I’ve had this car for a year, 2012 TL SH-AWD. I bought it with 25,251 miles on the odometer, it was a one owner car, locally bought and traded in. It now has 29,807 miles on it. Some observations.

I’ve had one oil change, I check the oil religiously, I’ve never had to add oil, it never moves on the dip stick. I got lucky, I guess.

It’s faster and handles better than the M3 I owned. Granted, the M3 was a 1998 model, so it gives up fourteen years in technology, 60 hp, and 40 ft-lbs of torque.

It’s faster and handles better than the GS430. It’s better looking, more comfortable, and has better features. The Lexus ride quality is much better.

It’s faster and handles substantially better than the LS400 and ES350. Can’t hold a candle to either in ride quality.

Would I buy this car again? Yep, I really like this car, it does everything well. The ride quality is very good, on very smooth roads, otherwise, you feel the road. This car is fun to drive, it’s a great all around car right out of the box.

I have the Advance Package, so I have the upgraded stereo. It’s very good. I plug my iPhone into the cable and it plays just fine. I can take incoming calls no problem. Heated seats?, love ‘em.

When I bought this car I didn’t consider any other cars.

The German cars are wonderful driving machines, but my experience is they are horribly expensive to maintain. I use to work on the M3, the parts were expensive, never mind paying someone else labor.

Didn’t consider Lexus. Great cars, I wanted something sporty. Someone on this forum wrote, “You see a Lexus at every stop light”. Goody for Lexus. I started looking after reading that. There seems to be a Lexus SUV or ES350 on every corner. Of course, the Acura SUVS are all over the place.

Didn’t consider Infiniti. Had a Maxima, it was bullet proof. It was in the family for 17 years until my son finally destroyed it.

I’ve had a Honda Minivan for eleven years and 180,00 miles. It’s been relatively trouble free, runs great. I like Honda products. I always wanted an Acura TL SH-AWD. If I had read about the oil consumption of the 3.7 liter engine, I may have avoided the car. I would have missed out on the one I have, which over the past year has been a real gem. I really like this car.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

Thanks for sharing on TL which is a wonderful machine.

 

Congrats one the one year mark.

These cars will last a while if properly maintained.

 

Thanks for sharing. To add some flavor, my 2009 started today without any problem, and performed like a champ on my drive to work. That's in -30C (-22F). Prior to the TL, I've only owned NorAm cars (with one exception) and none performed better in that kind of cold.