CheeseyPoofs McNut

Was browsing youtube on the TV last night and came across this video which was interesting:


I've never been a fan of the Nissan/Infinity interiors but do agree that the raised stitching looks pretty nice in the Nissan.

I won't give away the ending but would like to just say mad props to Acura for designing a great car that, while understated in many ways, gets the job done in the end!

RedRyder

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't really call either of them 4dr sports cars, but as soon as he said CVT I knew the Acura would win. My wife and I drove a new Altima to Florida and back and the CVT transmission in that thing was awful. I kind of agree what he said about the interiors though.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Aye - the Maxima is crying out for a DCT - to put a CVT (even one that's tuned nicely) in it really removes much of the perceived sporty-ness.

I had an Altima for a few days as a rental while traveling for business in Oct and I thought the CVT in it was okay (I drove in Sport mode the whole time) - in fact I thought the car was okay overall - but you know it's a CVT when you stomp on it getting on the highway.

The seats on the other hand - Wowee! Nissan knows how to make a damn comfortable seat!

RedRyder

iTrader: (1)

^That is really interesting haha, we actually thought the seats were pretty uncomfortable. But this trip was the summer of 2014 so maybe the interior was updated. I drove in Sport mode the whole time while in Florida just because that's the only way I could get anything out of it. Another complaint was rear visibility. Got good gas mileage though haha.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Mine was a 2015 - trim level was "S"

Truth be told I had just spent 5 hours on a plane so sitting on a bed of nails at that point would have felt better!

It may be body size too - I'm 5'9" 175 pounds and the seat fit me like a glvoe.

jswift2000

We drove the Maxima Platinum and loved it... except for the CVT and we wanted AWD. The Maxima would be fantastic if it had a real trans. Much nicer than the Q50 if you ask me.

RedRyder

iTrader: (1)

Haha true. Ours was the same trim level I believe. Most rental car companies go for the base model or one above.

I'm 5'10", 155lb. But my wife was pregnant so it was 5 times worse for her. Maybe 10 times.

advan031

neither...lol who are we fooling here?

AZuser

Mr Hyde

Sporty, and sports car are not the same thing....

It was a catchy marketing slogan, but thats all it was.

My vote is also for neither.

KeithL

I test drove the Maxima Platinum and it was very nice, TLX is nicer. The Maxima driver cockpit is a bit cramped and the CVT was only decent when in sport mode.

W.B.MASON

Sounds like the question is somewhere between school bus and sporty.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

90's Maxima's for the motherfuckin winn!!

thoiboi

Neither

hadokenuh

^^ Agree.

Neither.

TLX and Maxima are both sporty. But they are not sport sedans.

335i with Sport Pgk, M3, M5, Q50S (borderline), ISF, IS350 Fsport (borderline) are sport sedans IMHO.

Kense

The Q50s is not really borderline considering how quick it is and it handles pretty well, handling not as good as the BMW but it's faster in a strait line.. The new IS350 is slow, so yes I'd say that's borderline but it does handle well.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

To me, neither is a sports sedan. They both have some sportiness. For the Maxima, its look is quite sporty, while for the TLX, the AWD system makes it sporty.

Power aside, I think to be considered as a sports sedan, the TLX would need some visual upgrades, along with performance tires and suspension.

kevTL888

imo, the new Maxima follows the Kia and Hyundai trend, million dollar looks with out dated drivetrain and poor finish. but hey, if people want to get noticed, go get that Maxima

youngTL

The Q50 is exactly in the same boat as the TLX and Maxima. The steering on the Q50 makes me want to die. It doesn't handle like a sports car at all.

Fast cars do not make sports cars. The S2000 is a sports car. The M3 is a sports sedan. The 335i is not a sports sedan, it is a sporty near-luxury sedan, just like the Q50, TLX, and Maxima, but it has better handling than those three, but it still doesn't drive like a true sports sedan, especially the brand new ones.

While the IS350 handles better than most of the sporty near-luxury cars, it still isn't a sports sedan either, even in F-sport trim. There's too much isolation for that.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing though. Many buyers in that segment (me included) view a certain amount of isolation as a positive. Marketing needs to get on board with reality and just call a car what it is instead of hyping it up with claims that turn out to be spurious. Nissan Maxima with it's "4DSC" and Acura TLX with "It's that kind of thrill". LOL. By the way, I bought a TLX SH-AWD regardless because it's what I'm looking for in a car. But don't think for a second I believe the marketers. Very few buyers in this class are looking for a true sports sedan. I would buy a Type-S if they made one, but the majority of buyers wouldn't. Many of us are looking for a fairly nice somewhat luxurious commuting vehicle that is reasonably fun to drive and reasonably efficient, while not breaking the bank, myself included.

TLDR: Marketing people are lame. They should call a spade a spade.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Well - they wouldn't be marketing people if they just called a spade a spade!

To your point I felt like a better TLX marketing slogan to build a campaign around would be:

Acura TLX - Because you can.

