yungone501

iTrader: (4)

Wanted to know if anyone that has been there first hand from a 3g TL to 4g TL could give any feedback between the two in regards to both engine performance and the overall chassis stability and control?

Prefer those who went from a TL-S to the TL 3.7 but wont decline any informative/useful reviews of those who did otherwise.

I know that my wife and I went from an 07 MDX 3.7 to the 2010 MDX 3.7 and even though they were the same in so many ways, there was a complete night and day difference between the two. My point is I know that so much can (and does) change from one year to the next when it comes to their vehicles. I also know that from 07 and up, Acura has made "leaps and bounds" changes and hearing how the people who drive them percieve these changes greatly interests me.

TeamAcura

There plenty of members who moved up from a 3G to a 4G. They will chime in. I've never driven a 3G but from the comments of other previous 3G owners; it is indeed a night and day difference. And by a big margin. Sweet spot is around 4K RPM. Great midrange. It could use more low end torque. Are you shopping for one? Goes without say, but test drive and you notice a difference.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Here's one for you....



https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-photograph-gallery-296/jbonds-tl-face-lift-new-interior-real-carbon-fi-889900/

1black_seven

iTrader: (2)

Drove the 4g base for two days as a loaner. But the car felt more responsive, while top end acceleration seemed the same.

I'm pretty sure the 3.7 is night/day when compared to the 3G-S

I'f I had the time and money I would swap the 3.7L+ 6-spdAWD in my 3G.

yooin14

When I switched from 3g TL type-s to 4G TL AWD
My first impressions are as follows.

- Steering wheel is very light compared 3g TL type-s. Type-s was very heavy which I have been happy with. I also loved the design of steering wheel in type-s.
- Nav Screen is much better. high resolution so it looks very sharp.
- Acceleration is slightly better in 4G TL AWD.
- I didnt like there was only pedal shifter to control gears.

After owning 4g TL AWD 6 months.

- I feel like brake performance is equal if not, better than brembo brake in 3G TL type-s. There is also no more huge brake dust anymore.
- a lot more fun to drive.
- I can feel power of outside rear wheel when I do cornering. Yes, I can never go back to fwd or regular awd.
- watching torque vectoring graphic as i am driving is very addictive.
- I am now used to light steering wheel and very like it. It gets heavier once I go into freeway.
- I can hear more sound from muffler.
- I think engine sound slightly deeper once I put my car into S mode. ( is this true?)
- There is no dashboard fading issue.
- I miss sports pedals that were in TL type-s.
- I now love 4G TL AWD as much I did to 2008 TL Type-S.

Stew4HD

I went from a 3G base to the SH-AWD... for me, night and day difference... and my favorite thing.. the drivers side door stays open!!

sined

I went from à 2004TL to a 2009 TL
1:steering much responding
2:acceleration impressive
3:ride more sportive
4:love the keyless entry
5:rearview camera fantastic
6:screen display greatly improve
7:all the gadget a lot more intuitive
8:design exterior and interior ahead of time

In one word I love my car and especialy the rearview camera

Oswald Vater

I owned two 3g's before my 2010 4g (Tech). One was an 04 and the other an 08. The 08(Navi) was more refined than the 04 (base) due to improvements over the course of the model. As far as performance goes the 3g handled a little better and had a firmer steering feel than the 4g. I would attribute this to a smaller overall size than the 4g as well as the lack of electric steering. That being said, I like the ride/handling quality of the 4g better as my tendencies now seem to be more luxury than sport.

C8N

I've owned a 3G Base TL but to my current 4G SH-AWD, it is 2 years removed.

Based on my recollection... and probably not a good one I should mention... the 4G SH-AWD definitely handles better with a hell of a lot more oomph. Slightly firmer ride on the 4G SH-AWD. It's a totally different beast altogether in my humble opinion. The steering and the steering wheel is going to feel a little funky at the beginning but I got used it and I actually prefer it now. The interior built quality is about the same but obviously the aesthetics is more modern looking. Oh... I am pretty sure the leather got softer.

Ziffle

Stew....too funny! I loved my 08 base TL except one huge issue....that damn door closing on me all the time.

I moved from the 08 3g to an 11 fwd 4g. While different in a lot of respects, after two years in the 4g I guess I would call the two even in terms of overall enjoyment.

A month ago I got a 13 SH-AWD 6 MT. All I can say is there is NO comparison. I love this car.....totally different animal than the other two. The 3.7 is a great engine, the 6MT is a complete blast to drive, and the AWD is amazing. In addition my leg is less bruised....as Stew said, the door stays open lol.

If you have not driven an AWD do it. You will not be disappointed. If you can find a 6MT....really do it!

