savage

look at those front fenders... now that is aggressive...

chungkopi

genius!!

i want one!!

Mizouse

damn that is looking nice..

Yumcha

More pics:

Mizouse

ok.. im not really digging the way the quad exhaust is set up..

taillights cant really make any comments until the black tape comes off

TL CHROMETIDE

I like it up front, profile is okay, and I can't say anything about the rear.

phile

It looks like cameo over the exhausts.

Yumcha

iNteGraz92

how about badge for buck?

Xpditor

Yes, I know the party line of conventional wisdom of car guys. My point is that, when tested by Road & Track in April of 2004, the Acura TL handled BETTER by objective measurement than a BMW 530i with a sport package.

And they both had "moderate understeer". The TL had faster times in the slalom and higher "g" loads. (marginally)

Your CL is not a new TL. There is a lot of difference. I think you are voicing your expectations of how you think the TL should handle based on what you have heard and experienced before on other FWD cars.

When pushed to the limits, my TL has moderate understeer. Granted, it feels different when you do that- much like a rear or mid-engine Porsche feels different from a front-engine RWD car. But different does not always mean bad.

oonowindoo

well.. honestly... the new TL might handle better than the 2nd CLS.. but how much better? i dont expect the difference to be much....

if u think new TL is different/better than other nose heavy FWD cars... educate me please...

and u need to stop using magazine stats =) i dont believe anything magazine says nowadays.

oonowindoo

________________
Badge for buck = Jaguar

it doesnt have the ride of MBZ, it doesnt handle like bmw, it doesnt have the interior of lexus . what it does have is the hitler faced exterior.

Motohip

Well at least he drove the TL. You're just comparing it to a CL which is a different car.

iNteGraz92

Xpditor

OK. Fair enough. I have a BMW 3 Series and I have a 3rd Gen TL. I have several years driving experience with each- more with the BMW. I also have a Jeep Wrangler.

Of the three, the Wrangler is by far the most fun to drive- especially with the top down as it has been for the last month in Florida. It is fairly well balanced and handles well at moderate to low speeds. It has sufficient power for what I expect it to do and nice torque for a 2.5L 4 cyl.

The BMW has the best, most predictable driver feedback and feel. It is light and nimble. It is fun to drive and makes you want to speed up for the next corner since the last one was so easy. It is underpowered but satisfying if you keep it revved up. It is an automatic which I recently replaced with a rebuilt tranny for $3,000.

The TL is poetry in motion. It has abundant power, always on tap. It is larger and heavier than the other two but is very responsive to driver input. Hard acceleration while turning will cause the steering wheel to want to straighten out- which, I suspect, is the stability control computer stepping in. But, I can shut that off. I have never pushed the TL beyond its cornering limits because those limits are pretty extreme. I have felt it drift slightly and, again, the nanny net steps in to keep you out of trouble.

It corners very well. I can confirm that when you really push it to the limit, you get slight to moderate understeer. I don't have the A-Spec suspension. I understand that improves the handling even more. It doesn't "feel" nose heavy but, as a driver raised on RWD, it does not have the same feel. With high-performance RWD cars, you know inherently that you can hang the tail out with throttle application. Those of us from the snow country spent all winter doing that. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes not. But, it is a familiar feeling to us. We have grown to like and accept it.

So, anything that doesn't feel the same gives us pause. We know how to control and compensate for the RWD pushing/handling. We've grown accustomed to it.

But put us in a rear-engined "tail-heavy" car or a FWD "nose-heavy" car, and we are out of our element. It could be a Porsche, a Corvair, or an Altima SE-R.

Getting around to my point (finally): you and car magazine writers have your favorite "feel" which you sometimes call "handling". But, the only meaningful measure of handling is to compare car's ability to get from point A to point B on a curvy road, preferably with some ups and downs. The stop-watch doesn't lie.

