Hapa DC5

Hi All,

Well yesterday I took a ride with my fiancee to our local Acura dealer. I didn't check inventory, but I wanted to test drive a 6-speed as I really miss driving a manual. They had a demo Black with an Ebony interior. No 6-speeds on the lot, which sucks, but I wasn't going to be too picky.

I was straight up and told the salesman I'm just looking and with no 6-speed to test drive the chances of me buying are slim to none. He didn't mind and said "test drive it, the car will sell itself and I promise to call when we do have a 6-speed." Since we were on the same page, he grabbed fob for the demo and we were off.

Driving impressions: This car is completely connected to the road. I loved how it felt. It drives like a much smaller car! The ride wasn't too firm and very compliant. It felt much more sportier than my 3g and lacked that floaty feel my 3g seems to possess. It had enough power and you could tell there was definitely a lot more mid-range torque then the 3.2 in my 3g. Upshifts were fine, but for some reason the transmission did not match this car. It needs the 6 speed auto, hopefully that will come with the MMC.

Interior: Sunglass holder! LoL, damn Accords can have them, but not TLs. Finally, glad to see it made it in the interior design. This car is solid through out with impressive build quality. No rattles, felt like a vault in comparison lol. A definite improvement over the 3g. Trunk wasn't huge and the AWD didn't help the room too much. Navi was fast, weather maps and forecast were very neat. Seating was MUCH more comfortable than my 3g. I thought the 3g seats were a lot more comfortable compared to my RSX-S, but I felt right at home in the 4g. It was nicely bolstered as well. My fiancee loved sitting in it. The quality of the leather and overall materials used in the interior were top notch.

Exterior: The back end looked fine. Side profile wasn't too bad. This front end though oy vey! Over a year past its introduction and I still can't acclimate to it. I just wish the grille was toned down and did not come over the headlights like the TSX. It would help so much. MMC again?

Overall: I would like to keep my TL for a couple of more years. If Acura can provide some options with the grille while maintain their "keen-edge" design they could improve sales. The front end will not be so polarizing.

4g owners: you have a great car, the grille doesn't do it justice and may even put off some buyers who would be sold by sitting in it. I root for Acura so the MMC 4g may be my next ride, or wait for the 5g... Use your cars in good health

BHump

Got a buddy that just got an '10 AWD Tech 5AT, and it really is an awesome ride. I don't see a significant MMC for the TL since Acura really is endorsing the shield on all of their cars. I think it looks ok on the TL, decent on the MDX and TSX, and awesome on the ZDX. It looks terrible on the RDX.

Hapa DC5, is your '06 TL paid for? If not, keep it until you have title in hand and wait on the 5G TL!

JM2010 SH-AWD

Be sure to drive the 6MT when your dealer gets one in. As nice as the 5A is, the 6MT is a completely different car. The stick really helps bring the car alive.

JAB00

They could just tone it down to look like the TSX. Everyone knows that the shield probably won't be going anywhere. The shield looks good in order TSX>MDX>ZDX>TL>>RL IMHO.

PetesTL

I don't think you should let the grill become a deal-breaker if you love everything else about the car. Afterall, you can paint it or buy a RJ grill to improve the look.

I agree the 5AT is the weakest link in the 4G. If you have the opportunity to nab the 6-sp, go for it!

I find it mind-boggling that Acura would introduce their new 6AT on the '10 MDX's and ZDX's instead of their bread-n-butter sedan, the TL. Another terrible decision on the part of Acura.

Hapa DC5

I bought the car new in Oct '06 so I have about a year and a half or so to go... A '12 6-speed TL would be a nice replacement of my current one. We shall see what the future brings.

I'm getting married next year so that has to take precedence over any car purchase. I need to pay off whatever I accrue from that. A car is also a lot cheaper than a house so maybe the wife will go for it before we make a bigger purchase

kappa8335

can you tell an extreme difference in the power of the 4g TL?

Hapa DC5

Nah... since it's a bigger motor it has more mid-range punch than the J32 engines. On paper an auto awd isn't that much faster than an auto 3g.

It's a noticeable difference, but nothing extreme.

FAST4DR

Hapa DC5 - I feel the same way as you do and would have kept my 06 for a while longer, but a young kid stole it and unfortunately totalled it. I looked at several other cars, but ended up buying the Acura because I loved the interior and tech goodies and the $2000 cash back and 1.9% financing didn't hurt either. After 2500 miles, compared to the 06, the car seems stiffer. I only have the 17" base wheels and the ride is pretty rough at times. Smooth highway it's ok, but on city streets the heavy swaybars can really jostle the car around. I sorta like the exterior at certain angles, but otherwise I don't really like it. I don't turn around to look at it as I'm walking away, like I used to do with the old one. The highbeams suck too. WTF happened to the bi-xenon; I loved the old headlights and they must have went with a lower Kelvin HID bulb, because they don't seem as white as the 06. I also really liked the led light markers on the side of the gen3 that they got rid of.

Beside the few nitpicks I have, Overall though the car is better and like my momma taught me, looks aren't everything.