Description: The Acura TL is a 4-door, 5-passenger luxury sedan, or luxury sports sedan, available in 5 trims, ranging from the 5-Spd AT to the 5-Spd AT SH-AWD w/Technology Package HPT. For 2010, the Acura TL has an option for a manual shifter with six speeds going side by side with the standard five-speed Sequential Sportshift automatic.
The 5-Spd AT is equipped with a standard 3.5-liter, V6, 280-horsepower engine that achieves 18-mpg in the city and 26-mpg on the highway. The 5-Spd AT SH-AWD w/Technology Package HPT is equipped with a standard 3.7-liter, V6, 305-horsepower engine that achieves 17-mpg in the city and 25-mpg on the highway.
"Once behind the wheel, the Acura sheds its controversial styling in an instant. This car is awesome to drive. It magically combines luxury and sportiness in with seamless competence."
Year / Model Reviewed: 2010 TL 6-Spd MT SH-AWD w/Tech Package and HPT
Strengths: The handling, exhaust note, can't beat the manual transmission (far better than the auto), sound system and the electronic gadgetry as well as build quality. And of course, the AWD!!!
Weaknesses: I would like the car to be smaller and lighter; a coupe version would be welcome, which I know will never happen. Also, the new navigation/audio control is far less intuitive than its predecessor (touch-screen). For example, a simple operation (changing the BASS on the audio) will require multiple screens whereas it was a simple turn of a knob in the last generation.
Summary: Although it comes very close on paper, the TL won't have the pure zing of a BMW 3-series (mainly because of size), but, taken as a total package (performance, reliability, resale, safety, and gadgetry), few cars on the road can come close. My personal bias is to recommend the MT. It's 81 lbs lighter and there are a few other details that are different. The differences, however, become palpable when you zoom to 60 in 5.4-5.6 seconds as opposed to 6.1. Either version will shine on the twisties. With 19" tires, it's recorded to have a 0.92 lateral acceleration, which is remarkable for a car this size.
Strengths: Handling, no need to add endless/overlapping option "packages," fuel economy.
Weaknesses: AM section of radio is awful,interior plastic trim is soft and becomes "marred" with almost minor contact, low front spoiler makes contact easily with barriers and high curbs
Summary: Great combo of power, handling and features.
Similar Products Used: Saab 9-5, Nissan Maxima
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Rating Reviewed by: tom dauffenbach(Unregistered User)
Review Date July 7, 2007
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 4 of 5
Used product for 1 to 3 months
Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5,
11.00 votes
Review 4 of 276
Price Paid:
$34400.00
from luther acura bloomin
Year / Model Reviewed: 2007 acura tl w/ navigation
Strengths: Ride, good power, great handling. Exterior improvements for 2007 really enhanced the look over 2006 model. The nav and sound system coupled with a quiet interior make for a comfortfable ride. Look forward to drving with it.
Weaknesses: The passengar seat height is a bit short for me (I am 6'), but the driver's seat is great. I have one complaint on the trunk lid fit and will be talking to the dealer about it.
Summary: Great car. Test drove G36x, Altima and Altima coupe(all great cars), but after driving the Tl and TL type s, my wife and I agreed it was the best fit for us. Another option was waiting for the 2008 CTS, but the Acura really looked like a better deal compared to expected pricing on the CTS.
Similar Products Used: Test drove Infiniti's, Nissans. Have Nissan Titan, Mazda Protege, Chrysler Sebering Coupe LXi (2004)and also helped purchase a Nissan Sentra Spec V for relative and test drove similar sport entry cars (Civic Si)
Strengths: Performance, Fuel Economy, Technical Features like Navigation, Interior/Exterior design, great owners forum at www.acurazine.com.
Weaknesses: lack of all-wheel-drive option
Summary: I bought my TL new 2.5 years ago so this will be a review from someone who
is not still a honeymooner with their car. I currently have 21,000 miles on the car so it has been babied. We normally take our Honda Pilot on family road trips so this car is mostly my daily/weekend driver.
