Tonyware

Re: folding rear seats.

If it is based on the 2013 Accord, it will have the same folding rear seat opening size (google that for pictures). Thats not that big. Doubt it will fit the wheel of a road bike.

But then again you never know. 1:50pm tomorrow and throughout the afternoon when various sites publish interior, exterior, engine bay etc pictures.

PS. don't forget to stock up on popcorn

Rocketsfan

About the only thing left for me to decide is the pricing, early reviews, and a test drive. Everything else is just dandy. Can't wait. C'mon Acura, don't let me down .... if you do, I have no clue what's left out there. lol.

docboy

Eh, this is news to me. I wasn't aware the TL was susceptible to crosswinds. I thought this phenom only affected SUVs which are higher off the ground.

internalaudit

What would be good alternatives to the TLX SH-AWD at >$50k and have reasonable reliability? Definitely open to other well made AWD vehicles in this price range.

Will they last more than eight years without requiring expensive upkeep? I understand the demand for handling/performance but I would balance it with ownership maintenance cost too as I don't have a money tree growing in my back yard.

Is it really possible to use regular gasoline on these V6 babies?

VCM, Direct Injection, newer SH-AWD and some additional electronic gizmos. It seems buying extended warranty may not be such a bad idea. Is the 9 speed made by ZF?

This is the V6 engine that has won in Ward's Ten Best, isn't it?

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Based on what Corey said overall it looks like their focus is making a tech-heavy car with the TLX instead of making it a real performance car. Making sure there isn't a single feature missing, while providing a very competitive price. In this respect this car is going to be a home run. This reminds of 2004 when bluetooth, DVD-A, etc etc. where new technology and they were throwing it all in. As mentioned I too miss the old mentality of a fully loaded model without nickel and diming (like the German cars) with a bargain basement pricing. Looks like they don't want to be that bargain basement car brand anymore, Hyundai/Kia's top level has taken that space. They don't want to compete with them but they want to be up with Lexus. So pricing/features value is competitive on that next tier. I think it's justified because it looks like they are going to stepping up not just brand image but the product itself. These LOOK like more expensive cars now. People hardly say nowadays that Lexus is a re-badged Toyota. Pretty soon I'm sure people will stop saying that Acuras are re-badged Hondas. They are looking to widen that gap.

Where they are making their mistake though is their continued and persistent direction. I said this before but the mistake here is that they are softening the car to fill that OLD 90s/2000s Lexus niche. Acura had the headstart in 1986 but has still been trying to play catchup sice 1989 and never has quite gotten there. Infiniti was on a better perch but have fallen even worse. They don't even hardly have a lineup and their new numerology is beyond stupid. The Q50 isn't bad design-wise but the car is riddled with glitches. I surely hope Acura has been watching closely.

Both companies should realize in order to compete with today's Lexus they should get with the program. A couple years ago the Toyota CEO finally woke up and got honest about it. He admitted the brand was too soft, focusing primarily on quality, reliability and doing "safe" designs for way too long. Look at the current Lexus lineup with fresh design and a new seriousness with performance. The GS350 F-sport runs with the big boys now finally. The posterchild for this new mentality is Cadillac. We all know how they have done a 180. They are not copying anyone and blazing their own trail. Drove the new CTS couple weeks ago. PHENOMENAL car, no "old" Cadillac in it at all. It's not really "me", but I'd recommend it to anyone. I totally respect the car and what the brand has done. Mercedes and Audi have also sharpened up recently.

The only disappointment right now is BMW. Their 3/5 series have gotten numb and the 7 series is pathetic. I used to LOVE the old one, the new one is too soft and I would take the previous generation S-class over it any day, which is surprisingly sporty. A few months ago I compared these 2 cars and I had 2 non-enthusiasts with me. They agreed whole-heartedly with me that the S-class is better.

Sorry to digress, I say all that to say this: When brands change their direction things can go the other way. Good can go bad and bad can go good. It is all about the way the direction of corporate management. So I really don't think this is just about catering to enthusiasts. I have heard from quite a number of non-enthusiasts that the TLX prototype looks AWESOME from the commercials. I doubt very much they will say the same about the production model, they will say it looks OK, nothing bad but not exciting either. The fact is that most people don't want a boring car, style-wise or drive-wise.

