Some pleasant surprises/2018 A-Spec SH-AWD/Tech
 

:yum:LOVE the Climate Control system; you can program the fan speed, mode,sync etc., to AUTO mode
Meaning, that you basically never touch the controls, unless you want the compressor
During a rain storm, today, the fan speed, & mode kept switching, to keep the interior comfortable, at 72*
The Electric steering is sublime; with SH-AWD, the car GLIDES on water, like it's not even there
My 19" Michelins' have 35PSI, all around; ride is compliant, firm, & very smooth, even on crappy NYC roads
The Driver seat electric thigh support, is awesome, & comfortable
Seats are WAY better than my 2015 TLX/SH-AWD
I know the engine is the same, but with the new & improved, transmission, it feels more powerful;
BTW: the 9 speed is light year's better than the 2015, which I had replaced; Acura finally got it right
I'd love to know another vehicle, that has all the A-Spec features, & quality, for the price
GREAT job Acura!

put it in Sport+ mode for the first time at the traffic light, pretty darn good and the engine sounds great.

oh and I only have the 2.4 by the way, big fan of their DCT great job Acura

Those of us that bought/are buying the '18 TLX can really benefit from all the pain '15 owners went through (because they've driven down the price that dealers are willing to accept) - even before the thousands of dollars of discount you can get now, car mags were praising the value of a TLX, even if it wasn't the best luxury, or best performance car. I'm certainly happy with mine :D

There are a lot of little changes on this car, compared to my previous cars, like never having to touch the headlight switch - I love how they're completely automated, and work so well. Never have to worry that I didn't turn them off, never have to worry that I forgot to lock my car (locks automatically when I walk away), I love the rear cross traffic alert, the panoramic backup camera is even better than turning my head around or trying to use the mirrors (when combined with the cross traffic alert). Love the remote start in winter - it's "2 way" so it's better than other remote starts. I don't have any issue with my transmission, I just wish it was a little more "peppy" off the line. It's plenty fast, I just miss the feeling you get from more torque, and the throttle response from being at a dead stop has just a tiny bit of lag, but that lag does bug me. That's actually kind of a nit pick though, because 99 times out of 100, I'm not trying to slam my butt back in the seat when the light turns green.

I totally agree with you! I just leave my climate control to "AUTO" and almost never touch it again! I love it - I actually had that in my Canadian 2014 TLX SH-AWD Elite as well, and continue to love it here with my 2018 TLX SH-AWD Elite A-Spec! :-)

The last couple of days have been absolutely horrendous here with tons of snow and ice. My TLX SH-AWD really has been like a tank, taking me safely from A to B with minimum fuss. I saw that the warning light did come on for slippery condition due to the ice on the road, but I did not feel it at all as the car continue to keep going straight without problem.... I just wished that we had less reckless and irresponsible pick-up drivers here but that's off topic... LOL!

My buddy has a 2016 MDX; his tranny is fine, but the throttle response on the new A-Spec, blows it away
Once you drive the SH-AWD A-Spec, you'll forget the 2015; not a bad car; just not an A-Spec!

I'm hoping to check out the A-spec later this week or next - I have an RDX about to come off lease and need to make a decision on what to do (thread on that in car talk) - Acura is offering quite a deal to stick with the brand so I'll see what I think. I want to get back in a sedan for daily driving. The A-spec certainly looks closer to the prototype TLX we saw years ago, but I do have concerns about the transmission. I'm still reading reports/reviews that the lag and logic are still off. Also sounds like the car needs a new set of tires to truly realize its potential.

012TL-GLM: Not to worry; like you I was skeptical, after my 2015 TLX tranny disaster
After my Florida test drive, all my fears were gone; tranny, works the way it's supposed to
The 19" Michelins, grip & ride smoothly, at 35PSI
The A-Spec suspension has been tweaked; after you test drive it, you'll see
LOVE my A-SPEC!

Enjoy your A-Spec CPR.

Nice cars

I'm cautiously optimistic and hopeful - I was a victim of the dreaded torque converter issue on my '12 TL SH-AWD. I gave the TLX a thorough shakedown when they first arrived and was terribly disappointed with what Acura had produced.

I agree. Thank you, 2015 TLX owners, for beta-testing for the rest of us. I'm not kidding. I wouldn't have considered a TLX without the changes that were made for the MMC.

Having done my share of beta-testing (RLX Sport Hybrid), I can understannd where you are coming from.