KeithL

If you look at my sig I went from several 3G TLs to AWD TL and I can tell you the 4G is a huge improvement. The 3G Type-S suspension was crude and harsh compared to the AWD. The fit and finish and feel of refinement in the 4G was well worth the $3K ish price increases over the 3G. At first I felt the 4G was too big compared to the 3G, but after the 4G and now my M37 I am nervouse about the potential shrinkage of the 5G.

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

Got to say, I wasn't all that surprised to see ten posts in this thread to candidates who have lived up to the title. That's only because its not very uncommon to see anyone go from one Acura (or Honda) to another...sometimes multiple times as KeithL shows. Btw KeithL, we share a common bond you and I.

Anyways, everyone gave some great reviews, feedback, opinions, as well as honest criticism. To answer somebody's question up top about wether or not I was considering buying a 4g TL, realistically....no. That's not to say I don't want one. Or can't afford one. Or really couldn't use one (I have five kids making a family of seven).

Truth is, I currently own five Acura's. Well, one Honda and four Acura's. I also must admit here that my primary purpose for asking here is because I wanted to know how well Acura has refined their engines in their new 3.5 and 3.7 liter lineup...which is ALL of their lineup. I'm in the process of building a 3.7 that will be a minimum of 400bhp naturally aspirated before throwing on another 300hp of boost. The one Honda I own is the one who will be lucky enough to receive the evil soul. So far it's already received a j35a8 (07-08 TL-S engine) and I'm considering the ideal of building the next one with 4g TL (some MDX 3.7 as well) engine parts.

I've read acuranews.com probably a million times already about how many improvements and awesome features that the 4g's are receiving and I'm extremely jealous of you guys that are driving the 6mt AWD bad boys around.

But, on the other hand, the threads purpose wasn't ALL trickery. As I mentioned, I am an Acura lover until the day I die. Even though I don't necessarily agree with a lot of their new styling anyways, I still (and probably always will) think of Acura as the one car manufacturer who did what no other manufacturer could: design a car with performance, luxury and reliability. I'm 31 years old and have been doing automotive technical work nearly all of my employed life. The last nearly ten years, I've been an auto-electrical technician and see cars much more differently than most who work with cars. Since then, I've seen the essence of damn near every car manufacturer on the road today. I've noticed how different Honda/Acura is at the core of their vehicles and because of this, I'm a follower for life.

Keep the reviews coming btw. Good stuff.

TeamAcura

Can you elaborate what you mean by noticing how different Honda/Acura is compared to others?

That is quite a project you have planned though. GL w/ it and maybe build a thread about it to keep everyone posted. It would be awesome to read and pick your brain.

shurik74

I had to go through exactly the same cars and impressions / feelings and never regret... Love my 4G SH-AWD 6MT as I did my 3G

DO IT !!!

KB1Spec

iTrader: (4)

from 3G TL...to 2G RL.....to 4G TL now

jayare627

04 3G 6spd MT to '12 SHAWD, will say that I miss the MT in my opinion the automatic trannies on these cars suck, but other than that absolutely love the car!

Treblig

The exact path that I took. 2005 TL (A-Spec) to 2006 RL (A-Spec) to my current 2012 TL SH-AWD. My favorite of the bunch.

KB1Spec

iTrader: (4)

Stew4HD

I would think the transmission is pretty darned important!

thchu

Owned a 2005 TL (3G) and loved it...upgraded to my current 2009 TL SH-AWD and it feels like a completely different car. The interior got a complete makeover. The biggest difference is definitely the drive. While the 3G TL had a lot of kick, the SH-AWD on the new generation makes it a beast. The handling is superb as well. The steering wheel itself is thicker on the 4G but in my opinion it makes the handling even better with the ability for more precise turning. I love everything about my TL and wouldn't trade it for any other car.

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

Mainly defined by two reasons:

1. The conciseness of their intelligent engineering.
2. Quality of parts/materials used.

To elaborate on reason one, I will give an example. Lexus makes one damn fine luxury car. They're both gorgeous and perform relatively well. And IMO, almost as reliable as Honda and are statistically the second least visited car manufacturer to my shop (Honda/Acura being the least) according to my history reports taken on a bi-annual timeframe. Here's the point, while it may take Lexus four modules within the vehicle to effectively gain and support a certain feature of the car, Acura does it with using only two modules as well as having a better overall feature. Though this doesn't ALWAYS hold true on everything within the comparison between the two, it undoubtably happens quite frequently. This means less parts to replace not to mention increased reliability and if the feature is designed better, it adds to the overall value of the Acura compared to the Lexus.

Number two, this is self explanatory but in a nutshell, everyone here should know this. Honda makes the MOST reliable car on the road, period. That's because they don't cheap out on a parts material or build quality to gain an economic advantage and therefore a cheaper car than their competitor. They understand that smaller forged connecting rod is better than a cast steel connecting rod not just in strength and performance, but also at saving weight, cost in materials not to mention raising the factor of dependability/reliability.

