geezer31

After picking up an '05 automatic TL with navigation on October 21 and after a break in period, I just returned from a trip from Albuquerque, NM to Cape Girardeau, MO, then on to New Orleans and finally back to Albuquerque. I now have about 5,220 miles on the car in five weeks.

I have nothing but good news to report. The car behaved beautifully in all aspects. Driving was a pleasure. I have had not a single squeak or rattle. The sound system, CD and DVD-audio player and satellite radio made the trip a joy. And the navigation system exceeded all my expectations. With my poor sense of direction, I knew the navigation system would help some, but I became totally fearless on the road and within large cities. Not only did the voice directions lead me to proper places, but the very specific instructions in difficult situations and the warnings about upcoming complications were nothing less than spectacular. I didn't expect verbal directions such as, "Take the second exit out of the traffic circle."

I know that choices of cars can be very subjective and personal, and I'm pleased to report that I sure picked the right car for my own needs and desires. Not only a great car, but the best toy I ever owned!

rlustre

Congrats on the car and the pleasure it's bringing you, but at the rate you're putting on the mileage, a 2006 is in your future! At the stage I'm at, (800 miles in 2 weeks), I can say I'm as happy as you are. Great car, awesome features. I hate parking it though, don't want anyone parking near it....

Hawhyen51

It's refreshing to see positive statements about the car in spite of all the annoyances you hear about. I hope all continues to go well for you both. rlustre, I know what you mean about parking. I work nights and usually park at the far end of the lot and the only other car around me is a BMW325. Continue to enjoy the ride.

MR1

geezer31, guess I need to spend a little more time behind the wheel. I've only managed 635 miles in the five days I've had my ABP/Quartz 05, Navi TL. I agree 100% with everything you said. Took a round trip to San Francisco to see how she would do and to finish up the break in. Trip was a true pleasure in spite of a huge rain storm in the Oakland area and through the hills. The VSA exceeded my expectations which made me feel really comfortable on new tires with near 0 visability. The navi came through with excellent directions getting me to my destination, back out of the city, to the freeway and heading back home. Sound system also outstanding, seat comfortable, power excellent. Oh, and I got 27mpg even though I spent a little time @ 100 miles per hour celebrating the end of the break in period. This is a great car, I had no issues whatsoever.


Mike

JetJock

Geezer..glad to hear you are enjoying your new TL. Most people only post complaints on this forum, so it's nice to hear from people that don't have any rattles or other problems. My car has also been perfect in the 8 months I've owned it. Good luck with your car, and keep us posted on your travels. It's great to see the older folks post on this forum, and from the way you're enjoying life, you're far from being a "Geezer". Enjoy your TL...it's a great car. BTW.....how did you like "NawOrlins"?

SMF-TLS

Glad to see a thread without complaints!

Nodoze2004

I am in full agreement in regards to the Navi. I took the wife upstate this Thanksgiving (from FL, to NY,NJ,MD, DC etc) and in all cases the Navi simply blew me away. The subtle voice queues 'Turn left in 1/4 mile' followed by count downs in increments of feet. "Take the next left, stay to the right"!! I knew it was good, but not this good.

I started the trip doubting the navi, and ended it will full and complete confidence in it. It provides a true sense of empowerment!! Just imagine never having to pull over and ask for directions again.......as if we did this anyway

I will never buy another car without Navi!!

PG_ART

I agree with the pleasure, I have had minds for two weeks and have 789 miles and really can't get enough of this car, I love the way the rpms read about 2000 at 80 mph and when you punch it the torque is still there, amazing.

wavshrdr

That is one of the main reasons I bought the 5AT over the 6MT. It is almost idling at 80 whereas the 6MT is turning a lot more revs. I was crusing at a steady 100 and the engine was at most barely audible.

So far the hardest part has been to NOT drive the car. People at work are jealous and my boss has an older RL and he is so envious it shows in his eyes so much I've stopped driving my car to work. Really a killjoy!

