You know when I bought both G01 X3's I really wanted the wood trim. With the M40i I really wanted the Gray Poplar trim but I wasn't willing to give up everything else (Fully optioned M40i) to find one with that interior trim. My parents have a 2018 X3 as well, but they have the "Fineline Cove" which is real wood but in matte finish. I wasn't a fan of it but it grew on me over time. Over on the G01 FB group, the members keep telling me to change the wood grain over to real CF. My wife is all for it, but once you start with doing some CF on the interior, it leads to doing more and more...

 

yeah but compared to the aspec, the wood feels better aesthetically.

I wish you could pick and choose interiors!

the flat bottom steering wheel (obviously no red stitching) with the darker wood finish is a little more pleasing to the eye, at least to me

 

Thank you! Wow yeah outside of a few very minor interior items the Advance seems like the way to go, by a long shot.

 

So these must be:
19 inch - Pewter Gray Metallic Machine-Finished Interwoven Aluminum-Alloy Wheels

I personally think they are the best stock wheels. Using 2020 TLX for reference, looks like a wheel upgrade is $2000 , but who in their right-mind does that ? (that's crazy-money). I think upgrading to from Tech to Advance for $5000 is a much better value.

For $45k+ ... I would really like some nice wheels.

 

The white face gauges ALSO look out of place.
Like it was an afterthought

*Designers shootin' the shit*
" Hey, Throwback Thursday y'all, Remember, white face gauges?
"oh yeah, all the COOL and FAST cars had them! "
"OMG ya'll we can evoke sooo much emotion with them in the Aspec model! ASPEC is fast right?"

 

I actually prefer the silver gauges with the red back lighting, but admittedly I'm biased. They remind me of the gauges on the RSX Type S. When I saw them for the first time as a teenager, they looked super futuristic and left a good impression to this day. If that was Acura's intention, then they got me!

 

Don't you make me bring out Ricky Bobby as Acura's spokeman

 

Many pay to upgrade the wheels, the cost to do so is another story all together. I agree that the gray metallic is way better than the darker wheels. To me black wheels remind me of someone plasti-dipping their wheels.

 

Or a good-sized Samsung plasma-TV . Not cheap and barely lasted 10 years.

Gave my (still working) circa-2004 (digital) GE Refrigerator to my brother. Got another GE ( now GE/Haier )
The Kenmore washer/dryer set also lasted 16 years. Went with Maytag this time.

 

1. I suppose you are right as they are important.
2. Yeah, it's like they throw the intended set in the dumpster, instead of us just paying the difference. Is there really even a difference in their actual wholesale cost? (I doubt much if any)
3. Thanks for your honest opinion. It's re-assuring for me to know that others like them too (and I'm not making something outta nothing).
4. The base and Tech get ... yet something else ... they also look heavily painted ... but bright ?

 

We learned that lesson when we renovated the house. We needed a fairly large odd size refrigerator for the opening at the time home depot had the LG in the size we needed (which looked the best also). All the other appliances are from GE. When we did the basement kitchen last summer, we did whirlpool.

 

Funny. I was just about to comment something along the lines of, "could be worse, you could have gone GE/Whirlpool/Maytag." *awkward cough*

I could be wrong, but I've heard those three companies in particular (via Reddit) have taken a massive nosedive in overall quality. GE in the 80's was the benchmark, now I hear they're bottom of the barrel. Then again, I hear that's about true for most home appliances. Had the SubZero fridge repaired last year and the guy balked when I said it was time to get a new one. He said everything nowadays is junk and he sees more repairs on the newer, shiny stuff than the older stuff. He also was in love with my unit and said he wished he could afford one of his own (fridge came with the house, never realized how expensive they were). He told me unless I had 10k+ burning a hole in my pocket for another SubZ, I should just keep it as it would outlast the newer stuff 3x over.

As for TV's, how long do you expect to really get out of them? Unless you make the mistake of getting the latest and greatest, there are really nice 65" units at CostCo for right around a grand. Doing a quick Google search, this is the first link:

https://www.reviewed.com/televisions...ould-a-tv-last

Seems 5-7yrs is the average lifespan. With the size and quality that these displays have, there's gotta be a compromise somewhere. They might not last as long as the old tube TVs, but do you really want to go back to that era? LoL.

