Mr Hyde

Got hit with a decent storm here in NY, and I work in a hospital, so no work from home option for me as I'm considered "essential personnel." I have to say I was very impressed with how the TLX made the drive in relatively drama free fashion even though I am on the crappy stock Goodyears.

Passed 1 spun out truck, and 2 spun out SUVs on the highway, and when I made it close to work, I got stuck behind an AWD Q7, and a Buick Enclave (not sure if AWD or not) that couldn't get up a main road that was on an incline. The Q7 turned around after spinning his wheels for a bit, and the Buick was stuck in the left lane, but as soon as the Q7 got out of the way, I just went around the Buick, and continued up the road with little issue.

As I got to my parking garage on an even steeper side street, the Civic, and Mazda 3 in front of me couldn't get up the block, and had to turn around, but the TLX again soldiered on with no issues. I run PSS tires in the summer, so kept the stock setup for winters. I can't imagine how things would be with dedicated snows, but I would bet I'd be even more impressed.

I wanted a car in the entry level luxury class, that was not FWD, was sporty, but didn't have to be the ultimate sports sedan (Didn't need that with the other ride), and I wanted a quiet, comfortable ride with all the tech the Advance package offers for the days when I want the computers to take over some of the work. Being able to get through whatever Mother nature threw my way was also a requirement, and none of my previous cars, RWD, and FWD were ever as surefooted even with dedicated snow tires.

Those were my expectations going in, I did a thorough test drive, and spent some time in the different versions before signing on the dotted line for mine, and have to say, I've been very happy with my choice.

Reading posts in this forum, it's easy to go over some decisions in your head again, but on a day like today there was absolutely no need to.

kurtatx

Glad you are safe! AWD is a huge asset in cold climates. I had a FWD Chevy Cobalt when I lived on the north side of Chicago and it was horrible getting around in the snow.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

The Goodyear tires get a lot of grief but I find them to be quiet and fine performance wise for daily (non performance) driving. That said - since my wife bought an AWD CRV last Fall we've been driving it on the snowy days.

Saintor

A good point of that set-up is its rear-bias nature. You can't perceive that it starts as a FWD. And it accepts to drift up to a point, so the ESP is not too aggressive. Very well calibrated system.

Illuminati

Same here...I work in a nursing home our therapy dept almost never closes. I have a lot of gripes with this car and can't wait for the lease to expire but the AWD on it is great especially in the snow..backing out and backing into spaces that wasn't even plowed or shoveled was a breeze. Long Island got hit hard.

ostrich

Thank you for this post! This is a good reminder that despite the fact that many here complain about this and that about Acura and the TLX (myself included!) the SH-AWD + snow tires set up is just wonderful for winter driving.

We had a ton of snow here in Calgary earlier this week, and the temperature plummeted to some ridiculous low level. The TLX SH-AWD just went about its own business steadily and safely, got me from A to B every day without drama or too much effort. The car did slide and the wheels did spin a few times over some very icy patches, but then it always corrected itself in the end. I surely felt safe in this car!

Now, I also need to mention that the interior heating system was also excellent. Despite the very low outside temperature (-26C), together with the wonderful heated steering wheel, I did not feel cold at all.

The TLX SH-AWD surely is a great winter vehicle!

Mr Hyde

Not sure I follow. My RS4 has a 40-60 Front to Rear Bias. Not sure what the TLX setup is, but it is definitely more front biased to Neutral in normal driving conditions, and in take-offs as you mentioned.

The car must be unstoppable with snow tires as long as it's not high-centered. Since I have summers, I thought I would get Winters at some point, but if it does this well with the Goodyears, I should probably just get some Conti DWS tires since I spend more time on actual roads than on snow and ice covered ones. I was really surprised how calm, and drama free the drive was. Part of that is the SH-AWD, and part of that is the NVH isolation. It never gave me any reason to doubt its ability to get through everything, and reminded me of the difference between my TL-S, and my 540. Not getting into quality difference etc (obviously there were huge differences), but when driving in heavy rains, etc; the 5 series was just a much calmer place to be in.

