I was shopping for a TSX so I took my family with me to the Acura dealer.
We checked out the whole lineup of cars there just for fun before sitting down with the sales guy to talk numbers on the TSX/TL (who was a d!ck).
Having been in friends' Acura's before, it was pretty much as expected. My parents and sisters were somehwat impressed. They liked the TL a lot; most notably the interior design - the materials were nice, nothing spectacular.
But the RL was unimpressive. The exterior was bleh and I don't get all the praise the interior gets. Everyone says the interior uses top-notch materials, but the cheap plastics were quite prevalent (door handle, center armrest, center console stack).
Since the salesguy was such an ass, we left and went to the Infiniti dealership and it was a totally different experience.
We sat in the G35 sedan and felt it was a step above Acura's offerings. I think a lot of it had to do with the roominess of the cars itself.
Whereas all the Acura's felt cramp in the rear, the G35 felt spacious. My parents were wowed by the reclining rear seats. The leather was softer and felt more rich than the TSX/TL.
The materials around the dash and doors were about the same quality, but the finish wasn't as nice as Acura's. The wood trim was peeling around the dash area and the design is not as modern.
The G35c was gorgeous but not in consideration because of size. Anyone taller than 5'10 will bump their heads on the rear glass.
We then stepped into the M and it was a totally different world above the Acura's and the G35. The interior of this car is absolutely amazing. Plush leather all over, roomy backseat. It made my parents completely forget about the G35 and Acura.
Suddenly the TSX felt very crappy 😛
For that reason, after leaving Infiniti, we felt that it was a tier above Acura.
We then hopped over to Lexus across the street to check out the IS250 and while I don't like the exterior, the interior is probably the best compared to the TL/TSX/G35. The dark, glossy wood trim makes the car interior look very classy. Good materials all over (except the door handles - seems to be a big offender across all makes).
The only issue with this car (aside from subjective dislikes) is backseat room. There is absolutely no leg room in the back.
And forget about sitting anyone in the middle. The driveshaft takes up all the leg space and the raised hump in the seat brushes my head against the roof (I'm 5'8").
It's really more a 4 seater than a 5 seater.
That alone caused the IS to drop off my list of possible cars.
I really wanted to sit inside a GS but there were none on the showroom floor so we left and went to another Acura dealership where I proceeded to buy an '06 TSX, my first new car 😀
We checked out the whole lineup of cars there just for fun before sitting down with the sales guy to talk numbers on the TSX/TL (who was a d!ck).
Having been in friends' Acura's before, it was pretty much as expected. My parents and sisters were somehwat impressed. They liked the TL a lot; most notably the interior design - the materials were nice, nothing spectacular.
But the RL was unimpressive. The exterior was bleh and I don't get all the praise the interior gets. Everyone says the interior uses top-notch materials, but the cheap plastics were quite prevalent (door handle, center armrest, center console stack).
Since the salesguy was such an ass, we left and went to the Infiniti dealership and it was a totally different experience.
We sat in the G35 sedan and felt it was a step above Acura's offerings. I think a lot of it had to do with the roominess of the cars itself.
Whereas all the Acura's felt cramp in the rear, the G35 felt spacious. My parents were wowed by the reclining rear seats. The leather was softer and felt more rich than the TSX/TL.
The materials around the dash and doors were about the same quality, but the finish wasn't as nice as Acura's. The wood trim was peeling around the dash area and the design is not as modern.
The G35c was gorgeous but not in consideration because of size. Anyone taller than 5'10 will bump their heads on the rear glass.
We then stepped into the M and it was a totally different world above the Acura's and the G35. The interior of this car is absolutely amazing. Plush leather all over, roomy backseat. It made my parents completely forget about the G35 and Acura.
Suddenly the TSX felt very crappy 😛
For that reason, after leaving Infiniti, we felt that it was a tier above Acura.
We then hopped over to Lexus across the street to check out the IS250 and while I don't like the exterior, the interior is probably the best compared to the TL/TSX/G35. The dark, glossy wood trim makes the car interior look very classy. Good materials all over (except the door handles - seems to be a big offender across all makes).
The only issue with this car (aside from subjective dislikes) is backseat room. There is absolutely no leg room in the back.
And forget about sitting anyone in the middle. The driveshaft takes up all the leg space and the raised hump in the seat brushes my head against the roof (I'm 5'8").
It's really more a 4 seater than a 5 seater.
That alone caused the IS to drop off my list of possible cars.
I really wanted to sit inside a GS but there were none on the showroom floor so we left and went to another Acura dealership where I proceeded to buy an '06 TSX, my first new car 😀
