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We'll start by addressing the "Interior Follies" section of the headline. Now, let's start off by saying some nice things about the TLX. It's comfortable, easy to drive, and in sport mode, a fun little kick to your coffee when you really can't stand the commute and want a pick-me-up to remind yourself you'll be home soon. However, I have noticed that in a couple areas, the TLX is starting to suffer a bit in terms of the quality of materials they used for this model year - starting with the driver's side door:
That, ladies and gentleman, is a divot caused, apparently, by my arm. You see, when I drive, the arm rest is too low to rest my elbow on comfortably, so, I usually opt for the door sill instead, since it's better for taller guys like myself. But apparently, the TLX doesn't like this, and has managed to form this small divot in the leather finish. If the car had over 100k on it, I might not be so upset - however, this aesthetic quality issue arises just shy of 23k miles into the car's life, which worries me that the materials in the car might not stand the test of time if it succumbs to simple things like resting my elbow on the door sill. This wasn't as worrying to me, however, as what I noticed on the steering wheel one morning recently.
This developing blemish on my steering wheel scares me for two reasons: 1) it's gotten this bad so early on in the car's life and 2) how bad it might be when the car hits the 100k mile mark. Obviously, this car is my daily driver, but this is a concern in that with the car being as young as it is, it makes me wonder what else in the TLX interior is of this kind of, well, put frankly, poor material quality. No buttons have started fading, the wood grain is flawless and I make sure to avoid touching the gear selector at all costs out of fear that the same leather fading will develop in relatively little time.
Moving out to the exterior, I am happy that I don't have to butter you up with good sounding things before dropping quality bombs, because things are holding up nicely after 2 Chicago winters. The paint is still glossy and rich, the door trims are good and the headlights are still crystal clear. After a good wash and detail come the first warm day of the year, it'll look showroom new.
With the engine, the TLX continues to be sporadically plagued by lurchy transmission issues - something that has been noted to have a look at during the next service. But all of this brings me to my next point -
What's Next? Over the past 2 years, the TLX has proven to be a reliable and dependable car, and I never have had any uncertainties when it came time to drive. However, despite these things, and along with the quality issues I mentioned, I'm still on the fence about whether or not I want to keep this car once the lease is over, and that's because I'm in a place now where I will have the ability to afford one of my dream cars come next June; and the choices are between two iconic vehicles that I have idolized since childhood: The L320 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, and the Mercedes W211 E63 AMG E Class.
In short - these are my two dream cars, each for very different reasons. The Range Rover Sport takes me back to my child hood with all the road trips we took in my parents 99 Range Rover HSE model, whereas the E63's beefy V8 motor and iconic pedigree as being the fastest production sedan in the world back in the early - mid 2000s, had been sort of a poster child for me growing up.
Oh, the Range Rover. I can remember going to Wisconsin to visit my dad when he was stationed at Fort McCoy back in his military days; going off roading in the hills and just enjoying the tranquility of nature with my family as the Range Rover made seamless work out of the mud, rocks and grass of the Wisconsin terrain. I even remember my first driving experience in it, when my Dad taught me the ins and outs of proper off-roading before he'd put my 13 year old butt in the driver's seat, drop the gear box into 4 wheel low and tell me to 'Drive up that embankment!" I remember the feeling of accomplishment I had as I trundled it up a 30 degree incline full of mud and grass - the Range Rover barely shrugging its shoulders while I broke a nervous sweat as I piloted this high end SUV over every bump and dip. This was the moment I fell in love with the Range Rover, and it was the moment I promised myself I'd buy one when I had the money. It was great, and to be able to be within reach of owning one is nothing short of a small life goal of mine coming to life - BUT there is one critical thing about Land Rover ownership that is keeping me at bay -
The reliability - OH the reliability!
I can remember the short time span in which a number of things went wrong. From power steering pumps, to oil leaks, exhaust and emissions issues, to the power seats sporadically going out of order, the Land Rover Range Rover was not without its British Engineering roots - and this being a 90s Range Rover, that meant that every part was almost twice as expensive, and took twice as long to do, thanks to the fact that every nut and bolt, down to the screws that held the license plate in place, had to be special - ordered from her majesties kingdom. It was this almost - constant stream of issues that lead my parents to sell their Range Rover in 2006 for a much more reliable (and still in the family) 2003 Nissan Xterra, of which I am currently in the early planning stages of turning it into an overland adventure truck (more on that later).
As much as I want to pull the trigger and get a Range Rover in my life, I simply can't be enticed to just do it, and a lot of that hesitance comes from my memories of how unreliable our Range Rover was. And when I say unreliable, I don't mean trivial things, but rather the kind of things that very quickly turned my parent's love affair with the Range Rover into a money pit. Now, don't get me wrong, the L320 Range Rover sport is leaps and bounds from the old Range Rovers of the 90s, but don't be fooled - this generation of Range Rover came with its own demons that don't make it a much more appealing option. So, with that said, we turn our attention to the much more bullet-proof and German-Engineered Mercedes Benz W211 E63 AMG.
When it came out as the E55, the W211 AMG E Class was, for a time, the FASTEST production sedan in the world; that's right. IN THE WORLD. With 430+ HP and 500lb-ft of tourque, the AMG E Class stomped just about any and all competition, and managed to look damn good doing it thanks to the long and low profile, the nice lip spoiler, those huge AMG shoes, and the amazing panoramic sunroof. Now, for the longest time, the same fears of reliability that I had with the Range Rover kept me from pulling the trigger on getting one - in fact, it was in the line up when I decided on the TLX. However, after researching, forum reading and a bunch of digging through the maintenance histories of the ones I was able to find online, I've discovered that my perception of the W211 AMG E has been completely unjustified and out of line in terms of the important stuff - the engine and transmission. Hell, even my fears of electronic gremlins were over-exaggerated as they are ranked among the most bullet proof cars on the road - and with prices falling well within my price range for a clean low-mileage example, I've decided to give it some serious consideration, but, this being an AMG, the drawbacks don't come in the form of reliability - but rather through the regular maintenance of this car.
When you buy a sport sedan that is ALSO reliable, it's important to understand that that type of mix comes at a price - in the long run, at least. For one, Oil changes won't be cheap - I expect to spend anywhere from $60-$80 each time I bring it to my shop. Also, these cars are known to need new motor mounts after about 100k, most likely thanks to the insane power and torque figures this motor puts out. The other big thing is the air suspension. In Mercedes', these units are actually fairly easy to fix on your own with a lift and otherwise pretty reliable, but they can be a little pricey, which means that I'll have to do some digging to find good deals on them when the time comes to replace, and because I love the comfort and versatility that air-ride suspensions offer, and because the original system adds value to the car, I don't think I'll opt for the coil spring conversion, though that is as-of-yet undecided.
Of course, with that decision being more than a year off, I can't definitively say what direction I really want to go. And don't worry, unlike my unsubstantiated rant back in 2015, If I decide to opt out of the TLX, I will pursue one of these two as my next daily driver and not opt for some other vanilla econo-box - because those don't normally make for good writing.
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