HeatedSeats

I know this is an ACURA TL forum but I wanted to get your opinions because I am looking to purchase a TL and I have owned a Nissan before and I wanted your input. But what do you think defines the difference between the two cars? Would any prefer an M35 rather than a TL?

Thanks

saturno_v

Loaded question....buying used?? (when you say M35 I assume you are buying a used car)

Which TL generation?? 3G?? 4G?? FWD or AWD??

dragonwang

I would assume he's comparing current gen TL vs M35.

OneOfOne

cant speak to the m35 but the m37 is much more luxurious than the tl

HeatedSeats

Could go either way, 2009 if used or new.

msubee

M35 is the previous generation before the current M37/M56. I personally prefer the 4G TL because the car design is recent, therefore won't be look outdated.

g37guy01

I agree, m35 looks kind of dates, but maybe it's not relevant to the op.

08AcuraTL3

I say M35, but its very close. I just like the look of the M35 more (especially the sport), my parents used to have one and I was always in love with it.

esco115

OP, you cant go wrong with either, (assuming ur talking about the 4g TL and the 3g M35), although they dont compete with each other. But if your going for the 3g M get the 09 with the revised interior, VQ engine (303hp) w/ a 7at, and other little things here and there.

mcoard954

Exterior design of the TL wins...by far. Interior design of the M35 wins...by far. The Infiniti M is a more expensive vehicle than the TL (when purchased new) and it shows. I'm a TL owner and I had to make the same choice between the 2 vehicles. It comes down to what you're looking for and whether you want a Honda or a Nissan. I obviously chose Honda.

g37guy01

You also cross shopped a new TL against a cpo m35?

docboy

I had a chance to drive and check out the M35 a few years back. It was the last remaining M35x (probably a demo vehicle) the dealer had on the lot, and they had it priced something ridiculous like $6,000 off MSRP.

I was there to check out the G37x but this dealership kept pushing me towards the M35.

So I test drove it. My impressions were that it felt like a big heavy boat, decent power, nice tech features, comfy seats/ride, spacious rear seats, BOSE DVD... It felt like a touring cruiser, almost Lexus like, comfy but definitely not a sporty vehicle. Nothing "exciting" or engaging about the ride/drive IMHO.

Subjectively the M35x is not really my type of vehicle at this stage in my life. Different tastes for different people.

No opinions on the M37 since I haven't driven it yet.

p6889k

I test drove a slightly used certified M37S before buying my TL-SHAWD Advanced 2 months ago. The price on the M37S was discounted heavily, it looked nice, the interior especially, the feature content was excellent, but, the car drove like a big Cadillac. From behind the wheel you could see the sheer mass of the car and its front hood, it wasn't very agile, the transmission was rather slow when shifting gears. I was really disappointed, because this was the S model with sport suspension and paddle shifters and certainly looked very sporty from the outside.

It wasn't very easy choice to pick the Acura either, because while I really liked how it drove, I felt the electronics were very outdated, especially the navigation system, the car configuration menu, the audio menus, etc. In the end, I determined that I could live with less than perfect electronic content in the Acura than the abysmal handling of the M37S. The fact that I got about $6K off of MSRP on the Acura was big plus.

Now to be honest, the car I really loved was Audi S4. The performance was at a whole another level, the electronics were good, but the price and smaller back seat were a problem. Even CPO prices were extremely high, compared to what I remember them few years ago.

Good luck in your decision. Make sure you test drive both cars.

JT4

I personally feel that the m35 is a little outdated. I just honestly love the way the 4g Tl looks, drives, and handles!

g37guy01

A friend of ours who owns an M37x, said something similiar. The M37 competes in space to the 7 series in price the 5 series; with agility in the middle of those two cars. It is not a lighter ELLPs such as the TL. On the luxury/sport needle, the needle clearly lies toward the luxury side.

When our friend drove a loaner g, it was commented how "heavy" the M felt compared to the G. That is the case by design. The difference is between the M and G/TL is enormous at different ends of the spectrum.

compewterbleu

Two different carriages...

emanon256

Last weekend I spent two days and 300 miles road testing and comparing a newish ~5,000 fully loaded 2013 M37 with my 2009 TL SH-AWD Tech that has ~51,000 miles. I thought about writing something up and found this thread. If anyone thinks I should start a separate comparison thread let me know.

