Some of you know me from my years of Acura ownership. I disappeared for a few years when I had my 2011 M37S which I loved as well as my 2014 A6. Then in late 2015 I returned with a TLX Advance which I had felt was just meh especially with the crappy tranny. I was counting the days until my lease would end this October and started getting the itch. I really thought I would be in a G80 Sport and test drove one a few times, but not being able to find one I wanted and the rather firm seats as well as the thought of the low MPGs with gas rising every week I was second guessing me decision.

When the 19 RDX cake out we went to dealer to,see it for the wife. They had an ASPEC on the showroom floor and I was digging the looks. I was chatting with the sales rep and said I would not be in an Acura this time due to not really having anything that excited me. He suggested the RLX Hybrid. If you see my posts in that forum you will know I was impressed and almost got one. The more I looked at the TLX ASPEC I really was digging the look. The 2 hesitations were the damn 9AT and infotainment. The infotainment wa easier the deal with knowing I could do Android Auto to compensate. The 9AT wa a larger risk. Many here said it has gotten better than in 15. I did go for a test drive and while it felt better I could still feel some lag. Well last week I picked up a 19 AWD Modern Steel with Red Leather. After a week and a few hundred miles I figured I would post my intital feedback. I will likely update this ina a few weeks, but since the majority of the car is basically the same as my 15 I suspect most of my opinions will be same as my 15.

Overall the TLX has come a a long way. Hallelujah the beak is gone and the new grille is rather handsome and attractive. My only complaint is the Big A logo needs to have the A raised to show some depth. The blacked out trim on the ASPEC along with the Shark Gray wheels on the Modern Steel body really give the var a stealthy look. I had gotten the dark gun metal TLX and SH-AWD emblems to replace the standard chrome ones and removed the 3 exterior ASPEC badges this other than the A on the trunk and grille and wheels as well as the lugs and exhaust tips the car has no other chrome. The rear diffuser looks good but the way the outer edges of the curve then try to recess back into the bumper almost looks like the outer parts are slapped on pieces. I really like the front fascia, hood and the black highlights rimming the fog lights, lower lip and back deck really make the car just look sexy and faster than it truly is. I will be honest if the dealer would have had a red on red ASPEC I might have been in that, but the MSM on Red is just sexy as well. This car makes me feel like I did when I got my first 08 Type-S.

For the drive train there is not much to say here. The engine and rear diff are the same and the 9AT is unfortunately the same. Sure they tweaked it, but how did they put the new 10AT in the low volume RLX and not the TLX? While I can feel the improvement in the 9AT it still is a huge disappointment. While the higher shifts are better and leaning in off the line is good, if you are rolling to a stop or through a stop and ease into the pedal the tranny hesitates and lagginess is very evident. You feel the rebs climb as the the tranny feels like an eternity shifts between gears. This seems to be the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts. Hopefully in a few months I won’t be hating it so much as to regret my decision. Wi tee will tell as my 15 shifts like crap between 40 and 55 degrees. OK, enough of this cars biggest most flagrant flaw. The stock brakes are just so-so and on my 15 the rotors and warped to hell from my aggressive braking. I expect the same on this one, but may put some EBC Restiff on soon, it we'll see.

The interior is pretty much the same other than the new seats and head unit. The seats are nice, I love the black head liner. The leather is clearly a better grade than my 15 was. The new seats are very supportive and provide just the right amount of lateral support. The power thigh extender is nice. The seat design is showing its age as once you sit in the new RDX 16 way seats or RLX seats the TLX just seem a bit lacking. The head unit is updated a tad with new graphics and snappier feedback, but this thing is so outdated it is sad. What was redeeming is having Android Auto I jack in my OnePlus 6 and I can forget the Acura headunit. The ELS is good, but felt my older 4G had better implementation. The dual screens is actually great because I have Android Auto up top with Audio, HVAC, etc. controls in the bottom. Look at the 19 A6 dual screens and virtual cockpit. I am still mixed on the artificial engine noise. I am not sure if they are pumping in artificial engine noise in normal mode, if not is wish the car were quieter. I may try disconnecting the ANC module to try it, but not sure yet.

The suspension and tires have seen an improvement. First the return to Michelin tires is welcome. The 15 TLX had some of the worst tires, Goodyear’s, that I have ever driven on. I immediately ro laced those with Conti DSW06. Having driven on 3 sets of DSW06s the last 4-5 years does make the stock Michelin’s feel a little lacking. The stock tires are decent, very comfortable and handle OK, the real test will be first rain storm as the Contis were awesome. The dampers seem to have been retuned and paired with the Michelin’s provide a really nice balance of handling and comfort.