So here goes:
After 2.5 years, I still very much like this car. I bought a White
Diamond Pearl 5 speed AT model with navigation and this is definitely
the best car I have owned. The looks and performance attracted me to it
and these attributes in addition to all the amenities and fuel economy of
this car offers me have kept me happy since. I do the normal maintenance of changing oil and rotating tires and this car is pretty easy to work on. It uses the same oil filter as our Honda Pilot which is nice.
To date, I have only brought the car to the dealer for two issues and both
times were pleasant experiences:
1. front drivers door speaker was popping in first 2 months of ownership
and got replaced. This took two trips to resolve since the speaker
was not in stock and needed to be ordered
2. Power steering hose recall. Since I was bringing the car in for that, I
also had a passenger front seat trim panel replaced since it came
apart (just a little seem that only I would really notice). This too
took two trips for final resolution because the seat trim part needed
ordering.
So in all, I have driven 4 times to my dealer in 2.5 years and none of
these issues was serious or even urgent.
The features I like about the TL are:
- great performance. There are quicker cars but this car is plenty quick
for almost anyone. The auto transmission kicks down quickly when necessary
and I rarely use the manual sequential shifting (SS) mode. The SS mode
is very helpful in the snow if wish to start in 2nd gear to reduce wheel
spin.
- very good fuel economy. I drive spirited but safe and have just a 7 mile
commute to the office during the work week so half my miles are short trip
miles and half the miles are longer on weekends. In this city environment,
I routinely get 20MPG with an average speed of only 26MPH - thats a lot
of stop and go! I compare this car's performance with past cars like a
4 cylinder Suburu Outback or Nissan Maxima and this is great mileage when
your factor the additional performance of a 3.2L V6 with 268 HP. In addition
the trip computer (MID) is very accurate in its estimate of MPG- I find
it within .5 MPG with possibly 1 exception. I track this mileage on
fueleconomy.gov and it is amazing how accurate this MID is.
- great navigation with sophisticated voice recognition. I can say 'Find
nearest Mexican Restaurant' and the Navigation will show me all the
Mexican restaurants and even dial my favorite Robertos takeout via the
Bluetooth connectivity with my phone.
- great handling for a front wheel drive car. I don't have Type-S model
that came out in 2007 but bolstered the suspension with a $90 rear sway
bar that makes a great difference in handling.
- comfortable and luxerious interior. The seats are great and easily adjustable.
The key fobs control his/her preferences so my seat/mirror positions,radio
presets can be tailored to my preferences and my Wife can have her own. I
added LED interior bulbs to give the car a cool look. There is plenty of
storage as well with front door map pockets (which retract), a dual level center
console, a couple of retractable doors in the front dash, and map pockets
on the back of both front seats, as well as map pockets in the rear doors. I
did have a concern early on about the back seat not folding down (like the TSX does)
but found over the test of time that the center opening is quite sufficient
and preferable for my needs even. Try to go to Home Depot and bring some
pipe home with 4 people in the car and you'll see what I mean on this one- you
would need to dangle the pipe out the sunroof or window while the TL works
perfect in this situation.
- excellent sound system. The DVD/audio system is amazing when you
actually buy a DVD audio CD like the Beatles Love album as one example. The
sound makes me think the Beatles are playing in the back seat- crystal
clear.
So all in all this has been a great ownership experience so far. I fully plan on driving this car for another 4 or more years.
OK this is one long review. I have just one blurb to add regarding this third
generation model compared to the latest 4th generation 2009 model that
is now selling.
I think the new model is nice, but wouldn't consider trading in my 2006 for
one. I think Acura cheapened or downgraded things in the following areas:
exterior looks, center console, front map pockets (hard plastic .vs. retractable
plastic/leather?), gauges appear harder to read, not touch screen navi although
it is higher resolution and more capable, physical length grew so it would
be harder to fit in my garage.
Similar Products Used: 2005 Honda Pilot (current), 1998 Suburu Legacy Outback 5mt, 1992 Nissan Maxima SE, 1984 Toyota Supra 5mt
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