 

The 3 Series interior is not small, it's the same size as the outgoing 5 Series. Who wants a huge sport sedan? Not me.

 

Audi's have always leased the worse of any German maker. That same Priced car can get you in a BMW for 550-600 a month. Audi treats their S and RS cars like exotics. You will be paying crazy prices for one. You're actually better off just financing than leasing.

 

Call me crazy, but I think the area right next to the volume knob/seek button is a missed opportunity. Maybe a rectangular slit to store your phone would have been great, in addition to the charging/storage area under your arm (which kind of makes it awkward to get to your phone). Honestly, I think Honda's digital gear selector takes up way too much room ... or, at least the way they design/utilize it. It seems like so much space is wasted on that entire center stack area for the gear selector + drive mode selector. Not to mention it the PITA the whole idea makes it to tow your car if your batter ever dies ... the fact there isn't an override without turning something on the physical transmission is beyond me.

 

Call me crazy, again ... but throw a Honda badge on the front of that and I would completely be convinced that it was an Accord. Is that just me? This picture in particular. Just looks like ... a Honda. I still like the design of it, don't get me wrong ...

 

It's not just you, from the side profile I think it looks quintessentially Honda. I think it's these wheels, they remind me a lot of the wheels Honda has been using recently.

 

1. This I agree with. Applies to vehicles too, so I say Extended Warranties are usually a good idea (especially if not Leasing a new one).

2. When you spend $3000 on a TV, more than 10 years would be nice. Problem appeared to be the panel itself (not circuit boards) ... which renders it un-repairable. Earlier in life, I worked as a service technician.

3. Right, better to buy old obsolete stuff. Yes, it was one of the first large Plasmas ... back when DLP rear-projection was the norm (and max LCD size was 17-inches).

4. Yeah, that is lame. Sure, replaced it with a large LG-4K (I know Korean) for $250 (as the old plasma had been moved to workout-room) but that is not the point.

 

Yea, I honestly think it's the wheels. They look so ... Honda-esque. If someone 'shopped a Honda badge on it, your average person would probably not even realize it wasn't a Honda Accord. I'll never forget when over 10yrs ago, some middle-aged lady came up and complimented my then-newish GTO/Monaro and said she used to have one too. Said she loved how good it was on gas and then asked if it still only had a 4 cylinder in it. I said it only comes with a V8. Perplexed, she asked, "is this not a Dodge Neon?"

Agreed. Planned obsolescence is alive and well. The Germans have got it down to a science.

Trust me, I feel ya. But, with the way technology is nowadays, you don't pay a premium for reliability, but merely having the newest, brightest and shiniest. In fact, you usually take a hit on the reliability since the tech is so new. This is why I personally won't buy any of the newest tech stuff out there. I'd wait 2-3yrs. Also why I wouldn't pay the $2.5k+ TVs that I do see CostCo selling that are generally the newest ones ... that or 80"+ behemoths that I don't need, lol.

I'm surprised. I could be wrong, but one of the reasons we went Plasma was its advertised durability. We got a Pioneer Elite 55" back in 2006 and it's still kicking. I simply remember the date because we bought it specifically for the World Cup when we Koreans thought our national team would do well after 2002. T'was not the case. But the TV still works great. It was a hefty price though. Then again, my brother has gone thru 3 Samsung LCD/LED TVs in that time (one was refurbished tho, so that one doesn't really count, lol)

Just quoting what someone else is saying. All the more reason not to spend too much on these new flashy tech bits. Not anymore anyways ...

 

If i was to get the new TLX, i would probably go with the Advance. My only issue is, i hate the wood lol. I think the aluminum makes it look more sporty. The wood reminds me of wood paneling in houses.

 

Right those Japanese plasmas were good. Still have a 11-year old Panasonic plasma in main room.

 

Next thing you know, they will be making them in a Honda plant.

Yeah, the styling of the Hondas and Acuras has always been rather conservative. But to me, this is one of the bigger departures.

 

Yeah, hard to mistake wood for anything other than wood.

Both my 1994 and 2004 Honda Accords had small amounts of (obviously plastic/fake) wood. Same with the old Maxima.
On the other hand, the wood in the new Audi looks real, but it is stained a very-dark black color.

Your options are Tech and/or A-Spec . Pretty sure you can get A-Spec in Ebony leather (but not sure what that looks like exactly).

