RSA_Secure

5+AT is one of the things...but what Honda was (is?) really proud of with their engineering roots was superior Engine technology. Honda is still using its old J series engine where as the competition has moved to more superior DI engines. The can't even come close to the power output other engines have with similar size Case in point: 3.5 liter from Toyota, Infiniti, etc.

whatjones911

Yea the J-series is an ancient design. No way they will get to Tier 1 status with a J-series

BHump

Not exactly sure what you're comparing here, but Infiniti doesn't make a 3.5L with DI. Toyota (Lexus) does use a DI 3.5L in the IS350.

I definitely think the bigger issue is the 5AT...Mazda, Hyundia, etc are using 6AT, so why can't Acura? It's really just a head-scratcher.

RSA_Secure

^^ I think it did have it at some point. Either way, VQ35 has been chosen by Ward numerous times as "10 Best Engines"

KeithL

But with Honda's reputation with trannies for 6 cylinders do you want the first year they release one anyway?

TANE

interior is banans

AcuraTL_driver

Its so crazy its BANANS! WITHOUT THE "A"! Lol. I love that color for the interior with the black...

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

After seeing many photos of the TL, the 09 RL has really grown on me:

mayflowerman

Does the 09 TL come with the back-up cam displayed on the Navi Screen? Didn't see anything written on that. The 08 TL camera looks like an after market install.

The pictures with the dual color interior are spectacular. It's looks like belting leather. Very Euro and "sports edition" type interior. Volvo and Audi had the same option in their R versions. Porche & Maserati offer the same today.

I'll spend most of my time inside the car so I don't need to worry too much what it looks like from the outside. Our friends driving the G35's must have adopted the same attitude at some point....

I'd buy it for the Acura reliability and technology. Your BMW 3's and 5's will be in the shop 10 times before your Acura will service once. Same with your Nissan Maxima (translated means 30,000 miles MAXimum) and even the Infiniti I've heard (the name refers to the number of service visits possible as a car owner)

I love the gradual appreciation of the new style in the more recent posts...think of what we'll all be saying in 90 more days when some of us own one. It'll be like..."Hey, anyone know how to make the Dopler Radar image fade lighter?....Oh, sorry 3G owners..I posted this on the wrong forum"....

Xpditor

The RL will have a V-10. Mark my words.

And then, a few years later, perhaps a CL-S V-10 450 HP, SH-AWD, DC 7-speed.

I'm 90% certain of the V-10 in the RL soon. That's from an insider source.

The rest is wishful thinking.

krio

well, I think you are right. The new NSX is a V10, and Honda spoke first about this engine, not about a V8. And second, it's very easy to get a V8 from a V10. For ex. the V8 engine of the M3 BMW is a direct derivation from the V10 (the M5) without 2 cylinder... Maybe from the V10 RL/NSX, the Acura will get a V8 for the TL...

NTP66

I know it's trivial, but reflector DRL's? Really? That's weak. I already hate the fact that all cars don't come with HID's, but *nobody* should be using reflector-type halogens.

Xpditor

DTRs are not to light up the enivronment; they are there to make the vehicle more visible. So, I think it makes sense to build them with those lights that will last longest and be most trouble-free (not to mention cheapest).

Acura is one of the last companies to give in to them. My 3G doesn't have them and I don't care. I don't want to be confused for a Malibu coming down the road.

Xpditor

I trust all the folks that were whining about the wrinkles in the leather on their driver's seat will note that every interior shot we have seen of the 2009 interiors has a wrinkled driver seat. In fact, my 2004 has less than those on these photos.

I have a theory that I was sharing with ggesq yesterday at lunch. Since this is an "entry-level" luxury sport sedan, it is the first time many of us have actually owned a real leather interior on a new car. Our experience and expectations are based on our past life with bullet-proof vinyl made to look like leather. Unyielding, cold, plastic vinyl.

Leather is skin. Our leather is exceptionally soft "glove" leather.... perforated. It stretches to take our shape and then contracts. Skin wrinkles as it gets older. The leather we have (some call it "cheap") as standard equipment, you will pay a fat dividend for in a M-B or BMW. Wrinkling is natural and just adds characer. Look at Ferraris, Bentleys, R-R, Jaguar etc. and you will see the same sort of aging.

And these 2009 interiors would seem to confirm that.

Acura98TL

Does anyone know when Acura officially will announce the release of the '09 TL, usually doesn't Acura release the new TLs like first or second week of August???

diddy_nyc

iTrader: (1)

They'll release official information on the 18th of this month.
We've basically seen everything with the exception of pricing.

BHump

Yep, it looks like the camera is integrated into the rear spolier...not sure about the base models?

Completely agree with you regarding the new TL interior (fantastic), and the fact that most time is spent in the cabin. Completely disagree with your Nissan / Infiniti reliability statements....you're just making up stuff in that regard.

AMROCKS

I'm already wondering about replacing the hard drive with a larger one! And with the new VGA screen the car pc guys will love the better resolution.

handy911

Is there a comparison picture between 3G and 4G from the same angles, etc?

Can somebody good with ps do it please?

krio

krio

ops, I forgot the MOST important one

007TL-S

The TL's exterior has been beaten with a S%^$ stick "THANK GOD I GOT A 3G!" oh wee!

