Hi everyone. This is my first post on the forum as I have just joined. My birthday is in about a month and I am looking to buy my first car. I believe I am getting a 2012 TL, as my older brother has an 06' and I love the looks of the 12'. I am on a budget of about 16k and I'm stuck between getting an AWD model with the technology package or just a FWD model with the advance package. I like to accelerate quickly and driving on the backroads where I live is a blast. I have found a pretty good deal on a FWD with advance package, but I don't want to regret my decision. We get snow pretty much every year and spotty rain days quite often here in southern Illinois too. I don't know how often I would NEED the AWD but I feel it would be a good thing to have. I really like the blind spot monitors included with the advanced package because I have driven a 2017 MDX with them and it was great. I would love to have both AWD and the advance package but that would cost beyond my budget with decent mileage. I just need to know if the AWD is really worth it and necessary, or if the FWD is fine. We also have an RDX that is FWD and I like the way it drives, but I have never been in a situation where AWD would be necessary, in the short time I have been driving. So which should I get?
Thanks,
Ashton

 

I just purchased a 2012 TL AWD with Tech and I absolutely love it. I've always had AWD cars and unfortunately had to drive a FWD VW CC for a month before I found my perfect TL and absolutely hated it. AWD gets less mpg but to me it was never in question, the feel and handling is what you pay for.

1 Vote for SH-AWD

 

I just bought a 12 AWD Advance and I love it works great in the snow. Good Luck

 

Hey Man,

I was kind of in the same predicament in regards to which option to get. Living where I live, the AWD would be great but not necessarily needed (i have a truck for the winter haha) but i ended up going with the 12 AWD w/ Tech package.

The advance would have been great but was out of my reach at the time.

Good luck on your choice but I love mine! I drove my friends FWD one and the AWD is just more fun IMO.

 

I just picked up my 10 6SPD AWD, and this car is a beast. I drove my friends FWD and was happy with it but love my AWD. Good luck on your pick.

 

I have the 12 FWD Tech. I really wanted the AWD but when I test drove it, I did not like the ride. It was harsh, especially on the potholed riddled roads in the Northeast where I drive. The FWD is smooth. Some cons to consider with the AWD besides the harsher ride are 1. worse fuel economy; 2. the 3.7 engine in the AWD is not as reliable as the 3.5 in the FWD (see threads on here regarding oil consumption); 3. the FWD is great in snow with decent snow tires like Blizzaks, so there is no real justification for the AWD if you drive in the snow; 4. you have to drive almost recklessly to get the benefits of the torque vectoring in the SH-AWD. The TL is a heavy car and not really suited for thrashing around corners at high speed. If you want a fun, sporty car with AWD, look for a 12 Subaru WRX STI.

 

If you are out for fun the 12 Subaru WRX STI would do better then the TL either version.

That said if you are new to driving, I assume so don't get over your head. You said it was your birthday so I assume you aren't very old? The AWD is nice but you need to drive unsafely fast to really use it. I bought my wife a 2012 TL FWD a couple of months ago and she loves it. More importantly I like it too. I had a 2001 CL and loved that car and 2012 TL is actually a little faster, handling seems about the same but the CL was smaller. I would get the tech package, I wouldn't spend the money on anything else. I live down south and the TL AWD was a rare car around here so when I did find one it was much more expensive then the FWD. I would just get a FWD.

 

similar to what other people have posted the 4g tl is a great daily driver and feels sport inspired, but it is heavy. We have a 2012 awd advance which my wife now drives and it does feel pretty quick on its feet for such a heavy car. The only drawback is the 6 speed automatic. This transmission is very sluggish. Even with the paddles it seems as though the delay is long to drop 1 or 2 gears. If you can find a 6 speed manual I bet you will have a blast driving it. The advance adds the cooled seats and the blindspot monitoring system and push button start. if those features are really important to you than go for the advance model.

That being said, we also have a 2010 tsx v6 which i daily drive and I actually enjoy driving the tsx more. The 5 speed auto does not hesitate as much as the 6 speed auto in the tl at least from my experience driving both. The suspension is softer in the tsx so it feels sloppier. I installed coilovers to take care of that issue. Acceleration feels just as quick if not quicker than the awd tl. Off the line, the AWD has its advantages but on the freeway, the tsx feels faster.

You should consider test driving the v6 tsx as it has the same engine as the fwd tl, with less curb weight. They are rarer cars so you might have to look harder but you should be able to find a good example in your budget provided you like the way it drives over the tl.

Either way both cars are great reliable choices for long term ownership and the community here is pretty helpful. You can find countless ways to tinker with the car to make it your own.

Post pictures of whatever you end up buying. Good luck.

 

FWD is better for you if you have limit budget. I think FWD has less maintenance cost and less issues. also better mpg.
FWD is fast enough for me.

 

If you can find a AWD w/ the ELS sound system go for it. The stock sound is terrible, ELS is way way better. You don't need the nav, but I'm not sure if the ELS comes without nav or not.

I have a 2012 FWD w/ Tech. I wish I had gone w/ AWD, but I live in the north east near NYC and when it snows it gets pretty bad here. Aside from those 3-4 months I'm perfectly happy with my FWD.

 

How many miles are you looking at on a 2012 TL all wheel drive for 16000?

 

Get the SH-awd with tech package if you get rain in a basis and a winter with snow. If you get a FWD I would recommend a Honda Accord v6 EX-L, same power, almost safe features (maybe better), cheaper to insure, more fuel efficient, and it takes regular fuel. The whole point of the 4G TL is the SH-AWD system.

 

This was my immediate thought, $16k is not going to get you a great condition '12+ SH-AWD model...

That's less than the trade in value of mine when I bought my Golf... And that's with a good amount of miles on it.