Have owned 4 Acuras and a couple of Hondas. Had to get a new TL in '07 but was hoping to hold out for 4G...thank god I didnt. Acura designs have always been a little conservative and bland, but prefer over what they have produced with the latest TL. I am sorry, but this car is horrible looking. I don't care how great it rides or performs. Acura really dropped the ball on this one...I was looking forward to seeing the new design and this is very disappointing. Each time I buy a new car, I look around at everything else, but come back to Acura. I can only hope that Generation Five will come soon and that Acura is looking at this site. I have to imagine that sales of this car will be way down from expectations and previous years.

 

It would be really awesome if its possible to transfer all the new technologies in the new TL to the 3rd gen TL. That way, u can preserve the look while having the push buttom start......HDD navi......ipod intergration.....weather....etc...

 

i think acura wen the wrong way, the tl should of had a bigger engine adleast 340+ HP and should not have made it 300lbs heavier,, i do however like the AWD addition to the new supposably TL type s

 

where did acura place the 'aztec' tag? It has to be there some place

 

The thing is with this new 2009 TL Acura may have to rethink the design before the 4 yr mark. Thing is if you look at car companies across the board, its easy to see that they are seriously starting to run out of ideas. I mean yeah you can put all the latest technology in a car but cosmeticaly speaking if the car doesnt look nice its gonna be hard to attract buyers. And it doesnt help the car companies flat out copy each other. Look at the new toyota camry and the new TL same concept.. Its just too bad...

 

It be great if I could swap that 3.7L in the 3G TL and the SH-AWD system to fit onto it as well...one can only dream of the possibilities with all that technology on the best looking TL ever!!

 

dudes, the chevy volt concept looks like an acura, wtf?

 

I thought the new TL was trying to look like a Saturn. Go figure.

 

Oh wow ! I mean jeez ... that is fugly! It looks like the love child of a Pontiac G6 and a Cadillac CTS

 

I don't care for the appearance of the '09 TL, but I can almost understand why Acura came up with their "Keen Edge Design" concept. They felt that the public wanted something very different and if nothing else, this design is "different". I don't think the public will go for it, but you can never tell what public reaction to any product will be. It's possible that the car could sell fairly well.

What I can't understand is why they made the '09 so much larger. It's six inches longer and about two inches wider than the '08 TL. And what is gained by making the car so much larger? Just over an inch of rear legroom and less than a cubic foot increase in trunk capacity. The new TL will be only three inches shorter than a BMW 750i. After seeing these figures I keep asking myself, "What were these people thinking"?

 

It has more to do with what they didn't lose. When they added AWD to the car all the bits under the car needed to be moved around. If they hadn't increased the overall size of the car, the interior would have lost space due to the packaging constraints of AWD. Look at how much less space the current RL has vs. the 08 TL for proof.

 

Once I looked past the grill, which I frankly do not like, I think the rest of the car looks fairly generic (actually more like an Infiniti). Love it or hate it (and I for one love it), the 3G TL is distinctive.

Although I am intrigued by the thought of awd, I have an 07 and agree with an earlier post that I will probably hang on until the 5G. I just don't see this design growing on me.

 

I also feel the new TL is pretty generic. Generic tends to age better than radical. I actually like that about the new design. It reminds me of my wife's 04 deep, green Accord when viewed from the side which I have always thought was a nice looking car in dark colors and is certainly the Accord's best side. (I'm probably the only one who found the Accord attractive.) The new TL grill sticks out, I think, because the rest of the car (save that rear end) is so normal. However, the rear end's homage to the CL is the thing I just can't get past. I thought the DA/crease thing was a little odd back then and I still feel that way.

 

The SH-AWD pricing puts it right into the range of the BMW and the new A4 that comes out this month too, and it's hard to call the 4G TL pretty in that company.

That being said, I will need to see this in person:

1.) I thought the new C-class looked great in pictures, in person it looks like a baby version of a car I might actually consider driving (AMG version excluded).
2.) I thought the new TSX looked terrible in pictures, but then as I've seen them on the road they definitely catch my eye (maybe because I'm always seeing Acuras now). Still don't love it, but definitely get it.
3.) The new A4 could look less stunning in person, similar to the last B7 model which was a huge step down from the B6. (although it was a stop-gap run as they switched platforms)

So until I see one I person I can't say for sure, but I can definitely say they it will always look ugly (to me) in pictures and the new styling direction looks like it is going to focus on a slightly different demographic than I see most often represented on this forum.

