oc48bound

I recently purchased a new GLM/Ebony 2013 SH-AWD Advanced and just returned from about a 900 mile (round trip) road trip. I have owned a 104k miles young '04 FWD TL since it was new and have now passed it down to my son. I have also been a "lurking" member of AcuraZine since 2004 and with this post I have officially doubled my post count to 2!

My wife booked us a long weekend in Port Aransas, TX which is about 450 miles from my home in the suburbs of Dallas/Fort Worth TX. When we started our trip on Thursday I had about 400 miles of mostly city driving on the newest addition to the family.

Loading up the car I really felt the limitations of the smaller truck space in the 4G compared to my 3G trunk. We managed to pack everything in but it was pretty tight. As a side note if you didn't get the cargo hooks installed when you bought your rig, I highly recommend them. Though I didn't use them for this trip I have used them a number of times over the past few weeks and they do a great job keeping your groceries or other store purchases in the bag and not spread all over your trunk. Acura should just make them standard as they probably only cost a couple of dollars to manufacture but are a PITA to install.

With the TL loaded up we were off! I took it pretty easy on the ride down alternating between driving in 5th and 6th gear to finish off the 600 mile recommended break-in period. After driving the '04 TL for almost 8 years I really appreciated the new iPod and Bluetooth audio options. I found the blind-spot detection to be more of a ho-hum feature but went for the Advanced configuration to get the ventilated seats which I am certain I will use in the Texas heat.

During my test drive of the 4G and for the dozens of short trips I have made since purchasing the car I thought the seats, with the higher side bolsters, were an upgrade to my 3G seats. After about four-hours in the driver's seat I really noticed how uncomfortable and hard the new seats really are. After several tries I couldn't find an adjustment to the seat that was really comfortable. I think the seats are fine for short trips and I can live with them for a 6 or 7 hour drive but I couldn't imagine driving the car to East Coast (20+ hours) without adding a thick seat cushion or something. Maybe I am just getting old...

On the drive home and with my break-in miles behind me I had a little more fun with the car. There is a new toll road (SH130) that is about 90 miles long and runs from South Texas to just North of Austin. The posted speed limit on most of this highway is 85 mph . Being a newly opened highway, a Sunday evening and the fact that it is a toll road (Texans HATE paying tolls) there were almost no other cars on the road. I was able to drive 100 MPH almost the entire 90 miles. I briefly took the car up to 115 MPH and was impressed that the car drove as if I was driving 50 MPH. I have read on AZ that the TL is limited to 128 MPH but did not feel comfortable going any faster with my wife in the car (ok, I chickened out).

At the end of the toll road I was back on Interstate 35 and back into traffic. The power and handling in this car is simply incredible! I would get stuck behind some schlub doing 65 in the left lane, get an opening, pop into the right lane and take off like a rocket instantly going from 65 to 90 MPH with a satisfying growl from the stock exhaust.

I also used more of the features of the Nav on the ride home and really liked the INFO feature that lets you look at the upcoming highway exits to see the gas stations, restaurants etc that are at each exit.

Over the 450+ mile drive home I averaged 84 miles per hour and 22 MPG based on the amount of fuel put into the tank and the miles driven. I am sure the fuel economy would have been higher at slower speeds but where is the fun in that?

Overall, I am really happy with the everything in the car except the front seats. I am also looking forward to seeing what the new TLX has in store.

John

2013 GLM/Ebony TL-SHAWD
2004 Anthracite FWD TL
2004 BMW 330i
1999 Dodge Durango 5.7l boat Puller

FoxTL

We just got done taking a 18 hour trip and the seats were uncomfortable after a couple hours.

Limelight

Congrats and 'officially' welcome to the forum. I too thought the blind spot detection was ho-hum until it saved my bacon a few times. It comes in handy when you 'zone out' while driving and lose track of cars around you. There have been a few times where I would have sworn there was no one around me and lo and behold the light was on - and it was right!

And nice choice on the colour selection BTW

Oswald Vater

Congrats and welcome - great post!

SteveA2012

I have to agree with you on the seats. I've owned my FWD Base for 3 weeks now...no long trips in teh 800 miles I have on it but I find my back just can't get totally comfortable on them. I'm considering getting sheepskin covers like I had on my last car for some extra cushion. I like everything else on the car though.

Edward'TLS

Congrats and welcome to Acurazine.

I too wish that the trunk space was larger and less odd-shaped.

Treblig

Welcome.

billyt1963

Welcome and congratulations on your purchase.

We own a TSX Wagon and a TL like yours, and so far the TL has not had a trip longer than 2.5 hours, but for me it is more comfortable due to more head room. Look forward to a longer trip to test the seat more.

Instead of the hook, I use a trunk organizer ( ). It does a good job of not moving around in the trunk and folds flat when not in use.

Billy

pimpin-tl

New seats require break in and will get softer. The seats to me feel very comfortable.

DManz

Hi John,

It's nice to see someone on the forum from North Texas! Even better, we moved from FloMo up the road to HV 4 years ago. As I am sure you do, I see quite a few TL's in our area, but have yet to see another 2012-13 SH-AWD Advance.

