When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I think Acura's inability to compete with the German sports sedans is in large part due to how few sedans Acura sells worldwide. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes sell each sell at least 10 times more (probably much higher) similar sedans worldwide, with the highest number of sales to China. Almost all Acura's sales are in the US and Canada, where sedans are not popular right now. I suspect that due to the small number of sales, Honda does not want to spend a lot of money developing the TLX, since it will not be able to spread the development costs over a large number of cars.
Didn't Honda also use this same transmission in the Pilot, Odyssey, Passport, and Ridgeline?
Im not sure about the Ridgeline, but all the others yes. I can only surmise they didn’t have an alternative in that perhaps they could produce a sufficient quantity of the 10spd when the vehicles were being developed or the damn thing was dirt cheap. That decision on their part always perplexed me.
Raiti just released his review (he got his from a dealership, not the media event). At 17:12 he does an acceleration test, and there's a sizeable delay before the car takes off (at least in normal mode). Seems like he got the same type of car the TSP guys got. About 1.5-2 seconds before the car starts moving. At 18:22 he does it in sport mode...a little better but still pretty sizable. Nowhere close to a ZF8.
This is the worst review I've ever seen Raiti do. Like someone said ... he's just "playing nice" since it's his dealer friend.
After first poor launch he says ... "this thing needs a 6-speed manual" (yeah right) ... and hurry "let's try Sport Mode."
What the hell Raiti ... doing launches and cornering demos on neighborhood streets?
Next one was lame, and the last one in Sport-Mode was worst (slowest to respond) of all. Why even bother to throw up the speedo logo?
At least he Zonked the lack of back-seat USB. And now we know the FWD-Advance is sleepy and slow just like the others.
Part of why G70 is on my list since if the TLX is going to be this small on the inside the G70 Sport will have my features at a better price point. How did Acura mess up the interior so badly?
Car and Driver also reported the trans as laggy:
"The 10-speed serves admirably across the Honda and Acura lineups, but the programming and responses aren't much different here than they are in, say, an Odyssey minivan. And its lazy reaction to paddle inputs and refusal to hold gears stand out as detriments."
How can this guy not be positive? He's getting it from a dealer, leaving the dealers phone number, and giving you what guy to ask for. Obviously he won't trash it
He even said " this is the tech AND advance package " Doesn't even know the car
The fact that he literally completely ignored the 2 second lag before moving, and calling it smooth shifting is why I can't take it serious.
Terrible review, cause its obviously not serious.
Sport mode is an improvement though. Not as delayed. I would be driving in sport most of the time anyway
1.5-2s delay on the 2G TLX? Seriously?? That's worse than I got with a 2015 TLX ZF9. The 2015 ZF maybe delayed 0.5-1s - had more problems with 2-3 jerky shifts and jerky shifting when maintaining 20mph speed than a bad delay. That's not good.
1.5-2s delay on the 2G TLX? Seriously?? That's worse than I got with a 2015 TLX ZF9. The 2015 ZF maybe delayed 0.5-1s - had more problems with 2-3 jerky shifts and jerky shifting when maintaining 20mph speed than a bad delay. That's not good.
The delay is about right, since RDX has similar delay. It seems to be a big issue at first, but once you are an owner you just learn what the car can and cannot do, and work around it by changing your driving style. Or there is always Honda/Ktuner to the rescue....
The delay is really only that bad when you are in 2 gear or so, and suddenly demand power, the ECU would first downshift to 1st gear and slip the clutch to build up boost. This is when you hear the engine roar but the speed does not increase as much as it should. In other scenarios, the powertrain is comparable or better than J35+6AT (9AT is so bad I don't think it drives as well as J35+6AT).
The delay is about right, since RDX has similar delay. It seems to be a big issue at first, but once you are an owner you just learn what the car can and cannot do, and work around it by changing your driving style. Or there is always Honda/Ktuner to the rescue....
The delay is really only that bad when you are in 2 gear or so, and suddenly demand power, the ECU would first downshift to 1st gear and slip the clutch to build up boost. This is when you hear the engine roar but the speed does not increase as much as it should. In other scenarios, the powertrain is comparable or better than J35+6AT (9AT is so bad I don't think it drives as well as J35+6AT).