IMO most people don't care too much what is under the hood, but they DO look at that HP number even if they don't know what it means. Just like they want a high megapixel camera or a 4k HD TV. They really don't know or care what it means but they want it.

Bottomline though is that the TLX will definitely sell. Not as high as the 3GTL but not as low as the 4GTL. 44k cars seems a reasonable goal, I think they will make it. But here's the thing is it enough? Will it save their sedan dilemma? ILX/RLX are flops and I don't see anything saving them in the immediate future. They have to pull their own weight. But had they taken a risk and had the TLX been more like the prototype I think they would have beaten their own projections.

MuGen7Modulo

My question is will TLX sell in EU, Japan or Australia as an Honda "select" model?
Hoping for Inspire / Accord Euro for JP/AU/EU!!

Corey, did they say anything about other markets besides CN/RU?

Goosew

iTrader: (1)

This. I agree whole-heartedly with this sentiment. And hopefully, (HOPEFULLY), if this TLX sells as well as we hope, they'll be more apt to make a "sport" model with the MMC (as they did with the 04 - 08)

Rocket_man

Thanks for this great info Corey. For me the car has the features I'm mostly looking for, it really comes down to price and early adopter issues. The only thing that disappoints me is that I can't get the I4 in the Advanced Trim. If I could get that combo I'd be all over it. If I'm looking at mid $40's then it opens up my car possibilities much further and Acura could price me out.

Looks like your post made the 'main stream' on-line car media...

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2015-acu...auto-show.html

Rocket_man

I hate to respond to my own posting but I can no longer edit.

I meant to ask Corey was there any discussion if the TLX has the same dampers as the RDX and ILX?

KeithL

Audi A6, but more pricey and then the new wild card is the new Genesis Sedan with HTRAC, I would expect that to have good reliability and have the same if not more toys on board. Problem with Audi is the shorter warranty and higher maintenance costs. The A6 has had average reliability, where I would expect the TL to have excellent reliability and the Genesis probably above average.

graphicguy

rockyfeller....not going to quote your entire post from above, but from what I got from it was, regardless if it's a new 4K TV, or a 3G/4G/5G TL....

"....everything older=good"
"...everything newer=mediocre/bad"

BEAR-AvHistory

Don't know what the actual TLX performance is but here is the rest of the crop of mostly 4X4's expensive to not too expensive from the MT intro of the supercharged Rover.

Vehicle Horsepower 0-60 mph Quarter-Mile
2013 Range Rover Supercharged 510 hp 4.6 seconds 13.1 sec @ 108.3 mph

2011 BMW X5 M 555 hp 4.1 seconds 12.7 sec @ 110.1 mph

2011 BMW X6 M 555 hp 4.0 seconds 12.5 sec @ 110.8 mph

2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 470 hp (5A) 4.6 seconds 13.3 sec @ 103.2 mph

2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG 550 hp 4.3 seconds 12.8 sec @ 110.6 mph

2013 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 536 hp 5.0 seconds 13.4 sec @ 105.2 mph

2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo 500 hp 4.3 seconds 12.8 sec @ 107.9 mph

2012 BMW 335i 300 hp 4.7 seconds 13.3 sec @ 103.9 mph

2011 BMW M3 414 hp 4.2 seconds 12.6 sec @ 113.4 mph

2013 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE 426 hp 4.3 seconds 12.7 sec @ 111.8 mph

2013 Ford Mustang GT 412 hp 4.3 seconds 12.7 sec @ 111.1 mph

2012 Nissan 370Z 332 hp 4.8 seconds 13.4 sec @ 105.6 mph

2013 Subaru Impreza WRX 265 hp 4.7 seconds 13.5 sec @ 100.0 mph

Read more: http://wot.motortrend.com/how-fast-i...#ixzz2z3feZFkY

The TLX should do pretty well for its price, back to its roots? High tech, nice body, good performance, good price?

internalaudit

^ Bear, will turbo always be less reliable than naturally aspirated?

The TLX does have the VCM to contend with but then again, now it's just the 3-6 set-up instead of the earlier 3-4-6.

Has anybody owned a Honda V6 with VCM before and how was it? Would the engine mounts (not a techie) be able to absorb most of the vibration?