I think the TL is really 2 different cars depending on the tranny you pick. 6MT makes it more frenetic without truly making a real hi-po sedan. While I like the 6MT I still feel it is a car in search of its identity. It has the HP to be a player in its class. Nice shifting feel, good brakes but FWD. I am not saying this to slam the 6MT but it always receive complaints that are damning with faint praise. For example "For a FWD car it has good handling".

The 5AT version is an amazing cruiser. Its not trying to be boy race wannabe. Still fast, great mileage but less frenetic. One big plus for me is the tranny actually can shift 1->2nd in cold weather easily compared the 6MT. I drove a 6MT in sub-freezing conditions and the tranny was stiff on the 1->2 shift like almost all MT cars are until the gearbox is warmed up. It is so nice to be able to kick back and relax and let the tranny do the work or become more involved when my mood and traffic warrant it. Best choice I made with the TL was going with the 5AT even though it was really hard. Until 2 days ago I wasn't sure I'd made the right choice. Now I am!

MR1

8/10's is about the maximum I ever need to see in the car. TL-5AT is too much fun. I've been having trouble getting my work done, busy driving and playing with stuff. Some review I read said buy 2 so you have one just to listen to the stereo. I understand.

From what I understand, 20 over limit is wreakless driving in Cali... hope I can hang on to my license!

ndabunka

Acura got the NAVI right on this car. I didn't realize HOW GOOD our NAVI's are until I recently bought a new Lexus GX470 with NAVI. On the Lex, I cannot select destinations while in motion. I cannot find a Post Office quickly as in ours (or at all so far in the Lex). The voice activation is more of a joke than usefull. The Lexus has some SERIOUSLY poor functionality. On websites right now looking for the NAVI hack for the Lex...

wavshrdr

I totally agree with the stereo comments. I joke with my friend I bought a nav system with surround sound 5.1 audio and got a car for free. Find the right DVD-A's and I just don't want to leave the car. For example the Queen album "Night at the Opera" is out and they did a GREAT job remixing it. Very surprised how good it was. Even the remix of the original Beach Boy's album "Pet Sounds" which was in mono originally really came alive. Surprisingly Shania Twain was better than I thought but then the Kansas album Live really was a disappointment.

Hopefully more and more title will be available. I'd like to see more current title available in 5.1 rather than some more classic rock types. All in all I relish every chance I get to drive the car but each time its for a different reason. Sometimes its the stereo, sometimes I need the nav to get quickly to a client's office, other times I just need a quick shot of adrenalin to escape a boring conference call. This car is a great platform to conduct business from. SE phone pairs great and the sound quality is excellent. I spent almost an hour on a conference call last week in the car and almost nobody figured out I was in my car. Man this thing is quiet.

Best reason to buy the nav system too (besides the nav) is the integration of all the other controls. I've got the voice commands nailed and sometimes they are a big time saver and other times it allows me to concentrate on the road. For simple fan speed changes it's faster to hit the button but the kids like talking with the car.

Yauser

I feel like if I'm not driving a MT, it's like driving a go-cart. MT connects you to the road and keeps you sharp and thinking ahead. Which gear for what turn, dropping it down for passing/hills, saving gas on lower RPMs, faster acceleration, and the list goes on and on. A skillfully driven MT is also smoother than an AT.

If you live in a city with traffic up the ass and you just want a comfortable way to get from point a to point b, I agree AT is better. For those who enjoy driving, I feel MT is a must. Doesn't matter if you're in an 86 Rabbit or a 05 TL. Since when does "identity" have anything to do with the pleasure of driving?

wavshrdr

Yauser- got something against go-carts? A good go-cart will kick a TL's a$$ on the track many times over. I grew up racing carts and a fast go cart could beat a lot of "real racecars" on a lot of tracks.

If a total manual tranny was so great, why don't F1 cars use them any more? The less a driver has to concentrate on things other than just driving the car the faster he can go.

You contention that the TL with a 6MT will get better mileage than the 5AT is flawed. A automatic tranny with a lockup TC has a mechanical connection from engine to axle just like the 6MT. So guess what, at highway speeds the 5AT will get better mileage than the 6MT!

