My brother just got a new Acura TL 5AT w/Nav on Thursday, and I drove my G35C out to his place yesterday to have a looksee/test drive. I took some pictures of it and my 6MT coupe side by side in his driveway. I'll add a comment or two on each post since I'll have one for each photo.

Here's the first pic/comment:

The TL had only 200 miles on it, so no "spirited" driving was appropriate (its breakin is a refreshingly short 600 miles though - he'll probably get there in about a week).

I was VERY impressed by the overall build quality of the car. The doors shut with Mercedes-like solidity, and everything seemed to be top notch in terms of fit and finish. The car is loaded with features.

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The engine felt very strong even within the limits we were keeping ourselves under. Nice throttle response, very quiet and smooth. It'll be very interesting to see what she'll do after breakin.



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Great Pix. Sorry but no comparison in terms of looks. It looks like a sporty family hauler vs a sports car.

 

The chassis is surprisingly stiff; downright harsh on small pavement imperfections like highway expansion joints. Driving home in my coupe later I felt it was actually a bit smoother in that regard. So Acura may have not quite nailed the BMW-like driving experience they were aiming for. I think the G coupe may have gotten it better.

Given the above, I doubt that the performance suspension/wheel/tire package available on the TL 6MT would be a good idea. My brother and I both agree that we wouldn't want the ride to be any stiffer. I didn't try any serious cornering yet, so I'll have to drive it some more before I report on that. The bro says it stays quite flat in the corners and I believe him.



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The DVD-A audio system has voice commands and displays the controls on the Nav's touch screen. This a VERY slick interface. The sound of the system was about equal to the Bose in our G's however, which as we all know is nothing to write home about. No speed sensing volume on the TL.



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The Nav screen is 8.5" diagonal! It works in a similar way to ours, but no Birdview. The voice commands work quite well. "Show nearby Mexican restaurants" produced the desired effect although the one we chose was evidently out of business. Nav can be fully utilized while driving.



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The gauges have cool blue/red lighting, but default to full brightness every time the car is started. The steering wheel has all the ususal controls (lighted) plus the button you press before speaking voice commands (visible below the left spoke on the wheel). The car is a gadget lover's dream. My brother is definitely one...

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I'll post some more comments after she's broken in and I 've had a chance to wring 'er out...

 

bmw3tog35c,

mind commenting about the interior quality comparison? Comfort, quality, etc of the interior bits and pieces.

Thanks

Twlight blue/Willow 6mt on order. Options: Sunroof.

 

Acura may not have much on exterior styling but Infiniti can definitely learn something about interior quality and styling from them.

 

Funny, all the auto mags mentioned that the new TL's DVD audio system was to die for. What is a DVD based audio system anyways? They said it's suposed to be 500x more detailed than a regular CD.

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

mind commenting about the interior quality comparison? Comfort, quality, etc of the interior bits and pieces.

<hr></blockquote>

The TL's overall interior quality is leagues ahead of the G's. It's much closer to an Audi (the benchmark for interior quality in my book).

The leather is soft and seems of quite nice quality, although no better than the G's, which I think is also excellent. There were nice padded leather armrests in the doors, much nicer than the hard plastic in the G. I did feel that the front seat cushion bottoms were too short though, lacking the thigh support that the G's seats have (which are among the best I've ever seen).

Where the TL eats the G's lunch is in the dash controls, door panels and other hard bits around the cabin. The fit, finish and detail quality of these is far superior to the G's, which is admittedly weak in that exact area. So the stereo/Nav/HVAC/wheel controls all have a very high quality look to them and all operate in a very smooth, positive manner. There's quite a lot of real aluminum trim throughout the cabin and it looks great both in terms of fit/finish and aesthetics. Don't get me wrong - I like the G's interior too, but the jewel-like quality that's absent in the G is there in full force in the TL.

One thing I did notice on the negative side was that some of the the dash panels are coated with a hard, rough textured paint (a bit like 300 grit sandpaper to the touch) that looks good but appears to be easily marred. Sort of similar in the vulnerability-factor to the "titanium" paint in the G. The pictures of the stereo and Nav display screens show such a mar, between the "Zoom" button and the CD loading slot. This mark did not respond to wiping off - it seems to be from blunt impact damage to the paint's textured surface. Owners will need to be careful about that.

The other big difference is in the near-orgy of comfort and convenience features that are standard. I thought I had it pretty cushy in the GC, but this is something else altogether. Way too many things to mention (see acura.com), but things like a key fob that remembers the seat and outside mirror positions, climate control settings and your favorite radio channel (!) for two different drivers is a start. Then there's the 5.1 channel DVD-A audio system. And Bluetooth wireless phone system that plays through the audio system's speakers, and can be voice-command dialed. And more. Much more. The amount of features on this car is almost sick. But cool. REALLY cool.

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

What is a DVD based audio system anyways? They said it's suposed to be 500x more detailed than a regular CD.

<hr></blockquote>

It plays DVD-Audio (DVD-A) discs, which are mixed in 5.1 channel surround sound. These discs can also be played on most modern home theatre entertaiment systems with 5.1 capability (Dolby Digital or DTS). It's great for movies, but IMHO it's pretty gimmicky for music. Instruments and voices are spread all around usually; like keyboards and background voices from the rear, guitars and drums in the front, vocals in the center channel, etc. Doesn't work for me.

As It happens, I'm a recording engineer by profession. I can tell you the "500 times greater resolution than a CD" is 99% marketing hype, at least within the real world of car audio systems. DVD-A does use higher sampling rates/frequencies (CD is 16bit 44.1K and DVD-A is 24bit 96K), but in an OEM car system like the TL's (or ours) the difference is meaningless. I use these high resolution rates in my work at times, and a VERY high quality monitoring system is needed to clearly perceive the difference. Even then it's subtle.

The only meaningful aspect of the TL's DVD-A audio is the multichannel capability if you like that sort of thing (and in fairness, many do). It's also worth noting that relatively few DVD-A discs are available and the record-buying public so far has been pretty much ignoring them in droves, leaving the future of the format as anything more than a tiny niche market in doubt.

Frankly, I'd really love to hear the explanation of how Acura arrived at the "500 times greater resolution" thing. I've never heard that claim anywhere else as regards DVD-A before. It's probably good for a laugh for anyone who understands the technologies involved.

 

we are no match in terms of interior design and quality to new TL... only categories we are ahead are peformance and exterior design... and TL wins everything else...