Nedmundo

I agree with the rest of your excellent post, but singled this out to note that the TLX I4's 206 hp beats much of its entry level competition: IS250, BMW 320i, and ATS 2.5. People know torque even less than hp, so they won't realize the BMW might feel stronger despite its (likely underrated) 180 hp. Seen in this light, the 206 hp isn't so bad. I'm more disappointed the torque doesn't exceed 190 lb.-ft.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Well not necessarily. It depends which company you're talking about, they all took different directions.

Old MB = better quality but New MB=better in every way.
New Cadillac/Jaguar/Audi=WAY better.
Old BMW=better quality, styling and handling. New BMW=Better in every other way.
Old Infiniti=better styling, better reliability New Infiniti=Better in every other way.
Lincoln=not even in the game.

Lexus is the one company that is different. They just seem to have been consistent with their success and gotten better and better all the time. The company was founded on listening to their customers and it shows. I think the main criticism right now is the strange styling. But as many have said you can't make everyone happy. People said they were boring and bland long enough and they decided to go aggressive. I just think they didn't have to be so angry about it, lol. Chill.

I know some of what I said above sounds contradictary but it's all about balance, Give a little, take a little but how does it end up? Yea the 4GTL was not a terrible car, it was a step forward in many ways from a 3GTL but also a step back. This TLX hopefully will be a step forward on all fronts.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

I've read this before and it always gets me.....HOW is it that fast?? Faster than a 911, Mustang, M3 or Cayenne Turbo. Two other cars that are shockingly fast in acceleration are the Tesla Model S (of course we all know that.) but also the Audi S8 that does it in 3.5 and the S63 is trying to match that. Crazy.

If you ever drove one of the BMW X trucks they feel somewhat light but are really HEAVY, you only realize it on a tight turn. It will stick but you realize it's carrying weight. I've only driven the 3.0 and 4.4, I gotta try that M version sometime.

Corey_Straker

Wonder who did that? It's not a big secret a bunch of people from dealerships attended this. They had Sienfield there and everything.

Not a word, I am willing to bet it'll have amplitude reactive dampeners, just like on the all there other cars. Which is just a silly substitute for not wanting to use there old Active Dampener System.

TheAcAvenger

Car and Driver got a 12.4/113 out of the current gen Cayenne Turbo, but yeah, it's all nuts. All wheel drive + monster amounts of torque + a tranny that can handle an abusive launch is the recipe for success... weight be dammed. The M3 is torqueless and fairly heavy, so that's not too big of a surprise. The 911 has never been much of a straight line juggernaut outside of turbo trim. I've read a few sources saying the S8 is underrated and is probably closer to 575/500 in crank output.The Mustang will always be held back by the 6MT and rear wheel drive.

this isn't making me feel better about the 290hp tl though.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

With BMW, the answer is that the engines are heavily underrated in most conditions and they generally have launch control, which helps. The turbos are also well-tuned to make a lot of torque down low, which really gives them a strong hole shot, especially with AWD.

The Model S is quick because it makes all of its torque instantly. The torque curve on an EV like the Model S is basically flat across the board. That makes for an awful lot of area under the torque curve where many cars are still building up.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Wow this is crazy, hehe. There's always people hiding in the woodwork, hence why I was saying to be careful what you put out in cyberspace.

mindanalyzer

Every time I hear (or read) VCM I get nervous. I am wondering if the TLX will exhibit the notorious rumble/shudder noise of some RDX and MDX (according to some MDX owners), supposedly related to the VCM (when working in 3 cylinders mode). My 2013 FWD RDX does this all the time so I am not making this up, it is from 1st hand experience that I know this; At the beginning this behavior was literally killing all the fun in my ride but as of late I am trying not to mind it; Something like this, in a sport sedan such as the TLX, would be totally unacceptable [in my book]

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Yea it has such an advantage in that way. Almost makes the huge gasoline engines/turbos etc. seem barbaric. If 100k was in my budget and the car I want to replace is a commuter I would pick a Tesla P85S without a blink. But for any other purpose, I just can't say no to an M5 for the same price. It may not be the smarter choice but it would make me a hell lot happier.

BEAR-AvHistory

Couple of responses.

Turbos will get more & more reliable as they are the only way manufactures are going to meet future EPA standards. Anything with more moving parts will be less reliable than one with fewer parts. Key is the turbo has to be designed from the clean sheet up as a turbo engine.

How do the XM’s do it; with 500ftlbs of torque @ 1500rpm & AWD. Lots & lots of low end grunt for the 0-60 run.

