mmarshall

Sure. Anytime.


Yes, that grille is ridiculous. Look for some aftermarket replacements to pop up.



I know John, but only very casually from auto shows, where we have talked and exchanged some ideas and opinions....nothing close. He is a formal member of the auto press; I am not. I do watch his TV show, sometimes...I like it.

LexFather

Aftermarket grill can only help so much. Look at the size of the bumper length from under the headlights to over the foglamps. That belongs on a SUV. Did they even change the headlights?

TripleL, thanks for the comparison pic. I cannot believe how good the TL looks and how scary the new TL is.

This makes the Bangle BMWs seem like classics!

Kaydee

This car would have been perfect if it wasn't for styling

GAH more wrong grille at the back??? Quad exhaust is sexy...I really love the engine bay...someone photoshop this car with a lower stance

Threxx

Well I went to drive one last week but they didn't have any. Went again today and they had 4. I drove one with FWD and the tech package.

Overall? For 39 grand, not a bad deal if you're looking for a moderate balance between comfort, sport, and predicted reliability. With that said it excels at none of the above (well, the reliability is something I'm assuming based on JD Power data).

I found the interior to be an improvement over the previous TL in both build and materials with the exception of the material used on the lower part of the dash and the what I'm pretty sure was fake aluminum (plastic) material.

Acceleration was comfortable - I didn't feel like I was ever having to push the car really hard to merge into traffic but with that said it was not fun in the least... no thrill at all. My seat of the pants meter says this car is good for low to mid 15s with an automatic and doesn't have as much torque at low RPM as I'd have liked.

Steering was terrible. If you're the kinda person that just wants to cruise then it's comfortable.. nice and light at low speed, more precise at high speed, but it just never feels like you're actually turning the wheels or feeling them twist under braking or acceleration. It always feels like it's a computer taking your inputs and giving you inputs back... which it basically is, but I was hoping it wouldn't feel quite like that. The first car I ever drove with electric power steering was the new style Audi TT and that car felt great to drive, so I know it CAN be done. Then again maybe Acura wanted this car to feel easy to drive at the expense of some communication?

Overall the car didn't look as extreme or bad in real life as it did in pics, not to say it looked good, either.

The audio system with the DVD-Audio disc was awesome... even better than my friend's 2005 TL w/ navi. I can't wait for the day that I own a car that not only has that good of a sound system (I've had plenty that, really, were pretty close) but also for the day where high resolution multichannel audio is the norm for MP3 players and satellite radio.

Oh... random observation here but I didn't like the curved plexiglass looking stuff that was placed a few inches in front of the nav screen. It not only was reflective of light, but since it was curved the light reflected unevenly and created a sort of magnifying glass effect to a small extent with the light it reflected.

I'm curious if the nav system could be programmed for a daily routine? It'd be nice if every week morning at the push of a single button or voice command it would automatically tell me about traffic delays on my commute to work, tell me about the weather, etc.

I think what should come next for nav systems is headline news. Allow the user to select a category by voice commands, then hear the story titles and choose what they want to hear from there. Good idea?

Oh one more random observation (I know I lack structure, badly)... the tires were much higher profile than I expected. They were on 17" wheels and even for 17" wheels the sidewall of the tires was pretty thick. I'm sure this provides a nicer ride, and the ride was fairly smooth (definitely smoother than my friend's 05 TL), but it also looks kinda, I dunno, unexpected for this car.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Threxx thanks for the impressions. Sounds about right from what I've read.

mmarshall

Thanks for your input. You covered the car's high-tech features inside better than I did. That kind of stuff generally isn't my bag. You're probably a better reviewer of that than I am. I use them, but only what is necessary for the job at hand, and find them distracting while trying to keep your eyes on the road.

ecr527

I think this car will be another home run for Acura. It's definitely a good bang for the buck compared to the other cars, it's going up against.

Just like the rest of you, I agree that the grille draws a lot of attention (not necessarily a good thing), but an aftermarket grille will fix that. I'm sure tuners like Mugen, etc. will be coming out with some pretty good pieces.

I have noticed that Honda/Acura has been adding a lot of buttons to the center stack of the dash. The new Honda Accord has way too many IMO and from the pics I just saw, the new TL isn't that far behind. I'm sure it's just a matter of getting used to though.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

It looks great in the TV commercial they're running.

UDel

I will take a bunch of buttons over an i-drive **** anyday. I don't mind buttons at all as long as they are laid out well.

mmarshall

I will, too...as long as it is reasonable.