Most of what we did was just drive around on low traffic windy country and mountain highways and dirt roads, etc. Never used the navigation in either so I can't compare, didn't do a detailed stereo comparison, but the M37 sounded very good, it was the Bose upgrade. We mainly focused on driving.

Aesthetics:
M37 Wins. I know this is mainly a matter of opinion, but I think on the outside the M37 wins hands down, it looks much better. On the inside, the TL nav screen looks nicer, but all around the M37 looks cleaner due to having fewer buttons. I would still take the buttons. I think the touch screen in the M37 is far more distracting to a driver than a lot of buttons. I also prefer the hood over the screen that the TL has. Much less glare and easier to see in direct sunlight. The M37s climate control was more complicated to use, and the stereo was more complicated as well. But I still liked the way the M37 looked better, but that's a matter of opinion.

Acceleration:
TL Wins. We didn't use any professional equipment or run a 1/4 mile, but as far as how it felt driving them both, the TL wins hands down. We ran both vehicles in normal drive mode. The M37 is slow off the line and seems to lack in low end torque. The M37 hesitates and then does eventually accelerate quickly, but you have to try to get it to do this. Once it does, it is fast. Running through the gears, the TL starts strong, then the VTEC kicks in, and gets stronger and it stays strong. The M37 is only strong in a very narrow band. Accelerating from 55, the TL hesitates before down shifting, but doesn't loose speed. From 55 the M37 hesitates as well, but actually looses speed while down shifting. It was too hard in my opinion to get the M37 to go fast, and the gas was not responsive unless you mashed it.

Steering:
TL Wins again, the TL is nimble and easy to take turns at high speeds, it holds its speeds in the turns if you keep giving it gas and the steering is very balanced. The only problem is if you let off the gas, there is a hesitation before it picks up speed again. The M37 has some serious under steer, and its hard to keep it up to speed on the turns without it wanting to wander off the road. Even with more gas the M37 seems to hesitate on its own unless you mash it and then it goes too fast. Its as if the electronic throttle only has 3 positions, off, slow, and fast. The TL electronic throttle has a much wider range.

Dirt roads:
TL wins again, though this is an unfair test as this was a RWD M37 v. an AWD TL. The M37 could not go much above 30 on a dirt road without starting to slightly fish tail. We even tried the M37 in snow mode, and all it did was prevent it from accelerating quickly. It was very unstable on the dirt, especially while cornering. As a side note, I used to drive an S2K and it did better on dirt roads than the M37 which shocked me. I would expect an RWD sedan with traction control to outperform an RWD roadster with no traction control. The TL could get up to 45 before anything felt unstable and never lost traction while cornering. It was build for dirt!

Comfort:
The M37 wins this round. Its seats were extremely comfortable, and the aesthetics were well thought out. Every button was well within reach, everything felt good, and all of the seat adjustments were in the right place. Also, the headrest wasn't sticking forward like it does in the TL. The TL is comfortable, but just not as comfortable as the M37.

Ride:
This one is a matter of opinion, so I won't declare a winner. The TL has a much tighter ride, you feel the bumps, you feel the feedback, etc. The M37, while not bouncy like a Lexus, has a softer smoother ride. I prefer the TL in this case. The TL was also quieter on the road, which surprised me as my TL is almost 5 years old and the M37 is a few months old.

Headlights:
Neither are good, but the M37 wins slightly. Had to throw this in, I am disappointed in the TLs light output at night. The lens seems to seriously restrict the amount of light, though I am comparison this to my old S2K. I do however like that the TL has separate high beams. With low beams on, the M37 seems to have better light on the road. With high beams, I am not sure how much I like the shutter change in the M37, its good because it re-aims the light and gives HID high beams, but there then seems to be less light overall. I don't like either. I prefer my old S2k with amazing low beams and high powered all weather halogen high beams.

Room:
The M37 wins. The M37 had more leg room for the driver, while still having more leg room in back. Also the M37 trunk was bigger. (Not sure how the trunk would be in the M37x).

Overall:
I was glad to drive away from the comparison in my TL. I liked the features, looks, seat comfort, etc. of the M37 better, but at the end of the day its all about how it drives and the TL is the clear winner in my book.

Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. If anyone has any questions about the two let me know.

ETA: The M37 cost $60,000 while my TL when new was $46,000 ish I believe, I bought mine CPO and my friend bought his M37 new.

g37guy01

I have a friend who cross shopped the m with the g. The m was eventually bought, and from a luxury perspective it's a stunner. However fast forward, when said friend found out I got the g, there was some buyers remorse due to the more sporty nature of the g.

Different strokes for different folks. The m and TL are different types of cars, meant for different automotive missions. If I were spending 60 large...I would suck it up and get the 550i.

KeithL

Having owned both cars I would tend to agree with almost everything you said. I owned a 09 TL AWD for 18 months and now have my M37 Sport for 34 months. You did not say of the M you drive was a regular M37 or the Sport. There is a big different in the ride and handling between base M and Sport.

The M37 Sport handles decent in the turns, but there is no way you are going to want to throw it around turns like you would the AWD TL, you always feel the M may want to get away form you.

I will add an Audio comparison as my M has the 5.1 Bose. The TL wins that one, the TL ELS is far crisper and truer than the Bose. The Bose is decent and powerful, but muddies the lows.

I will stress how comfortable the M37 is, We drove it to NYC twice in the last 18 months and it is effortless on the highway, smooth comfortable and handles great with plenty of leg room and comfortable seats, even the bolstered sport seats (no where near as bolstered as the TL AWD) are very comfortable, but you will slide around in the turns.

I love the styling of the M inside and out, especially the Sport fascia and wheels.

The M is Luxury sedan first with sportiness added, vs. the G which is sporty first and foremost. The TL is Luxury, but the AWD TL really cranks up a lot, but sacrifices ride quality

emanon256

If you mean the sport package, it did not have it. It had the premium package as well as several other upgrades. I completely agree with your assessment, I think the M put luxury first. And I do miss the comfortable seats. On a separate note I drove a G25x as a rental for a few weeks a while back and while I liked it, I never had enough leg room or power for me.

KeithL

The M37 Sport has a better suspension that and base M, the AWD TL would still dance circles around the M, but the Sport M has a better behaved ride without becoming harsh. I have grown to enjoy my M ride so much I am struggling even though I want to come back to Acura. I am leaning toward ordering a new M.

CerberusKy

iTrader: (1)

For me, it came down to the M56x (used) or the sh-awd TL. The M was much more expensive and you can not get it in a stick. If I could have gotten it with a stick it would have been the M56x for sure... I love that engine!

nuckles 3.7

3g tl type s win over g35 4g awd tl beat everything.very biased

Mr Marco

Love the Infiniti, but everyone (except for Keith) who drives them are such douchebags on the road.

g37guy01

Talk about sweeping generalizations.

Booya4139

M35 looks a bit dated and really bulky, the TL is an admittedly bulky car as well.

M37 was a nice change. Both nice cars, the M37 is more expensive and probably slightly nicer inside depending on your tastes.

KeithL

Actually I think it is the older M35 drivers, alot of those got bought used by guys in their 20's looking to hot rod them up and drive them like the 370Z crowd does. I follow the nicoclub forums and those guys are all about modding and driving fast.

Project_CLean

iTrader: (2)

I love the car. My friend has the S model, and the interior is pretty jazzed up when you compare it to the 3G TL.
Depends what your taste is.

Also, I feel like Infiniti/Nissan tend to lose value faster than compared to Lexus/Toyota or Acura/Honda

g37guy01

I don't know....all cars lose value. If that is what you are worried about buy used.

614Banker

Mr Marco, your picture made my VP thought I was watching soft-porn at work. I tried to clarify but he laughed it off. I sure hope he doesn't believe what he just said.

KeithL

Absolutely true. One of the reasons I hesitate to get another M because I know I will have to be in it at least 3 years to be at a point where I can bail. The other unfortunate thing is the higher ends cars tend to loose value faster so the more goodies you pile on the bigger depreciation hit you take. Even an Accord has this issue to a degree, co to the Honda web site and configure up an Accord and do a comparison to other cars, select the Touring model and you will see over 3 years it takes a few percent more depreciation hit on projected lease residuals.

Mr Marco

Sorry couldn't resist uploading that one.