IOW - aim to the fact that you've made it and now you can treat yourself to something better than that proletariat Accord etc etc. You can still show some guy ripping up the twisties in the car but make the focus on treating yourself to something nice because you can afford it as opposed to being thrilled etc etc. They could even do a commercial showing some guy grinning like a fool as he pulls out of a dealer lot with his old Accord sitting there. That would be uber smart marketing for Honda - no???

Anyways - it's silly to care about marketing slogans - it's all fluff designed to sell product and doesn't have to be based in reality.

Four door sports car indeed!

012TL-GLM

I traded my TL for a real 4 door sports car, a dodge charger!

gokhanturk

The maxima is FWD with a CVT transmission

At least the TLX comes in AWD with a real transmission.

weather

well, it appears the Q60 will give Acura a run for its money if they don't get a coupe out ASAP...in my opinion, this is a beauty!!

Stunning 2017 Infiniti Q60 Caught Uncovered - Motor Trend

Oh and BTW...Acura/Honda....See what good looking wheel design looks like?!?

youngTL

I wonder how many they'll sell. It's quite a nice looking car but a couple of things:

1. It'll be way more expensive than the G35/G37 ever were.
2. Coupes are usually very low volume sales.


I have a feeling this aimed squarely at the BMW 4-series and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. I think Acura's chances of making a low volume coupe are pretty close to nil. They do need a lesson on wheel design. They can take their wheel design lessons from the HFP part of Honda.


What Acura needs to do is give their sedans a forced induction optional trim level. A couple of AWD Type-S models and I think they'd do just fine.

KeithL

My guess is there will be a standard 3.7 as well or a 3.0 single turbo, which I suspect will work its way to the Q50, so if they can tweak the Q50S steering and suspension and drop in 375HP they can have a sweet ride there.

Stew4HD

Yes, I know this is subjective but EWWW! I don't like Infiniti's rounding that they insist on.

I agree that Acura should get the hell back into the coupe game (should not have left it since they had the Accord Coupe platform all along).

weather

^^ *LMAO* Subjective certainly applies and I LOVE when people can voice their opinion and not attack the other for having a difference of opinion. Well played my friend!

So WEATHER likes and STEW dislikes....the worlds keep turning and we still get along. That is how its done people

JM2010 SH-AWD

Love the looks of this new Q60. I don't like the current generation Q (or G???) coupe, but this one looks really nice. Could someone please include a MT though?

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

That Q60 looks great.

youngTL

I think the Q60 currently offers one. I just checked their website. I think they'd offer one for the new Q60 too given that, even though the take rate for manuals in this segment is super low.

sopmodm14

what defines the attributes of a "sports" car ? is it merely performance-based criteria ? a certain HP minimum cutoff eligibility ?

slapping big brake/brembo on a civic won't do the job

if i had the top trim TLX AWD, i'd consider the foundation of a sports sedan

just upgrade the HP and brakes

youngTL

AND THE TIRES. Seriously, the tires hold this car back SO much.

Acura_Dude

I like the tlx and the new maxima. Weather I really like the Q60. Very nice.

KeithL

Could not agree more, the tires are by far the easiest change to make a huge improvement in the way the car handles. I swapped our factory tires for Continental DWS06 UHP tires and it is like a radically different ride. If they do a Type-S and put crappy tires on it they will be hurting the car. I can see the Goodyears on the current car as they are targeting mainstream buyer and the Goodyears offer a cushy comfortable ride, but lack in handling and ride control so much.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Honda will never do it.


glad Nissan is sticking twin turbos in the Q60 to produce 400hp

Acura_Dude

Definitely a nice car.

Kense

I see what you're saying but how is the Q50 the same as a Maxima and TLX? The Q50 is only RWD and AWD. There is no FWD option and in January the Q50 will get the Twin Turbo 3.0L 400 HP engine. The current Hybrid can break into the 4.7 0 to 60 time. Neither the TLX or the Maxima is close to that. I believe the 335i is a sports sedan, along with the Q50, Audi S4, Mercedes C450 etc. The reason I call them sports sedans is because they are sporty and quick and handle much better than a typical sedan. The DAS issue with the Q50 has been blown way out of proportion by biased writers. DAS is great IMO and I've had no issues with it. In fact I like it better than hydrolic steering as do most of the people who have driven it. Regarding the M3, that's a sports car IMO.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I also enjoy Electronic Power Steering.
It's way more accurate than a hydraulic pump.

mcmdds1

Saying the TLX is a true sport sedan is a bit of a stretch. Coming from a 2011 335i it doesn't compare as far as handling. However, the TLX is a smooth riding everyday car that's more fun to drive than your average Camry,etc. While the 335i was fun, it sometimes wasn't practical or comfortable for everyday commuting. The TLX is. The 335i had a very stiff suspension, and you could really feel the road compared to the TLX. While the hydraulic steering gave a lot of feedback in the BMW, it sometimes got tiring to steer in everyday driving. Sometimes you want the car to do the work for you. I would say the TLX falls somewhere between a Lexus ES and the 335i, which is fine with me. The Goodyears really suck though; can't wait to change them out to Michelins.

BEAR-AvHistory

SPORTS CAR


SPORTY CAR


SPORTS SEDAN