The look
The TL, which was redesigned for 2009, has a unique design: Looking something like a concept car that escaped from an auto show, it features Acura’s controversial shield grille, which makes up part of the car’s protruding nose.
The TL’s flanks are relatively unadorned and conventional, but the designers amped things up at the rear, which incorporates many different angles, giving the trunklid a pinched look. The quad exhaust tips on all-wheel-drive models add to the design interplay.
V-6 performance
The TL’s available 305-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6 and six-speed manual transmission make a great pair. The V-6 pulls strongly even in higher gears, and it makes a great growling sound when you let it rev, though the engine itself remains smooth. It lets you have some fun when you want, but it’s also quite civilized when just cruising around town or on the highway.
The clutch pedal is light and the clutch engages easily, making smooth shifts and takeoffs a breeze. The six-speed manual has a short-throw shifter that slips into gears with a mechanical feel. The stick moves naturally through the gears, but the manual transmission available in the Infiniti G37 is a little more fun to shift. There’s no gas mileage penalty for choosing the manual transmission; like the automatic all-wheel-drive TL, it’s rated 17/25 mpg city/highway and takes premium gas.
Ride and handling
While base front-drive and uplevel all-wheel-drive models have the same four-wheel independent suspension, all-wheel-drive versions come with different springs and shocks designed to improve the car’s handling characteristics. I tested the all-wheel-drive TL, and the suspension maintains good body control over dips and rises in the road, but ride quality is firm. You’re going to feel road imperfections, but not to the point that you’d dread taking this car on a long road trip. One benefit of the firmer suspension tuning is that the all-wheel-drive TL doesn’t exhibit excessive body roll when cornering.
The all-wheel-drive system’s formal name is Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, or SH-AWD for short. It’s one of an increasing number of all-wheel-drive systems that aim to enhance vehicle dynamics by sending more power to the outside rear wheel when cornering.
You can feel the system at work, even when roads are dry. You can sense the transfer of torque to the outside rear wheel when powering out of a turn, and it helps the TL feel more neutral and less nose-heavy than a traditional front-wheel-drive sedan. The system also helps prevent understeer; turns remains tight, as opposed to drifting wide of your intended path.
There’s definitely room for improvement where the TL’s electrically assisted power steering is concerned. The steering wheel turns with a light touch, which is nice when maneuvering at slow speeds, but it doesn’t tighten up noticeably when you get on the highway. That’s where a little more heft to the wheel is appreciated. There’s also hardly any steering feedback, which is problematic in a car with sporting intentions. Acura says steering is weightier in models with the six-speed manual, but it needs to be even more so.
The inside
The TL’s cabin is sporty-looking, featuring a four-gauge instrument panel and a three-spoke, leather-wrapped steering wheel. Heated leather bucket seats are standard, and upgraded leather upholstery is included with a $3,730 Technology Package, which is automatically added to TLs with the manual transmission. The driver’s seat is quite comfortable and should be able to accommodate a variety of people thanks to its generous width. Using the front seats’ standard power adjustments, I was able to find a comfortable driving position from which all the essential controls — steering wheel, pedals and shifter — were within easy reach.
There is some upscale trim in the TL, including a soft-touch dashboard, but many of the plastic pieces, like the door release and grab handles, don’t look appreciably nicer than what you’d find in a Honda Accord.
Acura’s navigation system, which is included with the Technology Package, uses an 8-inch screen positioned high on the dash. The system is operated by a large knob in the center of the dash. It’s fairly easy to get accustomed to the knob interface, and when you don’t want to use the navigation system you can turn off the screen and still access audio functions via a grouping of buttons on the center control panel.
The Technology Package also includes a backup camera, which is a worthwhile safety feature.
The TL’s rear bench seat is reasonably comfortable for taller adults, with adequate legroom and headroom, plus a stadium-style design so you get good views forward over the front seats. The hump in the floor that’s necessary to accommodate the driveshaft isn’t overly tall for an all-wheel-drive car, though it is wide.
There’s a fold-down center armrest and a trunk pass-through behind it, but the seatback doesn’t fold down in either front- or all-wheel-drive models.
2010 Acura TL
• Starting MSRP $35,105 - $38,655
• EPA fuel economy city: 17-18; highway: 25-26
• Available engines 280-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 (premium) 305-hp, 3.7-liter V-6 (premium)
• Available transmissions 5-speed automatic w/OD and auto-manual 6-speed manual w/OD
• New or notable New manual transmission Choice of V-6 engines Available AWD Voice-activated navigation
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