I disagree with Tigerhonaker. The TL and Accord seem to be very similar vehicles. They look like they have a lot of the same (or close to the same) numbers when it comes to dimensions. And all the switches seem to be similar in appearance and located in the same places. It seems like the designers were on the same page of music when designing both cars. However, the TL is much more refined and luxury like. Sit in each, and you'll know what I'm talking about. The HAH is very nice, but the TL seems to be nicer. Yes, Tigerhonaker is right, there's really no direct comparison when it comes to what the target market is for each car. But in essence, I feel they're similar.
I too was looking at a TL when I bought my HAH. In fact, I was on my way to the dealer to put down some money to have a TL built back in 2005. On the way to the Acura dealer, I kept passing gas stations with >$3/gal prices, so I got off on the next off-ramp and turned towards a Honda dealership and took home the HAH instead. In my quest to buy a new car (my current vehicle was owned for 13 years and 196K miles, it was time for a new car) I had test driven a lot of vehicles. I actually test drove the Civic Hybrid because of the high MPG. But couldn't pull myself away from that TL. By chance, there was an HAH on the lot. I thought I'd give it a try, but didn't really intend on buying one. It was really nice! But I was still set on that TL. It took rising gas prices to change my mind and make me get the HAH insteaad. Sure, there are times when I see a TL on the road and wished I had gotten one. But I don't regret buying the HAH.
To answer the original questions, I haven't noticed any problems with the IMA at all. Yep, no spare tire. The cheapest fix is to get one out of a wrecked Accord from a junk yard. The OEM fix is to buy the spare tire kit and the actual tire from a dealer at the cost of about $190. And finally, yes, conservatively you can definitely get over 30 MPG. I drive around the metro Phoenix area and my city mileage is usually around 27-29 MPG. If I drove more conservatively, I'm sure I can see >30 MPG. Also, when I drive with an average speed of 70
MPH, my highway mileage is around 35-42 MPG. If I drove slower, I'm sure I'd see better numbers. In fact, once set the cruise to 62
MPH and after 30 or so miles, I was reading in the mid-50 MPG range. Overall, I've been averaging 31 MPG for the past 46,576 miles. I think I'm at about 80% city miles. If I could do more highway miles, my overall MPG would be much better.