Just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings after driving my 08 Type S for the first time over the last two weeks,

The Good,

- Great ride quality
- Good handling for a 4DR sedan
- A lot of nice features and toys
- Killer looks
- Roomy inside

The Bad

- Abrupt downshifts with 5AT
- Factory Michelin tires seem to slide when pushed
- This is going to sound bad…..But my wife’s RAV4 3.5L V6 feels a lot more powerful and gives you that thrown back in the seat feeling, gearing, and refinement maybe?
- HFL and audio system not that impressive

Thoughts?

 

Damn, a Toyota RAV4 with a more power "feeling"? Maybe I understand your comment, but you need to calibrate the way you measure power from the driver's seat. In my opinion, you "really" have a great car. For that: Congrats and enjoy your ride.

 

The V6 in the RAV4 packs 279HP, no slouch!

And thx.

 

I like to coast a lot to red lights, and I hate it when it downshifts early. To prevent that, I usually keep my foot on the throttle just a tiny bit so that it won't downshift. If it's a long coast you can pop it into M and it will hold the gear as long as possible, but this is annoying and unnecessary.

 

Congratulations on the car. I'm curious about your comments on the HFL and audio system. What about the HFL and audio don't you like? I'm also sure the Nav system compares quite favorably to Toyota's equivalent- if the Rav4 is your benchmark.

I too hated the Michelins that come with the car- fortunately a replace when they're shot solves that problem. I replaced with Pilot AS Sports and its a much better driving experience.

I have to say one of other best features of this car is this forum- it's full of information and the people here are nice too.

 

For the bad, you can cure the harsh downshifts with a transmission drain and fill with a good fluid like Redline or Amsoil.

The TL is not very quick. It's quicker than the average car but not by much. I fully understand how the RAV4 could pull it, at least up until 40mph.

The Toyotas usually have more low end torque. It's going to feel quicker off the start and just about everywhere else too. With the lack of low end torque, the TL will never feel as quick as it is. Every time I would ride in my friend's Mustang GT (5mt) I was blown away that my TL would beat it but I beat him everytime. The Mustang felt like it was in another league.

The great thing about the stock audio is you don't have to upgrade the head unit when getting heavily into audio. Mine sounded maybe better than average but my friend's IS350 blows it away in quality and loudness. With the addition of $100 worth of Infinity mids in the doors and tweets in the dash it will sound better than just about any factory car out there. There is a very large selection for the TL if you ever get serious later on.

If you have the chance to play a DVD-A disc, the stock system will come to life, better than you could ever believe. With one of these high quality recordings, I would rate it from 50% with a regular source to better than 90% of all the cars out there in any class.

The Michelins are junk where performance is concerned. Put a real tire on the TL and it becomes a real contender. There is no other single biggest difference you can make to the car.

It will decieve you though. While it has some body roll and doesn't feel super precise, don't forget that the stock TL-S beat the G35 and IS350 around Willow by a significant margin. I believe this was in Car and Driver. I'm not a fan of FWD but Honda really knows how to do FWD.

 

^^^ Well said.....

 

I agree with you on those abrupt downshifts. Mine has only 30K and sometimes I'm very disturbed when it does that. My previous car - 05 Accord was waaay better - no feel of downshifts at all. It was totally smooth and silky.
I also still have those Michelins but don't think they are that bad. Comparing to what I had on an Accord (Yoko's H4's and General Altimax's), I can say that I'm happy with their performance, especially cornering.
I disagree on HFL and audio system - I'm very happy with it - I have not tried to play DVD-A disc yet (thanks to I hate cars for mentioning this).
I also must disagree with you that TL-S is not powerful enough. Have you tried playing with manual shifters for some time? I was using manual mode only last week and blown some many cars I could have never imagined.

Anyway, good to see another '08 TL-S owner. I plan to visit my friends in Toronto pretty soon so if you see one TL-S parked at Dixie Mall with Illinois plates - that would be me

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdong

I like to coast a lot to red lights, and I hate it when it downshifts early. To prevent that, I usually keep my foot on the throttle just a tiny bit so that it won't downshift. If it's a long coast you can pop it into M and it will hold the gear as long as possible, but this is annoying and unnecessary.

I’ll give that a try! Funny thing is my 03 Civic did the same thing! It’s like your downshifting an extra gear just by hitting the brakes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaCostaRacer

Congratulations on the car. I'm curious about your comments on the HFL and audio system. What about the HFL and audio don't you like? I'm also sure the Nav system compares quite favorably to Toyota's equivalent- if the Rav4 is your benchmark.

Not really comparing the RAV4 to the TL other then the motor which is the same size and power output. The TL is more refined and probably tuned accordingly.

I find the problem with the HFL to be the voice commands especially when trying to call a number. I also find the different radio stations to have quite a bit of interference compared to other vehicles I’ve owned.

And yes this forum is awesome!

Quote:

Originally Posted by I hate cars

For the bad, you can cure the harsh downshifts with a transmission drain and fill with a good fluid like Redline or Amsoil.

A lot of great info here, thx!

The main reasons for me buying the TL were looks, quality and size. The power and handling are a nice to have but not a necessity for me. But when comparing power output to other cars in the same class, such as the G35/37 it falls a little behind. When you get a new car you always want to push it a little bit to see what she’s got. J

I did notice the sound quality to be much better while playing CD’s, will also try the DVD-A.