This review might be a little late but might help people considering buying a used Acura 3.2TL Type-S. I've owned mine for almost three years, and have seen both the good and the bad about this car.

Let's start with the good. First off, Honda makes great modern V6 engines, and the 3.2 DOHC in the TL-S is no different. It's smooth, makes tons of usable power, and gets relaively good fuel economy for its size. I get about 21 MPG in mostly miserable L.A. traffic. This is on premium fuel, which is recommended by Acura. It's also a comfortable cruiser with a lot of room for both front and rear passengers. The back seat is very comfortable with lots of leg room and HVAC vents for the rear passenger. I do wish that there were adjustable head rests however. The trunk is also large and usable, but the rear seats do NOT lower to accomodate larger items. There is a pass through for skis in the middle of the rear seat back, but a car with so much power and low profile tires would not be my first choice to take to a ski trip.

Now let's start with the bad. My Acura is an early 2003 model year car, and as such, has had it's original transmission fail. This occured at 20k miles and was a surprise since I thought the transmission problems were solved by the 2003 model year. Not so! The second (remanufactured) transmission has been working fine, but, it's still disconcerting to have a failed transmission so soon.

Another issue is that Acura under spec'd the tire size and tire selection on the TL-S. 215/50/17 tires are to narrow for a car with 260 horsepower that is supposed to be a sports sedan! Also the tire selection of the Michelin Pilot Sports is dissappointing since the tires squeal at the sight of an upcoming corner at anything past the legal speed limit. This means that you will spin the tires and engage the traction control if you floor the car by accident on a freeway on-ramp for example.

Another downer is that the interior is a bit down market considering the cars the Acura TL-S is competing with (Audi A4, BMW 3-series, Lexus ES330, etc). It feels like a glorified Honda Accord (not that ther is anything wrong with the Accord!).

The Bose stereo also disappoints. While the head units ergonomics are nothing short of great, and simple to use, the speakers leave a lot to be desired. There is a lot of mid-range, and decent bass, but the treble is really lacking, because there are no tweeters! Tweeters supply the treble in music, and the fact that a BOSE stereo in a near-luxury car doesn't have any tweeters is stunning!

So what we have is a car that tantalizes with a great engine, willing sports suspension, let down by narrow tires, and potential transmission problems. Sounds like a bad review right? The truth is that it's a car with personality. The flaws give the car more personality than one would expect from a Japanese sedan. It's stealthy quick, and a mile eater if ever there was one. If a family car, thats fast, and roomy is what you need then I would reccommend this car. Just make sure that you get a late model 2003 so you avoid the transmission problems
Amount Paid (US$): 30,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: 3.2TL Type-S