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Finally purchased the Acura TLX after so many months of following it & I am very happy i did so . Thanks for many of your inputs through the forums and other numerous youtube videos.
Model: TLX 2.4 Base
Color: Fathom Blue
Interior: Gray Leatherette
My Budget was around 30k Without taxes.
The other cars that were contenders were:
Used Acura RDX 2013 / 2014
- Less Gas Mileage
- More Road Noise compared to TLX.
- Not the latest, has old technology.
- Price was as same or more than new TLX.
+ More Spacious
+ More powerful V6
Honda Accord EXL
- Ride is bit harsh compared to TLX
- factory stereo sounded very bad.
- 5k Difference with Base TLX.
- Less warranty / brand value than Acura.
- CVT feels little slower.
- Noisy compared to TLX.
+ Good all around vehicle.
+ More space
+ trusted and reliable
+ better gas mileage.
Acura TLX base 2.4
+ Very very quiet, you cant hear anything from outside. feels very premium.
+ Engine is butter smooth.
+ Ride is very smooth, you cant feel the road potholes or bad surfaces.
+ The suspension seems very well balanced. sporty yet comfortable.
+ Excellent Gas mileage, my 3 days of driving and the average is 23.5 90% in city driving. Just driven 250 miles. (My 2002 honda accord with 150k miles gives just 20 city).
+ Paint quality seems better, the blue shines different in sun light, and different at night .
+ the LED lights are awesome.
+ the Premium Audio system quality is very good, in fact the bass is very good, for some XM channels its bad.
+ so many standard features for the price and overall fit and finish is awesome, i am not complaining for the 30 K price.
+ Hydraulic lift for hood. this was not there in the base RDX or accord.
+ the Acceleration is very good and smooth. But i am driving it in Normal mode so far.
+ Gear changes are very fast and smooth.
+ Electronic parking brake.
- Space it bit less, rear and trunk compared to other midsize cars.
- Little low so in and out is difficult for elders.
- I find the Transmission lever little hard to operate, sometimes it hurts my finger.
- Passenger seat has no height adjust.
- Rear doors does not have any pocket.
- No separate space for keeping coins in the front.
- i could not afford tech package and other safety features .
For the people who are comparing Accord models with TLX, just drive the TLX and see and feel the difference, if space is not an issue, you will buy the TLX hands down.
The car looks and feels really good, i hope this is as reliable as the other Honda, that's the reason i got Acura. Will keep you updated about my Drive.
Acura TLX base 2.4
- No separate space for keeping coins in the front.
You'll find that the traditional Honda/Acura coin holder has been moved from the dash to the front-most part of storage area in the center console arm rest. Hard to explain it but you'll know it when you see it. Unfortunately I don't see it being too easy to put change in it while driving.
Congrats, I think you made a smart purchase. I bought the 4cyl. with the tech and having to do over again, I would just go with the base. Enjoy!
Could you elaborate just a bit on this, tx4md? I'm kind of wrestling with this myself. Some of my thinking/considerations:
Features I wouldn't miss at all:
GPS linked climate control
Rain sensing wipers
Song by voice
HD radio
Features I might miss (but doubt it):
NAV & Traffic stuff
Driver assistance technology
Color MID
Features I probably would miss:
Leather seats
ELS sound system
Rear cross traffic monitor
8-way power passenger seat (vs 4-way)
I think this reasoning leans toward the Base model, but on the other hand, the $4K extra for the Tech package is very much within our budget. Heck, we're also studying Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, etc. and they are priced well over either of the I4 Acuras.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I'm always interested in other viewpoints.
^^ I would say the following:
-how often do you use Navi? For me, not much at all, and if I needed it, I could open Google Maps or the Mapquest app on the iPhone and have the voice prompts via BT audio. I have Navi in my 06 and really don't use it much.
-leatherette vs leather? If the leatherette is of decent quality (and some of the vinyls today are very leatherlike), I'd be good with the leatherette
-electronic nannies...don't rely on them and don't need them.
