mikemannj

Unfortunately, the hurricane caused severe flooding in my part of North NJ and my previous car was totaled due to water damage.

Fortunately, I found myself at the Acura dealership choosing the 2012 TL in Silver Moon, almost. I test drove both the AWD and the FWD and I am having a difficult time choosing between the two beauties.

Any suggestions you guys could offer (I tried searching the forums and didn't find a relevant thread, sorry in advance if there is one). I have about a 15 mile ride to work, majority highway, and the weather in NJ can get very wet / snowy at times.

Thanks!

Litt

anywhere that it snows get AWD. This AWD really enhances the handling even on dry roads.
Did you try down shifting and giving it some gas when going around corners?

ostrich

SH-AWD for sure! Yes, NJ can get wet and snowy (I lived there before). You will have more fun with the AWD, and it will be safer during winter too.

Edward'TLS

Frequent rains and snowy winters ? There is no better candidate than AWD.

Road-Rager 1

Live in central NJ. Go with the SH-AWD!!!!!

jspagna1

I live in CT and when shopping for a new car I specifically wanted an AWD automobile. The TL is like a tank in the snow & rain.

weather

As others have said.....Get the AWD if you can afford it! There is no question it be the perfect car for the wet and snow covered roads but EVEN on dry roads!! I never plan on using my TL on wet or snow covered roads (despite living in Canada,,,,its parked inside) but you can't begin to imagine how fun you will have driving this AWD on dry roads when you get to know the car and its capabilities.

DO NOT pass up the AWD (unless you have to financial reasons)....you will regert it in the long run.

Ken1997TL

The AWD is more fun and useful for winter. Don't forget a good set of winter tires too.

JM2010 SH-AWD

The FWD will give you a softer, quieter ride with slightly better MPG. It also costs less.

However, as others have said, the AWD kicks butt as a driving machine. It shines in bad weather with awesome stability, but its real merit is the amazing handling on dry roads. Test drive an AWD on a good twisty road. Hit some turns faster than seems prudent and then hit the gas as you enter the turn. It's magic.

I'd go for the Tech version, regardless of whether you buy FWD or AWD. The sound system alone is almost worth the price difference, but you get a lot of other nice electronics too and upgraded (and very nice) leather.

Good luck (and sorry to hear about your misfortune - hope things dry out soon. You folks deserve a break).

lji

FWD cars have more traction in slippery conditions compared to RWD cars, and if your finances can dictate either FWD or AWD, I'll also say choose AWD as Acura's SH-AWD is an excellent system for rain, snow or shine.

RXDoc

Definitely go for the AWD!
Side note: How does the Silver Moon look in person?

jasonwdp10

I owned both and have the say that.. while the FWD is softer and quieter (and actually drives like a lighter car), it can get annoying if i'm in a rush and i'm on the gas often. With the FWD, you need to often ease in the throttle, especially when making any kind of turn, otherwise you'll get a lot of screeching. Also, if you floor the throttle from a stop, chances are the traction control will kick in a automatically and temporarily cut the throttle (until you gain traction again).

I didn't have any traction problems with my SHAWD, other than the occasional tire squeal from mashing the pedal on a U turn too hard.

Go for the SHAWD.

Litt

I'm almost looking forward to winter, because I have winter tires and SH-AWD. Within reason this should be bulletproof

types1fan

I got my FWD 2 years ago and I regret it every day. Last winter in the east coast we got hit hard and i never got stuck even with my 20's, but if i had AWD i would not be driving so nervous on snow all the time. So go with the AWD and you wont regret it.

mikemannj

Just got back from putting the deposit down at my local dealership.

2012 Silver Moon AWD Tech with Black interior.

I appreciate all your input and I can't wait to see the difference during inclement weather.

Sexy. It really makes the chrome on the front and back of the car look like it is "supposed to be there." I should have the car in hand by the end of next week, and I'll have pictures up shortly thereafter.

jasonwdp10

nice!

jspagna1

Good choice and nice color combination!

JM2010 SH-AWD

Congrats on the purchase. I think you'll be very happy with the car. Looking forward to seeing the new color.

KarKraze

Congrats on your purchase,it is unlikely that you will have any regrets,i drove both before i bought and it was the awd all the way.

