alexxn

**Disclaimer** This is MY personal opinion on my experiences, definitely open to constructive criticism however**

I recently switched over to a 2015 TLX 3.5 V-6 9-AT P-AWS with Technology Package FROM a 2013 TL with Technology Package.

My TL was a Lease so I really didn't have a choice unless I spent significantly more $ for an RL and that wasn't happening.

My experience so far can be described as bittersweet -

While there are some new features I like with the TLX, I'm mostly disappointed with the differences I've noticed so far:

- Touch Screen controls are annoying to use while driving compared to normal buttons (radio etc)

- The lack of a cover of some sort over the cup holders, looks cheap (even my TSX had a door to close over them)

- No key fob holder in the dash to hold your fob

- Lack of tailpipe tips in back, lacks sportiness

- Overall ride doesn't seem as comfortable coming from the TL, seems less luxurious

- Loss of Foot well LEDs (really?)

- Even the steering wheel feels thinner and cheaper

- The "Premium Sound" stereo lacks punch (even after disabling ANC)

While some of the above may seem petty, it's definitely not what I hoped to experience after giving up my TL and getting into another $42K car.

Mind you there are some things / features that I DO like.

Time will tell if I get used to it or not.

2012wagon

If there are so many things you didn't like , why did you buy it ?

I agree with open cup holder . Bothers the heck out of me . Reminds of cheap rental American cars

mapleloaf

Welcome to the fold and thanks for posting your initial feelings. I' respectfully offer you my thoughts:

- You will get used to the touch screen controls. You need to - it's the way of the future. You must not be a Star Trek fan I love the hypnotic screen, and after all, there are still some buttons as well. Acura was routinely criticized for too many buttons.
- Cup holders - I like the open concept, but that's very subjective. So you had a TL and a TSX, as both are mentioned? Look at it this way…one less surface to get scratched.
- The whole idea of the key fob is to keep in your pocket or purse. IMHO, it is pointless to deploy it in the car - why take it in and out of pockets/purses…more chance for loss. Why not find a zip pocket and leave it there.
- Tailpipes - Common complaint. I would just offer that almost every car these days has exposed tailpipes, and I kinda like the lower lights - no tail pipes look. Have you noticed how may nice BMWs have ugly tailpipes? Having said that, I could live with some TL type pipes. Not a big issue for me either way.
Ride quality - The TL had a nice ride but this car is quieter and more refined. I think you are perhaps being nostalgic, a normal human response given that you loved your 13 TL. Again, give it some time, like you would a new friend
Footwell LEDS - agreed, but i love the other accent lighting that the TL/TSX did not have.
Steering Wheel - I would not describe the thickness and feel of the leather on this wheel as cheap? Perhaps you should measure? See nostalgia comment above
- ELS - more powerful system, but comparing sound is a very difficult thing to do. I don't disable my ANC and find the system is at least the equal of my TSX Tech….probably better but I would need to listen back to back. i'll assume you have tuned it to your liking. Are you a thumping bass kind of music listener, as that tends to be the style of music that other members have complained about. I do miss the lack of DVD audio capacity, although those were tough to find.

Interesting that you detailed this things you don't like vs your likes. I would love to hear those as well.

Thanks for sharing.

alexxn

I had to get out of my TL Lease early (way over miles) and get into something else - really no other choice at the moment.

alexxn

Thank you for the respectful criticisms, exactly what I was after

OK, so what I DO actually like -

- Love the look of the new headlights, very modern and high tech.

- The blind spot monitoring and lane departure notifications are very cool to have

- Definitely love the 18" Wheels, both design and size

- The rest of the LED Lighting, both inside and out, is very nice

- I'm a little on the fence about the push button shifting, but leaning towards liking it more and more

As you said I'm sure I'll come to love this car, I've only had it for 3 days now. Getting the windows tinted made a big difference appearance wise and I'll also be installing Splash Gurads which I love the look of.

2012wagon

Yeah life is rough at times being forced into cars

aIRpeACE

iTrader: (2)

you will get use to some of the "things" Acura offers now.