I was very close to getting the SH-AWD A-Spec in November. Liked it more than any other car in my price range but eventually ended up with a 2018 BMW 340.
The price was a factor and somewhat under powered engine in the Acura was a factor too.

The best lease offer I got for the Acura was $501 per months and this was for a car with $45,750 MSRP.
BMW 340 xDrive with a MSRP of $58,785 was $512 per month.
BMW has free maintenance and uses less gas which made it about $20-25 per month cheaper that the Acura.

The Acura had more tech options but the power train was no match to BMW's 8 speed/turbo 6 combination.
No matter how hard I pushed the TLS it refused to go fast. The BMW was somewhat slow at the start but then would fly above 4 RPM.
The BMW was much more nimble, the Acura had much more interior space.

Eventually we (my wife and I) picked the BMW.
We currently own an Acura (2013 TSX) and my wife wanted to continue having two different makes in our garage.
Our previous setup was (2012 TSX and 2015 BMW 328).

hopefully in 3 years I will be ready for the type S.

@SergeyM Oh, that totally makes sense, given your lease prices you mentioned.

I feel the TLX is a little slow off the line, but the accelerating from 50 - 80 speed is pretty good? I don't feel any hesitation when I want to speed up, at highway speeds.

While I would like a Turbo V6, In my case, I purchased (not leased) the 2018 FWD 3.5L V6 P-AWS version (Technology package) for ~$37,000. So, I'm pretty happy with what I got for the money.

Did you look at the BMW M2? I would have to do some test driving before actually deciding, but, I think if I were buying a $50K car, I'd love to get the M2.

It's surprising they don't offer a better lease price on the Acura, considering how sales have been hurting?

I've got the same feeling on the highway. I remember telling my wife "who said this car is slow, it is absolutely fine. I am doing 80 now".
In the BMW it is more like "Shoot, I am over a hundred now, need to slow down before I get arrested". Becomes kind of addictive.

Yes, when you buy a car then a TLS is a much better deal than a BMW. No questions about it.
If you plan to keep your car outside the new car warranty then the Acura is the one to keep, no questions either.

As to M2 if I were younger and with no family, I would for sure check it out. Enthusiast say that M2 is the only real BMW remaining.
Still I would never buy a BMW and there is no way one can lease M2 for the same price as 340.

Quite the deal. I built one using NY State as my residence, and adding Premium package and leather seats So using a base 340 and adding leather, I got an MSRP of $54,795. WITH a downpayment of $2500, I got a monthly payment of $724.73 and I'm still 4 K below your MSRP. I also find that estimated payments are always missing fees. So you negotiated $214 off per month, plus you got another 4K in extras apparently free. Depending upon the interest rate/residual value, you got somewhere between 12-14K off the price (about 20 bucks per month on a lease for every 1K off). Assuming you didn't actually make a downpayment as you didn't mention one, then it seems you would have received over 16K off the price. I would love to see the details of your lease and the comparable Acura one. I hear a lot on this site about BMW deals in the US and Canada, but I am having a hard time figuring out how these numbers work in the real world - unless BMW is discounting product that isn't moving, or you have the salesman and sales manager on film:) I know in Canada, the difference online between models is generally the difference in the show room.

Regardless, nice car!

Here are the numbers as I remember them:
2018 BMW 340 xDrive - M sport with adaptive suspension, Premium, heated steering wheel, park distance control, apple car play.
None of the high tech options A-Spec has but A-Spec does not have the heated steering wheel.
MSRP - $58,785
Selling price - $52,750
BMW lease credit- $3,000
Loyalty credit - $1,500
BMW drive event - $1,000
Residual - 61% (30k miles)
MF - 0.00117
Tax - 6.875% + $207 luxury (above $45K) registration in NJ.
Registration fees I do not remember, but it was something like $310 or close to it.
Bank (BMW FS) fee - $925.

Payment - $512 per month. All fees and taxes included in monthly payment.
Acura lease was also with everything included in monthly payments.

^ Great deal on the BMW 340

I fully agree, for the same price it's a no brainer. Also, Aspec doesn't have adaptive suspension. Sweet deal, congrats!

My A-Spec/SH-AWD/Tech deal was CONSIDERABLY better
$480/month/36 months/ZERO down, except DMV fee's, & 1st payment
INCLUDES, ALL TAXES, BANK FEE'S, WHEEL LOCKS, ALL SEASON MATS, SPARE DONUT TIRE, & INSTALLATION, & BEST OF ALL TIRE & WHEEL INSURANCE!
I know it's a great deal, because I priced it out in Florida, & they were $100/month higher, with $2,500 DOWN
Worked out VERY WELL; WIN WIN
BTW: Car is the BEST ACURA of the 7 I've leased

I was told that to get an equal car you would have to spend $8k or more than the A-Spec which is good to know it is a lot of car for the dollar.

