mu1980

A few things I noticed right away that I liked, compared to my 04 Accord, was the foam between the front quarter panels and the car frame (look for it when you open either the driver or passenger doors), and the fact that the TL didn't turn over slower in really cold weather like my Accord did (even when it was new).

I also love the instrument cluster and blue LED's that shine down from the overhead console at night.

I vastly prefer the Accord's interior door handles, though.

And as far as overall build quality, the Accord is no worse than the TL.. and, in some respects, is a little better. Rattles are not a common problem on the 03+ Accords.

chfields

I checked both and found the Accord has 14 less HP and 22 ft lbs tq less than TL. TL is better looking (my opinion). I think the TL has stiffer handling than Accord. I like the leather in the Accord. TL does have HIDS and bluetooth, Accord doesn't. While the DVDA was great sounding, there isn't enough of them out there to make that worthwhile. TL has cool blue lights in the interior and the cool looking gauges. I'd say quality is at least equal. It comes down to, is the TL worth $8000 more than the Accord. I couldn't justify the cost difference, I got the 06 Accord EX-L W/Navi

mike03a3

I thought about starting an Accord versus TL thread before I cam across this one. We've had several Accords. The first was an '88 that my wife put 435,000 miles on before trading it for a '96 EX-L, which she put over 350,000 on. My daughter also had an EX-L, a '98 model with 165,000 miles. All of those miles and the Accords ran flawlessly, never having any problems or requiring any servicing other "consumables" like tires, brakes, and the recommended services.

On Friday the 13th of October, both the '96 and '98 were totaled in separate accidents. Some idiot read-ended my wife while she was on her way to work in the morning and some other fool trying to rush to the airport to catch a plane hit my daughter broadside that evening. Fortunately, neither of the girls were hurt, but the Accords were DOA.

As a result, we were back in the car shopping business. We compared the Acura TL and the Accord carefully, with our previous good experiences we were certainly looking at more Honda Motors products. I was also looking to replace my gas guzzler with a sport sedan.

The net result was the girls both bought new Accord EX-L's. My wife didn't want a 6 cyl, she doesn't care about performance, but she did want the amenities of the EX-L. My daughter, who is a chip off the old block and does care about performance opted for an EX-L V6 6MT. A sweet car. Comparing an EX-L V6 to a base TL, there really isn't all that much difference.

The TL has a slightly larger engine, with more HP and torque. However, it's also a couple hundred pounds heavier, so the "seat of the pants" difference is negligible.
5.7% more HP is offset by 5.8% more weight, so I can't really "feel" the difference.

They both handle about the same, but the TL is quieter. I assume some of the extra weight is sound deadener, but is is noticeable.

The TL is slightly roomier - more headroom (0.4" front and rear), more front shoulder room (1.4") and leg room (0.2"); but the Accord is noticeably bigger in the rear with 0.4" more shoulder room and 1.9" more leg room.

The Accord has a bigger trunk (14.0 cu.ft versus 12.4 for the TL) and a folding rear seat. I've always been amazed at the amount of stuff my daughter could get in her Accord with the seat folded.

The Accord pretty much matches the TL for features, the HFL and TPMS being the two I notice the most. The Accord and TL have the same Navi, although the TL lacks the Trip Computer in the Navi since it's in the MID (and the TL doesn't have instantaneous MPG like the Accord. The TL's screen is larger, and easier to read as a result.

The TL has some additional gadgets and features, HID headlights, memory seats/mirrors, a cassette player, etc.,

All-in-all, not a long list of differences for $6548 difference in invoice cost. So, the real question is: Is the TL worth 24% more than the Accord?

I didn't discuss styling, since that's highly personal. Acura does give some additional value with a longer warranty and a roadside assistance program.

My daughter opted for the Accord - she couldn't justify another $6500 for the differences. I went another direction - I spent even more and got a TL-S for the better handling and power.