I am by NO means a VW fan... and I did like the looks of the old Acura for sure.

Seeing both of these cars for the first time... that TL is gawd awful ugly. Add to that it's slow, has crappy fuel mileage and is overpriced? Sorry but that equals crap in my own personal opinion.

The VW isn't bad looking but I still prefer my 9 year old GS to it.

 

Well I've always said that ES and TL are priced in the 3/IS/C class, but due to their size and driving feel they are often cross shopped with GS/5/E/A6.

 

Honestly, this is getting annoying, YES the car is ugly but it's not the worst car out there...

 

IMO the last gen TL interior was outstanding and this model while looking too Accordish, is fine as well. Well built, solid materials. Most recent Acura interiors are pretty well built to me, nice size gauges, pretty good ergonomics. The only poorly built ones recently were the 99-03 or so TL/CL. Even the last gen TSX has a solid interior.
My last gen TL review here
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ht=1sickreview
No evidence of that. The car ends with its MSRP where the next class of vehicles starts. Surely a few might cross shop but the TL with that class but its a clear step below them.

Oddly the TL is actually LARGER than the GS/5/E/A6 etc with its dimensions.

 

I loved the last gen TSX interior, the TL not so much. For the new generation, both are ruined.

Well, I'm not suggesting that TL/ES are in the same class as GS/5/E, im just saying that its more comparable to them in size and feel. I dont see anyone cross shopping lets say IS and ES, however I do think that ES is often cross shopped with GS, therefore resulting in poor sales for the GS.

 

If I could get a a dollar for every "crap" word in this thread, I wouldn't be affected by the economy.


The ugly TL has fallen behinds it competitors, but I don't think it's a 'bad' car like say... a Dodge Cobalt.

 

LOL

Correct, but a Dodge Cobalt is 1/3 of TL's price.

 

Corrected

 

Yeah but the Chevrolet Cobalt actually looks better than the TL

 

Nobody cares, especially on real premium car forums, (including Lexus, Mercedes, BMW).

 

May '09 sales = 3,375 TL / 1,419 CC. Looks like people actually spending their $$'s prefer the TL..

 

Many may not find it that attractive nor is it as quick as a IS350, G37, or 335 but it is certainly not a piece of crap.

1) It is not as good looking as the last gen but it has some good angles and has some bad angles. The grill is what is the biggest issue and it can be changed and improved relatively cheaply by either painting it or an aftermarket which makes it look much better.

2) Despite not having DI, DOHC, being an older design the 4000lb awd has done 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and does put out 305hp which is plenty for most people. That is on par with my smaller lighter GS430 with rwd and a 300hp/325tq v8. Many of the lower times in previous tests most likely were from improper launch in which they brake torqued the awd model. Brake torquing will start it in 2nd gear in which it has to switch back to first after it is launched making it slower. People at Acurazine are getting sub 6 second 0-60 times by not brake torquing it.

3)It's build quality and interior are very impressive. It just won an interior design award and I don't recall any reviews saying interior quality was not good, they say just the opposite. It's interior quality and solidness is superior to the last generation TL. My parents have an 08 and the 09 had noticeably nicer materials and felt higher quality. I test drove a IS350 right after testing the 09 TL and the TL interior quality was noticeably much nicer then the IS also.

4)It's 5 speed still smoothly delivers the power and it gets good fuel economy that real world is usually much better then its rated, I don't need more gears in my trans for bragging rights as long as I have enough to do the job and reviews seem to say the TL trans is very good even if it is down a gear from most of the competition.

5)The price has only grown significantly with the SH-AWD model which was never available before. You can still get a fwd TL for around the same price or a little more then the previous model and the new one is larger, has a more solid interior, has more room, more features, and has a bigger engine with more power. All new models go up in price especially when they offer new powertrain options.

I am a bit disappointed in the new TL too from what I thought or was hoping it would turn out like but after sitting in it and test driving it, it is a very nice car and improved in most areas over the last gen aside from looks and steering feel. It is one of the safest cars on the road along with all Acura cars. After seeing more and more on the road it is growing on me. The grill is the biggest issue with the cars looks and that can be addressed relatively cheaply. It is still a great car for the money and not a piece of crap.

It is funny seeing a thread made to praise a VW and criticize the TL by using a comparison where the VW lost and the TL won and was quicker. Nobody is really buying the VW CC, I have yet to see one on the road despite how utterly great and superior it supposidly is and most won't even consider the VW because of the price and poor reliability of VW's which are among the worst in this country, I have never met or talked to anyone who had a reliable VW but some I talked to still love them despite all their problems. It seems if people want an expensive unreliable German car then most will pay a little more and at least get a BMW or Mercedes to get the nicer drivers car and badge.

The Volkswagen CC is a nice looking car but nowhere in the Merc CLS league of swoopy 4 door sedans, the VW still does not offer enough aside from nice looks for me to even consider and put up with the poor reliability, high price tag, and all the expensive problems VWs are notorious for.

 

I agree with your major points above 100%. I like the CC more than the TL, but still prefer the IS, MB, BMW cars.

 

The new TL's interior looks a lot like the RL's, definitely a step up from the last gen.

 

In case nobody said it yet; it's a piece of crap.