My Experience

I test-drove a 2004 Acura TL 6-speed at a local dealership. My test drive lasted about forty-five minutes and covered city streets, freeways, and a huge isolated parking lot where I got to drive the car hard, away from traffic.


Performance

The TL's 3.2-liter V6 boasts an impressive 270hp rating, but on my test drive, it didn't feel as powerful as the figures suggested. Acceleration was quick, confident, and authoritative, but I had also driven an Infiniti G35 6-speed that weekend, and the TL couldn't match its brawny feel. This was probably attributable to the TL's different flavor of power delivery.

While the G35's engine was torquey and linear, the TL felt peakier and less forceful. When I floored the throttle on a freeway on-ramp, low-end response wasn't particularly strong or eager. Its pull became more muscular as the engine revved into the midrange, and as the tach rose past 5000rpm and into the high end, the TL's thrust reached its peak with a satisfying lunge. But no matter where the TL's engine was in the rev range, it never delivered that truly gratifying flow of torque that I experienced in the Infiniti G35 and even the Nissan Maxima.

So imagine my surprise when I picked up the latest issue of Car and Driver magazine and read that the TL was in fact a full 0.5 second faster to 60 mph than the G35, both in the 0-60 standing start test (where it timed 5.8 seconds) and the 5-60 rolling start test (6.5 seconds)! Apparently, the TL really is one of the quickest sports sedans in the $35,000 price range, and I have little explanation as to why it doesn't feel that way, except for the peaky power delivery. All I can tell you is that, if you're expecting your new TL to feel like a rocketship, you may be a bit disappointed. But whatever my seat of the pants impression, this is still one seriously quick sports sedan according to the numbers.


Transmission/Clutch

The new TL's transmission and clutch came as a bit of a disappointment to me, probably because I had test-driven the new Acura TSX just a few minutes before. The TSX's shift action is among the best I've ever experienced, and it's certainly the best of any front-wheel-drive car to my knowledge. But possibly because of the TL's greater power output, the bigger car's transmission didn't come close to matching the TSX's light, precise, and connected feel. Its shifter certainly wasn't bad--it had a firm, chunky feel to it and well-defined gates--but the lever didn't flow from one gear to the next as naturally as that in the TSX.

The clutch was cause for further criticism. Its throw was quite long, and its engagement point soft to the point of vagueness. I never came close to stalling the TL, but I did slur a few shifts because of the long-winded, overly cushioned feel of the clutch. Again, it may have felt better if I wasn't experiencing it in direct contrast to the TSX's excellent transmission. In any case, this is rare to be an issue for most TL buyers, since few buyers in the luxury sedan class opt to shift for themselves.


Steering/Handling

Again, a disappointment, especially since Acura did such a good job in this department with the TSX. Compared to its smaller sibling, the TL feels heavier, duller, and less precise--its reflexes sacrificed for the sake of luxury, perhaps? That certainly seemed to be the case with the steering. The TSX proved that Acura can build a steering system that feels simultaneously sporty and luxurious, but in the new TL they missed that mark by a considerable margin.

The TL's steering is far too light for my tastes, with effort building almost not at all when you guide the car through curves. I've since noticed that many magazine reviews praise the steering's "good weighting," so this particular car may have had issues--overinflated tires, perhaps? But even that wouldn't account for the noticeable dead spot on-center that detracted from precision, or the torque effects that tugged gently at the steering wheel when I accelerated in turns. Whatever the reason, the light and numb feel of the TL's helm detracted significantly from the feeling of sportiness behind the wheel.

The chassis itself felt more capable in daily driving, with a confident and planted feel on the road. It felt plenty capable in moderate driving, tracking solidly through brisk turns and exhibiting only mild body roll when I changed lanes quickly on the freeway.

But when I drove the car into the now-inoperative army base near the dealerships and threw the car around in the empty parking lots, the TL exhibited considerably more body roll, as well as tire-grinding understeer when I made sharp changes of direction. The wide tires provided plenty of grip, but when I reached the TL's (reasonably high) limits, understeer was in disappointing abundance, and the steering wheel tugged at my hands with every hard throttle application.

All right, so few TL owners will plan on autocrossing their expensive new luxury cars. But this car is billed as a sports sedan, after all, and I expected it to handle at least as well as the less-expensive TSX. In daily driving as well as hard thrashing, the TL felt too big, numb, and imprecise to match its smaller sibling's poise.


Ride

The TL fared better when it came to ride comfort. On the freeway, the TL exhibited almost-eerie levels of silence and isolation from road impacts. Road and engine noise were almost completely absent, with just a hint of wind rush to disturb the calm. The TL's suspension felt stiff enough to keep ride motions well-controlled, but it took the harshness out of every bump I encountered.