That makes sense. I suspect that it doesn't downshift and put down the power more aggressively as a way to reduce driveline shock and help protect the SH-AWD components. I don't recall this happening in the Accord 2.0T with the same engine/trans combination, though admittedly I've only had about 30 minutes worth of combined seat time in that configuration. Does anyone with an Accord 2.0T + 10AT know if it behaves similarly?
Allright so i went up to the dealership earlier hunting for one of the new TLXs. They had a white and black base, and a blue aspec. The blue aspec was really captivating. It was sitting inside the glass delivery room. Jarrod let us in to stand next to it and look at the TLX. It looks really awesome in person and it's definitely a big car. I would say it certainly looks better in person than in the photos we have seen. He said it's a little quicker than the rdx and what is really better is the handling in curves compared to the rdx, so that is great news. His most shocking piece of information is this... He said the guy that trained them on the new TLX said JANUARY for the Type S. I looked at him for a few moments and kind of stared at Jarrod. I was like January 2021? I was like the internet is thinking spring 2021 but i mean if you just heard last week from the trainer that it's january then i'm just going to go with that. He said don't quote him on it when I told him i'm going to tell the internet lol. I'm pretty much believe him because it does make sense. That might be why acura dropped the type S commercial today. We'll see folks!
I’m going to say no, but obviously I’m just some random a-hole on the Internet. Acura’s own website (not just the internet) says the Type-S arrives in Spring of 2021. On top of that, Jan and Feb are notoriously slow sales months for new car sales. It wouldn’t be the best idea to launch their shiny new performance sedan while half the country is covered in snow and salt.
While we wait for more reviews on the TLX, I'll be giving a proper review of the 2020 NSX. From performance, to handling, to leg & head room ect.
It's our 5th wedding anniversary on Sunday. Because of everything going on this year and our vacation was cancelled, we decided to rent something fun and enjoy the day. We rented a Lamborghini Gallardo for 4 days and returned the day after the wedding. It was such an incredible vehicle but certainly NOT a daily driver. I always wanted to get behind the wheel of the NSX, so here we go! This is the exact one.
Oh that's awesome. I rode in a red one when we were buying the rdx back in 2018. I would describe it as extremely linear quicklike in a quiet manner. Very fast vehicle. Enjoy that nsx!
The delay is about right, since RDX has similar delay. It seems to be a big issue at first, but once you are an owner you just learn what the car can and cannot do, and work around it by changing your driving style. Or there is always Honda/Ktuner to the rescue....
The delay is really only that bad when you are in 2 gear or so, and suddenly demand power, the ECU would first downshift to 1st gear and slip the clutch to build up boost. This is when you hear the engine roar but the speed does not increase as much as it should. In other scenarios, the powertrain is comparable or better than J35+6AT (9AT is so bad I don't think it drives as well as J35+6AT).
My experience is that the 9AT delay is not "so bad" on the 2018+ TLX MYs V6 9AT. The 2015 V6 was bad. I haven't driven a 2016 or 2017 to compare those.
Oh that's awesome. I rode in a red one when we were buying the rdx back in 2018. I would describe it as extremely linear quicklike in a quiet manner. Very fast vehicle. Enjoy that nsx!
Appreciate it Eric! Wife wants to do a quick photo shoot with the TL and NSX. Will be a very fun day!
Appreciate it Eric! Wife wants to do a quick photo shoot with the TL and NSX. Will be a very fun day!
Oh that's really exciting. You gonna put some content on IG in your story? I look forward to the photos and review! I made a comment to my wife the other day about the nsx...i was like why don't we just skip the TLX and keep saving for a used nsx. Because there is a squadron of guys around here that's growing and they all have supercars and i feel left out and want to join the fun but can't because: error supercar not found. lol I mean if they come out with some type of nsx type S or something even more sinister than the nsx already is...sweet baby jesus. Maybe after you and your wife drive it around you will fall in love and have to have one.
They don't know a piece of styro-foam from a spare-tire.
The driver dude has difficulty with simple math (said TLX was $100 cheaper than last year's 2020 model).
