Acura's stylists kept the image of a soccer player in mind as they sketched the 2004 TL: a wide, solid stance; tall and lean, with muscular lines; and compact and coiled, tensed, ready to move in any direction with quickness, certainty and precision. This design philosophy may sound forced, or even melodramatic, but a close look at the car's proportions and styling cues gives it credence.
While maintaining approximately the same wheelbase as the '03 model (a mere 0.2 inches shorter), the '04 TL has shaved more than half a foot off its overall length. It's an inch and a half wider, riding on tires spread an inch farther apart in front and two inches farther apart in the rear. It's fully three inches taller. Despite all these added increments, it claims one of the lowest coefficients of drag (0.29 Cd) of any sedan of its class sold in the U.S.
The strong, chin-like front end is braced by two, low-mounted openings feeding cooling air to the engine, the minimalist grille serving primarily to frame the Acura badge and trademark polished horizontal bar. Squinting headlights wrap around the front fenders, drawing the eye to the character line that begins in the side light just forward of the front door, integrating the perfectly aligned door handles and running the length of the car to terminate in the rear side-marker lights. Molded rocker panels beneath the doors (with chip-resistant finish) visually widen the car's lower body. Fender flares stretch the body over and wrap snugly around the tires. The tallish greenhouse tapers gracefully inward rising from the beltline, giving geometric balance to the rake of the windshield and backlight. The C-pillar, or sail, flows smoothly down onto the trunk lid, adding substance and solidity to the rear quarters and embellishing the TL's mild, wedge-like profile.
What most other drivers will see of the TL, the back end, looks like, well, a Honda. This isn't necessarily bad, although it does come across as a bit conservative when considered along with the dramatic styling of the rest of the car. The trailing edge of the trunk lid is sharply crested, with a pleasing Kamm-like aero-overhang. Taillights are severely functional. The black surround setting off the rear license plate is a bit loud. But all the body sculpturing produces surface planes generating some exciting shadows, and dual exhausts with squarish tips in matching lower bumper cutouts boost the sporty image, as do tires pushed out to the car's edge.
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