It's a very nice car to own in a long run and hopefully it's as reliable as other Acura.

weather

^^ I agree...Having owned a 2012TL SH-AWD that I loved, hadn't it been for being spooked by some intial software glitches with both transmissions, I would have a TLX in my driveway.

Despite being "different" than the TL, I can easily come up with a list of things the TLX does better than the TL, and a list of things the TL did better than the TLX. Si that wouldn't have stopped me, except for this initial glitches....

That being said, I am happy with teh choice I made and it feels like I am truly driving a new car because in teh past, it was always one Acura to another to another etc....So why the car was different in some ways, it was very similar in many other ways.

Stew4HD

.. sorry.. but I cant help but scratch my head.. buying a car you dislike... I can understand this list being reasons why you didn't buy the car

alexxn

I didn't BUY anything - it's a Lease....I'm only stuck with it (if I end up hating it the entire time which is doubtful) for 2-3 years -

2012wagon

Did you roll your other lease into this ?


Did you buy more mileage up front this time ?

open contact

YOU CAN BUY YOUR LEASE ANYDAY. Infact, Acura finance prefers it that you buy, and may negotiate with u. Easier for them to sell it to you, rather than take from you, inspect it, detail it and sell it in auction

Hoosier_TLX

It's unfortunate that there are so many things you dislike about your new TLX. I know you said you had no choice, but I don't know if I would have gotten a car that I had to "deal with" for 2-3 years. I don't know if your impression will change after a while, but that's a lot of issues for a car to go ahead and lease it anyway. Are you opposed to cross shopping other brands to find the "perfect" car? I'm not saying you should buy another brand, but did you even consider other makes? I personally love all the features of my TLX, but I have the V6 Advanced with SH-AWD so I use the voice commands for a lot of the features instead of the touchscreen.

I'm not trying to imply anything, I'm just wondering why you leased a vehicle you have so many annoyances with. I spent hour upon hour reading, researching, test driving, and following forums before making my decision.

At any rate, I truly hope you give your new car a little time and start to change your opinion of your car. Best of luck.

mapleloaf

To be fair, it takes time to fall in love with a new partner. Perhaps its more a credit to the TL than a discredit to the TLX. It is unfortunate that at times it's human nature is to dwell on what we don't have rather than what we do have. It's likely why the forum stays interesting

Quandry

Everybody has an opinion, here is mine:
- Love the touch screen controls, and after many months am still learning the voice commands (to bypass using the screen while driving)

- adding a cover to the cupholders beside the shifter controls would have looked cheesy and just adds one more potential item for a squeak

- key fob stays in my pocket, love this feature

- no need to tail pipes to feel sporty, or boobs hanging out to be sexy

- footwell lights, yeah that would be nice.

lsbuffs

I may be missing something but don't get the key fob complaint. You want a key fob holder in the dash? Instead of leaving in your pocket or purse?

kevTL888

i agree with OP on the 4G TL's steering wheels. steering wheel on my wife's 09 TL has a nice weight to it.

2012wagon

Though many of us believe in love and lust at first sight

a77

Touch screens are a passing fad brought about by a perception that as people like them on their iphones and androids they should have them in their car, and press criticism of too many buttons. I think buttons will come back but in a more logical way. Also a single rotary can perform the same function as a stack of buttons. Look at it this way. which is better - a rotary volume control, hard up and down buttons or a touch screen slider....(which some hondas are cursed with). Is there anyone who disagrees that a rotary volume is best? Same for fan speed.... The rotaries on the steering wheel are one of the cars best features.

Touch screens also get grimey, are hard to see in some lighting conditions etc. I think they have no place in a car where eyes need to be kept on the road.

sbillard

You think it would be safer to scan your eyes over maybe the 100 buttons you would have instead? If you keep your eyes on the road you won't be changing anything anyway, so does not matter if touch screen or not.

MisterZDX

But those 100 buttons are always in the same spot and it becomes second nature to do certain functions without even having to take ones eyes off the road.

I'm kind of indifferent about Honda/Acura's new dual screen setup. Hopefully with the next generation of Honda products, they will bring the right amount of buttons back with just a little bit of touch features. A perfect example would be the 1st generation TSX, 3G TL and 7th generation Accord with navigation.

open contact

dont let Elon Musk see this.

