I shared in the ”Where Did You Go With Your Accord Today” thread that after many years of faithful service, I sold my 2012 Accord coupe (final odometer reading 228,026) and bought a 2020 Acura TLX V6 SH-AWD with the Technology Package. After about two weeks of ownership, I thought I’d offer a few thoughts on the car.
The Accord was a great car, but years of driving on crumbling northeastern US roads, through winters full of snow, sleet, road salt, and brine, were taking their toll. The engine and transmission were still strong, but a lot of other stuff was starting to deteriorate. I decided to make the switch - I found this 2020 TLX on the lot of a local dealer. It had 18,000 miles on it, and was in good condition. One test drive, and I was hooked.
The interior was in immaculate condition. Not a single scratch, rip, or tear anywhere I could see. The seats are easily the most comfortable car seats I’ve ever used. I arrive at my destinations free of soreness and aches. As is typical with a Honda product, all the controls are exactly where you would expect to find them, and there is very little time spent hunting for the right button or knob:
The TLX has Apple CarPlay integration (I’m an iPhone user) - you can tell that the car was designed before CarPlay was integrated, and it was “bolted on” later models. The controls to use it are a little janky. It works, but it’s not as intuitive as I’d like. For the controls that are original to the 2014 design (HVAC, stereo, SiriusXM, etc), everything is simple to use. The quality of the top screen is a little lackluster, but it does ok with Apple Maps (the Acura map app is, frankly, less than impressive):
The J35 engine is a beast. I actually test drove a 2021 TLX first, but the thought of going to a turbo 4 put me off. The engine produces nearly 300 horsepower, but I’m also averaging 30 mpgs over the past two weeks. The all-wheel drive system is legit. I’ll have a more in-depth review once the snow starts falling (and I throw a set of Nokians on it), but during a heavy rain last weekend, the car stuck to the road like glue:
It’s also my first car with LED headlights - they seriously turn night into day, and cast a broad enough beam that I can keep an eye out for deer along the roads (a concern where I live). Time will tell if I encounter the same issues that @stiller fan had with his 2018 Accord, but I’m hoping the lack of a concave design won’t allow them to become snow traps like his car experienced:
I really like the design of the car. The 2021 was, honestly, too big for me. The 2020 is just the right size (it’s actually narrower than my old coupe, but feels more spacious inside). I’m still adapting to the safety features like LKAS, ACC, etc, but the more I drive the car, the more they make sense:
A thousand miles, in the books after ten days of driving. 20,000 is up next… we’ll see when the big 100k rolls around. I was able to put a significant amount down in cash, so what I’m actually financing is pretty manageable (I don’t like car payments, so my goal is to have this thing paid off in the next 12-18 months, assuming no major financial pressures interfere). From there, I’ll just keep driving it. And driving it. And driving it.
Onward!
The Accord was a great car, but years of driving on crumbling northeastern US roads, through winters full of snow, sleet, road salt, and brine, were taking their toll. The engine and transmission were still strong, but a lot of other stuff was starting to deteriorate. I decided to make the switch - I found this 2020 TLX on the lot of a local dealer. It had 18,000 miles on it, and was in good condition. One test drive, and I was hooked.
The interior was in immaculate condition. Not a single scratch, rip, or tear anywhere I could see. The seats are easily the most comfortable car seats I’ve ever used. I arrive at my destinations free of soreness and aches. As is typical with a Honda product, all the controls are exactly where you would expect to find them, and there is very little time spent hunting for the right button or knob:
The TLX has Apple CarPlay integration (I’m an iPhone user) - you can tell that the car was designed before CarPlay was integrated, and it was “bolted on” later models. The controls to use it are a little janky. It works, but it’s not as intuitive as I’d like. For the controls that are original to the 2014 design (HVAC, stereo, SiriusXM, etc), everything is simple to use. The quality of the top screen is a little lackluster, but it does ok with Apple Maps (the Acura map app is, frankly, less than impressive):
The J35 engine is a beast. I actually test drove a 2021 TLX first, but the thought of going to a turbo 4 put me off. The engine produces nearly 300 horsepower, but I’m also averaging 30 mpgs over the past two weeks. The all-wheel drive system is legit. I’ll have a more in-depth review once the snow starts falling (and I throw a set of Nokians on it), but during a heavy rain last weekend, the car stuck to the road like glue:
It’s also my first car with LED headlights - they seriously turn night into day, and cast a broad enough beam that I can keep an eye out for deer along the roads (a concern where I live). Time will tell if I encounter the same issues that @stiller fan had with his 2018 Accord, but I’m hoping the lack of a concave design won’t allow them to become snow traps like his car experienced:
I really like the design of the car. The 2021 was, honestly, too big for me. The 2020 is just the right size (it’s actually narrower than my old coupe, but feels more spacious inside). I’m still adapting to the safety features like LKAS, ACC, etc, but the more I drive the car, the more they make sense:
A thousand miles, in the books after ten days of driving. 20,000 is up next… we’ll see when the big 100k rolls around. I was able to put a significant amount down in cash, so what I’m actually financing is pretty manageable (I don’t like car payments, so my goal is to have this thing paid off in the next 12-18 months, assuming no major financial pressures interfere). From there, I’ll just keep driving it. And driving it. And driving it.
Onward!