Domestics have cut corners on their vehicles to cut costs and increase economy at the unknown expense of their existence as a competitor as an automotive vehicle manufacturer. They also haven't grasped the concept of what the hell refinement is and its purpose. That's why you see Chevrolet narrowly escaping its extinction, and Dodge struggling to keep a dependable lineup (largely due to their cheap materials/parts) and Ford is now beginning to adopt the look and design of a Japanese automobile and seems to have somehow missed the point (after over a hundred years of building cars) of what advancement is. How freaking long did they have to depend on the ancient design of the modular V8 engines?....and still are in everything but their cars.

As for the request of a build thread on the said 3.7:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...873314&page=15

mlopez_4

Hi I had a 2006 TL that I passed on to my son when I bought a 2010 tech.
I love both cars. Love the quality, ride, power etc.

millarduck

3G looks better, holds up it's look. Like the wedge line. The beak/USB port grill killed the 4G. Holding out for 5G.

mlopez_4

Again, I have owned both cars. Love both but disagree (just a difference of opinion) with millarduck on the 4th gen TL. It is all based on personal preference. I like the way the 4G looks as do many other folks. That is just my personal preference as well as others.
Lots of owners converted their grill so that it will not be as pronounced.

millarduck

Yes, it is opinion, but opinion matters in resale value, the less desirable the model the more it depreciates at trade in. I am sure 4G is better mechanically than the 3G, it should be. Since the redesign, Acura has not sold even close 40,000 TL's in a year (see article link). In fact, when the 3G came out it sold 78,000 units in 2005 and still was at 45,000 in 2008 after the redesign was announced, the 4G hasn't even surpassed 34,000 units through the 2011 model year. Certain cars have great model versions (BMW's E39- 5 series) that the redesign cannot compete with. Numbers don't lie.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...-makeover.html

http://www.dispatch.com/content/grap...-chart-eps.jpg

mlopez_4

I never argued sales, it is my personal preference and I am not alone.

TeamAcura

Funny you mention resale value because the 4G is holding up pretty well used. Despite it's abstract design. IMO looks is secondary when it comes to resale value; it's more about reliability and reputation. Acura tops the list.

keith7120

I had a a 3gen TL-type-S and I swore I would not get the 4 gen. I was going to wait on the 5 gen until I test drove. Price wise, I first tested the FWD Tech and I was not impressed. It just seems it did not have that umph I was looking for when I mashed the peddle to the floor. Yes I know the horse power is 280 which is only 6hp less than the TL-type S. It just felt weaker. So I jumped in the SH-AWD model for a test drive and was shocked on how much more solid it felt. Mashing the peddle to the floor was also a welcomed feeling. So I purchased the 09 SH-AWD and I enjoyed it much better. I now have a 2013 SH-AWD but I'm in a lease which will end about the time the 5th Gen comes out.

atruedsgb

Any 4G TL owners that are previous 3G TL owners?

Was the title misleading?

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

General consensus is hail 4g AWD.

zovinger

Ya, its an outstanding car.

Dejan

I had the 04 TL then traded it in for a 2010 SH-AWD a few weeks ago. My thoughts:

The 4G feels slightly faster. Handling is definitely better, the car feels a lot more sure footed whereas the steering on my 3G felt a bit vague some times. The steering wheel is lighter on the 4G, maybe even too light. I think the 3G sounded meaner actually despite the smaller engine. The suspension is pretty stiff so you feel every little bump more harshly than on the 3G. Fuel economy is about the same.

The fit/finish of the 4G seems slightly higher, there is no rattling in the interior like my 3G had. There is no buttprint on the seat like my 3G had. But there are a few areas where the 3G felt like higher quality, eg the interior door handles were a nice steel finish in the 3G but an ugly plastic in the 4G. I also don't like the leather in the 4G, when I'm wearing a t-shirt my back gets wet on a longer ride even though I don't sweat that much and keep the interior temp cool. I guess the leather is not as breathable as the leather in the 3G. But I believe there is an upgraded leather option you can get that has higher quality leather, I don't think my car has it.

The sound system sounds a lot better (clearer when loud, and deeper bass) than on my 3G, even though my 4G is the non-tech version, I assume the tech 4G sound system must sound awesome. My non-tech still has a CD changer (tech version doesn't cause it has a hard drive), seriously who listens to CDs any more? I'm surprised they didn't put the tape deck in there too.

Some functions are weird, like the rear defrost automatically turns on the mirror heaters whereas in the 3G they were two separate functions. The headlight washers automatically engine the first time you use the windshield washer, but you can also operate them on demand with a button. The auto-dimming mirror automatically comes on when you turn on the engine even if you turned it off the last time the car ran, I don't like this as I do 99% of my driving in daytime and would rather have as few things running as possible.