Voltaire

So my daily, GMC suburban is about on its last leg. I have had the car since I was 16. I hate to let her go but she is starting to show signs of wear and tear I can not repair.

What are your thoughts on the new TL's. I know the styling may through some people off, but I personally like it. How is the interior? What is the power band like? Is the AWD system worth it? Drive train strong enough to run for another 20 years like my Suburban did? General thoughts?

-V

woodburn

It's a solid car. I drove one when they first came out and thought it was a pretty refined car. There are a few cars I would cross shop in that category, lexus LFS and the TL.

omg516

What?

rob-2

The SH-AWD system will be by far better then anything subaru could offer you.
Motor wise it's better build, more reliable and power powerful than anything subaru can build.
Interior quality is on the higher end in it's class.

The TL-SH-AWD is on my list to buy when I replace this Legacy I wish I never bought.

Honda/Acura had a problem with the tq converter and a rear diff on a few years for the SH-AWD platform. I would research to make sure either your year is out of that or that it's been fixed. Apparently an ECU flash fixed the problem.

Go drive it though. I've always liked the Honda powerbands. They typically pull stronger and stronger until redline. My Subi falls on it's face past 5k.

deepbluejh

He clearly didn't mean the Lexus LFA, though I did LOL when I read that.

Slithr

We've had a 2012 fwd TL for about 15 months and 20k miles. No issues at all so far. Been on one of their forums and it seems like the SH-AWD cars have more issues. The two most common drive train issues seem to be torque converter and prop shaft. On later models it seems that a reflash tends to take care of the torque converter problem. I would characterize the problems as isolated, but potentially fairly expensive, so I'd feel more comfortable if the car were under warranty while I owned it.

I wouldn't let those issues scare me off. The people that own them love the driving experience and comfort.

Anrosphynx

I have the same car. 2012 fwd TL. No issues either. Definitely bought it for the interior. With the upgraded leather and tech package it definitely is a comfy, roomy car. I cross shopped the Audi (A4/A6), the BMWs (what a crappy interior they have), Merc and Caddy. For the money, its hard to beat.

omg516

Which BMW are you referring to? Acura interiors always feel like slightly upgraded Hondas to me, cheap leather that doesn't wear well and lots of plastic. Definitely not in the same league as the Germans or even Lexus.

Value and reliability-wise though I agree, it is pretty tough to beat.

s.hasan546

lol totally agree. My only issue with Acura is that you are getting basically the same Honda interior in a slightly better package. At least Lexus interiors are very different from Toyotas.

Anrosphynx

Cross shopped 328i and 528i with the Acura. I tried to like the 3 series interior. I went a couple times and each time i came away thinking... My PONTIAC has a nicer interior than this. Just couldn't do it. The TL's interior was IMO far superior to the BMW interior.