I still can't believe that Acura doesn't offer the heated wheel here in the US, or the rear door unlock sensors, and power folding mirros. It makes zero sense to me, and if it was part of an optional package, I would have gladly paid for it.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I have a 07 RDX and I can tell you the difference when going from a set of all-season tires with 60000km on them to a set of brand new Michelin X-Ice Xi3 winter tires is HUGE. I was sliding all over the place and wasn't going anywhere fast as soon as there's incline with the worn out all-seasons. Even with SH-AWD, I had to have some momentum going first before I can climb any hills that are over 5% or so. But with proper winter tires + SH-AWD, man, the RDX is AWESOME! Driving in the snow is like driving in the rain on all-season tires!

Dolcevita

I love my SH-AWD TLX in the snow. I have Blizzacks for the winter on some black alloy rims. Looks good and runs great. I mentioned here once before that I was surprised I could drift the car when I wanted to have some fun. I assumed the AWD or one of the nanny systems would stop it. Nope. Just pound the gas as you crank the wheel on some slippery stuff and it spins around in a nice controlled fashion. Of course it only does this when you ask it to do so. Very nice.

kurtatx

Yeah, I thought the SH-AWD was most front wheel but had enough power and smarts to run the rear wheel to the point where it is a true, performance driven AWD system.

So it's front biased, but it doesn't matter, really. Audi is moving to that on a number of models now.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I gotta find a opportunity to try that when the wife is not around...haha!

mapleloaf

As an aside, I certainly appreciated my SH-AWD on my Michelin X-Icers last winter. However, I have to say that my 2.4 PAWS vehicle also handles great on those same Michelin tires. As I have driven FWD cars all my life except for the 16 months I had the 3.5 SH-AWD, I think I am more comfortable with handling the 2.4 PAWS setup.

Dolcevita

Snow tires on front wheel drive cars work really well. All that weight over drive wheels is really effective. You can also power your way out of a lot of problems.

smoore

Here is my favourite video showing that snows make a bigger difference than all wheel drive. Granted the four wheel drive in the Ford in the video is not as good as the all wheel drive on the TLX but this video confirms my own experience that snows are more important than the type of drive on the vehicle. Here is the video:

Mr Hyde

I agree that proper tires are very, very important, and highly recommend snows. I spent the 3yrs prior to the TLX with Pilot Alpins on my TSX. So far the TLX has been outperforming it in the snow, and ice with the all-seasons which really surpised me as I am not a fan of the Goodyears, Like all things car related though, your mileage will vary, but the system hasn't made me question my choice to go with AWD even once since I bought the car, winter or summer. I honestly have no doubt that I wouldn't be a TLX owner if it wasn't available with SH-AWD.

On my own driveway which is fairly steep at the beginning, there were several times over the years where the TSX couldn't get up the slope unless I really spent extra time scraping down to the blacktop, and putting down icemelt. I'm on the side of the street where my backyard, and back half of the driveway gets most of the sun, and my front half spends a fair amount of time in the shadows. Unless I put down icemelt practically every time it snowed, and often times in the days after when snow melted from my roof, and then refroze on my driveway, the TSX slipped, and struggled pretty often. Had a 540 before that, and I won't even bother talking about that car other than to say that it sometimes spent the night parked on the street.

The TSX really struggled on the even steeper street next to my parking garage at work. It really took some maneuvering to get up it, and I honestly wouldn't have even attempted it in the conditions last week. Snow tires are great, but wheels clawing for traction vs 2 has big benefits as well.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Yea, prior to the RDX, I had a Yaris and 2G TL-S. When I had winter tires on them in winter road conditions, I could climb hills much faster than many SUVs and/or AWD cars.

nothome17

AWD does come in handy, got tired of being stuck in mud and snow.

The all-season tires that come standard on most vehicles (including all-wheel drives) should, despite their name, be thought of only as a compromised three-season option, at best. They may be adequate in mild temperatures, but their ability to provide any grip at all falls off as temperatures drop, and they’re not equipped to provide grip on snow and ice.

kurtatx

All seasons would be fine in a pinch (like in Chicago when the plows hadn't quite hit every street in the city), but if you live in a truly snowy climate and drive on snow frequently, they're "some seasons"