At least they demo-ed the Power-Folding Mirrors and showed (huge ?) Remote-Start fob. Also, points for demo-ing the best-version of the sound-system. However, you would think some reviewer would mention dual-subs and how they affect audio performance.
Kinda funny how passenger-guy is impressed with casual accelerations. Newbies, but they are trying.
They don't know a piece of styro-foam from a spare-tire.
The driver dude has difficulty with simple math (said TLX was $100 cheaper than last year's 2020 model).
At least they demo-ed the Power-Folding Mirrors and showed (huge ?) Remote-Start fob. Also, points for demo-ing the best-version of the sound-system. However, you would think some reviewer would mention dual-subs and how they affect audio performance.
Kinda funny how passenger-guy is impressed with casual accelerations. Newbies, but they are trying.
They look like they are about 17 or 18. At first I had them confused with Carfection and wondered wtf happened to the host and production value.
Edit: nm i was off a little. Looks like they’re 19 and 21, as one’s a sophomore in college and the other is a couple years older. Man, wish I had the drive to start a car channel when I was their age instead of dicking around
playing DotA and Smash...
I sat in both an A-spec and Advance today. The former’s cabin is a bit bare yet it works really well for the trim. The Advance is elegant, but the A-spec put a big smile on my face. Understand completely why AOA was conflicted. If you paid sticker you’re probably paying $2,500-$3,000 too much. I think if the car was priced at $45,000 they couldn’t sell enough of them. Problem is if the car was priced at $45,000 the dealers wouldn’t budge from sticker or would add in a markup. The way I see it is if you can buy the car now at a $2,500 discount you win big time. There was no problem with the seating. I’m 6 foot and I could sit comfortably behind the driver’s seat set to my standard driving position.
That brown interior looks really good with the wood trim. Say what you will about the performance, but the interior is the best I've ever seen from Acura and I dare say better looking than the very sterile and Teutonic German interiors.
That brown interior looks really good with the wood trim. Say what you will about the performance, but the interior is the best I've ever seen from Acura and I dare say better looking than the very sterile and Teutonic German interiors.
Equivalent maybe, but for sure not better. Tech plays a big part in the look and the TLX's red gauges at night completely breaks it for me personally.
Equivalent maybe, but for sure not better. Tech plays a big part in the look and the TLX's red gauges at night completely breaks it for me personally.
I don’t have experience with those gauges at night. To my surprise they looked very good during the day. To anybody knocking the car I suggest that you go take a look at it first.
I don’t have experience with those gauges at night. To my surprise they looked very good during the day. To anybody knocking the car I suggest that go take a look at it first.
The silver part during the day seems ok, it's the red glare at night that seems to bother me. Noticed in one of the driving videos.
The silver part during the day seems ok, it's the red glare at night that seems to bother me. Noticed in one of the driving videos.
When I saw that video I assumed he had the luminosity turned all the way up like some of the young guys tend to do. I’ll hold off forming an opinion until I can see them myself.
Equivalent maybe, but for sure not better. Tech plays a big part in the look and the TLX's red gauges at night completely breaks it for me personally.
I think that's only for the A-Spec, which I think has the worst looking dials of the bunch. Red on white? Come on, what is this, 2001? Reminds me of what people would do to rice rockets.
Maybe I should qualify all this with how the Advance interior looks great. The A-Spec, bleh, especially with the red seats and that red grab handle. So shouty, like it's trying to hard. Reminds me of those ankle biter dogs that act tough but have no bite to back up the bark.
I think that's only for the A-Spec, which I think has the worst looking dials of the bunch. Red on white? Come on, what is this, 2001? Reminds me of what people would do to rice rockets.
Maybe I should qualify all this with how the Advance interior looks great. The A-Spec, bleh, especially with the red seats and that red grab handle. So shouty, like it's trying to hard. Reminds me of those ankle biter dogs that act tough but have no bite to back up the bark.
The A-spec I saw had the black seats. They were attractive. After looking at both the Advance and A-spec the latter was more in line with want I want in a vehicle right now. Sitting in the thing brought a smile to my face. I’m buying as soon as someone wants to sell me one of the extra cost colors (white, red, or blue) for $45,500 before taxes.
1. which I think has the worst looking dials of the bunch. Red on white? Come on, what is this, 2001?
