Acura TL Review: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 09:32, 3 February 2009

2007 Acura TL

2007 Acura TL type-S

The Acura TL was introduced in 1996 as a mid-sized luxury car from Honda Motor Corporation’s luxury Acura brand name. A true sports luxury sedan, the Acura TL provides sharp looks, V6 power, cutting edge technology, and a great driving experience. It is no wonder the TL is Acura’s best selling car.

New for 2007, Acura brings even more performance to the TL with the return of the type-S trim. With an even more aggressive look, 286 3.5-liter V6 engine, sport tuned suspension, Bridgestone Potenza RE030 tires (235/45R17 93W), and subtle interior changes, the Acura type-S offers that extra performance edge to the sports car enthusiast.

See also the main fact sheets for the Acura TL.

Reliability and Maintenance

The Acura TL offers great reliability for a mid-sized luxury sedan. Autosite.com gave the TL a rating of 93 out of 100 for durability and 92 out of 100 for mechanical quality.

Interior and Comforts

The Acura TL features a comfortable cabin. Even the back seats are roomy and comfortable. Its interior space and dimensions are close enough to those of the BMW 5 Series and the Volvo S60, the two cars Acura expects most buyers to cross-shop.

Interior quality is up to Acura standards. Fit and finish is above average. A nice touch is the grained, matte-finish section on the top of the dash over the instrument cluster that reduces reflective glare off the inside of the windshield on bright, sunny days. A seamless dash masks the presence of the passenger-side front airbag, making for a more elegant and stylish look.

Comfortably bolstered seats brace thighs and shoulders against lateral forces during spirited cornering. The driving position is exemplary, which is no surprise given Honda's near obsession with ergonomics. Seat-bottom cushions could extend a bit more beneath the thighs, but overall the seats are quite supportive without being overly firm. The B-pillars are indented in their forward edges about mid-height to make a little more elbow room for front seat occupants. All necessary controls lie within sight and easy reach of the driver. Shift levers and patterns for both transmissions fall readily to hand.

Backlit LED gauges look out from inside three pods tucked under a hood shading them from the noon-time sun. They're easy on the eyes, with a blue-around-white motif. A large, round speedometer sits directly in front of the driver and is centered on the steering column, which is also properly centered on the driver's seat. To the left is a slightly smaller, but no less legible tachometer. The right-hand pod contains the fuel and water temperature gauges.

The melding of function with form works extremely well in the Acura TL. Topmost in the center stack is the LCD screen that displays the climate control and audio settings as well as the optional navigation system's visual aids. With the navigation system comes a line of PDA-like buttons and cursor controller arrayed beneath the screen. Bracketing the screen are perpendicular rows of large, finger-friendly buttons for setting driver and front passenger climate control preferences; a useful Off switch is provided that instantly shuts everything off. Separating the climate controls from the touch-screen this way makes changing fan speeds or adjusting the temperature easy in the TL. With the navigation system, buyers get what Acura calls 3D Solar Sensing Climate Control. Using time of day and direction of travel, this gadget calculates the sun's position relative to the car to adjust side-to-side interior temperatures to maintain desired settings.

Navigation systems are getting better each year and Acura's is one of the best if not the best. It's easy to program and gives clear and accurate descriptions visibly and audibly. The big display and combination of hard buttons and context-sensitive on-screen menus work very well. Still, you have to call up a menu to change radio stations. The navigation system can recognize nearly 300 verbal commands, including adjustments to the stereo and climate control and selection of more than 7 million points of interest (restaurants, lodging, airports, shopping malls, etc.).

Lower on the center stack are controls for the sound system. Large, round knobs adjust volume and other functions. Right-sized station preselect buttons easily pass the fingernail and winter glove tests. Still, to change CD tracks you have to press the Audio button and go to a menu. In terms of technology, the standard stereo redefines the overused term premium. Not content with a multi-speaker, externally power-amplified, DVD/CD/cassette/AM/FM/XM Satellite Radio system, Acura added a new technology known as DVD-Audio 5.1. DVDs recorded with this technology triple the channels in traditional stereo and virtual (electronically synthesized) surround sound systems, from two to six. The hope is to do for digital recordings what Dolby did for analog tapes. This more discrete surround sound is common in recording studio gear and has only recently begun appearing in home entertainment systems.

The moonroof switch is located on the overhead control pod, more intuitive than having it on the dash.

Storage places abound but lack flexibility. Seatback-mounted magazine racks are solid, hinged affairs, for example, as are the front door-mounted map pockets, meaning they'll hold only magazines and maps and maybe a slim, self-guide tour book. The center console is a deep, bi-level affair, with a power point in the lower level and a notch in the upper tray to accommodate a cell phone cord. The armrest on the front center console adjusts fore and aft.

