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So I'm not sure if any of you have seen the recent undisguised photos of the upcoming 2016 Accord so I will post them here.
This seems to be an increasing trend with Honda...when it comes to differentiating (rather not differentiating) their "luxury" brand Acura... from their "non-luxury" offerings. It seems as though they continue to elevate their Honda vehicles in terms of styling and features but leave Acura in the dust.
Do you think the new 2016 Accord will make it even harder to justify getting a TLX? What is significant enough to set the TLX apart from the Accord at this point?.... The Accord touring is now getting a similar treatment of Acura's Jewel Eye LED headlights. Hell, it's getting better wheels than any Acura has ever had... in fact it looks like they took the new wheels straight from the avenger's NSX roadster concept. Have you seen all of the new wheel designs Acura has been coming out with lately that no other luxury brand would ever imagine putting on any of their vehicles? They've also styled the rear end of the new Accord even more (making it even more less bland than the TLX rear end). I do hate the new grille though. I wouldn't be surprised if some trims of the new Accord get the Acura touch gear shifter (the new Pilot is getting it)
While I don't disagree that the upgrades/improvements in features and styling Honda is bringing to their vehicles is much needed.... shouldn't they want their luxury brand to be even better versus not as nice?
Anyway, do you think this will hurt TLX sales? You'd think that the 2016 TLX at this point would require some updates and that Acura would be rushing a Type S variant... but I definitely won't hold my breath for them to make a move.
Probably need to see it in person but personally I like the TLX 18" wheels better.
One quick improvement would be to give the American TLX all the extras the Canadian model currently gets, which would at least give the TLX a meaningful advantage in features. Would like to see a higher performance variant as well and perhaps the addition of things like a pano roof, adjustable suspension, etc for the MMC.
I was looking to dump my current car, but I may have to wait for the '16 Accord. It looks great.. I don't see why anyone would spend more to jump into the TLX
^^ base TLX is $30-31K.. the Accord touring is north of $32K.. spend more? really?
That's not a good comparison... You're comparing a base 4 cylinder 206 hp TLX with no navigation, no real leather etc etc.... with a top of the line Accord Touring (V6 280 hp, navigation, leather trimmed etc) that has 90% or more of what the top of the line TLX Advance has for about 10k less... and the NEW Accord Touring will offer even more.
Now... a 4 cylinder Accord with tech package/navigation, leather-trimmed seats etc is 31k versus a 31k TLX which has none of that.
Comparisons of TLX Advance versus current Accord Touring:
I guess that Honda wants to attract those wanting a TLX V6 but not wanting to cough up the extra cash or care about the upgrades of the TLX (quiet ride, higher quality materials) over the Accord.
To me, this is like Chevrolet making the Malibu upgraded enough to very nearly compete with Cadillac.
The Avalon is a close but lesser version of the ES350... so it seems it's not so unusual
2016 accord looks good. why can't acura show their exhaust Car and Driver
They could but decided not to. They are following Lexus' lead in not having exhaust tips. I didn't like the loss of the tips at first but now I don't miss them at all.. they are just for looks anyway.
This seems to be an increasing trend with Honda...when it comes to differentiating (rather not differentiating) their "luxury" brand Acura... from their "non-luxury" offerings. It seems as though they continue to elevate their Honda vehicles in terms of styling and features but leave Acura in the dust.
Follow the Money, they sale crap ton more Accord than TLX,so makes sense to pour more resources on Accord than TLX.
To Me the body looks very close if not identical to TLX. Is 10K extra for the Acura badge worth it, Probably NOT. Would just get the Touring with all the bells and whistles.
The TLX has grown on me and I liked it right from the start. Assessment of the '16 Accord
- The wheels look like an Audi knock off
- The rear end looks like a MB
- The front end has a Honda look but the lower fog light area is likely prototype and subject to change
I would expect buying decisions to be focused on tech feature, quality of interior, and brand loyalty. New buyers, to either line, will either be price or image sensitive.
American Honda will get my money but likely for the 2016 accord v6 exl...unless the touring come with 9speed and those wheels.The 2016 pilot is better than 2016 mdx in my opinion too. Exl model and up have acoustic glass
I dont like the front grill but if I buy a white car it wont stand out or even if I have to paint it , it is rather an easy fix. The rear with exposed exhaust is too sexy and look more premium than the tlx
Originally Posted by Stew4HD
I guess that Honda wants to attract those wanting a TLX V6 but not wanting to cough up the extra cash or care about the upgrades of the TLX (quiet ride, higher quality materials) over the Accord.
To me, this is like Chevrolet making the Malibu upgraded enough to very nearly compete with Cadillac.
The Avalon is a close but lesser version of the ES350... so it seems it's not so unusual
Honda has no choice, Accord sales are down a bit, and compared to the competition (which is not the TLX) they are falling behind. The main stream 4 door sedan market is the most competitive segment and if you look at a Fusion refresh next year, 2016 Kia Optima, the new Sonata, even the 2016 Maxima the Accord needs to stay with the pack. Both the Optima and Maxima come with virtually all the tech you can want including all around view camera available in both. The Sonata has almost everything as well except the all around camera. The Maxima will offer LED low-beams. What I am curios is if Honda will offer more of tech in the Touring model. Even then Honda touring models are usually rare as I assume it helps control cannibalization of the TLX. Honda has to be less worried about the TLX than the competitors in the class, in theory my guess is the TLX and Accord do not get cross shopped much, but the Camry, Sonata, Altima, Fusion, Optima probably do all day long. While not a huge fan of Nissan new nose (Murano and 16 Maxima) the Maxima offers a huge value for the money in a 300HP sedan.
Also find it interesting to see them fully uncovered, Honda is usually very good about keeping their cars under wraps, I wonder if they will be announcing it sooner than usually to stay competitive.
whats is this touring anyway, is that supposed to be like ultra luxury or does it have diff engine?
Touring is just a an EX-L with some extra options. In my experience it is a very limited availability model. Looking at current inventory within 50 miles there are 1259 Accords, less than 25-30 are Touring. And most dealers don't swap them because they know they are hard to get. Was going to get one as a stop gap car when they current gen first came out, was too hard to find one in color combo I wanted. I suspect same thing for 16 Accord.
I would say for me the Sh-AWD makes a big difference between Tlx and Accord V6. Living on snow belt for me awd is a must after getting use to have. Otherwise I may say that the Touring version is quite appealing proposition
05-07-2015, 12:52 AM
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