23109VC

i have to admit it is growing on me, but then every once in a while i snap out of it and say "damn it's ugly". from some angles. it has a futuristic look to it. when you see it side by side next to the 3G it makes the 3G look older.

i wonder how good the deals will be? if i'mlooking for a great deal - i can get one on a TL-S now. no everyone has one, but they are dealing hard on them. MSRP was $39k for a TL-S and dealers are quoting me $32,300. that's almost 7k off.

now if the residual is higher ont eh new car - you might be able to elase one for similar money. they won't give anincentive, but the higher residual might wipe out the difference..

anyone care to venture what kind of lease ddeals we will see on these things? will we still have low MF like the current TL??

i'm interested in a good car, and i'd be happy with a 3G TL-S. maybe a 4G would be better, but i wouldn't pay $100 more a month to get one. if the price was the same, i'd be tempted to wait an dsee it in the flesh.

i can pay minimum drive offs - about $1000-1500 and have a monthly paymen of no more than $425 tax included for a TL-S. i kind of doubt we will see something that cheap for a new TL. for sure not hte new SH-AWD version which is all I would be interested in...

23109VC

the more i look at the new car, i like the look from straight on. it looks beefier up front.

but the back end looks too long/fat. teh 3G has a more sloped sporty looking rear end.

the 3G TL_S looks more sporty. the new one looks more luxury car / big boatish.

007TL-S

CAN YOU SAY TOYOTA CAMARY, REPEAT AFTER ME!

coykiam

TOYOTA CAMRY!!!!! hahhahahaha......i was just thinking about this today....*sigh*....this is like an over priced civic....

CL6

I'm not digging that 'arch' theme above the gearshifter but the interior looks very good aside from that. Interesting center console shape. Still, the outside of the car is really bad... The grille is nasty but that wide plastic brushed aluminum on either side looks worse. Good inside, three bagger outside.

007TL-S

YEP!...... backend of a Camary, side view of a GS300, front end of a Camary again.....42K Loaded ! theyv'e got to be kidding right !

007TL-S

I couldn't of put it any better myself!

VTHokieTL

$40k for a Pontiac exterior? No thanks!

Mansa24

As much as I love my TL I must say the new TL makes it look plain. The new TL looks more upscale. I think Acura is headed in the right direction.

However, I’m little disappointed that it doesn’t seem to have power tilt and telescoping steering column and cooled seats. They should at least have these options on the SH model.

CL6

Remember, Acura always adds features the second model year... this is par for the course. And the RL just got 'ventilated' front seats for 2009 (even though Canada had them already).

Will this TL be sold in Japan as an Inspire..?

Acuraboy7

Yeah the wheels on the base 3.5 are boring...makes the car look cheap. the wheels on the base 08 look better

Acuraboy7

The car also needs bigger head lights, they are just like the ones on the 3g TL

FiveLiterCheater

The interior, as usual, makes the competition look like a joke. This has always been Acura's strongest point IMO. Everything looks very well put together and has an awesome sense of design and utility. The only thing that kind of turns me off is the center glovebox cover, looks like a tooth.

That being said, the exterior still leaves a lot to be desired. There are far too many lines for its own good. I liked the organic look of the 3G because every line was so smooth and natural, whereas they did a 180* turn on the 4G and made it very bold and well stated. This would have worked if everything blended correctly. Things that really turn me off:

*The lower grilles, seriously....who designed them? The shape looks great, however WTF is up with the arangement of the lights and the actual grille?

*The upper grille....deserves a big WTF because this, IMO, ruins the front end of the car

*The headlights...Look way too plain for a $40k+ vehicle, and they are WAY too high up, which is why I think most are saying it resembles the camry. A different design, similar to the TSX would have been nice.

*The hood line should have gone all the way down to the headlights

*The side profile looks great, although it could use a bit of distinction. The circular gas cover looks like an after thought. The hump over the front wheel well should be more natural IMO.

*The rear is a mess, way too many things going on. For starters, that little piece under the trunk lid looks so out of place. The spoiler looks like the green goblins hoverboard, the reflectors are way too big and attract way too much attention, and I hate how the entire rear profile has all its line energy focusing on the rear license plate. Every line eventually ends up at the plates...why...?

MICHAELBPR

I agree with you on this. It looks like the front end was the last thing they design and it didn't fit so the had to make the top of grille larger and add those those 2 xtra pieces of plastic (or maybe is metal don't know) over the headlights to fill the gap.

handy911

hei Krio...thanks for doing my request, they're really helpful...

I started to think that our 3G TL will soon look outdated....damn, ugly as it is, the new TL will look very distinctive on the road....

and I am sure it will look better in person..

MICHAELBPR

After I saw this pics I went to the Acura webpage to see frontal pics of the RL and the TSX. And the 09 RL looks more like a 4 gen TL than this thing here. If you look at the new RL from the front it looks almost the same as the 04-08 TL but with bigger headlights. I think that is how the front of the TL should've look like.

neuronbob

I love that interior. Acura was definitely on the ball with that. Looks like an RL on steroids.

BTW, ignore the buttons....just do what we RL drivers do.....the big knob in the middle is ridiculously easy to use, and the voice commands are a dream, far better than in the TL from my experience.

If we get past the *shudder* exterior, the inside of the car really rocks.

MICHAELBPR

Can someone add side by side pics of the 3g TL with the 09 RL front and back.