Test drove many replacements for my TL that was rudely taken from me (hit an run totaled). TLX too small. Wacked transmission! TLX AWD much more refined than the TL AWD. (TL AWD was bouncy). Tried other mfr's. Nothing seems to get me there. RLX=honking big. I just want me room, comfort and some paddle shifters. Any suggestions?

 

 

I know how you feel. I've been reading reviews about the TLX Aspec. It's not like the TLs of the past. I can't bring myself to buy one. So, I'm looking for a 07-08 TL Type-S 6spd or 10-13 Acura SH-AWD 6spd. My opinion, find another TL!

 

 

I've only got to sit in the 18' Accord. I got to get use to the styling, funny I'm saying that because the 4G TL never bothered me. LOL! I love the look! IMO, the TLX design took a step back. I have a feeling Acura will get rid of the ZF trans as well change the look. It will lean towards the aggressive styling of the 18' Accord. PLEASE ACURA PUT A 6 SPD IN IT!!!

 

 

Sorry for the message box issues. I've got notifications set on autotrader and cars.com for TLs with the 6 spd. I need to change it to include the 14'. For some reason autotempest.com doesn't work well when I put in the same search parameters, quite odd? Thanks for the info, I'll checkout that TL right now. Do you have pics of your TL around here?

 

 

I actually haven't. What years?

 

 

I hear you OP - I had a '12 TL SH-AWD - that was a great car. All the gripes about the TLX are warranted and indisputable - except - the new A-Spec. Acura finally got most of the check boxes filled in on this iteration. Not sure you're looking to spend new $$ though. If you're looking for more power you probably need to go the route of BMW/Audi

 

I second that. Great-looking cars, strong engines, RWD, and tons of amenities.

 

I went from a 2014 TL SH-AWD Advance to a 2018 Audi S5 Coupe and after 7,000 miles I can't stop driving the thing. 0-60 is around 4.2 seconds, the features inside are amazing and the transmission always seems to be in the right gear and also has paddle shifters if needed. As you probably already know, you can get the 4 door in the A4 or S4 and Audi now makes a A5 or S5 Sportback that is a 5 door that looks similar the the A7 or S7. Audi offers the A4 with a manual transmission, but the rest are all automatic with paddle shifters standard and all of the models are all wheel drive. After one test drive I was sold and special ordered a S5 exactly like I wanted (Audi lets you order exactly the options and colors you want, but that does take about 3 to 4 months for the car to come in as they are all built in Germany).

 

AFAIK Audi only offers a torque vectoring rear diff, similar to SH-AWD, on their RS versions. Even then it's an extra cost option.

 

Fairly certain S5 will also be my next ride but it is $15-20K plus more than the TLX so not exactly apples to apples.

 

 

 

What was the sticker price on that car, with the sport package and the sport rear diff? If you could buy it with the sport diff but not the adaptive suspension and red calipers what's the sticker on that?

 

A S4 (4 door) starts at $51,400 and the sport package adds $2,500. The sport package includes the sport rear diff, adaptive suspension and red brake calipers, but you cannot separate items out of that package and buy them separately. The S5 (2 door) starts at $54,600 and the sport package is the same price. The difference between the S4 and S5 is the number of doors. Audi has a great website at www.audiusa.com where you can play with building your own and seeing the price. Unlike Acura, Audi allows a lot more choices as to what packages and separate options you can add so it would be really difficult to list all the possibilities here. The A4 starts at $36,00, but comes with a 252 hp 4 cylinder turbo vs the 354 hp 6 cylinder turbo that comes with the S4 and S5.

With that said, there is no question that the Audi is more money, especially when you start adding options. However, the Audi is also a lot more car for the money. I ordered mine with the prestige package (adds heads up display, 360 view cameras, traffic sign recognition, auto high beam headlights, and the technology package), which is like adding the Advance package with Acura and then added just about every option possible with the exception of dynamic steering. So mine is really an example of the extreme higher end of the price range of a S5 at $65,550, which includes the prestige package, sport package, drivers assistance package (autonomous driving that also takes over in stop & go traffic), 19" accessory wheels with high performance Summer tires, Nappa Leather, and heated steering wheel.

For me, I was looking for something that was really fun to drive and was also comfortable to drive on a daily basis. The S5 took the place of both my 2014 TL SH-AWD advance pkg and my 2005 Corvette that I had for 12 years as my weekend toy and road trip car since it really takes both of these cars, puts them together in one package and improves on both of them. I was really surprised to see that the performance numbers on the S5 came in almost identical to my Corvette, and it felt a lot more comfortable to drive on a daily basis. The S5 has all of the comfort of the TL but then adds things like virtual cockpit (a display that is configurable for the gauge cluster instead of analog dials) , Google Earth or regular maps displayed in the virtual cockpit, heads up display, massaging front seats, adaptive cruise control that also takes over stop & go traffic and steers to keep the car in the lane in traffic. Now that I am at the 6 month mark I already have over 7,000 miles on it and I could not be happier. The engine feels as fast as the Corvette was and the transmission shifts like a dream and even rev matches when it down shifts as the car is slowing down. Work is less than 10 miles away for me so most of those miles have been fun back road winding roads with 55 mph limits. Audi also offers a maintenance program for $869 that covers all of the factory maintenance for the first 5 years, which is a no brainer for most, including myself.

I had really hoped for Acura to come out with a performance model like the S5, but after seeing that the A-Spec did not include any engine performance upgrades, I went looking elsewhere. I have been hearing that Acura will be adding more performance in the future, but I have also heard that before and been disappointed when the final product actually came to market. Hopefully, by the time I am ready to start looking for the next car Acura will have a product that competes with some of the other lines out there, but only time will tell if that wish comes true.