George Knighton

I don't think you'll be sorry. When you get to know the car, and begin to take advantage of its enhanced performance, you will be surprised what the car can effortlessly accomplish.

Some of the actions required to get the most out of it will be counterintuitive to you, at first. You'll get used to it! :-)

JM2010 SH-AWD

What George is prudently saying is that when you're in the twisties, push the skinny pedal when your brain is yelling "brakes"! You will be amazed.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Anxiously awaiting pictures...

Edward'TLS

But don't get too carried away when driving in the wet or on snow. AWD is excellent in getting the car going in the wet or on snow, but it will brake and it will stop the same way as all other ABS/stability-control-equipped 2WD vehicles.

Try not to carry too much excessive speed going into a turn. Otherwise, nothing (I repeat nothing) is gonna prevent the car from sliding off the roads. AWD and electronic aids (such as VSA, ABS, etc.) only function when the tires still have traction. Tires will have ZERO traction when the car is thrown into a turn with too much excessive speed.

Only when enough excess speed is scrubbed off by the car sliding, then the electronic aids will cut in to try to rescue the car.

Treblig

You made the right choice and you will very shortly see why. Congratulations!

Prime Mover

This post should be printed on the underside of the sun visor rather than the airbag warning. Seems like many people with awd need this information.

Aman

I think you made a good decision getting the SH-AWD version, but don't let it give you a false sense of security in less-than-favourable conditions. AWD won't help you brake or turn any quicker, that's all in the tires. But it's definetely fun when you find an empty parking lot just after a snowfall.

Shellyduchsk8s

AWD is awesome - the only time I've ever had an issue was last week w/ the monsoon rains in MD - lost traction a LOT, but the beltways were flooded w/ water, so I expected the hydroplaning & whatnot to occur. (When you lose traction, a yellow triangle w/ an exclamation point flashes, and the car beeps at you - this happened about 8-10 times on my drive from Towson MD to Newark DE, all in HORRIBLE rain). In normal rain, you don't even notice the roads are wet, the car is that great. I can't wait to test her out in the snow this winter

potatoes

I've read a lot of your posts and sometimes it seems like you're glad you went for the FWD, and other times it seems you miss the SH-AWD. If you could do it over again with 12 TL, which would you get?

jasonwdp10

A huge part of my decision had to do with the ride quality and road noise (and to an extent, price/fe). The SHAWD I had felt too firm for me and couldn't break 15mpg, however, it was a 2010 model. I subsequently test drove both the 2012 Base Advance and SHAWD Advance and felt that they both rode better/quieter. If I bought another TL, it would be dependent on year:

09-11: Base Tech
12-13: SHAWD Advance

I would have went for the SHAWD Advance during the TL's mmc because of the new 6 speed auto, improved ride, and ventilated seats. Now however, I think I simply overspent . Hope that helps!

mikemannj

Just picked up the ASM, and wow, it is sexy. I am thus far extremely happy wit the purchase.

mikemannj

Anyone have a suggestion for a site I could link some photos to until I am past my neophyte stage on here?

George Knighton

Yeah, but I also didn't want to get involved in a presumptuous, pedantic explanation of what the car can and cannot do. :-)

You can get in trouble on some tracks in some places. It's tempting to over-use the torque vectoring to get through one corner, but that means you're approaching the second corner at a higher speed than anticipated, and it could be beyond your and the vehicle's capabilities to get through the second corner at the much higher speed.

If that makes sense. Whatever corner you're using to maximize the torque vectoring potential, you have to make sure you can handle what's coming right after that.

It's just different, and using the torque vectoring to its greatest performance advantage leads to new challenges for such a big heavy car, even though it's very clearly possessed of limits much, much higher than you'd expect from a distance.

To get another make of vehicle that does everything the TL 6-6 SH-AWD does, you will have to spend tens of thousands of dollars more.

Ruby

go to photo bucket.com and create an account. Upload the pics to there and paste the IMG link here.

mikemannj

Got a few pics up that I took with my camera phone while at the dealership last night in this thread. By the weekend I'll have some more pics up. Thanks again for the advice on the AWD, I'm in love.