I really love this car. It is powerful and a smooth drive. The car has plenty of back seat leg room and a huge trunk.

I have yet to find a real weakness.

Before I purchased my TL, I tested and reviewed the BMW 3-Series, Audi A4, and VW Passat. All were nice cars, but not worth the significant price increase.

I purchased my TL used (approx 36K miles) for about $20K and have been very pleased with my decision. None of the other cars I tested added much value for the additional money.

The car is powerful and smooth, which make for a fun driving experience.

Plus, I have been very pleased with the great service I have received from the Acura dealership where I purchased the car.

I highly recommend this car.

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I have driven a Nissan Altima, Toyota 4Runner and (old, '82) VW Jetta - nose of these cars compare.

The strengths on this car go on and on! The fact that the TL comes with standard items that you would normally find on much more expensive cars. The strength of the engine. Even though the body may not be exactly Honda/Acura quality but the engine sure is. The great sounding stereo which by the way never gives me reception problems. The HID headlights that came standard with the car. This is just a great car with lots of standard features for the price. I love the standard leather seats.

The only weakness I found on this car is the rattle that the sunroof makes when the visor is open which the dealer said they could fix it, and the fact that there are no Foglights available in America. The leather seats are totally leather but the reason they did this was because all leather seats usually tear and crack with use and these have "premium vinyl" which keep them from cracking.

I paid $31,690 with all of my accessories which are Foglights from the Inspire (TL in Japan), the Inspire wood/leather steering wheel, Inspire tail lights (bottom half red and top half clear, blinker and reverse lamp are clear), mudflaps, spoiler, burlwood shift knob, replacement of the fake wood to real burlwood, six disc alpine CD changer, and side fender markers (blinkers that go on the fender) from the Inspire. Yes, I would definitely recommend this car to anyone in the market for a sporty car with just the touch of luxury.

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I tested the Lexus GS 300 and found that it was just to expensive for the package you receive. The only reason I liked the GS was because of the round headlights.

Excellent engine, smooth Sport Shift, comfortable ride.
BOSE stereo produces excellent sound. Bass from the woofer is deep and precise.

-Rearseats doesn't fold down, which is the biggest negative. I always have problem hauling big stuff in the trunk.
-Windnoise on driver side

This is my first NEW car, picked up for $30K + change with black exterior/parch interior, rear-spoiler, gold emblem, burlwood knob and mats.
Ride is awesone, engine very quite and smooth and SportShift is charm.
I do agree with John D. with a slight rattle in the dash but I can't pin point it. John, if you do please forward me an email.
Also, seatbelt light on the dash keep coming on. Which I plan to get it fixed on my 3700 mi. servicing.

I like the smooth handling, very quiet i should say.Interior design is
acceptional, wood looks fake but ill give honda credit,they tried.Leather
is nice.exterior looks dead sexy.

I dont like how the interior is a little cheap.trunk is a small, i tried
to put my luggage in but i didnt succeed.

I would recommend it to people who like the toyota celica,jetta,prelude.

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I also have a Lexus Is 300,the tl is no match for it.my 2 bentlys and
rolls royce in NY were more fine.my advice to acura is to make
a model to compete with mercedes,lincoln exc.

Smooth acceleration with plenty of power, amount of options for the price, storage space, handling, sport shift. Power on demand at higher speeds. Traction Control system. ABS.

Wind noise is a little higher than expected, especially driver's side, no seat memory, the "cd holder" in dash could be better or used for something else.A "very very slight" (almost imperceptible)rattle in dash that I have not had looked into yet. Front cup holder not quite up to speed (ok with one drink, but for two)

Still love the car, about 5000 miles at this point.

Have had a recall already to replace possible fault with seatbelt sensors, which affects dash sensor lights.

Dealer/Service personnel have been exceptional to work with.

All in all, feel I have received great value with this choice. 27,500 + tax included mud guards,tire well molding, burlwood shift knob and mats. Have been in an arm cast entire time of ownership and can't wait to drive it with two hands!

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Drove Lincoln LS, Infiniti I30, Lexus, and TL had the most for the least. LS is first year model which knocked it out of the running, I30 did not
have desired rear suspension, and couldn't justify Lexus cost.

Interior ergonomics are perfect. Radio reprograms when traveling and then returns to the home setting, console has two power ports and lots of storage, cup holder also cradle larger cell phones and have a hidden power port, console arm rest moves back and forth, etc...
Price makes this car a steal. It could easily command another $3- to $5 grand.
This car is the perfect size--inside and out.