My airport cruiser is a 2012 CBP/Umber SH-AWD Advance. I have had the car since April and have enjoyed it much more than the 05 TL it replaces. I have not taken it on a long drive to offer any opinion of the seats, but on short drives, I find the seats supportive and just right for spirited driving. I just turned 4K on the clock and the seats have not softened any, but the car is still just a baby.

We recently picked up a CBP/Umber 2013 MDX Advance for my wife and the seats are awesome off the show room floor!!!!! No wear-in necessary.

If you see us running around the neighborhood, give us a honk and a thumbs up!

Dan

pimpin-tl

Going from a 2004 to a 2012 and saying the seats are hard....his seats were worn in the 2004 so yeah he isn't use to supportive seats. But I have driven in the car for 300-400 miles already on a trip and they were perfectly fine. I will say though the FWD model has different seats vs our AWD models and are softer and less supportive. The AWD is like the Type-S of the 3rd gen and comes with more sporty seats, suspension, etc.

BEAR-AvHistory

Is that a typical MPG for interstate driving at speed, seems pretty low? IIRC my 3G was quite a bit higher. That being said it should improve as the miles build up. For comfort always though the TL's were a good choice for a long distance cruiser. Used to make a 1000 mile round trip to Jersey & back a few times a year when my mother still lived up there.

TLbullet

85 mph zone!! Legal too! Didnt think we had speed limits that high in US. May take road trip from Ny to try it out.

DManz

^^^
It's a new toll road that opened in the GREAT state of Texas. There is no shortage of space here, so we finally get to consume some distance in a hurry. Most of the toll roads in North Texas are have a 75 mph speed limit. I don't know of anyone getting a hand delivered tax bill for going 9 mph over. However, the older I get the slower I drive :-)

pimpin-tl

Driving 90 mph the AWD will only get around 22-23 mpg. I drove that Toll Road and that is what I got. When I drive at 65-70 she see's around 28 mpg or so.

pimpin-tl

Some pics when I went on it to the Acurazine meet about a month ago.

oc48bound

Nice pics! My wife tried taking photos of the 85 MPH speed limit signs during our trip but couldn't get the picture quick enough with her iPhone. My 100 MPH speed probably didn't help her either.

DManz - I have seen one other SH-AWD (not sure of the year) in the Mound on FM 2499 during my drive to work one morning before the xmas holidays. I will keep my eye out for your 2012 CBP and give you a wave as I quickly pass you while driving in Sport Mode. I haven't had a speeding ticket in a few years but expect to get one in the next few weeks. Then I will need to slow down until I am off deferred adjudication (gotta love Texas' speeding ticket dismissals). $200 is a small price to pay for being able to drive it like its meant to be driven.

BEAR-AvHistory

Did not realize AWD was such a drag on the TL vs the 2wd. I was getting about 30/31mpg on long runs with my 06 6mt running about 85. 75 limit + 10. Our X3 AWD 35i is more into the 25/26mpg range at speed but its fat & as streamlined as a brick.

On two of the other 4X4's we don't ever mention gas mileage since its too depressing.

Booya4139

Ya, FWD i get as high as 32 MPG cruising at 75ish... I have a 90 mile commute to my summer place and get the opportunity to fill it up and have 100% cruising HWY miles, ideal scenario and was very pleasantly surprised to get north of 30mpg out of this fat hog of a car...

and ya, my wife's ford escape V6 gets 18mpg combined and maybe low 20's on the HWY, sucks...

KeithL

I owned several 3G TLs and then a 4G AWD and the AWD is a huge drag on MPG, I was never able to get better than 24 - 24.5 MPG and that was really trying and keeping speeds to around 65MPH.. Around town sine I have mostly suburban driving I would gate 20-21MPG. But then again my M37 has a 7 speed and on 900 mile trip doing 70+ MPH I only got 24.5 MPG as well. My old 3G Tls would get close to 28MPG in same conditions.

weather

OP...Congrats on your new TL and welcome to Acurazine. That mini review was interesting and informative. I am curious about the report of the uncomfortable seats....I have owned my TL for a while now and never experienced any discomfort.

There is no question that trying to get a seat that fits all body type/size is a challenge for any car manufacturers. I am tall and slim with no real back issues/problems and could be why they feel very comfortable to me....Just a theory?!

