We've driven both renditions of the 2004 Acura TL: the one most buyers will choose with the SportShift automatic and all-season tires and the sporty iteration with the 6-speed manual and wider, stickier tires. The driving routes traversed suburban neighborhoods, two-lane backroads and multi-lane highways, and included a racetrack, where limits could be explored without interruption from flashing red lights and screaming sirens or the unexpected bus or motorhome. In all but two measures, the new TL easily met or exceeded expectations.
Driving position is exemplar, which is no surprise given Honda's near obsession with ergonomics. All necessary controls lie within sight and easy reach of the driver. Shift levers and patterns for both transmissions fall readily to hand. Clutch takeup on the manual requires a little getting used to, but the shift linkage is taut and precise. With the SportShift left in auto mode, gear changes are almost imperceptible, slicker and smoother than in some cars costing more than twice the TL's price of entry; in manual mode, only the upshift from first is automatic, occurring just south of 5000 rpm. Higher gears are held right up to the rev limiter, which steps in around 7000 rpm.
The variable assist steering reacts to road speed and driver input to make for effortless parking and sure tracking at speed. Hours spent in the wind tunnel reduced to a whisper the inevitable whistles around the outside mirrors. Barely noticeable hissing around the side windows' trailing edges could well have been more reflective of the test car's early production status than of any design shortcoming.
The V6 engine delivers its abundant power smoothly, pulling strongly all the way to its 6800-rpm redline to the accompaniment of a deliciously tuned exhaust note. Even with traction control active, the front tires can be made to chirp accelerating out of corners or when the gas pedal is mashed when starting from a full stop. In every-day driving, evidence of its front-wheel-drive layout is nicely suppressed.
Dimensionally and functionally, the engine remains the same as last year's: 3.2 liters, SOHC, 24 valves, 60-degree V6 with Honda's F1 racing-developed variable valve timing and lift system (VTEC). Horsepower, though, is now 270, up from the 2003 3.2 TL's 225 and even from the '03 Type-S model's 260; torque is also increased, to 238 pounds-feet, versus last year's 216 and 232. At the same time, the 2004 TL gets one more mile per gallon of gas than the 2003 in both city and highway when fitted with the new, 6-speed manual transmission; with the SportShift automatic, City is up one mpg while Highway loses one. The engine is cleaner, too, meeting California's LEV-2 ULEV standards, the second most-stringent in the nation for gasoline-fueled cars and exceeded only by limited production, small-engined subcompacts and hybrid-powered cars.
The TL felt comfortable and relaxed at speed on interstates, although there was more road noise with the fatter, stickier tires on the sportier model. On two-lanes, the standard setup was no slouch, feeling ill at ease only when taken where its drivers will never go, and by which time, all the assorted active safety technologies will have been alerted. At these extremes, the sportier version delighted, the Brembo brakes confidently hauling the car down from mildly irresponsible speeds before it tracked unerringly (as close to the ragged edge as is prudent on public roads) and with aplomb through tight corners over sometimes bumpy pavement. Perhaps, just maybe, Acura has unearthed the secret to BMW's vice-like grip on the top rung of the sports sedan ladder.
All 2004 TLs have ABS coupled with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (optimizing front-rear brake balance under varying load and dynamic circumstances), Brake Assist (improving response in emergencies) and Vehicle Stability Assist (incorporating traction control and reducing risk of loss of control in extreme situations). Brembo brakes are included with the 6-speed manual transmission.
On the track, the SportShift and the all-season tires proved to be a good match. Only carelessness or inattention could get somebody in trouble with this package. Here, though, the sporty setup fell short of its promise. The transmission wasn't the problem. Its six, close-ratio gears allowed the engine to work in its powerband's sweet spot and the limited slip differential properly to apportion the power between the front tires while negotiating fast, sweeping curves and tight, power-sapping, left-right-left esses. The brakes never evidenced the slightest fade, despite the ever-present bouquet from super-heated pads at the end of each on-track session. It was the suspension that disappointed in this closed-course, don't-try-this-at-home setting, waiting a bit too long before taking a set on entering a turn and then bobbing side to side an extra time or two when making quick, directional transitions in the midst of a compound turn. The experience was no where near egregious or over-the-top, just enough to invite a little earlier brake application and a gentle feathering of the throttle the next time around. In the race to catch BMW, it's nice, but no cigar, yet.
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