Drove both the 4 cylinder and
Drove both the 4 cylinder and V6 FWD TLXs today, both mid-level Technology package equipped. That's the Canadian designation anyway - they had leather seats and nav.
Being Hondas, they are of course idiosyncratic which is not necessarily bad. But the sun washed out the drive buttons on the V6 so I couldn't even see them to shift from P to D. Who sits down and invents crap like this? And in winter wearing gloves, those buttons are too small. Wake up, product planning!
Extremely competent salesman, a first in my 2 years of looking for a half-decent new car to replace my 08 Legacy GT. Off to a good start, then. I've driven almost a dozen candidates, none as good as the LGT or I'd have bought it. $40K Cdn is my limit, so even a 328i is too much at $44K.
The 4 cylinder TLX had electronic nannies that could not be entirely shut off, apparently. Tooted at me for an old woman who had actually already crossed the road. Why? Big orange light in dash, BRAKE, as you come to a stop. Groan. Noisy 4 cylinder engine sound, not unlike a pom-pom gun or pneumatic drill and kind of dull response to a bootful of gas, while the transmission dithered. No torque, just noisy revs. Leaned a lot going round a city street curve I'm used to.
After just a mile downwind, I told the salesman: "Enough of this. I'm driving back to the dealership."
Then, having to cut across two lanes of traffic to re-enter dealership, from a complete stop with wheels cut over - goosed it to get rolling - nothing. A feeling of a dozen squirrels frantically checking and trying to find a gear, any gear, and a full two second wait while the salesman cringed at oncoming traffic bearing down, before something caught and it moved. Then it upshifted three gears at ten to fifteen mph going up the steep slope to the showroom, lugging the engine down so low in rpm it shuddered, like a rookie driver in a manual who forgot to release the clutch. Er, no. Awful. Acceptable in this day and age? I don't think so.
And not even Lanewatch as in Accord and Civic.
Folks, you can have that model. NOT for me. Dangerous. Not a patch on the LGT in engine note or get up and go, or even basic nimbleness. The 20 inch tires the dealer had fitted to impress someone or other were also incredibly noisy, like driving a CLA with 18s - what a tin can that thing is, btw.
So, off we went in the V6. More like it. At least Honda have integrated the ZF 9 speed properly, unlike the Chrysler 200 AWD V6's, which doesn't know which way is up at low city speeds going uphill, frenetically swapping ratios. Here's a big surprise - for 6 grand more than a fully-equipped 200 V6, the Acura is in another league entirely in every way. Except the infotainment, where U-Connect slaughters the totally lame Acura/Honda system.
The FWD is inadequate to handle the V6 engine power, though. Howling tires when you're just trying to take-off smartly is a bit much. Guess I'm used to AWD, plus not such a low ratio first gear. Good luck to those FWD V6 owners in winter, you're going to need it.
Also, using engine braking to slow down requires some determined chicken-pecking at the downshift paddle to get from 9th to 3rd or 2nd, just like the Chrysler. Too many gears.
Lovely car, though. Proper feel, at least for me. Not some overachieving gerbil motor trying too hard. The AWD is not available till fall, and the cheap vinyl seat version (cloth would suit me) is $40K plus shipping. And minus the useless electronic doo-dads, thank goodness.
Very nice indeed. No spare tire of course (Honda foam aerosol), interior a bit sparse, but not nasty, just not really premium which is fine by me. Now, if the AWD drives as well as the FWD, then I'd say it's the best out there for the money if you're not into flash or badges.
Compared to a $30K WRX base crapmobile, the extra $10K is there for all the world to see. And they want $37K for a base AWD A3. I know, leatherette vs leather seats, but SH-AWD versus Haldex for just $3K more. And a really lovely V6 thrown in. No contest.
The paint on all the TLXs had orange-peel, redolent of '80s Audis, and every single one I checked (4) had misalignment of the front to rear door, noticeable from the "chrome" strips at the top of each door. Honda at least makes them all the same!
Who knows, they may actually sell me one. And it really isn't an Accord V6, quite a different feel and lacking that Accord hobby-horse bobblehead ride, which is its main demerit for me. No, you know you're in a really decent car. Just have to decide if the crap transmission selector buttons are livable. Yeah, it's ponderous compared to the LGT, but I need to slow down anyway. That V6 is what I like in a world where everyone will soon be pedalling 2 litre turbo fours.
We'll just leave the 4 cylinder TLX for journalists to rhapsodize over. Then, when they drive it in regular traffic like me at some future date, they'll realize the poor throttle response, lugging, etc.
Your review, well it's pretty awful. I'm a mechanical engineer, and you know, AWD doesn't alter geometry. You guys have more enthusiasm than knowledge.