The row after row of dozens of identically-shaped buttons in the late 80's/early 90's Oldsmobiles were absurd, though.....the Buicks of the era were almost as bad.

LexFather

I thought I saw one on the road, but it was a tow truck towing a wrecked tow truck

mmarshall

You thought you saw what...a new TL?

UDel

I test drove and saw a new TL in the flesh today. When I first came to the dealership they had a few parked outside and I thought it looked very nice. I parked and looked at the car up close and from some angles it looked nice and aggressive and from other angles the front end looked to big and the grill stood out too much. The maroon, black, and silver ones looked nice, the white one did not look as nice for some reason. There was a 08 TL next to it and the 08 looked very conservative next to it but I still like the look of the 08 like my parents bought better.

A salesman walked up and asked if I wanted to sit in it and take a drive and I said sure. First thing I noticed was the door felt solid and heavy and gave a solid high quality thunk when I shut it. The interior was very nice and felt roomier. The leather was very soft and felt very good and high quality to the touch, it felt softer then the 08 leather. Everything felt very high quality but not quite as nice as an RL, I still like the RL interior look and layout more. The metal trim was nice and the navigation screen was excellent, very high quality looking screen. The buttons and switches were very nice and felt a little higher quality then my parents 08 and felt a little softer and more fluid in operation. The armrest was very nice and the push button start after figuring from the on screen instructions was nice. So far so good, everything seemed a little nicer then the 08 but the center dash layout was a little big and far compared to the more snug location and design on the 08. The thicker steering wheel feels great. I took it for a spin and immediately noticed the extra power,torque,smoothness and more effortless acceleration from the bigger engine which was nice. When I got on it, the had good pickup and was quick. The steering was a bit lighter in effort then the 08 and feedback not quite as precise but the handling seemed on par if not a little better, the car seemed to drive a little better too, taking corners was very satisfying and there was very little body roll like the 08. Overall my impression was this is a very solid car and alot of car for the money, the interior is excellent and the features are really nice, it drives great, almost the perfect blend of luxury and sport.

The negatives, of course the styling which is a bit dissapointing compared to the 08 but looks much better in person and it does have some good angles as well as bad, it has a good look when seen from a couple feet away but once close the front end takes some getting used too. I was not very impressed by the standard rims, they look a bit small on this car and are not one of Acuras nicer designs and look kind of plain, the upcoming larger rims look much better. When sitting in the back I did notice one obvious area of cost cutting and that was the harder plastic behind the center armrest where the rear vents where, everything else was soft and high quality but the plastic surrounding the vents in the back felt hard and not as nice.

I immediately sat in a 06 IS350 and could immediately tell the quality was not as high as the 09 TL. The door on the IS felt lighter and did not give a very solid feeling thunk, the plastic trim felt harder and cheaper and pressing the buttons and operating the switches did not feel as satisfying or as high quality as the 09 TL. The NAV screen and picture was not nearly as nice and the stereo did not sound as nice(did not have ML). The IS interior just did not hold up very well and many parts were fading and some pieces had paint peeling off, the leather was really worn pretty bad with it fading and parts worn to the fuzzy bottom skin. The interior of the IS was just not as nice or expensive looking/feeling as the 09 TL except the wood around the shifter was a nice looking touch but it was pretty scratched up. The IS did have nicer gauges, power felt similar but the IS felt quicker when flooring it/getting on it and pulled very nicely(I did not floor the TL as it was new but did get on it), and it had a smaller sportier driving environment, the AC seats at first seemed more like a gimmick but after awhile they seemed to work alright. Rear seat on the IS was an absolute joke, I did not even try to sit in back because I would have had to move the seats forward too much. The IS felt smaller to drive and was more confining but I still liked how it drove, visibility was not very good, steering was okay, much better then my GS but not as precise or satisfying as the TL. The IS looked very nice especially in black, a very nice looking sedan and one of the nicest in its segment.

LexFather

So we compare a used 06 IS interior to a new TL interior and comment the IS looks older and not as well built. The car was sold 3 years ago, I would hope the new TL is somewhat better in your opinion.

The TL has grown way to big to be IS competition. Its more ES competition now, even if its sportier.

mmarshall

Nice write-up, UDel.

I pretty much agree with you on most points, but 1SICKLEX has a point that the TL and IS are not direct competitors....that's more in line with the TSX.

And, Mike, the '09 IS has pretty much the same interior as the '06 IS. There have been minimal if any changes, even allowing for wear and tear on a 3-year old car. UDel's impression of a new IS would probably be about the same as an '06.