My requirements:
-decent engine/fuel efficient
-heated seats
-decent stereo (from what I've read here, even the base system is pretty good)
-BT audio and phone
-sunroof
For me, the base would probably win here. Unless you really want a loaded car, I think the base is pretty well equipped.
Could you elaborate just a bit on this, tx4md? I'm kind of wrestling with this myself. Some of my thinking/considerations:
Features I wouldn't miss at all:
GPS linked climate control
Rain sensing wipers
Song by voice
HD radio
Features I might miss (but doubt it):
NAV & Traffic stuff
Driver assistance technology
Color MID
Features I probably would miss:
Leather seats
ELS sound system
Rear cross traffic monitor
8-way power passenger seat (vs 4-way)
I think this reasoning leans toward the Base model, but on the other hand, the $4K extra for the Tech package is very much within our budget. Heck, we're also studying Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, etc. and they are priced well over either of the I4 Acuras.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I'm always interested in other viewpoints.
I didnt think the i4s had the 8 way pas seat? Canadian Tech's have additional benefits which make the decision easier/harder....standard remote start, heated steering wheel...touch screens make heated steering wheels more important though it does seem that the haptic feedback screen does tolerate gloves OK.
Thank you very much for your posts. Car is doing well nearing 500 miles, just drove in sport mode today feels great. Mileage seems to be good near EPA showing 29.5 now mostly 70 city 30 highway. Although its cold here in Chicago IL, mileage is good so far. Dont know how it will affect in peak winter. I have ordered the free printed owners manual from the Acura owners website.
Few Questions:
1. Does the 2.4 Base has Active noise cancellation ? I feel the premium audio good, but seeing few ELS users complaining. I am getting good bass in my system but not subsonic.
Wlkeel : you can very well get tech package, i hate that navigation stick on the windscreen . It also gives many good safety features. you will also not have the regret of i could have....
Could you elaborate just a bit on this, tx4md? I'm kind of wrestling with this myself. Some of my thinking/considerations:
Features I wouldn't miss at all:
GPS linked climate control
Rain sensing wipers
Song by voice
HD radio
Features I might miss (but doubt it):
NAV & Traffic stuff
Driver assistance technology
Color MID
Features I probably would miss:
Leather seats
ELS sound system
Rear cross traffic monitor
8-way power passenger seat (vs 4-way)
Some thoughts based on my experience with the 2.4L Tech so far:
HD radio sounds great Navigation screen looks a bit disappointing: low resolution, looks grainy. But it's definitely better than looking at a phone screen. Traffic seems delayed at least 30 min, which renders it basically useless in rush hour. Stick to your Google Maps or Waze instead. Driver assistance stuff: All of these features are fun to play with, and most are quite useful. The best one is the lane change warning, I use it a lot. Forward collision warning seems too erratic and sensitive to be useful. Lane keeping assist seems to be a useless high-tech toy at first but it is actually quite helpful for all those situations when you have divert some of your attention to pressing the numerous menu buttons etc. Rear cross traffic monitor is good too. Leather seats are very comfortable, and this is important to me because I drive a lot. But perhaps the standard seats are ok too. ELS Sound seems ok but I'm not very picky in terms of sound anyway.
Overall, I would still go with the Tech based on the NAV, safety features, and leather seats.
Looks like they don't. I took my data from the "Feature Comparison" table on the U.S. web site, but in checking the Feature Description of the front seats, only the V6 models get the 8-way. This was also verified looking at the electronic Brochure. Guess the comparison table is in error.
Could you elaborate just a bit on this, tx4md? I'm kind of wrestling with this myself. Some of my thinking/considerations:
Features I wouldn't miss at all:
GPS linked climate control
Rain sensing wipers
Song by voice
HD radio
Features I might miss (but doubt it):
NAV & Traffic stuff
Driver assistance technology
Color MID
Features I probably would miss:
Leather seats
ELS sound system
Rear cross traffic monitor
8-way power passenger seat (vs 4-way)
I think this reasoning leans toward the Base model, but on the other hand, the $4K extra for the Tech package is very much within our budget. Heck, we're also studying Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, etc. and they are priced well over either of the I4 Acuras.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I'm always interested in other viewpoints.
