ElmerHiggins

Hey Guys:

New to the site, wanted to say hello and give a head up on my situation. Im planning on buying a Tl and GX 470 soon. Recently test drove both and noticed that the Lexus navigation system seems to understand commands somewhat poorer than the TL. Maybe my commands werent structured properly but the TL's system picked up commands more accurately. Anyone else have experience with both systems?

Seems as if Acura wins the Navi contest. However, the rain sensing wipers, dual HIDs (low and high beams), and automatic headlights place the Lexus way above the TL. I know these vehicles arent an apples to apples comparison, but just a few comparative issues there.

Acuraluvr

iTrader: (2)

Yes, the acura navi. systems r by far the best in the industry, and both lexus and acura both come up with creative features and great interiors. but what i dont like about the gx is the rear door; it's like the old l.r. discovery; opens to the side and needs alot of space. what is your view on this??? Hope you enjoy your 'soon to be new' cars!!!

NFLblitze1

lol wow...i have those 2 exact same cars....what colors are u planning on getting?

mastertl

is the GX the one that can raise itself and lower itself with like some switch ont he dash? if so, badass car and great choice. someone i know has it and its pretty awesome.

i do have to agree that the Acura navigation system/voice control is by far hte most advanced so far.

SeCsTaC

Get a TL and an MDX =D

NFLblitze1

yea thats the GX...its also has the comfort control which controls the shocks on ur car for smoothness and roughness its awesome...

EmuMessenger

The TL ALSO has bi-xenon headlights.

Zoot

The TL HAS bi-xenon lights, and the GX DOES NOT have any xenons!
see here, http://lexus.com/models/gx/exterior.html#lamps

rets

welcome to the forum


I used to love Navi accuracy of GX... please check bi-xenon and dual-HIDs again... IMO, I'm not the big fan of the rain sensing wiper...

Nodoze2004

My wife picked up the 05 MDX for Christmas and I must say compared to our TL's it is WAY behind the times. The ride is smooth, but the interior is dated and lacking in the comforts we call the norm.

- No HIDS (I frankly do not understand this one)
- One touch on Driver window only
- Crappy guages that do not dim along with the Navi
- No MID!!
- No one touch sunroof even though it uses the EXACT same housing as the TL (blue LEDs and all).
- Bluetooth that displays caller information on the RADIO face!?
- No center information display for XM, climate control etc (you don't realize how much you miss it until it is not there).
- No DVD audio (the Bose system sucks)!!

I like the car/truck, I simply think that Acura needs to update it in a major way. If the MDX had the TL interior/features I would be in awe. As it stands I am simply content.....until the redesign that is.

Zoot

Keep in mind the age difference between the MDX and the current TL! And, when the MDX came out it was the best in class.

ali_enterprises

I would advise to wait for the new completely remodeled GS, it comes in an AWD option. Look at my signature, I bought this 04 tl and regret getting it when compared to Lexus quailty, service, and name recongintion. Although I will agree with you Acura navi is hands down the best I have seen but its not worth all the other benfits you lose by not buying into a big three Lux company (Lexus, BMW, MB) Just giving you a heads up I loved my TL until about 6 months when all the small problems started adding up. Sorry I am not trying to scare you just giving you an input from a Owner of three 03+ Lexus's and an 04 TL.

NFLblitze1

now the worst in class...

ndabunka

Elmer - Welcome to the forum! I bought a black/ebony 04TL in Dec of 03 and just bought a new blizzardwhite/grey 2004 GX470 for business this past November (04). Both are VERY nice and we could not be happier. The truck is actually a little quieter than the TL. You can get over $5K off a 2004 GX (if you can still find one). Go to clublexus site. I'm listed as plain ole "Bunka" on that site. Good luck!

BTW - The Lexus does NOT have HID's. It has traditional Halogens. But you CAN upgrade them with "plug and play" HID kits. The NAVI on the TL is much, much, MUCH better than the Lexus. With the Lexus you can't even do ANYTHING with the NAVI while in motion. Stupid system COMPLETELY locks you out. In my case, I would have a passenger enter stuff into the system in my TL but on the GX, we have to spend a good amount of time getting the info in BEFORE we can go ANYWHERE (MAJOR Pain in the a--). To make it even worse, the GX system is SOOO poor, I normally can't even find things I'm looking for (Like a Post office). The Lexus DOES have the NAVI screen integrated with the Rear Entertainment system though and you can watch it on both the Navi as well as the rear LCD screens at the same time (While parked). The wireless headphones are also a god-send (if you have kids).

MR1

I think that a little harsh. This is the last year of the current model and it is do for an upgrade. It has been freshed up every year since intro. I have an 02 which misses a number of the features on the 05. So even though it's not currently state-of-the-art, it still has a lot going for it IMHO.

Personally, I would not even consider a vechicle like the MDX/GX 470 with a swinging door. That cuts down a lot on how useful it is. I also think the GX 470 is fugly.

Nodoze2004

Can you explain the swinging door? Are you talking about the tailgate, or the rear passenger doors? If you are talking about the tailgate it opens up, not out like the CR-V. This is a good thing as I always found the CR-V tailgate to be bass ackwards!!

NFLblitze1

lol didn't mean it as a low blow...don't take it personally..

ElmerHiggins

Wow, thanks guys. I cannot believe that a $52,000 list vehicle does not come with HIDs. Stupid lying salesman stated that it had HIDs both high and low, I didn't double check because I figured that there was no way in hell that a vehicle of this cost would not come with HIDs.