 

The other car in our garage is a 2019 Audi A6. You are right about the wood being dark. When ever i do drive it, i really don't notice that yeah its wood lol.

 

I know that now and telling them what I'm willing to pay means nothing when they bring that paper out for over $400/month more. Byers Audi just doubled the size of the list of car dealerships I will never do business (Kelly BMW, you are no longer alone).

At this point, I'm hoping a TLX lease isn't as absurd as what the RDX seemed to be, or at least what I was initially offered when looking at one.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what an SH-AWD Advance might end up costing?

 

Don’t most car company websites calculate for you what your payments would be after you build the car to your specifications online? Why waste your time even going to the Audi dealership in the first place?

 

I don't know about others, but it's near impossible to convince my wife to get a sedan rather than a SUV...and that's how we ended up with the RDX lol.

A lot of my female friends seem to only want SUV's too.

This is definitely a tough segment. Perhaps that's why Lexus still has not done a FMC for the IS.

lol I haven't had much luck with my Samsung appliances too..my dryer broke down twice already and it was brand new back in 2015...

 

Yeah for the MSRP price, those prices aren't real and don't take in account discounts, negotiating the final price etc.

 

https://leasehackr.com/calculator

You're welcome.

 

Agree. Always disliked white faced gauges. Had them in a Morgan +4SS I ran in SCCA events back in the '60's Swapped them with a Triumph TR3 guy who liked them. Same deal with the COBRA finally changed them to proper black faced units.

 

Last car I can remember that I had with wood was a early '90's Jaguar, great looking wood. Have never ordered wood since as most just does not look good. Even the quality wood looks like plastic.

 

Oh yeah Leasehackr is legit, I was talking about on the actual manufacture sites where at the end it gives you the price and payments after you build the car

 

Yeah but you can just use the leasehackr calculator to determine what the numbers would look like given the expected sale price and what you think your money factor will be. Residual will likely be very similar to the current TLX. It's all very formulaic; it's not like there's some sort of secret sauce that each manufacturer applies. At the end of the day a lease is just a glorified balloon loan.

 

Thats what I’ve been saying for a while now. Buy the accessory spoiler and be done with it. I believe that you can buy from Acura the dash and door wood inserts, but I wouldn’t expect them to be cheap. Better just to pay the extra two grand for the Advance and get all the additional features.

 

The benefit of the Type-S will be that you get the performance options AND the top-trim. You don't have to choose between Advance and A-Spec. This was a glaring hole in Acura's strategy, and it will probably make those who want an entry-level luxury car with some performance happy.

It won't be a CT5-V. It won't be an S4. It will also be over $10K cheaper than those cars, optioned similarly.

 

So the highest trim is missing features, particularly useful ones? Poor strategy because this may actually steer people into a "lower" model.

 

What's odd about the new TLX is that the best bang for the buck is actually the Advance/Elite top trim. The others are missing options to justify price over an Accord. AWD aside, of course.

 

I don't understand why the Type-S doesn't have two trims. A Tech trim for those that want performance on a budget, or for those that don't really care for all the additional features. And a Advance/Elite trim for those that want performance and everything else. It's not like we're asking Acura to split the Type-S into five different trims. Actually never mind. I can answer my own question. Acura is Acura and they do Acura things, for better or for worse.

Kind of sad when we have brands like Genesis whizzing past Acura. Great value, good looking vehicles, proper-wheel drive, and none of this arbitrary "you can have all the goodies on the 2.0T model, but too bad, so sad, you can't have those on the 3.0T". Really, the only thing hurting Genesis at this point is a lack of a dealer infrastructure. And while Acura no doubt have been improving the brand, they're still largely riding on brand recognition. The Type-S was their chance to put themselves on the pedestal and stand out, but even interest in the vehicle seems to be fizzling away.

 

exactly my thoughts for not having two trims on the type s.

They can even have the base type s be priced under $50k for food marketing.

 

1. I'm just guessing, but I think it's just to hold the price down for a premium-sedan in this segment.
Here in the states, it sounds like potential buyers are already frowning on $54,000 USD for a Type-S ( and it's estimated 355hp, and only this and why that, etc.).

Not everything, but I thought Canadian models got more features than us here in the states ?

2. Said by the owner of a TLX with SH-AWD . I also appreciate AWD on a sedan, and I don't mind paying for it.