JHZR2
Staff member
It’s 20% less recurring fuel bill. Maybe I’m just too frugal.
Acura TLX discontinued
- Thread starter wemay
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The biggest contribution Toyota made in that project was in eventually making a manual gearbox available. A Getrag.
Otherwise, the Supra is basically a Z4 coupe with Toyota styling and suspension tuning (which is arguably better than its cousin's). They both roll off the same Steyr assembly line in Austria. Peel away the cladding and panels, and the guts would probably be much more familiar to someone who has wrenched on BMWs than Toyotas. No JIS screwdrivers or 12mm wrenches needed.
Before release, the model's final form was leaked…after someone found the entire vehicle logged in BMW's ETK parts catalog. Now, why would a Toyota badge need to be assigned a BMW part number, Dr. Zaius?
The Fiata 124 Spider could at least claim to have FCA's engine.
I know someone who had a first gen TSX, and spent a fair amount of time in the car. Very solid car (though the center stack backlighting was a common failure), and more European in sensibility than Japanese. But its steering did have that Honda trait where the effort would change mid-lock (also reminding me of the 2nd and 3rd gen Preludes I'd driven). Dunno whether it was by design, or a consequence of the geometry changes at certain steering angles, but it didn't have that full consistency in the controls like one expects on a European car. Or the old pre-EPS ones, anyway. K24 was decently sized, and liked to rev, but weaker down below, and having to rev it in certain situations acted to temper any luxury aspirations.
AWD can try, but cannot fully make up for the physics when a large mass is sitting on top of, or in front of the front axle line. Audi, which is not Japanese, and does have longitudinal engines has also still suffered from the laws of physics. I've also had daydreams about the S3 and RS3 and while I'm sure the trick torque vectoring rear differential is neat, and works well, can't fully get on board with the notion of a $65k Golf sedan, and handling so heavily determined by electronics tuning, not natural vehicle dynamics. But I'm old school. And in that price range, many options if one doesn't need to buy new.
Acura was originally created with the intent to provide Honda owners with nicer vehicles to step up to. They clearly weren't gunning for the Germans, as Toyota and Nissan did.
Problem was, that relied on owner loyalty to a large degree, and the company also hamstrung the brand by refusing to offer anything larger than a six, as mentioned.
They've reinvigorated the brand in more recent times, but were adrift for a long time, in the purgatory of near, but not fully being accepted as a luxury brand. The MDX kept them alive during the struggles, and CUVs became their bread-and butter. But I think its greatest sales success is still the Integra line, which were always "nicer" Civics at heart. That it took them so long to acknowledge that, and try again, was a bit delusional.
Just go take that nice Mercedes out for a spin & you'll not worry about it.
Have you put miles on it yet?
That's the danger of being first into a new market. Lexus and Infiniti raised the bar the day they opened; Acuras were always nice but not as luxurious.
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T'was by design. Much advertised variable steering assist, came first on late 80s Euro Accords and Preludes.
Always thought the all wheel steer on the preludes were cool.
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I had one and it's the most amazing feature I've ever had.
The feeling of commuting to Luxembourg at 130mph like on rails, then elegantly keeping your lane on the Rue de la Tour Jacob's hairpins at decent speed while bimmers and benzes following you had to go deep into the opposite lane was an amazing one.
The Prelude was an expensive, old-people coupe in Europe. Was usually a second or third coupe in posh neighborhoods, not a kid's fastofurious playground.
And those neighborhoods often came with tight streets. 4ws must have been lost on whole states in the US.
JHZR2
Staff member
Drive the ML almost weekly. Get 27 highway. Definitely not as good as the rav hybrid, but if I needed to replace it or the accord hybrid I also drive routinely, not sure I’d want the fuel bill of the suv…Just go take that nice Mercedes out for a spin & you'll not worry about it.
Have you put miles on it yet?
edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
JFC. Actually, it is good they euthanized that abomination.
It was a clever, fully-mechanical solution. But also contrained in its behavior due to that nature.
And also a costly option, so the take rates weren't high.
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The 4th Gen ('91 and up) were electric. The mechanical ones were on the 3rd gen (87-91). Both types were great and worth every penny in specific conditions, useless in other conditions. Mazda released 4ws first I believe.
