Who made the jump from A-Spec 6MT to Type-S?

[ScottE]

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I haven’t been on a forum for many years. I haven’t had a “fun car” going on 6 years. My last “fun car” was a 2010 TL 6MT; it’s the only car in my 35+ years of driving that I regret selling. I should have kept that thing….

Anyway, I’m finally back into a position to add a “fun car” back into the mix. My daily driver is a 2015 MDX Advance; it’s fun ish to drive, and does great with the bike rack and toting snowboards to the mountains. I think it will continue to be a great winter vehicle, and now I need to choose my next ride…

My heart tells me I NEED a Type-S, but my head tells me an A-Spec Trch 6MT will be plenty fun. And, get great gas mileage. (I didn’t used to care about that, but now I do)

I drove an A-Spech Tech CVT yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised how fun it was (for a CVT). The dealer is going to get an Apex Blue 6MT next week, and I’m really looking forward to driving it.

I’m curious who here started with an A-Spec 6MT and made the jump to the Type-S. Are you as happy as you thought you’d be? Any regrets? Do you miss the sunroof, memory seats and great gas mileage? Also, is the ride worse?

thank you in advance for any replies and insight.

Scott

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[ScottE]

I should have mentioned other previous “fun cars”.

1996 Trans Am WS6 6MT
2001 Corvette 6MT
2009 G37 S Sedan 7AT (I HATED the transmission, took a loss and bought the TL)

Out of all the cars, the TL 6MT is my overall favorite car (to this point anyway).

 

[optronix]

My honest assessment, is you'd be plenty happy with the A spec 6MT.

It's funny as I type this, I'm recalling that my post history probably will reflect some pretty negative bias for the A spec... but it's just relative to the Type S, and what the Type S is all about. The Type S is a true enthusiasts car, and is just as at home on a racetrack as it is in city streets. But... for someone that doesn't necessarily need the race car part, it could easily be considered excessive. Especially at a what, ~$17k premium over a similarly equipped A spec?

I think the A spec will deliver all the same thrills you had in your TL. My only concern though would be that it's way down on power and torque compared to your past cars... but from a fun-to-drive perspective it probably will exceed your expectations.

Now, all that said... you may drive the Type S and feel like you absolutely must have one. That's exactly what happened to me... and I was coming from a series of Porsches. But my opinion remains that the A spec is a very nice car, and all you need in a car that likely won't see any competition driving in its lifetime (and it's not like it can't do it either, if you wanted to... just not nearly as well as they Type S).

My .02.

 

[4Dparadox]

The A Spec Tech has better comforts such as sun roof, memory seats, access to Acura link app (the small percentage that uses it) 3 seat back seat with fold down arm rest and cup holders. Power seat for the passenger. All that is what the ITS loses for better powertrain, transmission, and suspension.

 

[ScottE]

Thank you both for the feedback, I appreciate it. I’ll let you know what I think after the test drive next week.

 

[SomethingSomething]

I drove an aspec and noticed that the seat material is not as nice. The Type S has ultrasuede, which I think is like alcantera. The aspec gets microsuede, which to me seems like just felt or something. I didn’t care for that. To be honest I‘d probably take the lesser suede to get a sunroof If all else was equal though.

 

[davist]

I recently purchased an ITS after driving it and the A spec 6MT. There's a huge difference in feel and handling. The A spec was very nice, but such a big difference vs the Type S, I wanted to have a fun car as well, probably bit off a little more than I could chew so to speak performance wise (coming from a Camry) but love the Type S.

 

[ScottE]

I recently purchased an ITS after driving it and the A spec 6MT. There's a huge difference in feel and handling. The A spec was very nice, but such a big difference vs the Type S, I wanted to have a fun car as well, probably bit off a little more than I could chew so to speak performance wise (coming from a Camry) but love the Type S.

Thank you for the reply. I think if I drive both I’ll for sure want the Type-S. So… I’m only planning to drive the A-Spec at this point and hope the 200HP and 6MT are fun enough while considering it gets great gas mileage. The car will primarily be a commuter, and I also plan to teach my soon-to-be 16 year old son how to drive a manual. I’m hoping the A-Spec has enough low end torque that it is somewhat easy to learn on. To date, the absolute easiest car I’ve had to teach someone to drive a manual was my C5 Corvette; no throttle at all needed to get it moving. It would pull away slowly at idle if the clutch was released slowly. I’m sure the little 1.5L will need some revs though.

 

[DE4Willyyyy]

Thank you for the reply. I think if I drive both I’ll for sure want the Type-S. So… I’m only planning to drive the A-Spec at this point and hope the 200HP and 6MT are fun enough while considering it gets great gas mileage. The car will primarily be a commuter, and I also plan to teach my soon-to-be 16 year old son how to drive a manual. I’m hoping the A-Spec has enough low end torque that it is somewhat easy to learn on. To date, the absolute easiest car I’ve had to teach someone to drive a manual was my C5 Corvette; no throttle at all needed to get it moving. It would pull away slowly at idle if the clutch was released slowly. I’m sure the little 1.5L will need some revs though.

there is definitely enough torque in the low end and up until around 5.5-6k.

the 1.5t does like to be revved, but it doesnt like to live at redline as the torque drops off noticeably past 5-5.5k

one of the easiest cars to learn manual on, for sure.

 

[ScottE]

I’m really looking forward to the test drive in the A-Spec; I’m very curious to feel how it pulls through the gears. I’ll be sure to shift early.

 

[Fred 930]

After getting on the wait list for my Type S (none were available anywhere in the state to drive), I visited a local Dealer and drove the A-Spec. While I guess it was OK, my main memory of that experience was not much power and noticeable "over-rev" (sometimes also called "rev-hang") when upshifting to the next higher gear. So I don't think I'd be very happy with the A-Spec. While the Type S still exhibits the annoying over-rev problem, it somewhat makes up for that with decent power and handling.

My daily driver is a MK8 VW GTI 6MT, which I'm pretty sure would be my choice over the A-Spec. But it would be interesting to again drive an A-Spec, as considerable time has now passed.

Gas mileage is not a concern, as I don't drive many miles anymore. But FWIW, the GTI gets about 33 mpg on the highway and is rated for Regular fuel.

 

[DE4Willyyyy]

I’m really looking forward to the test drive in the A-Spec; I’m very curious to feel how it pulls through the gears. I’ll be sure to shift early.

peak power is 6k. I typically shift around there, and then the next gear you're still in peak powerband.

Hopefully you enjoy it!

 

[TheRas900]

I think it depends on your use case. I tried a Type S after owning my A Spec 6MT for a couple years. I could have easily done the switch financially as I found a dealer discounting the Type S before that was a thing everywhere yet still giving a good trade in price for mine. On suburban Philly roads (straight and filled with traffic and potholes) I could not feel or hear a big difference. I did miss the sunroof and feel a slightly rougher ride. The salesman said I wouldn’t experience the difference with that type of driving, which is likely true but also what 90% of my driving consists of! I decided to keep my A Spec and am very happy with that choice.
Think about what you would like from the car and don’t hesitate to test both if you are financially able to buy either. It’s not a foregone conclusion you will prefer the more expensive one.

 

[bdisco]

I think the A spec with a manual would be great as it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

 

[ScottE]

Great feedback everyone, very much appreciated!

I’ve never been more conflicted about a car purchase. I’ve 100% “made up my mind” one way and then the other multiple times… my current thought (as of 11/18 2:18pm EST) is A-Spec Tech 6MT.

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