BUNKA, do you think they may have fixed some of those issues in the 05? I know the 05 got a more powerful engine with a few other upgrades, I will have to look into it. Yes, the markup on that car is ridiculus, invoice on a $51,000 car is $44,700! How much were you able to get off of it. I went on clublexus.com and someone was posting that they got $1000 over invoice, thats awesome.

I considered the MDX but it is just too outdated to buy now. I was a great vehicle but competition has it beat right now. Wish I could wait for the next one but who knows when that will be. Nevertheless, I'm sure it will be a knockout like the Tl and Rl have been.

I also wanted to get the GX for business tax reasons but it is now over and last year the dealers were so headstrung with all these people coming in like idiots and saying "OH, I must have one, please get me one for tax reasons" they wouldnt discount them more than $2000 off list and there was like two to choose from! Everything got bought up, who says that the economy is not doing well? HEHE

JackSprat01

Ok, this swinging door thing this is rediculous. My Montero has it and it's fine....doesn't impede anything that I've found so far so it's hard for me to imagine anything less important. I've driven TONS of SUVs and if I didn't beat the shit out of mine on the beach, I'd get a GX myself...best in class I think. That said, it's a shit load of money so it had better be. I paid $25k for my 03 Montero with 15k on the odo and its 4x4 is outstanding. GX has better features than TL? No way. Lexus NAV can't compete and TL DOES have bi-xenons. GX a good truck? You bet your ass. Just go for an HID retrofit!

nkumar3119

Hi Guys,

New to forum. I am big fan of Honda products - have Accord with 390K miles! Was looking for TL '05 with all excitement to buy but got very disappointed with salesman and car. Salesman was treating me as he was doing a favor. I found TL 05 quite noisy for the $. Also, on idle engine, engine noise is quite apparent inside. To compare, I test drove Lexus ES330. Amazingly quite car. Better pickup than TL (torque) , smooth ride, and feels more luxurious than TL. However, TL has better Navi than ES330 with more screen space. Lexus dealer has good customer relation also. Too bad, I was really looking forward to get Acura TL.

- Commerce1010

ndabunka

The NAVI on the 05 GX's now includes the Bluetooth integration (like the TLs) but from the reports on clublexus, the actual interface itself is still difficult to work with so no, the 05 NAVI is not any better. As far as price goes, your going to have a tough time getting any more than $2K off list for the 05's. The $1K over invoice has to be taken with a great deal of skeptisim. As was/is the case on this site, some people will state that they "got a great deal and was only $1K over invoice yet once pushed to produce the paperwork they often backpedal or can't show actual proof". Of those that have provided proof, the $1K over invoice is actually more like $1,600 over Invoice. Seems that ALL Lexus dealers have started adding a "dealer cost" number to the vehicles BEFORE they talk ANYTHING about invoice. This has been the case on EVERY SINGLE GX ANYONE has EVER discussed on clublexus (I checked via PM's, etc). That being said, even $1,600 over invoice was pretty darn good. Mine came with everything except the KDSS system (Didn't want it at the time because I heard there were technical problems with some older trucks leaning at rest at the time). List price (MSRP) on mine was $51,443. KBB's dealer invoice was listed as $44,349. Dealer claimed a "dealer cost" of $45,091. I paid $46,409 and have NEVER been happier to spend as much on a car in my life! If your interested I can put you in touch with the guy who sold me mine. He works VERY well with Internet-savvy buyers like ourselves. He will give you a flat aggressive price and stick to it. PM me to see the attachment for my actual paperwork (i.e. Proof others often ommit). Please consider giving me points if this is helpfull (It's not difficult, just click on the small icon on the bottom left of my post that looks like crumpled up paper). Thanks

ElmerHiggins

Hey, Yeah I would be happy to give you points if I had some. Hint: If you guys like this thread please hook a new guy up with some pts. I wonder how the dealer can "claim" a higher price than invoice since I believe that both Acura and Lexus have a 3% holdback to dealers. I think you are right though since I called one and he did say that the cost to him was higher than what I found online. Still, HID issue is troubling. I am very dissappointed that the GX doesnt have em and have more respect for the Tl having them at such a competitive price.

MR1

Not personal, MDX is just not nearly worst in calss IMHO!

MR1

Just a personal thing. I think if they are going to sell a vechicle here, if it has a swinging tailgate, it should swing the correct way (from the left). But I guess the GX does not in fact have a swinging talegate, my info was based on a previous post.

MR1

Sorry, was reacting to another post.

jdone

Acura badly needs to update the MDX. My sister-in-law has a new Honda Pilot with the upscale interior etc.. This car is so good it would be silly to fork over another 5-6k$ for the Acura. For me it was no contest. I bought an RX330. Loads of features the MDX doesn't offer.

Xerxes480

Wow, so many people with the TL and the GX! We have the 04 TL (duh!) and an 04 GX470. Both vehicles rock! The nav in the TL is far superior, but the GX rides nicer. Fit and finish is quite a bit better in the Lexus as well, but I have very few complaints about my TL.

-X-

DMZ

An all new MDX is slated for '06.

ndabunka

Don't let the lack of HID's concern you that much. The Halogens ARE of the "projector" type and therefore work pretty well. It also means that oncoming drivers do not "flash me" like they they often do in my TL. In adidtion, the HID kit from XENONdirect is reasonably priced. The dealer holdback numbers are not associated with this additional cost (or invoice for that matter). Dealer holdback and dealer rebates are simply a component of a dealer's profit that is seldom available for negotiations. However, in the past few years the general public has become more savvy and many buying guides direct the public to start from Invoice and work up. This artifical "padding" shouldn't surprise anyone. The premium-line dealers (Benz, BMW, Lexus, etc) have the ability to do things that other dealers (Chevy, Honda, etc) simply can't get away with. Good luck with the search!