Sorry for the late reply but I usually look at the forum(s) while at lunch. Anyway if you're still interested, the reasons I would go with the base have pretty much been discussed by other but it does boil down to value. I came out of a base 1st generation TSX which I was very happy with but thought I'd spring for the tech to give the features a try.
After two road trips, one a long 500 mile freeway trip and the other a 150 mile mixed mountain and country lane trip, I happy with the I4 TLX's handling and overall performance. It is very comfortable and quiet ride for cruising and in the switchback I really put it to the test in the Sport and Sport+ modes; it did really well. If you go ahead and let the engine use the higher rpm range the I4 handles the turns beautifully.
However the Tech features left me kinda of so so. The nanny features,as others have called them, like the LKAS and LDW are really more annoying than helpful and when I tried to really use the LKAS on the freeway it would intermittently turn off when going from shade to sun and back. The blind spot detection I can see being helpful but you to have the little light blinking every time a a car passes you. I haven't had to use the cross traffic monitoring yet.
Navigation is always helpful if you use it enough but I am disappointed in the tedious way to enter commands; I have two other Nav systems, one in my Challenger and another voice activated Garmin portable, and they are much more responsive and intuitive to use. The traffic feature is nice but I found it hard to read the thin coded lines and it completely went offline on me in the LA area of all places.
I will say that the Acura Link is nice for getting a destination and having it sent to your NAV; I don't know though if that is part of the 3 year included service or a trial period.
There has been much discussion about the ELS sound system and I think it sounds fine but like others I wish it had better bass response. The factory system in my TSX had more punch than this one. Also a "premium" sound system without an equalizer function is silly and song by voice feature when I tried it was more frustrating than anything else.
All this being said, I'm OK with the TLX I have but I'm glad I leased so I can reevaluate in three years.
Thanks for the inputs on the I4 Base vs Tech. Even thought the Base would probably meet almost all of our requirements, we'll most likely opt for the Tech. We can easily afford it, and as WannaBeAcura mentioned, we might regret not getting it at a later date.
Took few Snaps after washing . But the car has again become dirty today .
Done 600 miles, so Break in over. Running in sport mode, but never revved it too much, just love the smoothness.
The tire pressure shows 36 while driving on all the 4. Actually it should be 32. even cold air pressure was showing 35 other day, should i go ahead and remove little nitrogen from all the tires? New TLX owners what do you see in your car, please suggest.
TLX owners do you know what happens if you keep the key fob in the car or in the trunk and try to lock it. does the boot opens up again like in Honda accord? Did not try it yet.
Also found out yesterday that the right rear or the left rear view mirrors which ever is selected angles down while reversing.
Looks good...you may want to consider putting one of those seat protectors under the child seat to protect the seat material. The more I look at the base model, the more I like it- I don't care about all the tech stuff of the higher trim models. I may want to get a pre-owned one in another few years.
Re: Key in trunk. One day when my wife was taking the car out, I hear in the garage. SLAM...BeepBeepBeep SLAM... BeepBeepBeep. SLAM BeepBeepBeep. Then the door do the garage flew open, almost driving the doorstop into the baseboard, followed by some expletives I did know she knew. Something about stupid car. Mini purse in trunk, key in purse. When she settled down, I asked how stupid would it be if you came back to the car and couldn't get in. Sadly, this scenario repeated itself a few days later.
Congrats! I, too own the base White/Espresso. I had a TSX w/tech before but the navigation system went out to date just on the first year. Dealer wanted $120 for every updates so decided not to get with tech on TLX. As long as it has backup camera, XM, BT Audio, I'm ready to roll! lol