I just bought a 4th gen TL FWD Base last week and it has everything I need. I have a better NAV system through my phone that's free than what's in the TL Tech package. It drives beautifully! I just got out of a Nissan Altima and with ciphoned tires and it did a fabulous job in snowy Colorado so I know the FWD drive TL with slightly better tires will do even better. Folks need to learn how to truly drive in the snow versus relying on a car to do it all for them. The FWD drive TL is a great commuter car for those with kids and still provides loads of power for an exhilarating ride. In many respects the SHAWD is overkill unless you are a person that cares about the tiny details. For me and my family, the FWD works perfectly. I had a loaner TL while my car was being detailed and it rode a lot tougher than my 2012. I don't like a rough race car feel to a luxury sedan. I like the power when needed but I want comfort with that power. The dealer told me I could put up to 19'' tires on the car which is plenty enough. Just my 2 cents.

 

I'm not sure what kind of cellular phone that you own, but the NAV in my TL beats the shit out of my tiny Moto Razr screen. And announcing how great your Altima drove in the snow just makes you sound like you are trying to justify your purchase.

C'mon really? No one is going to fault you for choosing the base model, it's still a great car. But bashing the excellent NAV and calling the SH-AWD "overkill" is childish.

Posts like yours are a waste space on AZ

 

Car & Driver
"However, we understand why Acura continues to chase competing rear-drive sports sedans with its front-drive TL-an all-new platform costs big bucks, and more important, a terrific front-drive platform (the Honda Accord's) is readily available. But remember that the Accord tops out at 240 horsepower-arguably the beginning of the end for what front drive can handle."

J. D. Powers
"The 2012 Acura TL marks a departure from the automaker's recent styling sharing platforms with the Honda Accord"

Temple of Vtec
"Future Acura TL... will almost certainly be based on the new Accord platform."

 

The 4th Gen TL is indeed built on the same platform as the North American Accord just like the 2nd and 3rd Gen was. The 1st Gen I couldn't tell you. This is what Acura does, they repurpose Honda platforms...

 

Wow! Is this how you treat all new members in this forum??? Thanks for the "warm welcome"!

I like the NAV system on my iPhone because it is socially interactive as you can send your own reports of police traps, road hazards, & traffic jams in which, Waze reroutes you. It also shows you different places to go to eat for dinner, movies, etc. and you can load it in the NAV and it will take you there rerouting you around traffic and accidents that other wazers reported. It also helps you find the cheapest fuel wherever you go...I am a ConocoPhillips person so that doesn't help me much but it is still a nice feature. The slightly smaller screen doesn't bother me because my iPhone is docked in a windshield mount that is right next to the steering wheel so I can see things in more detail on a smaller screen than a bigger one slightly farther away. And Waze is totally free!

I was simply offering a difference of opinion, sorry you got so bent out of shape about it.

 

I don't think you can so simply engineer a fully purposed mainstream FWD platform to accomodate SH-AWD or the upcoming hybrid version as effectively as they do it, these platforms are equally, if not more, built from the top down than they are the bottom up.

Too often people make it sound as though they take the Accord and reconfigure it as a TL, etc. While it might not exactly be a TL or RL platform repurposed for the Accord either, it is certainly to the effect of something in the middle.

That's where these misconceptions that the TL is a dressed up Accord come from simply because the platform is shared and they are mostly incorrect. The platform is simply engineered with multiple vehicles in mind.

Hypothetically, a TL having a seperate but inferior platform would easily change the semi negative perception but doesn't necessarily make for a superior product and so doesn't really have any bearings, a product should be measured on it's own merits and how it fits the individual, not what or where else that platform may also be in use.