Maybe we're only a few years away from hearing, "Yeah, my mom drives a TL" a bit more often. I was hoping they'd shoot for the IS and it looks like they're taking on the ES.

 

The front is hideous and the back looks like the front of the car after it hits a wall. These are strong words but their new shape on the outside is stronger. I remember when infiniti started differentiating from Nissan style and I thought it was a little radical but I got used to it and really like some of them. This is more like they jumped 30 years ahead that Im not even sure what Im looking at . Its very dissapointing, they should of asked me before doing something like this. If it wasnt for the technology, I think theh sales would drop a lot

 

i hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it hate it really i waited 3 years for this car!! now im stuck with a 3rd gen which is alot nicer!!

 

ill just get a 64 impala with some daytons!!

 

ACURA is becoming less kid friendly every year but jesus did they jump the spectrum with this body. Its ugly as sin, they really had the old folks in mind with this one. I will be buying in 09 but not a chance it will be a 4G.

Leaning towards a civic si or maybe a mini s .. Save the money and the footprint ..

 

not my cup of tea

 

Wow A lot of negative response even without seeing the car in person. I was at the dealership for a oil change today morning and saw a 09 PMM TL. The 1st impresion is that it looks very compact. Doesn't look bulky at all !!!! If I may say, it looks amazingly good from all view except the front. The front although not amazing, still looks good. I say Acura has a winner in this one. I would say just as 3G looks more compact and refined compared to the 2G, the 4G looks more compact and smooth flowing when compared to 3G.

And a lot of you who voted NO may want to change it to YES too...

I have pics on my cell will post them when I get home.

 

Unfortunately, there's no way to amend your vote once you've voted. I might want to change my vote after seeing it, either positive OR negative.

 

true.. but i saw commercials for it last night during the MNF game and it still made me want to change the channel. hell the mazda 6 commercial looked better. if it doesn't look hot in a huge prime time commercial specifically designed for just that, i'm not holdin my breath when i go to the dealership.

 

the 2009 TL is hot, one mean looking car, especially in the back.. kinda look like that future car on Acura's website.

 

first they crapped on the tsx now the tl

 

I'd have to see it in person but I'm thinking I still won't like it.

The grille is starting to grow on me a little bit, but I can't get over the Camry/ES300/Maxima taillights and the 1998 3.0 CL trunk just doesn't look right on this car either. I actually didn't like the last gen TL either... and that took me like 3 years to appreciate... so maybe by 2012 I'll like this one

 

Well, the 3G TL is officially replaced by the 4G on the acura website..... I cried for 3 and a half mins......

 

I had a chance to see and drive the car yesterday. The "beak" doesn't look so bad on light colored cars since it tends to blend in a little better. The side profile, IMO, is marred by the stock wheels and tires which gives the appearance that they are about 14" ers, which exaggerates the front fender hump and adds to the heftiness of the front and back. This car "needs" a larger wheel and tire set up to help it visually. I hate the look less, but I'm still working through it. I think this design exercise is the kind that ones grows into.

 

I know I feel like I'm loosing a member of the family, no truning back, no waking up and finding out it was a dream, or waking up in 2014 to find out the 4G was really just a dram!!

 

It's definitely lost its edge. Looks like a Camry and a hundred other cars now.

 

I voted "no" in this poll as I think the TL lost all it's styling that it has had in the last couple versions of the TL. I agree with others as it lost it's "edge" and looks like a newer version of a Camry or a Maxima.

Before I bought my 08 Type-S, I was looking at the 08 Maxima. Before I would have chosen the TL over the Maxima any day. Now I would take the new 09 Maxima over the 09 TL any day if I was buying an 09 car. The new TL seriously lack the sporty edge to it and looks more like a family type car.

 

I've gone back and forth on the design, based on good/bad photos of it. I might be inclined to buy a year from now, but right now I just can't. At the moment I find the over all design good enough, but the big nose just doesn't look right. (I'm going to the dealer today to check it out) I would add the huge grill on the A4 was initally startling and I am finally used to that, but it took at least a year for me. And I still don't love it. Oh, and $3500 for the optional 19" wheels on the TL. What is up with that? Should be more like $1500 and since it makes the car more appealing, maybe less.

