Everybody (who cares to know (which is about no one (with the possible exception of a few Honda-owning friends))) knows that I love my Accord. It’s rapid and economical and comfy and easy to use. It’s far, far better than the previous-generation car and it has many more useful goodies than the Accord before that one.
So when I took delivery of a loaded Acura TLX SH-AWD, I was prepared to love it, too.
As fate would have it, however, the additional $12,300 separating the Accord V6 Coupe six-speed and the TLX SH-AWD Advance nine-speed automatic only buys two things about which I give a damn: the ventilated seats that otherwise aren’t as comfortable as the longer-bolstered chairs in the Accord, and the ELS Surround Sound, which kicks a ton of ass. I’d have paid three or four grand to have those things in my car.
The rest of it — SH-AWD, lane-keeping assist, power trunk and fuel door release, a color LCD dashboard screen, laser cruise control, fake wood trim, worse cupholders. less knee room, less seat travel, annoying steering-wheel controls, less trunk space, and the AcuraBeak — didn’t warm my heart.
How’d it do on track? You can read about it here, if you like. 🙂
I’ve passed your experience with the Accord Coupe along to a number of people. It is not a car that most people are aware of - they know the four door sedan, but have no clue you can, for a little while, buy a two-door car with power power, kind of like a personal luxury coupe of yore.
Reading about Acura = yawn, even from Jack’s pen.
yeeesh, its tough to say what is more astonishing, that cars are so ugly these days or that they all look so similar…
this chunky thing looks like a Chevy volt with an acura grille in the front and from the back it looks virtually identical to the Hyundai sonata, I can literally only detect a few pointless design creases here and there worth of stylistic difference:
http://indianautosblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2015-Hyundai-Sonata-at-2014-New-York-Auto-Show-rear-three-quarter.jpg
http://pictures.dealer.com/s/sunnysideacuraadw/1064/ccfd1a55069ad8a544e2ad7bd05c07ffx.jpg
How much for one of these fully loaded up the way you had it Jack, $45k-ish? Yikes for that kind of money you can pick up a 10 year old *pristine* Acura TL with under 60k mi AND a very decent Porsche 993 (probably with a couple of grand left for repairs even)….
turns out $44.8k in fact gets you: this to run into the ground http://ebay.to/1D83FOJ as a daily driver
and this http://ebay.to/1vYFRK7 to pass BMW’s with 🙂
$44,700.
Although that kind of money will just get you a 993 nowadays.
i guess you are right since technically I was $100 over… this would be my 993 of choice for the budget http://ebay.to/1w9xdbD I know, I know, a cab… but Im a sucker for the color combo, I have the flamenco red interior in my own 993 and its gorgeous in any light
And your coupe didn’t have this… power trunk and fuel door release, a color LCD dashboard screen, fake wood trim, worse cupholders. less knee room, less seat travel, annoying steering-wheel controls, less trunk space… as standard? Where is the content value of an Accord over the like Hyundai/Kia? My 55′ and 57′ VW’s and the rest of my VW’s had a remote trunk release…col!
The Accord has a cable-operated lever that operates both trunk and gas cap.
In the TLX, it’s power buttons.
I was just having a little fun with it, Jack.
I like the Accord Coupe, one of the better looking vehicles out there, they always earn my attention.
What I didn’t like was the handling, but apparently they have massaged that(?), but it still leaves it a FWD, no matter what they did to improve handling. I would rather drive a nice old E-36 then a new Accord, oh, wait, they don’t have a trunk release.
A guy at work just recently traded in his Charger for one of these.
In person I do think this has more presence than the Accord sedan. I guess I would be more interested in how the Acura stacks up to the XTS/Lacrosse, Cadenza/Azera, and ES350 than its track performance but I know that sort of comparison isn’t really R&T’s core content these days.
So you like the ELS (Elliot Scheiner) Surround System, eh? He was the “master” of surround formatted albums, producing Elton John in 5.1, Roy Orbison, and numerous others. Then Acura bought his name and talents in designing the original ELS systems for them.
Pretty sure your car has DVD-A capabilities which will blow your mind if you ever hear one.
We likely don’t share musical tastes, but maybe there’s something on this list that you can start with?
http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/QQHiRezPoll2004.htm
Hey that’s all stuff I didn’t know — thank you for that!
Fwiw, when you use the USB stick or stream from your phone, your ELS processes things into a pseudo “surround” sound. Not bad, but nothing like a DVD-A mastered in 5.1 to begin with. Like I said, it’ll blow your mind when you hear one. And it becomes an expensive taste!
One more thing…
Many of the forum members at that link drive Acuras. They’re big fans of Elliot and surround recordings in general.
Let me know if you need help in where to start.
That is very cool I’ll be reading up on those surround sound links as well, Thx Greg!!
I bought a third-gen Acura TL a few years ago and discovered the wonders of DVD-Audio. One of my first purchases was Roy Orbison’s Black & White Night- a live concert he performed back in 1988. It was amazing- just like being a member of the audience. And Greg’s right- purchasing the DVDs can be quite expensive…
Anybody who is willing to spend extra $$ for high quality on cars, watches, guitars, clothing, etc., should be open to spending it on audio too.
I’m looking at you, Jack.
And yes, on the Orbison DVD-A, what a rush to hear the backup vocalists singing behind you! Especially when they’re kd Lang and Bonnie Raitt!
Good article
I doubt ppl buying that acura would ever use it as a track car? But you never know….and I guess now we know 🙂
I like the idea of your V6 manual…will they still make it for next year, I wonder?
Jack, I just had to share this response with you. It cleverly dissects and disarms every point you made in your article in a mere five sentences (!!) and only used four logical fallacies in the process (!!).
“Take everything said here with a grain of salt. The new TLX is a great car which Acura took 5 years to develop. I just picked up delivery of the I4 version and it is a blast to drive!! Don’t always go by these types of reviews. Go test drive one for yourself and see!!”
Thank you David Che from University of Illinois at Chicago. You truly exemplify the average carbuyer (or Acura shill) vs. the Goliaths of autojournalism.
Well, I’m not too impressed with the 9 speed auto on the SH-AWD myself, but am considering a version sold here in Canada, currently being flogged for $38K, about $34K US. None of the crap “safety” electronics or Nav, just lovely leatherette seats, ahem. Unfortunately, Acura forgot to install Honda’s Lanewatch camera on all trims. I want AWD around here, so the Accord Coupe is out.
Compared to the Accord V6 sedan, it seems much quieter on the highway, the engine is direct injection rather than port, and the ride is superior without the head bobble. It is, however, a ponderous beast, and the tires are crap, howling at the merest hint of elevated cornering speed. But, it seems well screwed together and seems reasonably quick in a straight line.
Whether a decent set of tires improves things, who knows. Probably. But at that price, around here not even a BMW 320i costs less. The I4 TLX version feels like a frenetic supertuned outboard motor attached to a motorcycle gearbox. Hated it, and couldn’t care less what magazine reviewers think, plus it’s slow. Put that powertrain into a Civic Si toting 700 lbs less and ricerdom is back!