I am going to buy a 04 tl in Jan but not sure if I should get the manual or auto. I drive to the city a lot and I live in ny is there a big difference in performance.

Also im gonna get the underspoiler kit and the navi the dealer gave me a quote of no money down 51 month lease at 600 a month with 15k a year if you guys can get a better deal please let me know

 

If you are in rush-hour traffic a lot, the MT might not make a good commuter car, IMHO. As for performance, others who have driven the car can comment. I can tell you that the AT is satisfactory as far as its performance.

 

I was quoated 596.49 per month on a 36 month least, 18k miles and 1283.00 down (fees, first month ect.) via Honda credit on 24 Oct. 03. The monthly went to 613.00 for 20k miles. Sounds like you could do a little better. I decided to buy, at 3.8% my 0 down payment was 648.00 for 5 years and you own it . Best of luck, it's a great car. I am still driving my lease till December but have spent hours in the garage listing to the radio...... the best I have ever heard.

Don

 

no question about it...get the automatic and use the sport shift...its awesome and you'll have the best of both worlds. why on earth would you get a manual tranny if you're driving the car all the time and doing any commuting or business travel? can you imagine using a cell phone and shifting at once?

I've had three Acuras with sport shift and its great, you'll love it when you need more control like in canyon/mountain driving or in traffic.

 

I like the automatic, though I usually drive with the sport shift. If my phone rings I shift to automatic

 

For city driving the auto is a better choice. The performance is very good. THe manual is sweet but if your over 35 (like me) shifting in the city is a chore and would get old. (Thank goodness, I live in the boonies! I have a manual).

 

My $.02

I don't have my TL yet but I will tell you from experience having a manual in miles of stop and go traffic will drive you crazy. I had an Audi A4 with a 5 speed here in Houston and after 30 minutes of never getting out of first gear I would wish I had a tiptronic on that car.

Needless to say the next car after that had an auto. Go the the auto TL, it is a blast to drive, you won't miss the stick that much and you will be thankful for the auto the first time you are stuck in traffic that is barely moving.

 

The sport shift is certainly not the best of both worlds, because the response is pretty sluggish. Better than others I've experienced, but still not good enough to replace a MT. Its main use in my car is in stop/go traffic so I don't have to use the brakes as often. Otherwise, the big D is just fine.

 

get the manual transmission. If you like to down shift and hold gears, standard shift is the way to go.


Plus, people who don't know how to drive stick can't borrow your car or test drive it!

-Chad

 

This guys comment made no sense....

If sport shift is "not the best of both worlds", perhaps you'd like to enlighten us all by sharing what you think is the best of both worlds.

I don't know, maybe he just doesn't understand what "compromise" means.

 

As much as I wanted those Brembo's. (for the performance and looks) I went for the AT/SS. My commute to and from work is 18 miles each way. That's not, THAT long of a distance. But when traffic is heavy, there is no WAY I would "enjoy" driving the car.

The SS mode is better than my CL-S waas. Not as sluggish, and that was during break in. Now that I've rolled up 1,700 miles on it, I'm using the SS more and more, and I'll tell you what! It's getting even better. I think the boys at Acura have tuned it for quicker, more "manual like shifts" if the driver drives the car that way. The more I use it like a manual, the more the computers tune it like one. Will it be as good? No Way! But it's hella better than the CL.

As far as driving a stick, and using the cell phone. That is a b!tch! but isn't that what the while Blue Tooth thing is about.

Put the phone down, and back away slowly.

 

Perhaps he's thinking of a sequential manual gearbox, which has its drawbacks as well but is closer to a true manual than a sport shift.

I appreciate the benefits of an automatic transmission for commuting and heavy traffic, but I prefer the manual transmission.

I haven't owned a car with an automatic, not that my five cars (6 w/the TL) and 11 years of driving is all that impressive of a figure.

I personally dislike sport shift and think it is basically a toy. All I want in an automatic transmission is the ability to downshift as low as possible by modulating the throttle and hold each gear to redline under WOT. I don't need a lever to do that.

:cop:

 

I just meant that if you want to really shift gears, the MT is the only way to go. The reason is that the sport shift in this car (as well as in the prior TL) has a significant delay when you choose to change the gears. In addition, you can't shift from 1st to 2nd by yourself. This makes the sport shift much less fun than it could be. I played with it when I bought my first TL, but found that D4 and D5 ("D" in the new TL) were perfectly adequate.

I therefore only use the sport shift in the situation I describe above, in heavy traffic--the sport shift does give decent control and allows for engine braking rather than frequent brake use.

My $0.02...

 

wow thanks for the feedback guys i guess i probably get an automatic your right it is sorta a luxury car why get stick besides city traffic sucks. i wonder if they can swap breaks hmm.. haha o well i ask but thanks for the input.