TLX should be coming out now its 1:50

liquidh2o

edit: wrong thread!

mylove4cars

Didn't I tell you

internalaudit

Hmmm. Maybe I should go with the cheaper I4?

Anyone know which depreciates faster, the TL or TSX? Won't a used V6 have less demand in the 2nd hand market?

If I go for the I4, I may go with new. Originally planned to acquire a used V6 one on its 2nd or 3rd year but if Honda hasn't fixed VCM, I would be hesitant.

holografique

wow..so that's what that noise is....it's in the RLX as well. I've been wondering for as long as I've had the car now what the heck that was. it's faint, but noticeable, especially with how quiet the RLX is inside.

George Knighton

It sounds like we are both people who can tell when the J35Y4 goes into 3 cylinder mode. They claim that we are rare...but I certainly see a lot of comments about it. Perhaps it's only enthusiasts with developed perceptions who hit the social media sites to talk about it.

:-)

Do you find it objectionable? Personally, I fully embrace it as part of the price we pay for the compromise between fuel economy and power. I don't object to it...I can just tell that it is happening.

The kind of VCM that the TLX J Motor will have is going to be just like the VCM we have in the RLX. It's 6 cylinders, or 3 cylinders. None of that in between stuff any more.

I'm sure you'll agree with me that when you have to floor it in the RLX, the VCM doesn't matter at all. You get instant, well directed power while still getting great fuel economy for the size vehicle we're talking about.

George Knighton

There is a significant difference between the damping mounts on the RDX and Accord, and cars like the RLX and TLX.

I do not mind it at all on my RLX.

But...I have to confess that I notice it more while in the vehicles of my friends, several of whom have older Odysseys. If you didn't know ahead of time what was happening, you'd believe from your training that the Odyssey motor had some serious timing and fuel delivery issues.

George Knighton

It's too early to tell about the TLX.

However...based on what I got for my 4G TL 6-6 SH-AWD with 86,000 miles on it, the depreciation of an Acura sedan is not something to worry about too much.

Those of us who bought the RLX are a little worried, but it's probably going to be just like the situation was with the 4G TL. Nobody wanted it when it was new, and the enthusiasts just took a while to realize that it was an excellent all around compromise vehicle.

When I bought the 4G TL in December 2009, people were saying the same things about depreciation and never being able to get rid of it. Turned out to be the exact opposite.

George Knighton

So, holografique....

Should we warn them about the "injection fan" noise, or let it be?

LOL.... :-)

internalaudit

Does your RLX have the engine idle stop and if so, how do you find it?

For a V6 the MPG for the TLX SH-AWD is quite impressive at 21/31.

Oswald Vater

If it weren't for the green light that tells me when our 09 Ody is running in VCM I wouldn't know the difference between that and 6 cylinder mode. I'm assuming the difference will be just as transparent on the TLX.

internalaudit

Does vcm work in stop and go traffic? My search doesn't seem to indicate so unless this is considered engine operating under light load.

I have some concerns with the VCM long term:
http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion...ccord-vcm/p126

Corey_Straker

Guys, stop trying to make up your mind on which one to get right now. Give it a little more time until they hit dealer showrooms. Every dealership will be getting 3 at the launch and 2 addition models that are to be DEMOS ONLY for I believe 60-90 days before being released for sale at an reduced price. Not all of the models will be released with the launch of the vehicle. They have not told us which yet. I will keep you all informed. Once I get the first car on the showroom. I'll take it out for an hour or so and give you all the advice I can. We are having another training session where we drive the car a few weeks before it hits the showroom, so maybe then.

Treblig

Thanks Corey. By the way I was going through your "notes" again and didn't see HUD as an option. Will that not be available on the TLX?

JT4

Thanks Corey

Corey_Straker

I personally don't believe the TLX will be launching with a HUD. This is currently technology only available in the Sport Hybrid RLX. I would expect to see a HUD in the MMC of the TLX, they have to save something to make you want it.

Anytime!

Treblig

Another reason why I will take my chances and wait for the 2016 version

Corey_Straker

I'd personally wait for the MMC so they can solve any issues with the 8DCT, 9AT, and by the looks of things something far more alarming to me on the pictures it looks like they went to a plastic intake manifold, throttle body, and valve covers. This enrages me beyond belief.