice going down the road. Nice and angular. The 2003 doesn't have nearly the wow factor. You have to check it more closely to notice the quality, like sitting in it and such. It looks kinda plain going down the road, but of course, I only have the stock car. If I spiced it up a bit that would be a different story. I've seen some nice cars in this forum that blow my stock ride away.

 

Agree that "slidey thing" is one part of the interior that that 2nd Gen looks nicer.

But i wont go as far as saying that the 2nd gen interior is superior....the 03 isnt nice but the 04 is just nicer (IMO) I personally am a sucker for the 8" lcd screen. the 04 seems to focus a lil more on the sport factor and the 03 seemed to believe in the classy factor..."to each their own"...04 just felt a little better as far as the clean finished look is concerned.

 

What the hell are you talking about?

I think the new TL looks great. I like the 2nd generation too but the new one looks more aggresive & luxurious.

 

You might have better luck buying a CL and swapping the body for a TL!!!

 

Thanks for the advice. Gonna go look for the mod

 

i would have to greatly disagree on the "wow" factor part. many many people i have talked to (including people who i dont even know that come up to me in parking lots) have said how awesome my gen 2 looks and how it's much sportier looking than the new ones.

i will agree though on the crappy interior of the gen 3. i too sat in one in the showroom a month and a half ago when i bought my 2002 and i felt it was not as nice as the 2002-2003's. now it was the brown/beige leather (which i dont like for interiors) so maybe the black leather would have made me think differently, but it did seem like they didnt pay as much attention to the "cool factor" (if you will) of the new tl's interior. and yes, the cupholder is flimsy and i had a sliding cupholder cover in my 1996 chevy beretta. the last place i expected to see one was in a tl

true it has better performance, but i would never buy one. i love my 2002, and judging by how many strangers compliment me on it, i think most of the rest of the public does too.

 

I like the new interior but the exterior doesnt appeal to me. I love the 2nd gen look 02/03.

 

The one thing I didn't like about the 04 TL's was the design of the trunk space. I thought it was raised a bit too high, kinda reminded me of Sir Mix-A-Lot's song.

But I thought the back seat of the 02 TL's were really comfortable. Driving an '04 TSX and...maybe I'm spoiled by the TL but I'm not that impressed with the TSX. Its a cute car and all, but its just not my TL.

 

Funny :-)

That was the first impression i had too...back was too big. But in time that has grown on me, kinda goes with the lines of the rest of the car.