When professional drivers run a TL on the same course as a BMW 530i and the TL does better on the test instruments, that tells a story. Now, admittedly, these drivers might say they liked the feel (feedback, sound, etc.) of the BMW sligihtly better than the TL. We can wonder how much of that preference is due to their experience and the kind of cars they learned on.

Two other points. If you watch SCCA and other racing events, you will see that FWD cars like TSX and even Mazdas hold their own against BMW 3 series on every track regularly- often winning these events.

And lastly, do you consider a common arrow to be unstable because the heavy part is in front and the feathers in back? Would you like to shoot one backwards and see what happens?

(Just kidding on the last one but you get my "point")

TheAcAvenger

I'm pretty much set on giving up my modded TL-S for a 335 coupe. Its going to be a sad day, but that sucker will be fun

deandorsey

i have the tl-6 w/aspec and 18's on PS2's... the car handles AMAZINGLY...

i am more confident and push it harder than i ever did my s2k...

Crazy Bimmer

Xpditor, which 3series do you have? Do you track any of your cars?

deandorsey

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...&page=48&pp=22

Crazy Bimmer

Kick me, i want it.

Xpditor

It's a 1995 318. Very dependable but expensive when it breaks.

And no. I don't track it. I do push it through the mountains of western North Carolina, however.

As for the bimmer coupe, is MB the only car company that knows how to make a 2-dr pillarless (B) hardtop coupe?

If they can make a CLK, why can't they make a pillarless 330?

Crazy Bimmer

Did you really just edit my post and compare a 1995 318 to your 2004 TL? No wonder you think so highly of your TL

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

i like it....a lot.
The rear end doesnt look disproportionately fat like I thought it would.
Cool. I want one.
6speed please.
thanks.

sergeremi

Damnit. I like it too.

I don't know how long I can hold onto the TSX what with the 335 and the new G coupe concept vying for my not so hard earned bucks.

But the bimmer's interior is really sad compared to the coupe concept and the TSX.

Xpditor

Yes, I did. Outside of Ramblings, we're a little more particular about the expletives. But, you know that.

And the topic is handling. That is independent of engine size. In fact, lighter cars handle better than heavier ones, all other things being equal.

My point in the post was that I have personal experience with the handling of BMWs which are great. Further point: so is the Acura TL.

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

i can't wait to see the new g35 coupe in person....
next year is going to be fun

dom

Wow, gorgeous. I want one too.

Shawn S

Even as the pictures get clearer and clearer, it's still a big design in my opinion.

zeroday

interior sucks.

so which turd burgler deleted my post.

TypeSAddict

x 10 @ the edit

Crazy Bimmer

You are comparing a 11 year old bmw to a 2 year old Acura. Im sure BMW has come a long way from your "personal experience".

You been sackriding that R&T magazine article in about 4 posts of yours. Yes maybe the TL did outhandle a 5series in that magazine. But I will bet there are at least 6 other magazines that say otherwise.

I have had a 04 TL for a loaner, its does handle well... if you arent battling it against torque steer. But personally I like to drive the car and not have to fight with it when turning.

Now the TSX handles great, much nicer than the TL. Also how come you dont see many TL owners doing track events?

Pushing > Pulled

iNteGraz92

and i will bet the magazines that say otherwise will no doubt complain about it being fwd too . as to why there aren't many tl owners doing track events... they probably have better things to do than drive around cones.

MaximaPower

ok that shit looks goood...first bmw of late that i actually like the exterior from first glance

stangg172004

meh... id take a last gen 330ci over that any day...

heyitsme

Looks mildly better than the sedan manly due to having regular tail lights.

cob3683

I said the same thing about the sedan until I drove it. That opinion went 'bye-bye' awfully damn fast.



Oh, and

CLpower

What did it say?


fuckin a

CLpower

that was a retarded post

CLpower

it cuts into the integrity of the car and isn't as rigid so it's not as flat, MB isn't big on handling so they'll do stuff like this while BMW is focused on handling and thus the pillar adds structural stability to the car.

chungkopi

my only problem is that the rear looks weak