VictorTL

I don’t find the 5th Gen TL any attractive at all. It looks just like regular sedan. The new Honda Accord looks more attractive than this boring looks. They should stick with the 3rd Gen TL exterior design.

Christopher.

In order to really stand out as exceptional to one person, it would have to probably be "exaggerated" or "silly" looking to 3 other people - I really like what they did. I find it to be beautiful, but classy, refined yet not garish or over-styled. To me, it is worthy of being in an art museum:



I really don't like the appearance of the 2018 Accord nearly as well as the 2018 Acura TLX, though I could live with it's [the Accord] appearance because the 2018 2.0T (Turbo) Accord is otherwise such a great car (for the price).

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Know we've been through this before as as one might expect, owners of the 3G seem to feel this gen is the most appealing, and given the sales figures, others must agree, and even the new TLX falls short.
Here are some sales figures rounded off in thousands:
TL
04 78
05 78
06 71
07 59
08 46
09 34
10 34
11 31
12 34
13 24
14 19
TLX
14 47
15 47
16 37

Just my view:
Think the grille could get any bigger on the Accord, maybe in a few years it'll be a big as the Lexus.
On the TLX, got the headlights straight, but just don't know why the designers stick with the everything "slanted" look in the front.

Happy New Year!

truonghthe

lol I drove the MMC TLX and that hood is pissing me off, looks like someone sat on the hood with a big ass butt print. The explanation is pretty simple, the sale has dwindle since 2008 therefore they don't have budget to hire "quality" design team.

Superunknown

I suspect rising beltlines and wind tunnel testing together are making sedan design very homogeneous in all but the highest market segments. At a distance that's not very far, the TLX (before and after the MMC) blends seamlessly into a sea of Nissans, Toyotas and Hyundais. The profile and body lines simply do not stand out.

As an aside, all these chrome bits they keep tacking on new cars are not going to age well.

VictorTL

WDPanda

It's not just Acura, guys. Check out brand new Porches, BMW (stuck in 1998), GM, even Tesla all have budgets or whatever that is making cars cheap inside. The seats are thin as a cracker, dashboards can be moved by your hand, etc. Benz seems to be doing good.

sparc

There's also a shift away from sedans in the USA towards SUV/Crossovers which has pretty much hurt everyone. Looking at the sales figures of the Acura RDX, they've steadily trended up in a similar time period.

Take a look at BMW 3 series sales figures too, they seem to be trending downwards over the last few years. Just one example, but i'm sure there are many others of sedans on the decline.

TacoBello

Stupid people!! Quit buying CUVs!!!

truonghthe

I sat in my co-worker 2017 C300 and the interior material literally blow the TLX out the water.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Agree, but annual sales figures for all Acura models have never come close to the 200,000 units each year in '04, 0'5, '06 model years. Acura as a whole, saw @ 1.2% of market share back then, compared what has now become less than 1%, actually .92% (2016-160,000 units). They won't see the 160,000 in 2017, maybe 150,000.
They're not even treading water anymore, they're sinking, going backwards.

sparc

I don't even know how they can justify making the RLX anymore. It's a pitiful number of sales. Sales figures seem to have peaked around the same time as the TL. ILX is basically treading water. No growth. Acura as a whole would be in a lot more trouble if the RDX sales hadn't picked up.

Sedans overall have become pretty bloated looking to manipulate the fuel economy rules. The third gen acura tl was a nice and tight design.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^the story goes...Honda of Japan FORCED Acura to sell the RLX here.
and if that is the case; like many conceited management...Acura most likely played ball to SHOW Honda of Japan that the RLX sucks.

this was the case for Ford..
Ford quit production of the FOrd GT, but some top brass kept it as a side project and now we have the 2nd gen Ford GT

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

5th gen TL? I never heard of such a thing.
I HAVE heard of a TLX.

