Guest

I'm considering getting a TLS and was wondering if anyone has read the review posted by mkaresh in Epinions.

here's a snippet of what he said. comments?

All of this is nothing compared to the ride. It’s just plain awful, worse than anything I’ve driven in recent memory. The Type-S reacted sharply to just about every imperfection it encountered in the road. I thought my Contour SE, with a very stiff suspension, road poorly, but driving home from the dealer I suddenly realized that the ride just sounds bad; you hear more than you actually feel while hitting bumps and potholes. In the Acura these were both heard and felt. If anything, the ride resembled that of a 1980s GM sedan with the performance suspension option. Back then, GM thought that a performance suspension had to ride like hell, and those in its sedans did. Given the degree of jittering I sensed, I suspect that the TL’s structure is also more flexible than most in this class, further degrading the ride. Overall, the Type-S’s ride felt inappropriate for this class of car, and perhaps for anything short of an all-out sports car. If this translated to phenomenal handling, it might almost be forgivable, but it doesn’t, so it isn’t. All of the competition rides better, and most of it handles better as well.

Last Words

A 260 horsepower engine and 17” performance tires do not a BMW killer make, even if the price appears to be amazingly low. The basic car, derived from the Accord, is simply not up to this mission. Given the pattern of the car’s faults, I’m beginning to wonder if Honda hired all of those engineers that took early retirement from GM in the early 90s. Flinty ride, torque steer, overly fake wood, flimsy structure, an attempt to cover all of this up with great stats—they’re all here. It’s a shame, because the world really needs a great high performance sedan for around $30,000. Is anyone listening? Till then looks like the best bet is a used 3 or, for less money but also less refinement (sometimes chassis imperfections are fun), a Nissan Maxima.

Amount Paid (US$): 31,700
Model and Options: 2002 Type-S

sboje

First off, what is your budget? What are your priorities? What are the road conditions like where you live?

I think there is some truth to the reviewer's comments, but they were exagerated... especially considering the price point.

Apparently many people have found that the tires were overinflated on their cars from the dealer, and that makes the ride harsh... that may have been the case in that review.

I live in Omaha, NE. The roads here suck... especially after this past winter. Occasionally we hit a rough stretch of road, that the TL-S doesn't handle particularly well (bumpy). It tends to lose composure a little bit. This isn't a real common occurance though. Some stretches of interstate have that effect where you feel every joint in the concrete and it can be somewhat annoying.

If you are used to German sport suspensions, you may be somewhat disappointed... if you aren't, and you aren't expecting a magic carpet ride, you will probably like it.

Take one out for a spin over several different roads and see for yourself. I recommend making sure tire pressure is at 32psi before you do.

-Scott

Xorg

I'm curious as how he even reviewed the 2002 TLS, since epinions doesn't even have 2002 models listed yet!

oblio98

Sounds like more jealous whining from a Maxima lover...

:-jon

------------------
-------------------------------------------
2002 TL-S NAV Black/Black
w/Spoiler, Body Kit, Bowling Ball Wheel,
Bowling Ball Interior Trim Kit
Comptech Springs
Comptech Exhaust
StreetEffectz Audio Upgrade (Coming Soon)
Pictures at:
<A HREF="http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=1626677&f=0

" TARGET=_blank>http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=1626677&f=0

</A>

imax

This has already been discussed to death here in the TL-S forums. Just follow the link . . .

http://www.acura-tl.com/ubb/Forum14/HTML/001952.html

------------------
'02 Acura TL-S
Satin Silver/Ebony, w/out NAV