2nd gen Interior vs 1st gen interior

meuge · 03-24-2009, 11:10 AM

So I was looking at the 2009 TSX's (and TL's, really) and I can't figure out what they're going for. I thought Acura was trying to establish itself as a rather upscale kind of car. Now the brown leather/black metal looks HOT in a sports car... but doesn't it seem out of place here? Why no wood veneer/light interior option? Lexus has it... Infinity has it... doesn't Acura want to play with the other boys?

I mean I look at the interior of my 06 TSX versus the 09 TSX, and I can't imagine choosing the 09. The 06 just looks so much more refined.

... and don't get me started on the grille. I know it's distinctive and you can't mistake an 09 Acura for anything else, but having a square foot of solid polished aluminum at the front of the car just isn't sexy.

2K6TSX · 03-24-2009, 11:25 AM

I actually thought the 09 TSX looks more upscale on the inside, the seats are bigger, there are many more buttons all over the dash, and the lcd screens seem to be high resolution or something. I'd still take a 1G over 2G though, regardless of the grill or interior. The only 2G I've seen and liked is a black one at the dealership with full aero package, that looks pretttyy nice.

scratchieepants · 03-24-2009, 11:26 AM

Yeah, at the very least, the 09 interior has to be considered by most to be several steps above the 1G's.

MMsTSX · 03-24-2009, 12:26 PM

^ well then I'm certainly in the minority.

i2ide · 03-24-2009, 12:40 PM

i think the second gen is a little better, but not by much. but speaking of interiors all of the interiors on the new audis are AWESOME... the tt, s5, and r8 all have sick interiors. i'm in love.

BLEXV6 · 03-24-2009, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meuge

So I was looking at the 2009 TSX's (and TL's, really) and I can't figure out what they're going for. I thought Acura was trying to establish itself as a rather upscale kind of car. Now the brown leather/black metal looks HOT in a sports car... but doesn't it seem out of place here? Why no wood veneer/light interior option? Lexus has it... Infinity has it... doesn't Acura want to play with the other boys?

I mean I look at the interior of my 06 TSX versus the 09 TSX, and I can't imagine choosing the 09. The 06 just looks so much more refined.

... and don't get me started on the grille. I know it's distinctive and you can't mistake an 09 Acura for anything else, but having a square foot of solid polished aluminum at the front of the car just isn't sexy.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the first gen TSX quite a bit. I only drove it once as a loaner. That said, the 2nd gen interior IMHO, is a vast improvement over the 1st gen, hands down. Everybody initially complains about all the buttons, however it does not take long to figure them out and at that point they are very intuitive. I love my black interior. I also love the interior of the TL.

XxHaimBondxX · 03-24-2009, 05:41 PM

I like my 2nd gen black interior. It looks amazing on white. I think wood went out of style long time ago. Probably from the time they started selling wood kits on e-bay. Looks like other manufacturers not up to date yet. The grill doesn't stand out too much since I have a white exterior, and that makes it look awesome. It also looks good on silver. 1st gen interior looks too low end, like a Civic or a Corolla. Fine, maybe Accord.

AcidLotus · 03-24-2009, 07:50 PM

The 2nd gen interior blows chunks compared to the 1st gen interior. The plastics look and feel cheaper, there are too many creases in the dash instead of being smooth flowing, and you have to reach around the friggin joystick on the navi models to reach some of the other buttons. The buttons aren't even as intuitive as the 1st gen regarding radio control. And who wants a huge CANCEL button anyway instead of a small one that falls seamlessly below the slightest touch of your finger in the 1st gen. The 1st gen interior flows so much more smoothly up and down (waterfall) and side to side, and everything is proportionally spot on perfect. 1st gen touch screen navigation is worlds easier to use, find menus, input characters, etc, and having the temp/time/song name in view of your eyes near the top of the dash in the 1st gens is a lot easier than having to look down on the 2nd gens. Let's not forget temperature switches rather than a simple toggle button, no top tray to the center console, a craptastic implementation of not an ashtray and the 12 volt outlet. 2nd gen owners really got the short end of the stick when it came to the interior... a serious downgrade - like going Fast and the Furious to 2 Fast too Furious.

griffojm · 03-24-2009, 08:03 PM

The only thing I liked about the 2009 interior was the optional 5.1 ELS sound system. The rest seems like a step in the wrong direction to me (kinda like the exterior styling).

2K6TSX · 03-25-2009, 12:08 AM

I think I just like the usb slot..that's the only thin I wish my 1G had that the 2G has..

ex-rotary owner · 03-25-2009, 12:37 AM

why compare? its the same result everytime...... first gen owners say their interior is nicer, and second gen owners say their interior is nicer. dont you people get tired with this debate that goes nowhere

TSX_WS · 03-25-2009, 03:06 AM

I like it that 09 TSX has USB port, aux port and 5.1 sound system. Otherwise I prefer 1st gen interior. It is A LOT more "flowy", exquisite yet simple, just right. Exactly the right amount of buttons and features located where u would expect to find them. 2nd gen is just... I dono, kinda like an overkill. Too many buttons, too many lines, joystick for navi? Same can be said about the exterior. 1st gen was stylish and yet simple. With 2nd gen, they just tried to improve it with more detail and they landed where they started but screwed up the grill. I also like the gauges on 1st gen.

TSX69 · 03-25-2009, 09:18 AM

I think that both interiors in general look great as Honda/Acura always excels in this area. However, I feel that the 2nd generation materials seem a bit cheaper than the 1st (still of a high quality tho compared to Hondas) but not as cheap as the RDX. The door handles are still my biggest complaint, those plastic things look like they will eventually break.

I like the speedometer of the 1st generation better bc the 0 is @ the 6 o'clock but overall the 2nd generation does look more modern/techy.

The buttons do not bother me as long as they serve a purpose. Cars w/ few buttons, like a Fit, just seems to me like they must be missing some options. Also, I rather just hit 1 button the dash than have to hit 5 buttons thru the a navi menu.

Never been a fan of wood in a car so I do not miss that option @ all but I will admit that it might have been nice to w/ the tan interior like the 1st generation.

devore · 03-25-2009, 11:39 AM

I own an 06 but have driven an 09 lots of times as a loaner from the dealer.

I think in terms of class, they feel about the same. The 09 feels more "tech", and everything is a little more stylized - just like the exterior of the car. It's subjective though, whether you prefer a more understated look or a stylized look.

In terms of usability, I prefer my 06 interior. I'm not sure why they ditched the touch screen, because to me it's a far better way to offer access to lots of different functionality than to have tons and tons of buttons. A touchscreen can become whatever it needs to be depending on the situation so you can have less button clutter overall. And, it's much more intuitive to actually touch the screen than to use a controller to manipulate what you see on it. I'm a little worried they dropped the touch screen because eventually they wear out...

Two other minor (but IMO important) complaints about the 09 interior: the lack of the upper shelf on the middle storage thing really stinks. That's the most important storage in the car for me! And, it seems like the blue lighting is less on the 09. I think it still has the LED in the headliner but I don't recall the LED that's above the dash storage containers in the 06.

scratchieepants · 03-25-2009, 01:13 PM

Stock audio in the 2g is considerably better than the 1g.

And I like the feel of the leather in the 2g, definitely less cheap feeling than the 1g.