GhostTL09

iTrader: (1)

....back in 99 Acura wanted to build a family sport sedan and they did all the way through 2008, and in 09 went for the corporate look and failed miserably. Now they are going back to the safe family sport sedan with not much sport. I'm old enough to remember Acura commercials that actually spoke to the demographic of drivers they were seeking with some depth to make you want to see what the tech was all about. Now their commercials will give you a seizure and you don't know what the heck they are showing you with all the flashing cars and lights across the screen. Even with the refresh for them not to change anything about the interior layout is a mistake too.

WDPanda

considering the C class is their lower model, the S class is something from the future.

DMZ

>>>>>Why the 5th Gen TL looks boring?<<<<<

Even Consumer Reports blasts the new Acura sedans!! Uninspiring, unreliable, and not worth the money. Any questions?

Acura has come to think their shit doesn't stink and their name will be enough to carry them.......WRONG !!

I'd take a 2018 Accord over a new TLX any day! In fact, I'm seriously considering it.
.
.

Christopher.

@DMZ every person I know that's seen my 2018 TLX has told me it's a beautiful car - even people that I previously didn't think really cared how a car look said that. I tested TWO 2018 Accords on the same day that I chose the TLX. Yeah, the 2.0T engine accord gives you more for you money, and I liked the idea of a 6 speed manual transmission, but the Sport was missing a lot of features I wanted that the TLX has such as leather seats. As to the 2.0T Touring model of the Accord, I figured that's getting close to the price of Acura, why not go see what I think of the Acura - who knows, I might want to step up to the TLX? (This was what I was thinking before I tried it)

The look of the TLX from the outside isn't weird like the '18 Accord is, I mean, the Accord is not ugly, it's kind of cool looking, but not compared to the TLX which is simply a beautiful car, worthy of a place in an art museum. Also, the ride and handling of the TLX are far more quiet and refined than the Accord and the P-AWS or SH-AWD do a better job of alleviating the downside of FWD handling. Since I use the Android Auto I actually prefer the two-screen "infotainment" head unit, the blind spot warning system on the TLX is superior, and I love the rear collision mitigation system - particularly when backing up in parking lots.

Sure, the Accord is a good car, and it's probably not worth the extra expense to get the TLX, for most people. But every time I sit in my TLX it makes me happy in ways that the Accord simply could not. The only reason I even went to Acura to test drive the TLX was that the Accord I was ready to buy was out of stock, I'm sure I would have been perfectly content with the 2.0T Accord, if they had had them in stock when I went to the dealer. I didn't want to wait. I don't regret choosing the TLX instead, this will probably be the only time I ever own a "luxury" car. Next car will likely be the Civic Type R (or equivalent).

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

What are they going to say to you, it's hideous?
Just remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

truonghthe

I saw couple 2015 TLX V6 Tech goes for $20k-$22k around 45k-60k miles, hell I wish the TL-S market was that cheap back in 2010-2011. My dealer senior sale reps admitted that he lost many close relationship customer over the year due to Acura design, he bought an RLX P-AWS and disappoint about it when compare to my RL (his former car), even the Tech told me not to trade the Type Slow during test drive. I told him don't worry about it since I got a base TL too.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

LOL! you're right, to be nice and to boost other peoples ego's, I let out a "NICE CAR!"
i've also found modern cars to be fairly stylish! none of them are Pontiac Aztecs..
But I wouldnt spend ~$40k on a TLX, cuz it is a little bland looking and HEY, there's NOTHING wrong with being a vanilla Joe

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Looks wise I like the MMC ASPEC over the new Accord.

Christopher.

Depending on the color, those were indeed hideous.
Heh, I prefer to say "subtle elegance" over "bland" - but yeah, I think the '18 TLX is kind of a "classic sedan shape" with only subtle styling, whereas the Kia Stinger has this fugly "KIA" badge and the "sport back" or whatever you call the Audis is kinda lame looking to an otherwise sweet car, except for the current A4 which is like an upside down steel bathdtub with a hamburger grill glued to the front :P Those cars are all "try hards" trying to be "different from the rest" and different does not always translate to better.

Yeah, the Accord is not hideous, but it falls into the same trap as the Audi, Kia, etc. they try to be "different", but fail and just look kinda weird (not in a good way).