 

Congrats on your new car! Like you, I wouldn't replace my 4G with a TLX. I like my 4G better. Thanks for the detailed equipment description of your car.

I doubt most people would be cross shopping the TLX and either the S4 or S5 though. (They charge an extra 3K just for 2 fewer doors? Yikes!) Your car as equipped is about $20K more than an SH-AWD A-Spec. Yes it has more power, and a few options the TLX doesn't offer, but even if one skips those extra options the Audis are still at a way higher price point. And you can't get the Sport package on the A4 or A5, correct? I'd wager even the A4 and A5 would have a higher sticker than the SH-AWD A-Spec if the Audis had all the other equipment that comes standard on the SH-AWD A-Spec.

I bought my 4G a year ago last October as a CPO with 27K miles. I don't think I'll ever buy a brand new car again, due to the high depreciation in the first 3 years of ownership. In a few years when I'm looking to replace it I hope the 6G TLX will be more appealing to me than the current version, and I can find a nice 3 year old CPO.

 

Off topic, but I just noticed that my signature appears in post #14, but not posts #18 & 20. Why is that? Does a signature only appear in a member's first post in a thread?

 

Now I see what it is. My signature appears when I use Quick Reply, but not when I use New Reply. Working as designed?

 

Actually an A4 Prestige (which is like the Advance package with Acura) comes in at $45,500, which is similar the the A-Spec. You cannot order a sport rear diff with the A4, but they do all come with Quattro AWD and the car has the ability to apply the brake to just one rear wheel to aid in higher speed turns. While it is true that the "S" car costs more, it is also true that the car feels a lot different as well. It is hard to describe how connected the car feels, how much more comfortable the sport seats are, and just how much more performance can be felt when driving it. Like I said, I find that I am taking the car out on the back roads "just to drive" for hours at a time because it is that much fun. I rarely if ever did that in the TL. I find that it is as much fun, if not more, than when I first bought the Corvette new in 2005 and was able to go out on a nice long drive on a Summer day. The difference with the S5 is it can be a wet Winter day and it is still a lot of fun to drive. To me, the way the car feels when driving means more to me than the price and since it was still in my budget, I decided to go with what I would be happier with on a daily basis rather than focusing only on price.

If price is the main factor, then I agree, a 3 or 4 year pre-owned is the way to go. Although, if price was the main factor and I was looking right now, I might be tempted to look at the new Accord 2.0T Touring model since it seems to have even more features than the TLX and is priced at $35K fully loaded with the new 10 speed Honda built transmission.

 

I had fun driving infiniti Q60 red sport for afternoon and Lexus RC 350 however both are coupe. There are sedan version too. However I still like my TL AWD better than either.
Do what I do when my wife want a new car - hit like 10 different car dealers and drive everything. Last year I learned the Audi Q7 was the first vehicle ever I was able stretch my legs out straight while sitting.

 

I just built out an S4 to try to replicate the features on an ASpec SH-AWD TLX (you can't quite get them apples to apples) and it was $61K.

 

At least 9 out of 10 previous TL owners who moved on to TLX, that I've seen who do a "mini review" of their TLX, seem to very much have an overall positive view of the "upgrade". It seems though the basically all also do admit that it's "not perfect", but, still a "significant upgrade overall". And, that the TLX grows on them over time.

If you're considering spending up to $50K, won't you at least test drive the BMW M2?

I like Audi's, but my budget is Acura - if I was spending over $50 K for my next car (in a few years) I would absolutely test drive Audi, BMW M2, and, see how Acura's upcoming Turbo V6 TLX turns out.

I think anybody that bothers to participate in a TL or TLX forum has the same hope...

 

I'm on my way to pickup possibly the youngest 2013 TL tech for sale in the US tomorrow! 13k miles, CPO. Bought site unseen (scary). Even Basque Red. The same color as the one I had.JOY!

 

Congrats! I bought my CPO '13 TL Advance in December of 2016 with only 5k miles. It now has 29k and I think I like it even better now than when I first got it. It is such a pleasure to drive.

 

I'm quite sure Acura could "compete" with the German brands, if it was looking to sell cars at the Germans' price points. But that's not Acura's business model. Overall value is, not ultimate performance.

 

It sounds like they might in the future. With talk of a V6 turbo for the TLX, a Type S and A-Spec model for the rest of the line it's possible. If Acura would add things like HUD, digital cockpit, traffic jam assist, have a 0 - 60 time in the mid to low 4 second range and have a transmission that people did not get so frustrated with I would say it is really possible. Only time will tell.

 

dregsfan,
when you say the TL AWD is bouncy? What do you mean?

 

^^^ I didn't say that, it was the OP.

 

Drive the BMW 340 xDrive. I went from a 2013 TL SHAWD to an Alpine White/Coral Red 340 xdrive with all the goodies (Premium, Tech, Cold weather, Track package with 19" wheels and adaptive suspension, and a bunch of M performance parts). This car is an absolute dream to drive and I've been a Honda fanboy my entire life (this is my first German car). I have 17k miles on it and i have not had a single problem with this car. I have a tuner on it and get about 350 hp to the wheels and average 25-26 mpg (peak of 35.4 on a 600mile road trip). Pretty impressive for a powerful car like this. I've had it for over 2 years now and it is still exciting to get into and drive. My TL was fun too, but the transmission was super jerky, got terrible mpg and it rode harsh (with only 18" wheels). The ZF 8 speed in the 340 is gold and I have never been in a car which had such an amazing non-DCT transmission. It is always in the right gear and gives fast shifts in sport and super slick shifts in comfort. I can't say enough good things about this car. Drive one.

 

Who gets rid of a 4g TL?! What the heck? Im madly in love with my car.

 

Wait. you nought a 2013 TL with 5k miles on it? How is that even possible? Details please.