My 33 months in my 15 TLX became a tormenting time as the tranny sucked almost every day and I am still amazed I got another Acura because that tranny made me swear off the brand. So far I am digging the car and the ride. I love walking away or to the car and looking at in from the front or front corners. If Acura releases a Type-S in the next gen next year at launch I suspect I will bail on this car in about 18 months, but time will tell. I do plan on getting the paint ceramic coated in 2 weeks.

Overall a very nice effort by Acura. On scale of 1-10 the car is a good 7-7.5, if they had put in the 10AT I could easily rate this car a 8-8.5. For some perspective my A6 was a solid 9, but M37S about a 7.5-8. I am glad I am still with Acura as this car has me back feeling like I did back in 07-08 with both my Type-S. Let’s just hope I feel this way in 6 months.

While the 10AT may have other issues long term I believe the consensus is for day to day shifting it is superior to the ZF 9AT.

I get that the tranny is different, but on a $45K car I should,not have to “get used to” nor “use the paddle shifters” to get the damn thing to do it one and only job correctly. It is better, but there are still scenarios at low speed that this thing is a mess. They should have dropped the 10AT in even if for one year, but it is what it is and at least it is more acceptable than my 15 was for now.

It is more than nose job, the overall look, with the hood, blacked out trim, gray wheels, etc. the ZF still sucks and every day I sense while better than my 15 this years ZF is still crap. The lower shifts are slow as crap, slowest shifting tranny I have ever owned, even the 19. I think the folks that are fine with it have comprised their expectations and/or paddle shift to make up for it.

As a a side note drove today without the ANC hooked up and am digging it. The car clearly has artificial engine/exhaust noise pumped in even in normal mode as the car is very quiet now. I do hear natural engine noise and I can’t say the the external road noise and any worse. The blue took and voice commands seem to work fine. What I need to try and validate is of the ELS sounds better. Several folks have said the ANC hurst ELS and the sub, I will try and do a comparison one day.

It is not slow. Put it Sport + (Plus) and you'll see the real nature of this transmission. It is fully responsive - ZF8 manner, little difference. I had the same issue with my last BMW; awful throttle response and I bought a $350 card to mitigate this. At least with the Acura, I have a built-in way to deal with it. I wrote it before; if I didn't have the S+/M (paddles) modes, I wouldn't have this car.

I find Sport + annoying, holds gear way too long.

The pre 19 RDX only has a 6 speed which I used to love it, but when I drive the wife's RDX you can tell a few more gears would be helpful.

I drive exclusively in sport+ and it holds at 3k rpms when I am cruising. I guess some people may think that is bad. That never seemed too high to me nor is it loud since I don’t have an exhaust.

My old as bones TL cruises at ~3k rpm on the highway, for extended periods of time, and it never seems to skip a beat. I'm sure it's fine at 3k also. Just not as fuel efficient :shrug:

The 2015 TLX , which I owned, with the ZF 9 was almost undrivable in Sports + without using the paddles. While the shifting in my 2018 Aspec is aggressive in Sports + there’s no jerkiness and shifts are crisp. No need to use the paddles. There’s less transmission breaking than in Sport, but once I accepted that it’s simply a consequence of the aggressive shift pattern I simply adjusted. For me it’s a blast driving in Sports +; however there is a significant gas mileage penalty to be paid.

Good question, it is much better, but still needs work. I also looked at this as a 18 month ride possibly as when the 6G comes out I will likely upgrade when prices come down. If I am in this car 36 months I suspect I will be fine, but the tranny does make itself known at times. Every car has compromises so I felt while the tranny is lacking everything else the car does it does well. Honestly I wanted the RLX Hybrid, but that head unit was such a turn off suspension was a bit floaty. At least in thenTLX I jack in my phone and the head unit is gone at that point, I let the phone be the head unit.

The TLX was also a great value for the money. To get all the same features in other brands I would have been $5-$10K more. I was close on a G80 Sport but will wait for their next gen as that car is so heavy and even with sport suspension still plows into turns and it’s seats were also a bit firm.

Why didn't I just extend my lease another 12-18 months? Easy I was paying for negative equity from my trade in 3 years ago and extending the lease would have been giving Acura free money and the 15 tranny sucked everyday I hated driving my 15. The newer tranny just makes itself an inconvenient issue on occasion.

This is true. My 15 auto coupe accord v6 in sport mode wanted to take off. It felt stronger and faster.

This car has the same engine and feels slower, which doesn’t make sense.I also think my coupe had better mpg too.

Especially for the money, hard to touch anything similar without spending at least $5K more.