Ken1997TL

I purchased a graphite luster tech package wagon yesterday and had a nearly 300 mile drive home. Here are my driving impressions which I will be expanding upon over the next few weeks.

Engine: Not powerful but certainly adequate during my drive. Several mountain passes in Oregon have several thousand mile elevation changes, the car had no problem maintaining speed and only downshifted to fourth. The five gear ratios seem ideal for this car, fairly brisk acceleration and it returned just over 29 mpg during my trip. I averaged just under 70 mph most of the way.

Handling: Side to side motion is heavily subdued and the car feels planted at all times. The front doesn't feel heavy at all, understeer is very mild. I'd call it fun to drive.

Ride: I'd almost call it luxurious in the real sense. You know you've gone over a bump or rough patch in the pavement but you barely hear it or feel it. The body exhibits no rattles or shaking.

Noise: Wind noise is dramatically muted compared to other Acuras I've owned. The thicker glass really pays off. The tire noise is mild and easily replaced by the stereo at a reasonable volume (insert Milton joke). Engine noise at idle and at speed is very quiet, I only heard the engine over the music during passing maneuvers or downshifts.

Gadgets/Gizmos: The navigation worked without any hiccups, it is FAST. The hard drive really does make a noticeable difference. Voice commands are a god-send. I paired my phone and set all of my door/lighting/navi preferences in a couple minutes.

The stereo of course we know to be excellent. I brought a variety of music on a USB stick and I still have a few of my DVD-A's that I'll put to good use again. Good luck finding them, Amazon has a terrible selection these days. I'd appreciate a link to something better if it exists.

Climate Control: I havent had much of a chance to really use it since the weather has been very mild lately.

Utility: My dog's kennel (collapsable, with soft fabric exterior) fits perfectly in the cargo area. She's a Corgi, so I wasn't too worried about the space issue. Seats fold flat enough for what I'll be using it for. Back seats seem to be adequate and fortunately there is plenty of foot room for the rear passengers.

Some suggestions to Acura: Make the rear power tailgate a standard feature for the 'base' model. I think the target demographic who would get the 'base' model would benefit from it more than the 'tech'.

Another would be hood struts, make them standard on all Acuras. A premium brand should keep in mind the little things.

Thats it for now, I'll need to drive it some more for further comments

hornyleprechaun

Great review. Very nice on the 29mpg on your trip. I've averaged just over 25mpg on my daily driving.

neuronbob

Congrats, Ken! Great review.

This will likely be my next car as well. I plan to test drive one today. Already dreaming of a blue one, tastefully tinted, base model. I love the look, the size, and the gas mileage. Plus I can keep it outside, as opposed my CTS-V, which will always be a garage-dweller to avoid attention.

PS--I guess this means no S2000 anytime soon?

terdonal

Congrats, nice write up.

Ken1997TL

If I find the right one, then I'll get it. Time and again, these S2000's I look at either have been in unreported accidents or they've been abused. I'll find one soon though.

hornyleprechaun

Don't know if you've seen the blue one in person or not, but it looks more purple than blue. I was looking at a blue one too, but didn't like how it looked purple at some angles.

Ken1997TL

Yeah, I loved the blue in the photos but in person it wasn't quite what I wanted. Reminded me of the 5th generation Prelude that was supposedly blue but looked purple half the time.

neuronbob

Acura displayed a blue one at the Cleveland Auto Show this year. It looked OK to me....but it was in a relatively dark hall. The worst part is that the one I saw at the dealer today was red...the only one the dealer had....

hornyleprechaun

Yeah I saw the blue one in the daylight and it definitely had some purpleish tones to it. My wife thought the same. Red was the only color I did not see at my dealership. I've seen it in pictures and it doesn't look that bad, but just not for me.

Puppetmaster

A little late to the game here, but thanks for the good review. Any updates on your experience with the wagon? Thanks.

VQPower37

nice writeup wow 29 mpg! esp in a mountaineous area is pretty impressive

Ken1997TL

I'll be driving about 800 miles this weekend, so I'll add a bit more Monday or Tuesday.

Puppetmaster

Thanks! And maybe by Monday or Tuesday, I'll have a review of my own.

Ken1997TL

Well we drove a little bit less, 600 miles and averaged just over 30 mpg the entire trip. Measured it by gallons pumped vs. odometer reading. Car's MPG readout gave identical information

Great gas mileage considering the altitude changes on I-5 throughout Oregon, 50 miles of driving through Portland and driving back with 400 pounds of junk from IKEA

hornyleprechaun

What was your average speed?

Ken1997TL

58 mph, darn urban driving brought the average down

Puppetmaster

That's awesome, especially for hauling that much stuff part of the journey. I too found that the trip computer is pretty accurate thus far, specifically the "range" estimation for the amount of fuel remaining.

hornyleprechaun

Let's assume that the dash display is accurate. My first 2 full tanks of gas I was getting 25mpg to/from work. My last 2 tanks of gas I've gotten 27.5 mpg to/from work. Why would it have changed that much? I haven't changed my driving habits/style, but my car had about 500 miles on it when I purchased.

Does the ECU recalculate anything? Or could it be brand of gas? I've only used Regular.

Ken1997TL

The ECU does adjust throttle response and 'learns' how you drive to some degree. Weather conditions can affect your mileage as well.

Why are you using regular?

hornyleprechaun

The dealer said it's what he uses, plus it was only recommended, not required

Would Premium really make a difference?

Ken1997TL

Not sure about the K series engine but on my other Acuras using premium paid for itself with better gas mileage per dollar.

KillerG

regular?!

!?

hornyleprechaun

I just filled up, but next couple fill ups I'll use Premium and see if I notice a change. I'm still getting close to 500 miles per tank on Regular.

Yes..

KillerG

has your car exploded yet?

srs question: what year is it?

i have an 09 and with the potential knock issue im staying far away from regular

hornyleprechaun

2011 Wagon.. I asked the dealer about it and he said there wouldn't be any difference b/w regular & premium. Acura recommends Premium, but does not require, which is why I asked.

Ken1997TL

I think my only real complaint about this car so far is the sunglasses holder. It isn't padded enough so the sunglasses end up rattling.

Gas mileage is 10% above EPA estimates, it handles nicely and maybe it's my imagination but the steering seems to have gotten slightly heavier in a good way. I really like it.

As for cargo space, I have managed to shove a bunch of packaged furniture and take it back home without any issues.

hornyleprechaun

Then start wearing your sunglasses

Ken1997TL

Get rid of these awful clouds in Oregon and I will..

Chewbach

I noticed the same thing. I'm thinking about buying some type of adhesive felt (at a hobby store) to line the front of the sunglass holder.

spd_freak

Cool review, I wonder what the 2.2 Turbo diesel model will give in terms of MPG. Will hopefully be colecting mine later this week/ early next week.

Will give some feedback when I collect her, and start to drive her.

My 06 Type S runs beautifully, a bit sad to let her go, hopefully she goes to a good caring new owner.

Craig-D

Ammazing how such a minor thing can be such a major pain isn't it? My simple solution has been to wrap my glasses in the cleaning cloth they came with when putting them in the holder. This eliminates the noise.