Test drove the TLX Advanced today. Im sorry but it didn't do it for me. I have enjoyed my 2004 3rd Generation TL and was hoping to find the same enjoyment out of a TLX but not going to happen. The TLX just did not feel as sporty as 3rd gen in the drive, acceleration or looks. Acura really messed up on the wheels. The dash board is generic but the center console is very cool. Back seat was not as comfortable as it could have been. Bmw gives a service warranty up to 50k at no additional cost. Acura wants almost 1500.00 dollars for something similar. The cool electronics on the Acura are probably a draw to some who are more technosavy than me. I think that Acura got lucky on the 3rd generation TL and the TLX is what one should expect from this company.

 

So, you would say its mediocre at best?

 

No just not that exciting.

 

The reviews I've seen so far are quite positive. I don't think anyone was expecting "excitement". I sure don't. I want a nice and quiet ride with a good sound system and a car that can merge and pass in traffic with little effort.

WHEN sterling McCall gets some in to test drive, that is what I will be looking for. Sedans don't excite me There are planty of true sports cars out there that would do that.. The Hellcat Challenger.. now that would be exciting to me

 

You'll need that extra warranty on the BMW. Acura knows you won't on the TLX.

 

The price you pay for a Bimmer has this already priced in.

 

Need more details. Did you use IDS?

 

...curious to see how a 4G owner views it seeing that that is more advance then the 3G.

 

My gripes are:
- no more leather in the base model, and has to get the tech package for real leather
- spare tire gone, aka BMW path

 

- that's nothing knew at the price point compared to other manufacturers. BMW and MB have vinyl (or "non-real" leather) in their entry-level cars. It's an option.
- Same deal with the spare tire. A lot of auto manufacturers are following suit.

 

I agree the TLX doesn't do it for me either.

 

I wanna like it, but it looks like everything else on the road......

 

It has to be hard to be a car manufacturer, especially Acura. They got hurt by being different (bold) with the 4G and now tamed the look a whole lot and now find themselves being in the pack.

I am holding off judgment until I can walk around one and then drive it

 

Not every TL, TLX, 3 series, Audi S4, C/CLA is going to appeal to everyone. As an owner of several 3s, an S4, and 2-TLs, you're going to pay for things on a BMW after the warranty period that will make you speechless if you had to ever pay for something similar on any Acura. Audi is the same.

Not saying the TLS is or isn't for everyone. I had an '05 TL. It's nowhere remotely close to a 4G, let alone a TLS, IMHO.

My 3G, in comparison was loud, with a floppy suspension, a trans that pales when compared to the 4G 6-speed, and certainly to the 8DCT or 9 sp in the TLS.

 

Have they confirmed no spare for the AWD too? MDX FWD do not have one, but the AWD's do.

Am going to reserve judgement until I drive both the 8DCT and 9AT, but my initial gripes are:
1. No 6MT SH-AWD announcement.
2. No contrast leather stitching. Small touch, but looks much better.
3. No perforated leather (unless you get Advance?)

In some pics expresso looks nice, in others it looks like

Wacky wheels are being almost universally panned and early reviews says the car is under-tired, but for someone like me who springs for winter wheels/tires, swapping out grippier rubber for all seasons is an easy fix.

 

One more gripe and I hope an ADVANCE'd ACURA tech engineer is reading this:

Please separate HVAC functions from the touchscreen. So annoying (not to mention dangerous) having to look at the touchscreen while driving to change the front HVAC and heat seating/cooling functions.

Also, I like being able to enter an address on the fly in my TL with the control knob by having the voice call out the letter without having to take my eyes off the road.

I might just keep my 6MT longer until Acura can sort this out.

 

I agree, I'd keep the 6mt. BMW might be losing it in some ways (i.e. to Lexus IS in various comparison tests), but at least you still can order a 6mt.

The other way around, just because BMW loses the spare doesn't mean you should do it. Plus, BMW's excuse is the run flats will keep you going for a little while in the city. I don't think Acura has the runflats?

I'm OK about leatherette on the base model, but forking over $4k for the tech package just to get leather is damn annoying.

 

I'm curious to know what exactly you didn't like about performance. Was it 0-60, torque steer, highway passing power. I'm assuming you drove v6 advanced non sh awd.

This reminds me of what the 2G tl owners said when the 3G first came out. They said it was bland, it wasn't sporty enough and that it wasn't as fast as the 2G(type-s). The 3G went on to become a hit and is the benchmark for success at acura. Once you see the 5G on the road and see more positive reviews most people will like it because it's not polarizing like the 4G.

This car will sell well at this price point, especially the 2.4L. Like you, I am comparing this to the 3G and I'm sure it's a significant upgrade in every way. I want the v6 advance sh awd and I just hope it's at least competitive with is350, 328, q50s in terms of performance. If so I will change the exhaust tips and the wheels and I'm will have a sweet ride!

 

I feel the same way. Its such a bland design that just kinda blends in with everything else. Theres really nothing special about it, besides some neat tech stuff I guess. But im not really into that. I sort of changed my thoughts on it tho over the past few months. While I personaly dont care for it at all, I think it will sell. I doubt it will have record brakeing sales figures or anything, but im guessing it will do okay based on how aggressively priced it is.

 

When did you see a TLX out in the traffic, amongst other cars to know it kinda blends with everything else? I am curious to know where these opinions, like yours, comes from.

As for me, I am waiting to actually see one or more on the road, but that is just me.

 

Iv never seen one in person. Actually there isnt a single Acura dealership in my state so I doubt ill see one for a while. Iv gatherd enough from pictures and videos to formulate an opinion tho. Looks like a watered down lexus IS-XXX to me. Seeing one in person isnt going to change my mind, sorry its just not.