SteveA2012

Regarding the seats, I seem to be getting a slight ache in my lower back after driving for about a 1/2 hour. If I firmly plant myself into the seat rather than slouching it seems to help. I'm 6 Foot and 215 lbs. I've been playing around with various settings of the lumbar support, from all the way in to about half way out..the seat just seems on the hard side to me.
Also, I was having slight buyer's remorse for not getting an AWD, but after seeing here that the FWD mileage is over 30 mpg hwy, I'm ok with it. The ride is plenty firm already. I just bought some refurbished AWD 5 spoke 18" rims off ebay for $499 and will be getting the new tires in a month or so...the car will look just like the AWD.
So, as soon as I get happy with the seats, I'm completely satisfied ;-)
If anybody wants to buy a brand new set of 17" rims with tires let me know

bowldog

That's a nice stretch of highway

pickler

most my cars were always AWD and whenever i drive a FWD im amazed at the boost in mileage lol. but i still wouldn't trade 4wd for fwd, sorry i don't buy lux cars for mileage. if it was a honda accord then i would complain. The nice thing about the 4g tl is that somehow they made it feel smaller than the previous tl behind the wheel. its really smooth and fast. once i had it as rental from acura dealer and i found myself doing 80mph on a 55 without realizing it. i was happy with the seats, being slim 6ft tall and 120lbs i was very comfortable for the whole couple days i had it. my only gripe is the car just engine brakes too much off throttle (sh-awd). The 5-speed auto didn't seem to do this from what i remember, and honestly sometimes the 6AT feels unresponsive compared to the previous 5AT. it was really hard to do some coasting in city driving. im blaming high ignition timing. also i love how the interior looks, i think its the best acura interior with lots of soft touch materials, and being a tech geek i love lots of buttons lol. im sick of touch screen so i'm glad acura is sticking with a joystick.

jjsC5

Good review. I have owned many Hondas/Acuras over the years and the seats always fit me like a glove - until this one. Fortunately it is my wife's car. I hate the seats in the car. It's really a shame because the TL is our low mileage car and my BMW I put too many miles on. But I can't see ever wanting to drive the TL for very long. In fact, I'd like to trade it for another car if we take another trip. I just did a 2300 mile round trip to Florida for Christmas and we took my BMW because of the comfort. I would have much rather put those miles on my wife's car.

Hopefully you will be fine with car. My wife loves the car for her commute, and she likes the seats because she likes a lot of lumbar support.

Little Gator

I made a trip this past summer from DFW down to Kyle, Texas in my '10 TL SH-AWD 6MT. It allowed me to try out the SH130 to bypass most of the Austin traffic. What a great road with no potholes. I grew up in Detroit which has 2 seasons, 9 months of winter and 3 months of road repair. And I would be willing to bet not to much of that now with this economy hitting that state so hard.
I too thought my seats could be a little more comfortable.

Pimpin-TL: Your dash shows 79 degrees. That must have been a December drive to be so cold. (I just checked the date of your post-yes it was Dec.) I hate the cold & like it when it gets over 90 degrees.
I had another great drive in the TL to Colorado this summer. People in were complaining of the "excessive" heat at 82 degrees. I also found the steering required a lot of attention to keep the car centered on the lane. It needs constant "sawing" of the wheel back & forth as it won't stay put at dead straight.

pimpin-tl

Yep, it was in December. Had nice weather that weekend when we had the meet.

Derekw_FL

Seats on my 2012 awd 6mt is definitely harder than my previous Honda accord leather seats. I find the overall shape is good, but the lower back leather panel's seam to the mid back section is hard. I feel it more as I depress the clutch as it applies pressure there, but overall happy with the vehicle's intended supportive seats. The miles will melt away with some good tunes. I will check in after more miles......

CPR

I'm 6', & 167lbs.; I've been saying, since I leased my 2012/SH AWD/Tech, that the seats are not high enough, from the back side. The front part rises fine; but the rear lift, is too low for me; IMO. Other than that I LOVE the car. Best of the 5 Acuras, I've had since '98.

SteveA2012

My final comment on the seats. I was experimenting around over the last few days and found that if I fold up a towel and sit on it on the seat, it's way more comfortable. As Derekw_FL and CPR pointed out, the middle of seat back is too hard and needs to give more. The seat itself is fine but the backrest is an issue. If I raise myself in the seat higher by just a little bit, that middle part is more in the inside curvature of my lower back and I don't feel it. You can't raise the seat in relation to the backrest height
In my last car, I had a sheepskin insert from Superlambauto.com and I think I'll have to get it for this car as well. It's not cheap but is quite nice and lasts basically the life of the car. It will raise me up in the seat, as well as providing more padding, so this issue is solved. It sucks that they couldn't make a more comfortable seat in this 'luxury' car but it is what it is.

jjsC5

What I don't for the life of me understand is why they make a car with inflatable lumbar support that has too much lumbar when it is totally deflated.

SteveA2012

Oddly enough, my wife doesn't have any issue with the seats either. The middle of the seat must be in their upper back and it doesn't bother them..who the hell tested these things before they were released...a bunch of housewives?

kc1953

Did the seats change for 2013? I previously owned a 2009 tl sh-awd and thought the seats were very comfortable....until I bought a 2012 BMW 535i with the multi-contour seats. Now those are really comfortable. Still I am surprised to hear people say that the seats in the awd tl are not comfortable.

RIneuron

I suspect this has to do with height and body type. I am 5'7" and 160#. The seats feel great to me, including long distance.

pimpin-tl

Our 2009 and 2012 do have different seats. But I believe they are different between fwd and awd models. The fwd have more plush seats vs the AWD are more supportive.