 

So I'm sitting here at the dealer getting my CL (yes, they still exist ) serviced and decided to take a look at the new TL. Fortunately, they had the 3g and 4g right next to each other in the showroom. Styling wise, it could grow on me. But the interior on the 4g is freaking fantastic and well put together. Would I buy one? Maybe. Would I kick out of my driveway? No.

 

I personally though the car wasn’t that great looks wise at the start but since then have changed my mind. We are all used to our 3rd gen TL's and sometimes change is hard to accept. Personally, i think some of you are 'HATING' and jealous because you won't be able to buy it due to financial restrictions. Personally, i can't afford it either, still trying to pay off my 3rd gen TL. I'm sure a lot of you will realize that down the line that the car isn't as bad as you 1st perceived it out to be.

1 thing I don’t like is the loss of the touch navigation, that was 1 feature that I really appreciated about the last TL.

There are people not liking it genuinely and thats acceptable.

P.S. I did no deign this car or work for ACURA lol!!

 

Let me start by saying that I DO work for an Acura dealership but have been an Audi guy for YEARS (go ahead and let the flames fly). Now that that is out of the way, I had seen the pictures that all of us had and was not terribly impressed. We got our first shipment of 2009 TL's earlier this week and I must say that it looks MUCH better in person than in pictures (especially in the front 3/4 images - ewww).
It isn't going to be for everybody, but that's the idea - it's a more distinctive design and it definitely stands out from the crowd. Sure, there are some elements of the design that you can point at and say "that looks just like a blah blah blah" but as a whole, it works. At least IMO. (and I'm not saying that because I sell them - what are the odds that any of you are going to buy one from ME? so what do I have to gain?)
The new TL (not even the SH-AWD version) is very quick and smooth and isn't plagued by the torque steer previous models suffered from even though the standard TL has 280hp (nearly the output of last year's Type-S).
I, for one, am very impressed with the new TL. And if the new grill is your only real beef, there are no less than two aftermarket companies already working on a replacement for you!

 

Hard to believe they botched the TL more than the TSX

Maybe in a couple of years, the will refresh and de-snoutify, like some subarus. Acura is going to get a hard lesson...

 

I LOVE that one! Fortunately it sounds like some companies have started working on modified grills maybe the first part of the desnoutification can start before Acura gets around to it.

 

I bow to your powers of conjugation, pushing the boundaries of language on teh web

 

Holy crap, you are right on the money. I have a friend with a 2008 Vue or whatever their SUV (if you wanna call it that) and the grill and lines are oddly similar.

I just can't get on board with this new design. I mean, when the 3G came out, it was a car like nothing else on the road. It had/has very clean lines, sophisticated styling, and great power delivery with plush ergonomics. With the exception of FWD, it is/was a homerun. I had really hoped for something along the lines of what they already had, but with some refinements like AWD, and electronic improvements. Weight reduction would have been nice too. I suppose for now, it is wate for a few years before they screw their heads back on straight and get a TL that is road-worthy again.

 

Me and my wife saw a white one today the front looks like you pick one a big civic/TSX/smaller RL. And the rear looks uglier than the accord sedan, only with a big smile. What were they thinking. someone should lose their job behind this choice they screwed up a nice car by being cheap and not keeping a seperate identity from the rest of their cars. 400 rear wheel drive won't move these hideous things off the lot, oh I forgot they are still pushing 300hp FWD. 2010 AWD

 

You guys pushed my curiosity over the limit, so I went to Keyes Acura in Van Nuys where they had two 09s - one tech, one not. The look of shock and horror when I saw the --***HUMONGOUS SILVER BUCKTOOTH*** was reflected on the three sales guys' faces.

Wow... I held my face and was wide-eyed the whole time.

It's so... utterly... ghastly.

And to be fair, I'm a die-hard Acura loyalist and REALLY wanted to WANT the 2009, but even after sitting inside, I was just so disappointed! The interior is... nice, but just... nice. Nothing striking or amazing that I can't do without.

And at just under $40K for the FWD model with Nav? Ugh.

I'm sick to my stomach! Why, Acura? WHY?! :~(