 

The rear, may be. But the front looks like nothing else, well other than the '12+ 4G TL which I own and like

 

I'm not trying to change your mind because, clearly, you already hate it.

 

I certianly dont hate it. It just dosent tickle my fancy is all. But its an entirely new model for Acura and I enjoy the hype and buzz around it here on Acurazine as well as reading folks opinions.

 

Sorry, using "hate" was too strong. I wanted to edit that but waited too long. My apologies.

You are right, each new model goes through this. I came into Acura with an '08 (3G) and saw the 4G received as a pariah but a huge majority on here.

Then folks got used to the look and accepted the looks, for the most part. I never liked the front or rear of that car.

I jumped on the MMC 4G and the die hard 4G fans hated the tamed down MMC.. then, it grew on people and was accepted.

I expect the same with this model.

 

No worries. I do agree that once the TLX has been on the road for a while and its established itself opinions on the design will likely sway more on the positive side.

 

I'm going to be selling my leased TSX back to the dealership Saturday. They are getting a demo TLX (hopefully a 4 cylinder) and I hope to take it for a spin.

I won't be getting a new car for 18-24 months and right now the front runners are the TLX, and.... the Ford Fusion. I've driven the Fusion a few times, and love it for its styling and very Germanic feel.

However, I'm a 4x Acura owner and the durability and resale advantage would certainly go to the TLX. I would plan on keeping my next car for quite awhile.

Equipped the way I'd want, I'm looking at about $35K for a 4 cylinder tech vs. $31K for a Fusion SE optioned similarly to the TLX.

Let's talk about leather for a sec. Isn't it time for the auto industry to adopt a synthetic material for seating? In between Acuras I had a Mercedes C300 with MB-TEX. I thought it looked and felt fine, and it was MUCH more durable than leather. When I turned the car in after three years the seats looked exactly the same as new, with no wear and tear whatsoever. So I would actually prefer a synthetic seating material, but it seems that many luxury buyers simply expect leather and won't consider an alternative.

 

You bring up an interesting point. There is something about leather that just makes it feel like a requirement for luxury vehicles, however, quietly it feels like more and more manufacturers are moving away from leather and cars in the $30,000 price range have "leatherette". Honestly, I want the car to look and feel the best three to five years down the line.

To me, that means whatever material is the most durable and yet still looks good. I have the TSX SE and I really don't mind that a good portion of the seats are not leather. Take a stroll over to the Auto News board and they'll tell you about how this new material is a detriment to the TLX, while they all drive Subarus and BMWs that use the same or equivalent non-leather interior.

 

My understanding is that synthetic leather doesn't breathe well and it can be quite hot, so some would rather have cloth. Maybe some synthetic materials have improved quite a bit, but I don't have any data.

 

The reviews I have read stated that the 2.4L TLX was the best to drive.

 

i honestly think 3g TL owners are the most delusional car owners on the planet. they think its the end all of all sport sedans. I have a 07 TL and as much as I like it imho even the 4G is a better driving experience than the 3G.

 

I see that a lot too..

I sure feel the same as you when I went from a 3G to a 4G.

 

Saw/drove one at the dealer yesterday.


Meh


It's a luxury sedan, no more no less. It's a step up from an Accord but I'm thinking when I'm ready to trade my two in I'm back to Honda. Heck Honda had LED lights/running lights last year on the sedans but Acura didn't think it good enough to add it to the TL/TSX.


Acura has lost it's way mostly IMHOP and will just blend in now with the others.

 

The Camry is bland as dust & is the best selling car in the country, Acura should be so lucky.

Despite the race car adds I believe they got the actual car right, very competent nice looking 4 door, to do what they need to do, sell more sedans.

It will not reach 3G sales, that was a special time with fewer competitive cars in its price range. The TLX market segement is saturated now but based on price the TLX should still be one of the top sellers.

 

I think most complaints come from the size. The 4G, non-shawd, feels and drives like a tank. It feels MASSIVE compared to the 3G.

 

 

i drive 4g's daily and i throw them around corners like you wouldnt believe. its heavier but honestly it still feels flat and very confident as sports sedan should. not any worse than my 3g, infact it has less body roll than my 3g. when it comes to looks all subjective. the 4g just needs the proper wheels and a slight drop and its starts to shine. the 17" inch garbage that the tech 4g comes with does no justice to it.

 

Interesting. I had a 2014 Fusion Platinum as a rental for a week and my driving impression of it was far from feeling 'Germanic'. Different strokes I guess..

 

Except hardly ANY brands offer LED headlights. LED DRLs with HID low/high are the common now. LED low/high are almost non existant still except for select models. and none are TLX priced

 

We can look at any luxury/sport car company and say what it has or doesn't have compared to the others. They all have things that make them unique and desireable over the next brand. The led lights look amazing on my MDX and may have been what pushed me over the edge to buy the SUV. There is no way the tlx will be mistaken for anything else, at least from the front.

Without test driving the new tlx yet, I know both trims will be well appointed. The styling is subjective and I still have that prototype that I liked very much in my head. Nothing a set of good 19's or 20's can't fix.

My only concern is driving dynamics. I'm expecting a "red carpet athlete"! I'm expecting "that kind of thrill", like I'm being shot out of a cannonball. If it's not close to that which some early reviewers are saying then I'll be disappointed. Based on how well my MDX drives with the same v6, weight loss, new 9 speed tranny, I expect acceleration to be 5.5 to 60 or better. I don't think that's too much to ask. My MDX does it in 6.4 and it weighs almost 4400lbs. I am loyal to honda/acura but if this car doesn't live up to acura's hype I will consider the IS350 fsport or the Q50s awd instead.