No slam intended but you need to go back to school and learn the real differences between automatics and manual transmissions. I can show you MANY instances where automatics ARE MUCH FASTER then manual transmissions. Automatics are much more consistent than manual transmissions. Why do you think almost all bracket racers use automatics? People have some sort of macho attitude that an automatic tranny is somehow totally inferior to a manual tranny. This really isn't the case in the modern world.

The ideal tranny would be a CVT type tranny that had a mechanical direct lockup type connection at all speeds but would disengage at idle. With this type transmission (auto) the engine could be kept at the rpm of peak torque. At this point the engine is operating most efficiently. Problem is most current CVTs can't handle a lot of HP or Torque but give them time.

Yes there can be some power waste in an auto tranny but lock up the TC and it goes away. A well designed 5spd auto could be made to almost work like a 10 spd tranny just by locking and unlocking the TC. You could end up with 10 distinct steps in the gear box. I have owned and over 60 manual transmission cars in my lifetime and raced probably 30 of them. Manual gearboxes used to be the only way to go fast. That is not true anymore. Auto or semi-auto gearboxes that are computer controlled are the future.

I have found that a well designed auto can do everything a manual can do and more. It can be shifted faster and with less stress on the drivetrain. You can dial it in for slippery conditions. You can even let it do all the work if you want. It can click off a shift at the EXACT rpm the engine need repeatedly without getting tired. Personally I love driving manuals but I realize that they are not the future. You are dealing with emotions rather than facts. I understand that but disagree with you.

Did it ever occur to you that sometimes the difference in acceleration times between auto and manual in some instances is due to the difference in the weight of the cars as much as the types of transmissions? The 3% weight difference between the 5AT and 6MT is significant. Did you ever look at final drive and gear ratios to see how the cars are geared and see what effect that might have? The 6MT turns a lot more rpms at cruise so it will have better top gear acceleration but at the expense of fuel economy.

Know how often 6MT Vette drivers get beaten by their 5AT counterparts? Quite often because it is much more difficult to launch a MT car vs. the AT version. So while you might read that the average MT version of a car is slightly quicker than the AT version, keep in mind how many launches the testers had to do to finally beat a time that was easily achievable with the AT version.

I had an automatic late model Vette that I consistent kicked the 6MT versions butt because it was so much easier to launch. When I bought the 6MT myself I knew how hard it was going to be to beat the 5AT version so I practiced, practiced and practiced some more. Let me tell you it was much easier to launch the 5MT version. Get a little anxious with the 6MT, let out the clutch a little too quick and revs a little too high and instantly smoked tires.

The 6MT TL is not a super easy car to launch. By comparison the 5AT is ridiculously easy. I guarantee I will spank quite a few 6MT TL's 0-60 once my TL is broken in. I've seen 0-60 times as close a 6.0 vs. 6.3 and 1/4 mile times of 14.44 vs. 14.8 respectively for the 6MT vs. 5AT cars. That is close enough that a bad driver in a 6MT can easily be beaten by a mediocre driver in the 5AT.

As for the identity of a car having something to do with driving satisfaction, unfortunately for many people it has a lot to do with what they drive. Often cars are just penile extensions of their egos. Often status is as important to people as how good the car goes. My actual comment was directed at Acura's design intent for the TL. They didn't set out to build the ultimate sports sedan but they still wanted to drop in a 6MT to give it some street creed for people like you who think a sports sedan should have a MT. A while ago I thought the same way but experience and education have taught me otherwise. I still derive personal satisfaction from well executed shifts but does that make me faster around a racetrack than an AT driven car that can shift at full throttle and that has a full lockup TC in each gear, not likely.

If you like the 6MT, great buy it! I like them too. Just don't think however that a MT is always superior to an AT. That's just not true! A smart auto can be much smarter than the driver. Unfortunately sometimes the designers of some of the smart autos got it totally wrong. Other ones like the AMG division of MB got it right! Their AT is clearly better than their MT in the AMG cars and faster to boot. In the real world I bet if you shave 100 pounds off a 5AT and line it up against a 6MT with equal drivers it would be far closer than any of the 6MT drivers would like to admit. It might only be a car length or 2 at the end of the quarter mile.

