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Everyone can always agree that the smell of the interior of a brand-spanking-new car fresh off the lot is one of this world's best aromas one can inhale, right up there next to lavender candles, cucumber-scented lotions, and the inside of a bakery. So it is without further ado that I introduce you to the car of which I will be privileged with putting the first 30,000 miles on the clock - my new 2016 Acura TLX. And I will be returning here to update you on my ownership experience over the next 3 years as I face the trials and tribulations of being a new car owner.
In all honesty, I should also take this opportunity to say that this article is slightly delayed as I actually drove it off the lot on June 18th. But hey, I've had the chance to put some miles on it and understand the technology (of which there is a lot) so at least I'll be able to provide my first update as well! (2 birds, 1 stone - yeah I'm efficient like that) So, allow me to give you the quick facts:
- Year: 2016
- Mileage (on June 18, the day I bought it) - 10
- Current Mileage: 2,600
- Engine: 2.4 liter 4 cylinder
- Trim: Tech Package w/ 4-wheel steering
- Gas: Unleaded
- Exterior Color: Gray
- Interior Color - Black
Those of you who know me personally have also most likely been a passenger and / or driver in my previous car, my 2010 Nissan Maxima. And though it was a bittersweet moment, I said goodbye to her after 130,000 miles on the odo and countless maintenance issues forced me to make the choice to upgrade to something that I wouldn't have to write-off in order to get it back to appropriate running order.
Now, don't get thrown off by my "countless maintenance issues" remark - because despite a replacement front wheel ball bearing at about 95k, and sustaining rear end damage after being hit by an out of control Focus this past February, my Maxima was damn reliable. That car got me through three years of college, countless road trips to and from Chicago and beyond, and my first post graduate internship in the friendly and inviting, completely flawless roads of Chicago (sarcasm). It's been on plenty of road trips, 2 accidents, and overall, she proved to be a worthy companion ever since I bought her with 75,000 miles on the clock back in the Fall of 2012. But as time went on, the mileage started to age the car's innards faster than what my family and I deemed to be worth paying for - a fact that proved true after an assessment that basically said we'd have to spend what it was worth to fix it, which ultimately led to the decision to buy a new car.
Speaking of that, many of you will also want to call me out on something - last year I ranted about how we should all drive the car we love, and that despite the mechanical headaches that I went through with my first car, the RX-8, my love for sports cars was such that I would not let it deter me. And here we are almost a year and a half later - and I just drove off the lot with - a 2.4 Liter Acura...I know what you're about to say. Mike, what the HELL happened? An Acura? What? Well, once you've gotten past the insatiable, I-can't-blame-you-for-scolding-me -- scolding...maybe you'll let me explain.
First off, let me start by saying that I've had some time to really grow up since that article's publishing. During that time, I learned that real life will already be filling me with plenty of headaches (bills, job stress, student loans, that sort of stuff) to even consider adding the massive headache that is owning a sports car to that list. This also made me understand that while the idea of daily-driving an AMG Mercedes or an S-line Audi really appealed to me, the mahoosive maintenance bills and relatively poor fuel economy didn't.
Combining those aspects with knowing that near-exotic sports cars like that aren't really meant to be daily drivers so much as they're intended to be more of a weekend indulgence also made me understand that I really should lean more toward sensibility rather than indulgence. I could liken this decision making process to grocery shopping - yes, that chocolate cake looks amazing and it'll definitely satisfy me for the moment - but by God if I eat it I will feel good for only that moment - only to eventually be reduced to tears caused by all the internal guilt, bloating and sugar-induced stomach aches, and possibly shorten my life expectancy by a couple decades.
With all of this real-life stuff starting to hit me in the face harder than Wile - e Cyote gets slammed by anvils, a sports car was starting to sound like a less appealing option. I can already see you shaking your head in disappointment. But - hear me out, because being economical doesn't necessarily mean I was giving up on the fun of driving.
So, with all of that in mind, combined with a bit of research, I hit the lots in search of my next 'Karen', and luckily, it didn't take me long to find her.
Before I got the brand-new TLX I'm driving now, I had originally planned to look into a used one that I found online for a staggeringly low price. It was not only the color I wanted, but it also featured ceramic window tinting and a nice set of Rims. It was a nice car, and had an even nicer price to boot. Perhaps, too nice. So I asked a few more questions.
Then the news came.
I went inside to get a salesperson to have a closer look at said TLX, and once we got outside, he broke the news to me without sparing any time - it was a rebuild. At first, I felt my heart sink into my stomach. "Oh no, why didn't I see that coming?! Why was this news so unpredictable and unexpected?!" (sarcasm, again)
When I saw this car originally online, the posted price was for $20,000. Keep in mind, we're talking about a 2015 Acura TLX with navigation and less than 15,000 miles on the odometer. Of course, one of my first thoughts was that there was no way a car this clean was this cheap; because when I looked up the price of similar models from the same year, they were retailing for about 1 and a half times as much! There had to be a hook of some sort, so you can imagine the shocked look on my face when the salesman told me that it was a rebuilt title. In fact it was actually written off completely in a rear-end crash in Texas before being re-built and sent to the lot in Morton Grove that I found it at. Sad day, indeed when your worst fear is realized, and its one of those fears that you don't want to be true, but you know full well that there's at least a 96% possibility that it is.
With that said, we decided to forego that particular model (it's still online, apparently, I just checked)
and with my minimal interest in cars bearing the actual Honda name plate, we hopped on over to the Acura dealership just down the street, where I learned once again, that it's not so much about what you know, as much as it's about who.
