speedmaster

So yeah, I brought the '12 in after two weeks of ownership to get the splash guards put on and the tail pipes leveled, and drove a 2011 TL home through Benedict canyon here in LA, and man what a difference.

My six speed SH-AWD compared to the '11 five speed FWD - ridiculous how much more refined, responsive, and nimble the '12 is compared to the '11

The taupe interior and non-navi center stack in last year's nob and button design, compared to my umber perforated leather with the tech package and the new center stack improvements - geez, the improvements are a sharp contrast

As for the uneven tailpipes - yeah, I'm pretty picky, but a $43,000 car deserved level and even tailpipes. Sorry Acura, but this was not acceptible.

omaralt

i think the biggest differences your noticing are not between the '11 and '12 models but between the fwd vs sh-awd and between the tech vs non-tech packages..

diddy_nyc

iTrader: (1)

^^^^^ Exactly

Glashub

Benedict Canyon??? You can't go faster than 20mph on that road. It's one of the worse in LA and that means it is really, really bad. Make sure you don't tear up the front end on one of the gaping pits they call pot holes.

kenny powers

What he said

compewterbleu

Precisely

speedmaster

I don't agree about Benedict at all - and half the drive was of course Beverly Glen - but i don't recall any gaping potholes, and I've driven that canyon at least a hundred times.

Glashub

^^^^

Me too. C'mon I may be wrong about a lot of things but not canyon roads in LA. Maybe not as bad as Coldwater but still not a road to flex out a car imo. Malibu, now there are some good driving roads ou there. But don't go this weekend.

kamakaro

Umber interior is so nice i wish they had it for the RL.

speedmaster

No doubt...Malibu canyon is one of my favorites.

I have a hunch that this weekend will be very quiet on the roads, because people will stay home to avoid the mess.

Remember what it was like in LA during the '84 Olympics? After all the hype about gridlock, LA was like a ghost town and the freeways were never better.

badgerboy60

I drove a 2012 TL MT SH-AWD, but ended up buying a 2010 TL AT SH-AWD for "thousands less". I thought the 2012 MT SH-AWD was definitely responsive, but felt *slightly* sluggish in stops and slow speed turns. My previous daily driver is a 2003 4Runner, and as a SUV, defines sluggish in stops and slow speed turns, though nothing at all like the 2012 TL, don't get me wrong. When I drove the 2010, it felt slightly more nimble to me, though several weeks passed between test drives, so its possible they're exactly the same, and it was my perception that changed.

eazy

iTrader: (8)

^ +1

If it wasn't more refined + (whatever else he said), it wouldn't be a 43k car. I thought op was comparing a '11 SH to a '12 SH. AWD + .2L displacement and +25 hp vs the 3.5L in the FWD models.. its supposed to be better

Glashub

Toluca Lake is having a city wide garage sale this Saturday. Seems like every house is participating. If you're near by you might find great deals on junk you don't really need.

Acura_Dude

What's going on on your side of the country this weekend?

omaralt

this:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/07/13....html?iref=NS1

compewterbleu

Chicks dig the umber interior....they even try to find a few thing a VS to match the seats gorgeous color

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Speedmaster, I'm glad you're so happy with your TL. Enjoy man!

It's really nice to hear how happy you are with your new ride.

clpassenubye

iTrader: (20)

speedmaster

I may not be as tuned in as some of you about this, but my opinion is that the 6 speed automatic in my 2012 is a non-trivial improvement over the 5 speed tranny in the 209-2011. Having leased a 2nd gen TL type S, and a 3rd gen TL - both cars with the 5 speed AT - and then spent two days in the 2011 5 speed AT, I think my sense as to the improvements I notice in the 2012 is accurate.

I don't know what the granular improvements in my 2012 6 speed AT consist of, but they seem very tangible to me as a long time Acura enthusiast who has torn through many a canyon and many a freedway during off-peak drive times here in sunny, beautiful So Cal.

jjsC5

My wife must not be a "Chick" then. When I bought her car I showed her one with umber. I can't even repeat what she said - but something like "no F'ing way".

speedmaster

Yeah, some people don't like brown. Ebony is beautiful, but the umber spoke to me and said "hey, here's something totally different. aren't you ready for a change?" and the answer was yes. I've had so many cars with black interior, and I hadn't had a black car in over a decade. I was ready for this combination.

compewterbleu

It's a nice break from black. True "speedmaster" it may not turn on every female, but just this weekend I had a captive audience of ladies taking pics with their mobile devices, caressing the leather and requesting to sit in the car. A few asked for a private ride sometime...Heck if I ever get my dream Porsche it will have red leather, uummmmm yessssss.

Loli

I also love the Umber and it is the only reason I bought a black car as I would have much preferred the GLM or dark silver what ever it was called. My son call's my interior pooh brown. But he likes it.

MGG

speedmaster

"poo brown" was the other name Acura was considering. Im glad they went with umber...

umber
adj : of the color of any of various natural brown earth pigments
n 1: an earth pigment
2: a medium to dark brown color [syn: chocolate, coffee, deep
brown, burnt umber]

compewterbleu

A few of the little sexies I know here between the A-T-L, Charlotte, Raliegh, Chatt-town,JAX, and there abouts call it...p-nutt-butta, oh baby...love how it sounds when tagged to their southern drawls. Um, so sexy.