I'm fairly certain the vast majority of people will say the 2018 TLX is a better looking car than the 2018 Accord, but not so much better that it affects their purchase decision, because the 2018 2.0T Accord is the mainstream car to get right now for people that want an all around good car and not pay much over $30K...

The A-Specs are nice, but my favorite (appearance wise) is the V6 in Lunar Silver with these wheels:

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

I do want to state that when I mentioned that no one would say to the owner that the new TLX is hideous was just an example. I certainly don't believe the design is hideous, just needs a few minor tweaks for my liking.

Many years ago we saw a red/black leather RX7 Turbo at the NY Auto show and that was the car we wanted. Purchased one and when I drove it to work, a woman that worked in accounting asked me why I would ever purchase a red car. Go figure. Actually still have the car.

Watch what is said about Kia's. Just kidding. Purchased an '08 new and now the daughter is using the car as her Jeep Hemi is down, 283,000 miles and still going strong.
Also have a snow white pearl, 2011 EX turbo 275HP/3300 lbs. This car has a panoramic roof, heated cooled front seats, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, nav, climate control, smart key+++. Really a fun car to drive as it makes a believer out of a lot of people. Gas mileage suffers as the car sees @ 17 lbs boost quite often.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

you really are a turbo nut!!!

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Quite a character and always with unique replies!!

Joecop67

Trav2390

So boring

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

Unless you have money....

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

and one was a SEMA car. not even close to being fair

1995hoo

My wife has a 2015 TLX, V-6 and AWD with the Advance package; she purchased it last May. I still have my 2004 TL (purchased new in August 2004), and we kept her 2003 RSX Type-S when we got the TLX. Of the three, I think the TL is the best-looking (of course I'm biased), but I also think the TLX is much better-looking than the 4G TL. Funny thing is, it's not the nose on the 4G that puts me off anymore—it's the trunklid, which I simply find ugly. I think the TLX has an understated level of class to it. It's subtle and is not a "look-at-me" car unless you're inclined to modify it for that purpose (we are not inclined to do so). We have the original grille, not the style shown on the blue car further up the thread. The interior styling is overall fairly nice. The omission of a shifter in favor of the buttons was a little weird for a couple of days but has the side effect of freeing up a lot of space.

Setting aside styling, I will say that TLX is a great roadtrip car. I do find myself missing the manual transmission (more on that in a second), and I would prefer some more tactile buttons for the stereo. It's all touchscreen and voice-control, and a touchscreen is often not ideal when you're dealing with heavy traffic. I miss the DVD-Audio capability; while there is an iPod hookup, I find it distracting to twirl through the lengthy list of artists while I'm driving (I haven't gotten the "Song by Voice" feature down pat yet). I like the seat heaters more than the ones in the TL because they give you some more control in terms of there being three temperature settings as opposed to just "low" and "high"—this week, in particular, the TLX's seat heaters have been outstanding. The highway performance is rather astonishing. We drove the car to St. Louis this fall and we regularly averaged over 35 mpg on the Interstate. Could have topped 500 miles on a tank multiple times if I hadn't wanted to stop for other reasons (lunch or toilet stop) and decided it made more sense just to fill up at the same time. My TL does pretty well on the highway too, averages about 30 to 31 mpg at 70 mph in all-highway driving, but the TLX takes it to another level. The TLX's trunk is shaped a bit better than the 3G TL's is. The TLX's voice control is not as easy to use as the TL's is because you have to hit the button twice for some reason (I think there is a way to change that, but I haven't had time to study the manual closely enough to figure it out, and I don't much feel like sitting in the car playing with the controls while we're dealing with the cold weather this week).

Regarding the manual (6MT) versus automatic (9AT in the TLX), my wife wanted a car with an automatic. It turned out to be a good thing—she injured her left foot shortly after Thanksgiving, and when she tried to drive the RSX (6MT) one morning, she couldn't do it because it hurt too much to step on the clutch. I've found I use the paddle shifters in the TLX way more than she does, but then I'm far more likely to pull out to pass on a two-lane road or the like, and I'd rather use the paddles than the kickdown.