We pulled up to the space that had a sign saying "future Acura owner" - because of course it did say that - and when we got out, we were greeted almost immediately by one of the salesmen, whom I learned was called Richard. A short time after, I learned that Richard was actually quite familiar with my family when my mother introduced herself as the sister of his neighbor. Immediately, the familiarity clicked and thus began a much easier buying experience than I had anticipated it being.
On that note - a quick car - buying tip: if you know someone in the auto sales field personally, chances are, they've at least given you a business card at some point. Keep it with you, because thanks to our previously established acquaintanceship, this helped massively in the deal we got on the TLX I drove home in.
Anyway, Richard was a class-act kind of guy. Knowledgeable, friendly, and easy-going - the trifecta of a good car salesman, Rich explained to me the typical car buying habits of young people such as myself and helped me get on the right path to what would be the TLX. But leading up to that, we had a look around the lot. First - we established that leasing would probably be a better option for me than buying since a) I had put a little more than 30,000 miles on each of the previous two cars I'd owned, and b) I'd owned these two previous cars for three years each and c) I could get a much nicer car for a deal that fit my budget.
So, with the parameters established, we began our search with the ILX. A handsome Civic in James Bond garb, the ILX was nice on the outside and inside. I liked the refreshed looks for 2016, especially since I was not a fan of the previous generation ILX. But, as most of you may know, I'm a big guy, which meant that getting into the driver's seat of an ILX was a like watching bread get crushed at the bottom of the grocery bag. A cramped fit deemed the ILX unsuitable for my tastes, and as such, we moved on to the bigger and much less cramped TLX - and, despite a lot of disinterest within the car enthusiast community, I quite liked what I was looking at.
I liked it's presentation. The lights and front grille were a complete departure from the previous beak grill design which many hated, and though the styling could be considered somewhat conservative by enthusiast standards, it presented itself in an aggressive fashion. I liked its proportions and there wasn't anything that was there solely for looks sake. Everything was functional. Inside, I found extremely comfortable leather seats, an interior with space comparable to that of a blue Montana sky, accented with a tasteful, but again, conservative appearance, featuring fake wood-grain and high-quality plastics and leather on the dash.
The center console featured a dual screen setup - one for the navigation and the other, just below the nav screen for operation. Sound was delivered by an ELS system, which had quality that was on par with the Bose system that I had in the Maxima, as well as the ability to set it to my preferences with control of 8 different settings.
While driving, a nice heads-up display in the gauge cluster allowed me to navigate turn-by-turn directions without having to divert my eyes to the nav screen, which allowed me to keep my eyes on the road more of the time. Lane-keeping assist would keep the car centered in the lane on the highway, and could even steer itself on gentle sweeping curves (though if you do leave your hands off the steering wheel for too long, it will yell at you to re-take control of the steering). Blind-spot monitoring made lane-changing a breeze and forward collision warning kept me alert to cars in front.
The ride was supremely comfortable, and I had the option of 4 different driving modes to suit my driving mood. Even in the economy setting, the TLX's 205 horsepower I4 engine never struggled to keep pace with the pack, quickly accelerating to speed when merging onto highways, with the 8-speed ZF transmission working to deliver both maximum performance and efficiency.
I'll add, that while I did approach the Acura brand with a bit of speculation, I was thoroughly impressed with the TLX following my test drive. A laundry list of tech and features, combined with performance and safety, as well as cheap maintenance, amazing fuel economy (36mpg!) and loads of practicality made it pretty much a done-deal. But - after a couple thousand miles, I do have a bit of griping to do on this overall wonderful car of mine.
The Navigation System Isn't That Intuitive
Unfortunately, though it is helpful and overall well-sorted, the navigation system just isn't that user-friendly. Setting a destination requires a lot of transitioning between buttons and the actual touch screen, and the voice - recognition leaves something to be desired in terms of intuitiveness. Also, I've used it only a few times for actual destination cruising, and at least three times, it did not recognize the names of the addresses I attempted to enter into the system, despite all of them being well-established locations.
My Rear-Right Tire Seems To Be a bit Leaky
Now, before I get into this part - I have a co-worker who has the same model TLX as mine, and the same rims. He told me that he'd had this same issue with his. When I asked what he thought the problem was, he put it all down to the actual material that the rims were built with - aluminum. As a guy that used to build cars, he pointed out to me that Aluminum tends to be porous, which means that they were more prone to air leakage, and that I should expect this to be more common in the winter months. Oh, joy.
Speaking of Winter - I'm a Little Worried About How the Cold Will Affect My Transmission
While doing my research, it was of the common opinion that many who'd owned the TLX were more favoring of the 8-speed transmission 2.4 liter because it worked much better than that of the 9-speed tranny in the V-6 models. Many of those complaints of the 9-speed centered around a clunky 2nd gear, of which a recall was issued back in 2015 for a fix. In general though, everyone with both the 8 and 9 speed transmissions shared the common complaint of somewhat clunky winter performance. Even my co-worker who has the 8-speed said the same thing. But these are all older versions of the TLX (2015 models) - maybe they've addressed the cold-weather performance issues with the 8-speed? All I can do at this point is wait it out and see how it does come January - a time where temperatures can drop to as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit - which should certainly serve as a true test of performance.
Overall, I am loving the TLX, and I can't really draw much in the way of the types of complaints that would motivate me enough to go back to the dealership and/or burn the lease contract. So, for now, you can check back with me here for updates on my Acura ownership experience. Until then, happy motoring!
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