I found the front collision alert way too sensitive, and the pedestrian cross road alert completely unreliable. Honda's electronics are not really all that hot. The dash is Tokyo by night, the infotainment semi-useless until you invest hours into learning it.
The I4 engine and transmission feel like Mighty Mouse, at least when the gas pedal doesn't go to sleep as happened on my test drive, and has happened to some owners as documented on acurazine. The 8 speed kept the engine in its sweet spot of about 950 rpm as I drove slowly up a steep incline, buck, judder. Very upscale.
The V6 I drove next had a cyclic vibration at 110 kph, just as others have found as well. The AWD model I drove seemed fine, a bit heavy and ponderous, hardly sporting, but the 9 speed was very slow to shift gears when I attempted to use the paddles . Flooring it at highway speed elicited a full two-second delay before anything happened. Slow-witted. The pushbuttons washed out on a sunny day- couldn't see the P or R button in the glare. I guess a shift lever is just too passe and ordinary.
Then you have standard deep orange peel paint, and all 7 samples I looked at had misfitting driver's doors.
This car is proving quite popular, I assume being purchased without due diligence just trusting Honda to get it right.
If I found these problems on three test drives, I just cannot imagine what the average non-enthusiast prospective owner must be thinking. Perhaps they're not. The very nice salesperson advised me that cars were changing, implying my dislike of the transmission was my fault. Skilfully done and totally irrelevant because who's spending the money?
TLX. Half-baked, not as well asembled as the Accord, although nicer overall, as it is at least quiet and rides far better. The V6 is like a Buick of 15 years ago, a bit of a cruiser for those with their minds out of gear. About as sporting as any GM van with the Sport badge glued on next to the door handle. Even this review mentions agile and nimble, which I presume is due to self-hypnosis.
It'll continue to sell very well to the non-critical, I'm sure.