2. The A-Spec, bleh, especially with the red seats and that red grab handle.
1. Agreed. I can live with analog gauges, but that red and illumination is too much.
2. Surprisingly, same on 2020 Audi-S6 (with red interior). So, they copied Audi on that.
On either car ... I would have to go with the black/ebony. But both can be ventilated so no problems there.
I think that's only for the A-Spec, which I think has the worst looking dials of the bunch. Red on white? Come on, what is this, 2001? Reminds me of what people would do to rice rockets.
Maybe I should qualify all this with how the Advance interior looks great. The A-Spec, bleh, especially with the red seats and that red grab handle. So shouty, like it's trying to hard. Reminds me of those ankle biter dogs that act tough but have no bite to back up the bark.
The sensible thing to do is to just get an Advance and install the A-spec steering wheel. Then you’d have the metal shift paddles, legible instrumentation, and the head-up display.
From both AoA video and Raiti's video, it seems like the rear leg room is adequate. Both drivers are 6ft + and they were able to sit "behind themselves" and still have inches of leg room left. I'm guessing Acura just allows the front seats to be moved VERY far back as they keep saying the focus is for two people rather than a whole family. May be if the driver is 7ft tall then he or she would need to move the front seat all the way back, and so the back seat will become useless. It's definitely no Accord though when it comes to rear leg room, but I also don't think it should be a deal breaker unless you and whoever sits behind you are very tall.
Also kept replaying the two launches (normal and sport) in that Raiti's video. Seems to be similar to my 3G RDX. In normal mode, there's lag from the moment you floor it to when the car actually starts picking up speed. The delay is significant and I don't quite like that. You can see that delay clearly in the video in normal mode (sport mode in RDX). But in Sport mode, as soon as Joe floored it, the rpm and speed picked up immediately. It's no NSX or Tesla, but it seems pretty reasonable to me. It's the same for the RDX, in sport+ mode, it's very sensitive to throttle input. I actually think it's a bit too much. I wish there's a mode between sport and sport+ (normal and sport for the TLX).
I definitely would love to test drive one to see for myself. So far, I'm digging the exterior and interior. The car sounds like a very fun car to drive too, that I gotta experience myself.
While we wait for more reviews on the TLX, I'll be giving a proper review of the 2020 NSX. From performance, to handling, to leg & head room ect.
It's our 5th wedding anniversary on Sunday. Because of everything going on this year and our vacation was cancelled, we decided to rent something fun and enjoy the day. We rented a Lamborghini Gallardo for 4 days and returned the day after the wedding. It was such an incredible vehicle but certainly NOT a daily driver. I always wanted to get behind the wheel of the NSX, so here we go! This is the exact one.
That's a beautiful color!
Last edited by CheeseyPoofs McNut; 09-26-2020 at 06:23 AM.
1. Agreed. I can live with analog gauges, but that red and illumination is too much.
2. Surprisingly, same on 2020 Audi-S6 (with red interior). So, they copied Audi on that.
On either car ... I would have to go with the black/ebony. But both can be ventilated so no problems there.
lol they didn't copy audi, the RSX Type S has white n red gauges.
lol they didn't copy audi, the RSX Type S has white n red gauges.
Agreed. I hate how people say the TLX copied the gauges from Audi. The red-on-silver gauges are nearly identical to the RDX, which itself was an homage to the RSX Type S gauges.
Oh that's really exciting. You gonna put some content on IG in your story? I look forward to the photos and review! I made a comment to my wife the other day about the nsx...i was like why don't we just skip the TLX and keep saving for a used nsx. Because there is a squadron of guys around here that's growing and they all have supercars and i feel left out and want to join the fun but can't because: error supercar not found. lol I mean if they come out with some type of nsx type S or something even more sinister than the nsx already is...sweet baby jesus. Maybe after you and your wife drive it around you will fall in love and have to have one.