Rocket_man

Luckily there is no cover on the cup holders so you can store your key fob there much easier ....

Seriously, it doesn't seem like any of your dislikes are deal breakers and I'm sure over time they will be less bothersome.

I'm kind of in the same boat as Weather. If it weren't for the transmission issues I probably would have bought already. Now that those seem to be getting worked out, I'm leaning towards waiting until the 16's come out. Or switch it up and look at the new RDX Advance. Good thing I don't need a new car right now.

mapleloaf

But those relationships seldom last

MedX172

This really perplexes me too. For all of the subtle ambient blue lighting elsewhere in the cabin, you'd have think they could have made an effort to throw some in the foot wells areas or at least offered it as an accessory?

Hoosier_TLX

I'll offer a contrasting opinion to this:

Touch screens are NOT going anywhere! I use them at work all the time for our machine controls and the major advantage of them over physical buttons is that they are almost infinitely configurable. They can change any time you want to have either more or less options and controls. The amount of selections and displays is only limited by imagination and memory.

I do agree that there should be a proper mixture of touch/visual displays and physical buttons. The scroll wheels on the steering wheel are excellent, as are other multi-function knobs. I love having the modern tech such as touchscreens and the information windows in the dash, but I do also understand the need for the tried but true buttons and knobs.

CoquiTSX

+1

mapleloaf

Or have two touch screens, a food replicator, doors that swoosh when the SLIDE open and closed, phasers to deal with AH drivers, and a permanent chief engineer/co-pilot named Scotty. Too much??

alexxn

OK, to answer some of the questions asked - yes I rolled my lease 11 Months early into this car (it wouldn't have made sense to run the Leases course and either A. pay a lot for over mileage or B. buy a car with a ton of miles and no extended warranty)

Yes I did get more miles this time.

I'm not trying to sound like I dislike this car THAT much, just some annoyances that like I said will probably grow on me.

I got the car tinted and added splash guards now and after 5 days it's starting to grow on me a little

hddnav

A touchscreen is the wave of the future, but only provides a good user experience if it's done well. A touchscreen that's laggy, CPU bound, and unresponsive is more frustrating, distracting, and worse than any button-fest. Having to navigate screen after nested screen to access a single function is no different than an old cell phone from 10 years ago. Same with having to push the same on-screen button several times over and over, because the system updates too slowly.

Good touchscreen (such as an iPhone) > a million buttons > poor touchscreen.

This also applies to voice recognition, which is another "wave of the future." The tech is simply not ready for reliable operation and is stuck at the useless gimmick level. Until they perfect the touchscreen and voice recognition, give me a million buttons anyday (as a workaround for a crappy touchscreen).

MedX172

Earl Grey. Hot.

a77

Point is far too much gets put on the touch screen. And why? Cos it is cheaper. Just try the touch screen volume controls on a number of Hondas...and the new pilot by the looks of it. Horrendous. Sure you can use the steering wheel buttons. But even those aren't as good as a simple 100/year old design rotary. The tlx has a bizarre mix of proper buttons and touch screen afflictions for the HVAC and heated / Cooled seats. Nobody likes it. Decent design can rid us touch screens without perceived button overload. And they demand far too much eye time off the road. One potential advantage though of touch screens is that design weaknesses can be overcome by software upgrades. But how often does this happen. Alternatively there should be more scope to tailor them how you want them. But again, next to no flexibility is offered.

mapleloaf

I agree with your point that touch screens should be flexible in terms of how the driver organizes the content. I think that will come in time. I do find the touch screen on my TLX to be very reliable and quick. I am also using more and more voice controls while driving to reduce the distraction issue. The voice recognition level is also quite reliable - once I learn the proper commands.

Quandry

Tech guy here. I like it, in fact I love the dual screens and the limited hard controls. As I have said before, the design is ideal for the top level trim but a compromise for the others. Guess which trim I have.

hddnav

Until you have the climate control on full blast on the hot summer afternoon, and the signal to noise ratio goes to hell...