JetJock

Wavshrdr...you are absolutely correct about AT vs. MT cars and the fact that most people can't shift consistently good. My TL is a 6MT, and the main reason I purchased the MT over the AT was the Brembo's. Had the AT version been available with Brembo's, at the same price, I would have seriously considered getting the auto tranny. Although I enjoy shifting when I'm in the mood for spirited driving, it get's old real fast driving in day to day traffic. The Brembo's I'd never give up. The brakes on my 6mt TL are so much better than my TLS, I didn't realize how bad the brakes were on the TLS until I got my '04TL with the Brembo brakes.

TLer

I agree with you about this car being too much fun to drive. I got pulled over the other day for doing a massive 55 kph over the posted limit (no I was not being reckless, the speed on the freeway was 100kph but approaching the exit ramp around the local airport it drops to 80 then 60 rather drastically and of all the days, there was a cop there on that day). Fortunately the cop was kind enough to listen to my plea and brought it down to 15 over. I hope I learnt my lesson but this car really is so much more fun to drive then the 04 Mdx I traded in for it.

Legend2TL

Corvette's have never come with 5AT, only 4 or 3 speed automatics.

You are also confusing semi-automatic manuals such as the SMG from BWM (M3 and M5), Audi, and Ferrari road cars. These gearboxes are essentially manual gearboxs (gears mounted on shafts with syncho's and shift rods and dog-rings) being controlled by computers and hydralics. These gearboxs also do not use torque converters but real clutches that are again computer and hydralic.

There is a large difference between semi-automatic manuals and a automatic transmission. A true automatic will use a torque convertor and typically Sun and Planetary gears with multiple wet clutch arrangements to control the gears.

I agree that automatics have their advanatges and disadvantages but manuals still have some real world advanatages over automatics (shift time, being able to predict a gear change,....) and they again have their disadvantages.

Also F1 gearboxes are not automatics they are semi-automatic, FIA does not allow fully automatic operation anymore.

MR1

Thanks I thought my spelling was off but I'm lazy sometimes! What I was saying is that the CA code considers you reckless if you are more than 20 miles over the posted limit from what I've heard. Glad your cop listened to your plea. I should get a little statement ready for that dreaded day. So far, my wife still drives the 02 MDX.

Yauser

Holy shit.

I tried to read all of this, but couldn't. Did I catch the word "penile" in there? I'll just assume you're right and I'm wrong.

wavshrdr

My point is not about exact gearbox design as I know the differences but my point is about how hung up people are on having a clutch pedal. My point is the manu-matics have essentially done away with the clutch at least in how it is controlled by the driver.

My point further illustrated is that whereas AT's would never have been even considered for use in a "sports car" they now often have a very large percent of the vehicle sales. Before a car with a AT would never have even been considered a "sports car" or even sport sedan.

So many of the things that people think that the MT has head and shoulders about current AT is more perception than reality. Most people have no clue on how to use a clutch or even the finer points of it. Yet abuse (or even use it in an unskilled manner) a clutch and you can do huge amounts of damage to the drive train.

My personal choice would be a SMG gearbox as you have the best of both worlds. You can also geat almost the same performance in the AMG gearbox but via a different method. It seems for some reason to many people that a manumatic is not a "real man/woman's car". That somehow a MT gearbox is vastly superior to the AT. For me the SMG gearbox feels a lot like my motorcycles. People are just so quick sometimes to dismiss a AT as not being sport oriented.

Corvette 5AT was a typo. I apologize and I knew facts. I have MS Word setup to autocomplete text for me and since I post more on Acura forums I have AT to automatically rewrite itself as 5AT. Sometimes I miss correcting it when I paste it into the browser window. Which brings me to ask why can't GM build a good 5 or 6spd AT to drop in the Vette?