I remember when the TL was cancelled and "replaced" by the TLX. Big mistake in my opinion. The TL was a much nicer car.
The TL was occasionally available with a 6 speed manual. One of my friends had one. The TL was basically a better appointed version of my Honda Accord EX-L 4dr V6 6MT. They even shared the same alloy wheels, with different wheel centers of course.
I've often thought I should have bought a TL instead of the Accord, but at 18 years into its life I don't have too much to complain about. The rear valve cover gasket has just started to leak, which is annoying but not that big a deal.
The TL was occasionally available with a 6 speed manual. One of my friends had one. The TL was basically a better appointed version of my Honda Accord EX-L 4dr V6 6MT. They even shared the same alloy wheels, with different wheel centers of course.
I've often thought I should have bought a TL instead of the Accord, but at 18 years into its life I don't have too much to complain about. The rear valve cover gasket has just started to leak, which is annoying but not that big a deal.
I am fully sympathetic to the pro sedan view. One point that my wife has made and I think it is a good one is that when you are driving a sedan and everyone else is in some sort of SUV, you are constantly annoyed by staring at people’s license plate frames or bumpers when you look ahead. In other words your view is impaired relative to driving a higher vehicle. She was always a VW driver for many years and whatever drawbacks people complain about - VW is a polarizing brand - the cars have solid ergonomics and excellent visibility. All of a sudden 15 years ago maybe 20 she and I realize every time we are on a road trip we are staring at tow hitches and bike racks and it gets annoying. So the SUVs have visibility advantages, particularly once you start hauling kids, strollers etc. Hppy to be past those days. Her car now is a Subaru because she still prefers a car, like the flexibility of a wagon, likes the few inches of added height that address the visibility issue and to your point we always try to be sensible about fuel, service etc costs associated with a vehicle. I think Subaru is a fallback for people who concede to an “SUV” but really still want something more car based that is sensible and practical.
A great reason to buy used Acura or Lexus is the following.
They depreciate off the premium price after 3-4 years and slow down. They can be much quieter.
The largest reason is my daughter’s first car is a glorified Honda Civic with a 2.0 K20 CRV motor. The insurance costs were almost half for 2013 Acura ILX vs same model year Honda Civic. Also her vehicle was similar acquisition price for a lot less content Civic.
It’s similar for my 2013 Acura RDX which is CRV based with superior J35 engine . The insurance was 60%. This is fixed cost.
Halfhearted? Accords and Camrys have ruled the market for forty years. It is no secret that the Japanese formula was to provide enough sportiness, not a huge amount, with world class quality and reliability, and superior comfort.
JHZR2
Staff member
We went minivan when we had to start lugging all sorts of stuff, and had utility that only a full size suburban could beat. None of these other SUVs (and I do own one, an ML320) hold a candle to the minivan.
But again, vanity… how many of my peers said “I can’t drive a minivan, that’s what my mom drove”… same as the generation before “I can’t drive a station wagon, that’s what my mom drove”.
I get the fact that a lot of higher vehicles are all around. Never bothers me personally, even in my lower-slung vehicles, but I do get the desire to see better all around.
Discontinuing the TLX is no surprise. I bought an off lease 2020 TLX in Florida specifically since 2020 was the last model year with the 2.4L engine before Acura moved to the 4 cylinder turbo. I enjoyed the car for two years, getting decent performance and a solid 36 mpg in mixed driving. But my wife found the seat entry too low to the ground and the ride too sporty for her back condition. So I traded it in for 2025 Pilot EX-L that's also not as comfortable as she'd like. I don't want a soft riding SUV like a Lincoln or a Buick, so for now I'm keeping the Pilot.
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The comfort elefant in the room is that we test drive base models at the dealership, then come order time once we get the options we need they come mandatory with pizza wheels with 2 extra inches in diameter.
If I could be a car dictator and dictate just two laws, it would be to keep mandatory rotary knobs for volume & hvac, and to dissociate the now mandatory big wheels from upper equipment trims.
If I could be a car dictator and dictate just two laws, it would be to keep mandatory rotary knobs for volume & hvac, and to dissociate the now mandatory big wheels from upper equipment trims.
