[zep]

Acura TLX Forum

A little visual comparison of Acuras new sedan the TLX vs the MKZ. I find it interesting that the MKZ is starting to attract a younger following, this was typically the domain of Acura so I do wonder how the TLX will stack up...

 

[alcatraz]

I definitely like the MKZ more than the Acura TLX. The rear end of the MKZ is miles and away from the TLX. The front ends are pretty comparable though. I also am happy that the MKZ uses less chrome than the TLX. That may be accentuated by the silver color in the pictures compared to the red on the TLX, but either way the point still stands.

 

[golfball]

they have done good with the new TL design

im not sure if its just the color but it sure looks more attractive than the old one

 

[MKZFan]

side profile and rear on the MKZ looks far better than the TLX.
acura designs have gone down hill. as the years go by it just gets worse and worse.

 

[Truthiness]

side profile and rear on the MKZ looks far better than the TLX.
acura designs have gone down hill. as the years go by it just gets worse and worse.

Do you think that this new effort to restructure Acura by giving it a few of its own departments will help out these design woes? It seems no matter what they do it is always exactly the same thing and the public lets out a sigh.

 

[zep]

Do you think that this new effort to restructure Acura by giving it a few of its own departments will help out these design woes? It seems no matter what they do it is always exactly the same thing and the public lets out a sigh.

To be honest I dont think so. Its reshuffling the deck chairs on a sinking ship while the band still plays. They can divide the company up into however many silos of beurocracy and it wont fix a thing. Acura has a product problem and they're dealing with it like a marketing problem.

I think lincoln is the opposite. Everytcar they make is built of a rock solid ford vehicle, but the problem is Lincoln has trouble showing people that there is something unque about a Lincoln...

 

[MKZFan]

Do you think that this new effort to restructure Acura by giving it a few of its own departments will help out these design woes? It seems no matter what they do it is always exactly the same thing and the public lets out a sigh.

I think it will. It will allow for less barriers for idea's to become a reality and even encourage more unique projects. It's easy for me to say that, I think we will have to wait and see what info they may announce.

 

[golfball]

the TLX is just a concept

lets just wait to see how it looks in production form before judging

 

[MKZFan]

the TLX is just a concept

lets just wait to see how it looks in production form before judging

Yup. People base the real deal too much on the concept.
Best to see the production model and go from their

 

[alcatraz]

I think it will. It will allow for less barriers for idea's to become a reality and even encourage more unique projects. It's easy for me to say that, I think we will have to wait and see what info they may announce.

But unless Acura decides to go back to the drawing board with their design language, no matter what they do it will look like an Acura. Acura needs to figure out a way to re-imagine the design language. They need a new point of departure. I'm just not sure that Acura is ready to do that. It would be a huge step, but Lincoln did it and it is working out for them.

 

[golfball]

so did lexus

lexus also revamped their design language too

acura tried to with the beak grill

got a negative reception

and now they are just trying to play it off cool but toning it down

 

[jrasero23]

I think shape wise the TLX has a more sporty compact look which I enjoy more but the styling of the TLX is borderline too sporty looking in a bad way.

Engine wise a the TLX doesn't seem really seem exciting until you get to the 3.5 V6 with 300 horse power since the 2.4 seems like the TSX. In the end I just don't trust Ford's EcoBost, a lot of problems with misfires and not getting anywhere close to stated MPG. I think this is a huge reason Honda has stayed away from turbo charged engines.

This is not to say the MKZ is a bad car, but not a car I trust out of warranty plus the MKZ has hands down one of the worse infotainment systems in the My Lincoln Touch system. The lack of physical buttons leads to poor response and makes anything out of reach. The screen system has a bad lag and icons are way too small. Overall this is the biggest complaint and what has stopped me from buying a new generation MKZ.

Comfort wise I don't know if Acura will be able to match Lincoln if the discontinued TL is any indication of how the TLX will drive since the TL was borderline rough for me. However Acura's handle great and I expect the TLX to do the same, which is an aspect of the MKZ Lincoln needs to work on.

Acura finally is coming to the table with similar safety features to combat Fords Blis system with camera and radar systems that have enabled safety features like low-speed automatic braking, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control. Acura is finally catching up on their repuation of building technological filled cars since the new TLX will have a7-inch touchscreen display that controls 3D-view navigation functions, real-time traffic and a suite of smartphone-integrated apps and services such as Siri. My biggest complaint about previous generation Acura's was the lack of tech compared to the basic Ford lineup which offered some cool and crazy tech features you are only now seeing on Acura. With this being said the new tech from Acura on paper seems to match if not exceed the MKZ.

So in the end hate to say it but I would pick the TLX. The MKZ's My Touch Lincoln is terrible and all the tech features that Acura lacked compared to Ford the TLX now has. Furthermore while the 2.4 or 3.5 are nothing sexy or crazy, I am 100% more sold on their reliability and ability to match advertised mpg compared to the MKZ.


In the end would I trade in my 2011 MKZ AWD for a new 2014 MKZ? No because of the infotainment system woes and because the EcoBoost reliability. Would I trade in my MKZ for a TLX? No, because I don't think their is anything awe inspiring about the car. I am not a fan of the new TLX styling and the performance on paper doesn't seem game changing, however the tech is finally crave worthy, but not worthy enough for me to spend thousands of dollars to upgrade to.