On the patchy concrete freeways leading away from the dealerships, the TL's ride remained flat and serene, with just a hint of bobbing over the most uneven sections. The body structure felt stiff, as well, giving the car a pleasant feeling of solidity. Although I'm personally quite biased towards performance, not luxury, I imagine the TL's well-isolated ride would be plenty satisfying to luxury-car buyers, even if it is noticeably stiffer than most domestic offerings.


Interior

The TL's interior was certainly one of its strongest points--it's roomy, well-built, and stylish. The cabin has a pleasantly sporty and expensive feel, with a very un-Honda-like high cowl and beltline that made me feel enclosed deep within the car's cabin--not a bad thing, just different from the usual wide-open airiness of Honda/Acura offerings. The seats were big, wide, and very supportive--the kind of chairs you could spend hours in on the freeway.

Cabin materials were typically excellent, with rich-feeling, soft-touch surfaces everywhere I looked. All the controls moved with a silky smoothness that made the car feel worth its high price, and I especially liked the electroluminescent gauges, which glow blue and white even in daylight and are highly legible. The cabin layout was familiar, but with modern shapes and colors that gave the car a stylish, yet understated ambience. Very nice indeed. Rear passengers are also treated well, with a comfortable bench seat and plenty of room to stretch out.

If there's anything to complain about, and this is purely a matter of taste, it's the oddly-shaped, overstuffed-looking steering wheel. In a car billed as a sports sedan, I'd like to see a fatter three-spoke steering wheel instead of the TL's large-diameter, four-spoke helm. But that's nit-picking. There's really nothing to complain about in the TL's interior--it's all good news, unless you're a fan of Honda/Acura's typical low-cowl interiors and arrive expecting the TL to offer the same feeling of openness.


Practicality

There's nothing much to complain about here, either. The TL has loads of room front and rear for passengers, and a trunk that's as large and deep as you'd expect in a car this big.

But there is one major oversight that's worth mentioning. The TL offers a pass-through in the rear seatback to accommodate long items like skis, but the seatbacks themselves don't fold down to increase trunk space--a "what were they thinking?"-caliber mistake. If you regularly carry very large, bulky loads, this limits the TL's usability. For example, being a musician, I couldn't fit my bass guitar, amp, and other equipment all in the TL's trunk, and the lack of folding seatbacks would necessitate putting some of the load into the backseat, where I'd worry about scuffing the leather. Aside from that goof, though, no complaints.


Reliability

A good reliability record is pretty much a sure thing in Honda/Acura products, and the new TL is unlikely to be an exception. while there's no data on the new 2004 TL yet, previous generations of TLs racked up a consistently spotless Better Than Average reliability record from Consumer Reports. Since the new TL uses the same 3.2-liter V6 that's been proven reliable in many other Honda/Acura products, it stands to reason that the TL will fare just as well.


Overall

The new TL is a big, comfortable, and stylish sport-luxury sedan, but is it good value? That depends on how you look at it. From one perspective, the TL is a steal. The 6-speed example I test-drove stickered at just over $33,000, and that's a really great deal for such a competent luxury cruiser. For a price that undercuts BMW and Audi by thousands, you get a solid, roomy, and very quick luxury sedan that boasts not only the freshest styling, but far lower maintenance and repair costs than its European rivals. If it weren't for the existence of the TSX, I'd recommend that anyone in the market for a sport-luxury sedan give the TL a chance.

But the TSX is hard to ignore--from my perspective, at least, it's the far more satisfying car to drive. It's more agile and involving, with more balanced handling, a sweeter gearchange, and far superior steering feel. It provides much more of that satisfying connection between driver and machine, even though it's still far from a hard-core sports sedan. Plus, its pricing is even more of a bargain, with pricing starting at a borderline-incredible $27,000. It even looks better to my eyes, with cleaner and less-contrived lines.

So, if you can get a car that drives better and costs less at the same dealership, why step up to the heavier, more aloof TL? The only good reasons I can think of are interior room, noise isolation, and acceleration--the TL has appreciably more of each. Other than that, I would recommend that buyers strongly consider the TSX before they make the price jump to its big brother. It's more spirited, less cold to the touch, and feels like a a better-integrated piece of machinery on the road. The TL is certainly worth your attention if your tastes run more towards the luxury end of the spectrum, but sport-minded drivers will be far better served by the better-value TSX.




Feel free to check out my reviews of some of the TL's competitors:
Acura TSX
BMW 325i
Infiniti G35
Lexus IS300
Nissan Maxima SE
Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT
Volvo S60 2.5T

Amount Paid (US$): 32,650