CFoote

Morning Everyone,

I took a nice test drive yesterday (8/12) and thought I would post my comments about it. Obviously, my thoughts are just that -- mine So please don't take them personally one way or the other...

My salesman and I took out a black/black V6 TLX with the Advanced package.

First, my personal vehicle history are a BMW 5 series, BMW X5, BMW Z4, and Acura RL. I've also had extensive experience with a loaner RLX, so I know my cars pretty well, and know what to expect for 'sporty' feeling.


Exterior: The exterior of the TLX is nice. The curve up the side of the car gives it a nice line. The LED headlamps are nice and differentiate Acura nicely (I only hope they sell replacement LEDs at some point -- they are supposed to last the life of the car, but have you seen the cost on a replacement headlight? WOW). The 18" wheels that this model came with are very nice -- if you get the 19's, watch out for potholes (at least here in the Northeast). The graphite finish on the inside of the wheels with the polished exterior was sharp. Mirrors were a bit over-sized which I liked -- mirrors seem to be getting smaller and smaller these days. I personally liked the 2/3 regular mirror / 1/3 blind spot mirror. Didn't notice any auto-dimming on the exterior mirrors, is that standard on the Advanced? Engine compartment was nice -- they took away all the plastic surrounding the engine, so depending upon what you like that may bother you or it may not (think weight savings). Engine compartment was tidy, with the V6 very quiet except for what seemed to be a 'tick' noise (variable valve timing?). Tail lights are nice, bright, and look good on the car. Trunk is good sized for the car, no issues there, and it's nice having fold-down rear seats as standard Like the MDX, no spare tire, just a compressor and fix-a-flat. I'll be curious to see if they offer fog lights on the 2016s, not that you need them with the LED lights.


Interior: I knew going into this car it wasn't going to be as big as my RL. People were right when they said it's sized between a TL and a TSX. It's a fine size; for me at 6' 2", the front had plenty of room, but the back was tight for rear legroom. To me, it definitely is a smaller car than the TL, which is good or bad depending on what you want. For me, I wanted TL size, which in my case the RLX would be a better choice.

The interior quality seemed fine -- you have to understand that weight-savings is a huge deal right now to meet MPG requirements that CAFE is enforcing, so I don't think the interior materials are 'cheap', but they are lightweight which, in some cases, might turn some people off. Let me put it this way -- the newer Acuras (and other cars from other companies) are using lighter-weight materials, some of which don't feel or look 'as good' as the older cars (to me at least). I noticed it but was OK with it, it's not like I got in the car and said "WTF?". The wood trim looked nice (didn't look fake to me). The electronic shift mechanism is fine (I was fine with a old-fashioned lever too!), I kind of see it as another thing to break but technology marches on (I'm guessing it saves weight too).

Stereo system was great -- better than the one in the RLX and my RL. One of the best stereos I have heard to date. They did a nice job on this one, and you can tell Acura took their time tuning the system.

Navigation system was very much like the RLX, it's well put together (made by Pioneer I believe?) and integrates with the car nicely. I'm sure there might be some bugs to work out, but Acura has been good with putting out nav updates for the RLX, I'm sure the TLX will be the same way. It's intuitive to use and works well.

The frameless interior mirror is cool -- I wasn't sure if it had auto-dim in it when I saw it It's a nice touch.

Headliner is typical as I've seen for newer cars -- it's not suede or some other fancy fabric, just a twill-nylon that looks fine.


Driving Impressions:

So to be fair, I immediately placed the car in Sport mode The 9 speed transmission is a nice unit, it shifts well and is very smooth. In sport mode it seemed to downshift/upshift nicely without any issue. The paddle shifters worked great and shifted quickly and without any problem. This is a nice transmission, and it is geared well to the engine. Why we need 9 speeds is kind of beyond me but I suspect it has to do with MPG/CAFE requirements. Regardless, it's a nice gearbox!

Steering was a little disappointing. All the new Acuras are using electronic power steering, and to me it it just too light. With electronic power steering, I'd like to see car companies allow the driver select variable levels of resistance, I think this would be an easy way to solve whatever issues that we have. I didn't have any road feel with this steering, and it felt over boosted at low speeds. At higher speeds it did feel a lot better. If there was any complaint about the car, this would be the one. [To be fair, this is a complaint about a number of manufacturers, not just Acura.]

Brakes are very solid, and will stop the car fast. No issues there.

Handling overall was very nice. The car absorbs bumps but still retains the sportiness that everyone wants. Acura did a nice job tuning the suspension on this car, and I'll be curious to see how the 19" wheels pair up with this suspension once a car comes in with them. We took a twisty road on the test drive and it did very well. The car feels light on its feet and enjoys being pushed in the turns. Body lean was typical for this type of car - this isn't a racing suspension here but it is a nice compromise between every day driving and performance. I liked it. To compare to the RLX, it felt like a smaller RLX, which was nice. Compared to my AWD RL, the car didn't feel as 'planted' or 'gripped' on the road (SH-AWD gives you that feeling), but I expect the AWD model will take care of that.


Overall: Again, please take this for what it is worth, it's just my .... I think the TLX is a very solid car. I was sorry to see they shrunk the car (I get what they did combining the platforms). Being a tall guy I like the bigger cars. The steering was also a bit of a disappointment. Other than that, it's a great vehicle, and I think Acura will sell a lot of them. I can't wait to drive a SH-AWD model, perhaps the steering and assistance of SH-AWD will give the car a more 'planted' or 'road hugging' feel that I get with my RL. I'm glad to see Acura did a nice job on this car, I really want the company to succeed as they have a fantastic, well-engineered product, they just need to market it a bit more


Chris

neuronbob

Thanks for the report.

LaCostaRacer

Great report!