I got one of the first models and I've had a dozen little things go wrong. Understandable, maybe with other makes, but not for Honda/Acura. I'm disappointed, but the dealer gave excellent service.
No memory seats and driver's seat comfort is only so-so.
Styling is nice, but doesn't make a statement like other luxury makes.
I'm just sorry the '99 didn't have side airbags and the 5-speed automatic transmission. Both were needed.
Tires--great ride comfort, but not very sporting
"Wood" looks very fake--pretty, but fake.

After more than 20 months and 35,000 miles, I would still buy it. Newer cars like Lincoln LS, I30, etc. are nice, but Acura is better overall and a bargain to boot. Here's hoping they make a 2001 3.2TL Type-S. If it's like the Type-S CL, it would be just perfect because this car would answer most every improvement suggestion above.

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I compared this with the Chrysler 300M, I30, ES30, Volvo S80. For the price, there was no comparison.

Powerful Engine, excellent transmission, great stereo, comfy seats, clean engine compartment, big trunk, standard bells and whistles.

The fit and finish is not what I would expect from a $30k car. The wood grain has a cheap look, and the fake leather is extremely obvious.

Numerous rattles, seemingly more every day.

I bought this car for the performance, and do feel it is a better value on paper. (e.g. more power, 5 speeds, 1/4 mile, 0-60, etc.)

I bought the car for $28,500 and that included the spoiler and mudguards. The nav is not worth the cash. It's about 95% there in terms of technology.

I've taken this car back to the dealer 4 times for various noises, and they have yet to be fixed. Windshield not sealed fully and causes a slight rattle, moonroof squeaks, dash vibrates, etc. The noises appear to be temperature sensitive.

Take a closer look at the I30t... you can deal on the car and get it for the same, if not less, than the TL. There is also a factory sponsored loaner for any service.

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Last car was a 94 Legend Coupe. It did not rattle and it had 120K miles Test drove ES300; too much money, not enough car. I30; great car but was afraid of the depriciation.

Strong refined engine, smooth shifting transmission, refined way that the car does everything, killer cd player, flawless interior and exterior fit and finish, high intensity discharge headlights.

No fog lamps, doesn't have memory seats.

Love my TL and would highly recommend it. A quality car and hard to beat at it's price. The standard Xenon headlights are great when driving on the interstate at night, they make driving at night a pleasure. The TL is fun to drive because of it's powerful acceleration, smooth handling and strong brakes. A great value, it comes fully loaded. The only options are a navigation system and a CD changer.

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I tested the Nissan Maxima, Lexus ES 300, Audi A4. The TL is a much better value than the ES 300, and it's also a lot faster than the 300. I loved the A4, but it was to small and too expensive.

Almost every conceivable luxury feature thought of in advance - heated seats, Xenon headlights, side mirror defroster, too many to list. Some of the most supple leather this side of Aston Martin. Superbly well engineered.

NAV system occasionally quirky. Usually spot-on, but seems to get "confused" occasionally.

We got a great deal through carOrder.com just before they stopped taking orders for the TL (due to demand). Our price was $30,333 total, including NAV (well below sticker) I've heard that due to demand, this is now impossible to do, so I guess I lucked out, but even at sticker, it is a far better value than anything else in it's class. In fact, when you combine the price with the amenities, there IS nothing else in its class. If you need four doors, plenty of room, neraly every imaginable luxury feature, and arent' interested in wasting money, this is for you!

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Test drove the Audi A4 - to get the same combination of features in the A$ that come standard in the TL would cost $3500-5000 more. A4 has "sportier" feel, slightly better handling, but has almost no backseat and comparably priced model has few amenities in comparison.

Considering everything that is standard on the car, the price is right.

1. No pop-up wind deflector on moon roof (I don't like the looks of the "permanent" deflectors).
2. No memory seats
3. poor radio reception (what's wrong with a retractable antenna??)
4. marginal stereo sound quality
5. No trip computer (used extensively on my last vehicle).
6. Bland styling - tough to differentiate between Accord and TL.

I like the car, but am not estatic about it. The bland styling has not grown on me yet. It handles fine but I am not sure that it will provide me with the desire to keep it any longer than 3 years.

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Lincoln LS, Cad caterra, Lexus ES300, Chrysler 300M

I liked the price and am hoping that the Acura reputation will make this a reliable automobile.

The Lincoln LS - though larger made me feel "closed in".
The cadillac Caterra - is a GM product and my Dad has had lots of problems with his 2000 model w/ only 5k miles.

I LOVED the ES300 but couldn't justify the cost.

I liked the 300M but worried about Chrysler quality (I had LOTS of problems w/ another Chrysler product and couldn't stand the thought of working with the local Chrysler dealer again!)