loki

After a brief (year and a half) stint with a Honda, I went back to where I have belonged for the last 10 years, Acura TL. My Acura history: 1999 CL 5 spd, 2003 TL, 2003 TL Type S, 2003 CL Type S 6spd. I decided to sell my CLs 6MT and buy a brand new car for the first time in my life. In December 2015, I bought a new Accord Sport 6MT. Although it was a 6 speed and it looks absolutely stunning, it left a lot to be desired (coming from Acura). I missed the V6 vec power AND sound. I missed it A LOT. I also missed luxury feeling and never really got used to the cheap interior but more than the interior, the 2.4 NA motor is just an appliance. It's basic transportation. The 6 speed manual did help and redlining it felt nice but the car is slow. It also hesitates a lot which is a known thing with 9th gen 2.4 Accords. I got a great deal on that car, paid 22K out the door and put a huge down payment on the car (8K). I sold the car now for 18K and still ended up with 8K in cash from the sale so the 18 months of ownership were almost like a lease; I still walked away with the cash I used as down payment and the payments for 18 months at $263 were like I said, a lease. At least that's how I want to look at it. Anyway, I bought a 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD with 18K miles for $24K. After tax credit and down payment, I'm financing about $16K. The car is MINT, I mean not a scratch on it, inside and out. It drives like new (18K miles), it even smells new(er). My Accord had 15K miles so I added 3K of miles which is nothing. I am absolutely addicted to the sound of the 3.7 V6 305hp in the TL. I also wanted to go back to automatic transmission because my other car (older Accord) is a manual trans too. So I really wanted to have at least one car that is an automatic. Plus, the 6 speed auto on the TL is very quick and I love the pedal shifters. It is the Tech Pkg so it has just about everything other than blind spot and cooling seats that the Advance package did. In-service date is 09/13 so I have 3 months to decide if i want to buy Acura care. Curry Acura offers them at a great price. Any thoughts from you guys if I should get the Acura care? It is $1400 and it adds 5 years from the date of warranty purchase (if I buy it today, it's good until 06/29/2022) or 100K miles (another 82K from now). Please share your thoughts if you think I should get the Acura care or not. Anyway, I wanted to say hi and share that I bought what I consider to be one of the best Acura cars ever made. The reliability and reviews on the internet for the 2012-2014 TL SH-AWD are just absolutely incredible.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

but but but, Acura is Honda! Honda is Acura!

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I'm not terribly pleased with Acura's current lineup, and I'm disappointed that they don't have anything to compete with the high performance line of other luxury brands (ie. Lexus F-Sport, BMW M-series, Mercedes AMG to name a few). However, I am pleased with how different they are from the Honda lineup. My parents purchased a 2016 Touring V6 Accord and despite it being the top of the line trim, It is nothing like the TL. Acura has at least markedly improved its vehicles compared to mainstream Hondas. I know a lot is the same. The engine is essentially the same other than slight tweaks and tuning, as other Honda J-series motors and many parts are interchangeable (wiper blades, transmission fluid, oil filters, timing belt set, etc.). But I don't see myself purchasing a Honda in the future. It's not that they're not nice, it's just that you can get an Acura for about the same price and it's simply a lot more car for about the same price (used). In the future it will either be another Acura or I'll jump to a Lexus or go American. I don't really dig Infinity and I don't need to go into detail as to why German vehicles aren't the way to go unless you buy it new and sell it at 50K miles.

loki

Well yes and no. You can't compare a car that was $45000 brand new and a car that was $22000. Although they have the same parent company and share many of the same parts, they are ultimately completely two different experiences. I have driven plenty of both to say with certainty that Acura is a far more pleasurable experience and better performance. I'll give you an example: I have owned both a 2003 CL Type S 6MT and a 2005 Honda Accord EX-L V6 6MT - the horse power is little bit different and the Accord version has 0.2 less displacement but the performance was soooo different. The CL blew the Accord out of the water and they shared almost the same engine/manual trans setup.

Drei

iTrader: (2)

Where's the down vote button when you need one



Back to the OP, congratulations brother. I recently leased a 17 TLX V6 and still have my 09 TL SH-AWD and the 4G TL is without a doubt the better car. The 4G's driving characteristics are more raw and "unrefined" in a sense whereas the TLX feels numbed down and controlled and soft if that makes sense?

The engine and the SH-AWD makes for an amazing experience! Enjoy it in good health and post some pictures!

loki

I actually test drove a TLX as well (2016 certified with 19K miles). I checked it out along with the 2013 TL, they weren't too far apart in price which wasn't that big of a deal to begin with as long as the car felt perfect like it was made just for me. I wanted that wow feeling and the TLX unfortunately didn't do it for me. It was exactly what you're describing, the TLX is very numb and feels like it was made to be a commuter car and nothing else. They were both SH-AWD but the 6 speed auto on the TL is so much more shift and rev happy than the ZF on the TLX. I had a feeling the TLX is also smaller than the TL, maybe even TSX size. Anyway, thanks and I'll get some nice pics uploaded soon.