Depends on the options I guess, lots of sedans are getting pretty sweet discounts now a days.

$480 per month is exactly what I offered two Acura dealers in NJ.
I did not ask for all other goodies you've got but wanted the heated steering wheel ($500 accessory) and motor vehicle fees to be included in the payment.
If you add up the cost of all that additional stuff you got it it's value is much more (wheels/tires insurance alone is probably $1500 at least) than what I was asking for but both dealers turned my offer down.

Pics later but I leased a black on black A-spec tonight - huge improvements over the original TLX - I only put 100 miles on it but I'll play with the settings and get her broken in over the weekend - I think the transmission could still be programmed better, it still thinks longer than I think it should (for comparison I have a Charger with the 8 spd, that transmission is pure gold)

CONGRATS! Great decision; you're going to love it; way better than the 2015 SH-AWD version
No wheel shimmy, at ANY speed; keep the tires at 35PSI; in the winter you lose 2-3 lbs., from the cold
Charger? C'mon; don't know about the tranny, but the build quality, of the 2, is night & day
Anyway, once you settle in, you'll realize what a great choice you made; especially in inclement weather
I take it, you have the SH-AWD?
ENJOY!

Interesting about the 'Jersey dealers; because of Ramsey Acura, my NYC dealer capitulated, & matched THEIR GREAT DEAL.
BTW: timing is everything; my deal was year end, month end, & after Christmas
Not too many cars are bought, & sold at that time

well, we don't have to start a debate on build quality but if you haven't looked at a Dodge Charger since Fiat took over you're missing out - the build quality is every bit of Acura and the technology is ahead of them. There's no comparing a visceral V8 to the Acura motor. Anyway, initial impressions are good, which is a heck of a lot better than I can say of the original TLX release. I'll get some more seat time this weekend and wring her out. I was happy to see 28mpg last night on my drive home at 80mph. That blows my RDX and old TL out of the water

And the Charger, LOL :)

It only gets better as the engine breaks in. I can easily get 35 - 40 MPG on the highway when cruising at around 70 - 75 MHP.

Seems to me like Acura TLX is a great choice as a 2nd car, when you already have a kick ass V8 for when you really want to feel acceleration... Love my TLX, but man, I want a super charger sooo bad.

My dealer was very excited about the upcoming Type S - they believe it will be shown sometime in 2019 and have a sale date of 2020. Ironically my Charger can hit the high 20's on the highway, when it shuts down 4 cylinders. The problem with V8's is you can't keep your foot out of them, the exhaust note is intoxicating. 130 miles on the A-spec so far. It is a very nice car, be it a little smaller inside than I remember my old TL being. No one is getting in the back seat behind me lol.

I love the Apple CarPlay integration and the red illumination at night. Having SH-AWD again is great. I'm not going to be too cruel on the transmission yet - Its still breaking in and learning my driving habits. I'm hoping it wakes up soon. Does the TLX behave like most of the Acura line and relearn driving behavior with the battery disconnected for an hour? Also, any way to permanently disable the engine idle stop?

I've read about several TLX owners, who had the early '15 model w/the transmission problems having the car "reset" to relearn their driving habits. Not sure if we can do that ourselves through a "secret menu", or if your 1 hour battery disconnect will do it? I do know that people do that [have it reset by the dealer to relearn] though, and it seems to me like it would totally make sense to reset as soon as you are through the "break in period". I mean, I don't want the car "learning" how I drive when I'm trying to baby it before it's broken in, right?

So far all the comments I've seen say you have to disable the Auto Engine Idle stop each time, sadly :( If I see information confirming otherwise, I'll come back and post it here.

Regarding the Idle Stop, I believe the city fuel economy rating is based on using the Idle Stop, thus the lack of the option to permanently disable it. It's only one button!

The TLX is certainly not unique in this regard. There is probably an EPA regulation behind the lack of an option to permanently disable it.

Agree, makes sense

Its certainly a nuisance when I forget to turn it off, but not the most intolerable feature I've had in a car

Defiantly not the worst.

Interesting to find features you didn't know about. I didn't know the sun visors extend on the metal rail to cover the side windows completely when you have them in that position. I actually thought my son broke the visor. I've seen plastic extenders on other models and just assumed they did away with them on the TLX.