I did a 6 hour detail on the TL last weekend for a video shoot. I was hoping for some content by now so I can add to my TL IG page. I'll reach out to the guy who did the video shoot. This is my personal opinion, as you and I have the same passion towards our TL (boosted also), life is short, buy what will make you happy and don't mind keeping for the very long run. Save for the NSX. It's a vehicle that will hold a different kind of value and will always be considered an exotic. It's a vehicle you buy and enjoy without really doing anything to it. My wife and I had the same conversation. We own our home, own all of our vehicles, no debt, save as much as we can per year and as of right now no kids (We would need to decide next year). My wife said, sell the TL and we can buy a Supra (my dream car). At 1st I thought my wife was just messing with me, but she kept talking about it. She had all valid reasons for doing it, til we got to the part where she said "Well, once you're done modifying it, I can take it to work" . I'm a conservative driver, my wife on the other hand can become a bit aggressive. For example, when I weekly detail the M40i I ask her "Dear, why is there smudge marks on the sport mode button?!" her response "Well, you know.. when I get on the highway the vehicles are coming up fast so I need to be faster" . I bust her chops over it, but I know it's all in good fun and we might as well enjoy it. Funny thing she said to me "what if you really like the NSX?!" I was like well, start saving for the next 5 years and maybe.. Buy what will ultimately make you happy as the 3rd gen TL did.
Finally got around to watching AoA video and reading a few reviews (C&D). Nothing surprising, both gave very good reviews. Not great but not bad, which was perhaps expected. I liked how AoA wanted some more time to think about his final verdict on the car. Also noted was that overall it's still slightly lagging the Germans in some tech features as well as needing more sport oriented all season tires to complement the chassis. None the less, it sounds like a significant improvement overall to the 1G TLX. As big a jump overall as from the 2G TL to the 3G TL (which to me was ALOT in performance), can't say yet wanna see some more reviews and perhaps drive one sometime.
The one area C&D noted was something I wrote about prior was the large amount of volume behind the engine/transaxle to lengthen the car but not add any interior room which to me would have been a better use of it.
Building a great-driving car starts with a firm foundation of stampings, castings, and extrusions. Acura's TLX benefits from an overhauled architecture, designed with the fortitude to make the high-performance Type S work. No chassis parts are shared with the Honda Accord, which is built in the same Ohio assembly plant. Lengthening the distance between the dash and front axle yields almost rear-drive proportions. Only the longish front overhang hints at the transverse-engine, front-drive setup. The control-arm front suspension is a return to Acura sedans of the past, and it's a claimed 85 percent stiffer laterally than the last TLX's strut setup. The rear suspension gains a link (to five total) for better wheel control; lateral stiffness is up 45 percent. Under hood, the four-cylinder sits so far ahead of the axle, it looks as if you could remove the steering rack from above. That extra room is to accommodate the TLX Type S's turbo V-6.
Still kinda doubtful it's all for the V6 since although new, I'm guessing is probably a 60o V6 to make it compact. I kinda suspect it's more for presense.
Raiti‘s review is excellent! He gives a very detailed review of outside and inside. His review is for common buyers who are looking to buy a car in this segment. The 2-5% “enthusiasts “ that want 0-60 in less than 4 sec may not like his review. And that’s fine. But definitely enjoyed his attention to detail and going over every component with a nice explanation.
Raiti‘s review is excellent! He gives a very detailed review of outside and inside. His review is for common buyers who are looking to buy a car in this segment. The 2-5% “enthusiasts “ that want 0-60 in less than 4 sec may not like his review. And that’s fine. But definitely enjoyed his attention to detail and going over every component with a nice explanation.
He is among the group of, should I say, "polite" reviewers. His presentation is also more like from a salesman, which some like some don't. His ability to find good things to say about bad things is amazing haha.
The good thing about his reviews is he tends to show the unspoken issues, so viewers can figure them out themselves.
09-25-2020, 05:03 PM
. I'm a conservative driver, my wife on the other hand can become a bit aggressive. For example, when I weekly detail the M40i I ask her "Dear, why is there smudge marks on the sport mode button?!" her response "Well, you know.. when I get on the highway the vehicles are coming up fast so I need to be faster" 
. I bust her chops over it, but I know it's all in good fun and we might as well enjoy it. Funny thing she said to me "what if you really like the NSX?!" I was like well, start saving for the next 5 years and maybe.. Buy what will ultimately make you happy as the 3rd gen TL did. 