The voice commands are also quite laggy. A common scenario: you see an old junker in front of you spewing black smoke, or the guy in front of you blowing his cigarette smoke out the window in a traffic jam. Are you going to slowly wait for the system to recognize your voice command to put it into recirculate, taking several seconds (too late) if it doesn't screw it up that time, or would you rather just punch a button to get an instantaneous response?

How about the times when you need to issue a string of commands serially to get to the command you really want to issue, because it's nested inside a set of menus?

JonfromCB

You are spot-on with your comments and observations. I think most people can understand some degree of a learning curve, but any system that lacks this degree of intuitiveness and functionality ends up being somewhere between frustrating and useless (or as you say, "a useless gimmick...an expensive one at that! Examples of frustrating are an "auto" HVAC system that does not allow setting most features exactly how I want them to be every time I get in the car, regardless of the ambient conditions because it's logic system decides what's best. Examples of useless are the phone system Acura didn't tell me was designed to integrate the most with Apple 5 and Droid, and not all features will interface with every phone and MOST features will not integrate with the majority of other brands and operating systems at all. Useless is the voice recognition system that you give-up on after the 4th or 5th try every time.....hey Acura take a look at the 6 year old BMW, Infiniti and even Ford Sync systems that work first time, every time. Frustrating is a Nav system that will literally show me every "sewing store" but won't list "rest areas" on the route screen.

Its these "creature features" that no one can sort-out on a test drive. It just takes time and use for anyone to form their own opinion as to how a manufacturer executed both the features and their controls. Three or four 12 hour days alone in the car is what it usually takes for me.


It's also a matter of perspective. If I didn't have "butt-time" in an Audi, BMW, Infiniti, and Ford (yes, really!) I wouldn't understand just how poorly Acura executed these systems and controls in the TLX.

youngTL

I have a rotary volume knob in my 3G TL-S, and I use the steering wheel volume control pretty much exclusively. Only reason I touch the rotary knob is to shut the audio completely off. I test drove a TLX (waiting for the '16), and I did the same thing with the audio controls on the extended test drive (used the steering wheel controls).

Hoosier_TLX

I can guarantee that a touchscreen isn't cheaper, in fact, it's probably more expensive than all the buttons and knobs in your car added together.

Don't say that nobody likes something, when in fact I'm confident some/many do. I don't have any issues with my setups and I will admit that I do use mostly steering wheel controls and voice recognition.

I agree that it can be overcome with software updates and that's why I posted earlier that is the greatest advantage of a touchscreen. I do hope that updates will be made available at some time.

I too have commented that "all" automobile configurable screens should allow the users to tailor the functions and even the looks to the desirable setup of the drivers (provided it doesn't impede or override safety or operational functionality of the car).

I have driven many different vehicles over the years and although the TLX isn't the best, it still isn't the worst. It's always a mixed bag with modern technology.

BEAR-AvHistory

I fully expect a glass dash as the future just like the glass cockpits we already have in aircraft but expect they will not be touch screens.

I believe better less invasive interface with the cars systems needs to be worked out. Just think, many car brands (including Acura?) will not even let you change your navigation system on the fly right now.

Thought this guys piece was interesting.

"There may be no greater design crime today than putting a touchscreen in an automobile. It's audaciously stupid. The simple fact is that screens demand our eyeballs in a way that knobs, dials, and buttons do not. Choosing the former over the latter means opting for superficial sophistication and whiz-bang appeal over, you know, letting drivers pay attention to what's in front of their 3,000 pound battering ram."

Also thought it interesting that some guys here thought the HUD was a problem & you don't even need to look down & refocus to see it.

Hoosier_TLX

^^^ @Bear: I agree that the perfect solution would be an environment that would allow the driver to maintain his focus on the road at all times (while driving). The usage of touchscreens and other visual displays are for times when the car is idle or a passenger can perform the functions. I would LOVE a type of HUD that can be controlled with steering wheel buttons for most of the functions as well as NAV. I said before, and I'll say again that the best we can hope for is a good mixture of old, proven methods with newer technology sprinkled in, hopefully providing a complete driving/usage experience.

I know why certain systems are locked out during driving and for the most part I agree. I would love to see a way to eliminate drivers using their mobile phones while driving because of the dangers involved. The 3,000 pound battering ram is exactly that, and any loss of focus by the driver could be devastating.