Trunk space is just 12.5 cubic feet, and the opening is somewhat smaller, further limiting the size of parcels it will accept. Ordering the navigation system cuts trunk space to 12.3 cubic feet. The trunk is fully finished, however, with an inside pull down; and the goose-neck hinges are encased to avoid threatening fragile contents of grocery bags.

Exterior

The Acura TL has a solid stance, tall and lean, with muscular lines. It looks compact and coiled, tensed, ready to move in any direction with quickness, certainty and precision. The designers say they kept the image of a soccer player in mind as they sketched the latest TL. To some the result looks a little forced, even melodramatic; but a close look at the car's proportions and styling cues gives the design credence. And it looks better in person than in photos.

The current TL is more than 3.5 inches shorter overall than the previous-generation (pre-2004) TL, yet the wheelbase is essentially the same. (The wheelbase in the distance between the front and rear wheels.) That made the front and rear overhangs shorter, an improvement in the design. The current model is 2 inches wider than the previous version, spreading the tires an inch farther apart in front and an inch and a half farther apart in the rear. This wider track improves handling and stability. The roof is a half-inch taller. And yet the TL claims one of the lowest coefficients of drag (0.29 Cd) in its class. In short, the current TL offers improved space efficiency and better packaging than the previous model.

The strong, chin-like front end is braced by two low-mounted openings feeding cooling air to the engine, the minimalist grille above 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-marker 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 a 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 as it rises from the beltline, giving geometric balance to the rake of the windshield and backlight. The C-pillar, or sail panel, flows smoothly down into the trunk lid, adding substance and solidity to the rear quarters and embellishing the TL's mild, wedge-like profile.

The rear of the TL looks like a Honda. The rear looks conservative when compared to 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 the body sculpturing produces surface planes that generate some exciting shadows, and dual exhausts with squarish tips in matching lower bumper cutouts boost the sporty image, as do pushing the wheels out toward the corners.

Styles and Options

The Acura TL is available in 2 trims: base and type-S.

Base

2007 Acura TL interior

The base model comes standard with:

Aluminum-alloy SOHC VTEC 3.2L 258hp V6
4-wheel independent double-wishbone suspension
17" x 8" aluminum-alloy wheels
MP3 player auxiliary input jack
Power moonroof
(HID) headlights
Remote keyless entry

Type-S

2007 Acura TL type-S

The type-S offers sportier looks and better performance including:

Aluminum-alloy SOHC VTEC 3.5L 286hp V6
Brembo 4-piston brakes
Aluminum interior trim with cross-hatch finish
Two-tone seats with sport side-bolsters
Rear view camera
Steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters
Quad exhaust outlets
Rear lip spoiler and Lower body-side molding

Main Competitors

Audi A4 [? side-by-side comparison]
BMW 3 Series [? side-by-side comparison]
Infiniti G35 [? side-by-side comparison]
Lexus ES 350 [? side-by-side comparison]
Lexus IS 350 [? side-by-side comparison]
Mercedes-Benz C-Class [? side-by-side comparison]
Buick Lucerne [? side-by-side comparison]

External Links

WikiCars Contributor Favorites

Acura Manufacturer Sites

Acura TL - Official US Site

Community Sites

Acurazine - Acura TL Forum
DJ Dream Cars - Acura TL Specifications & Information
All Car Garage - 2006 Acura TL
Acura TL Type-S Resource Site Acura TL Type Resource Site
all-car-photos.com - Acura TL photo gallery

Retrieved from "https://wikicars.org/index.php?title=Acura_TL_Review&oldid=118253"

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Model Reviews

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-[[image:tl_safety.jpg|thumb|425px|'''2007 [[Acura]] TL chassis and airbags''']]
-The Acura TL comes standard with the following features:
-*[[ABS|Anti-lock Braking System]] (ABS)
-*Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD)
-*[[Brake Assist]]
-*Vehicle Stability Assist
-*[[Traction Control]] System
-*Tire Pressure Monitoring System
-*Rearview camera
-*HID headlights
-*Front and rear [[crumple zones]]
-*Side-impact beams
-*Energy-absorbing impact pads in frame
-*Front [[airbag|air bags]]
-*Front side air bags
-*Side curtain airbags
-*Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)
-*Anti-Pinch feature on all windows and moonroof
-*[[Remote Keyless Entry|Remote keyless entry]]
 ==Reliability and Maintenance==

Acura TL Review: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:32, 3 February 2009

Contents

Reliability and Maintenance

Interior and Comforts

Exterior

Styles and Options

Base

Type-S

Main Competitors

External Links

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