By Ron Amadon, MarketWatch
DAMASCUS, Md. (MarketWatch) — Before evaluating the new Acura TL, it’s important to take a look at its target market.
That would be a suburban couple who have had a good year despite the slow-growth economy and who want something that isn’t seen in every driveway in the block. So much for Audi A4s and BMW 3s.
For 2012, Acura
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has taken steps to tone down the ugly beak on the TL ahead of what hopefully will be its disappearance in the next redesign. It is my understanding the front-end styling hasn’t exactly been a sales enhancer.
The automatic transmission is now a six-speed, with the old five-speed exiting out the dealer’s back door. Other than the most minor of styling touches, that’s about it for 2012 changes.
However, that leaves a lot of good stuff behind. Those include a very comfortable heated and ventilated, 10-way adjustable driver’s seat, eight-way adjustable on the passenger’s side. That ventilated seat is part of a new “Advance” package that includes a blind-spot detector.
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There’s lots of room for a 6-foot driver even with a sun roof, helped by the tilting and telescoping, leather-wrapped and button-clad steering wheel.
The center console will gain the TL immediate entry into “buttonmania.” To the TL’s credit I was able to set up the presets on the audio system and the temperature without referring to the thick owner’s manual. But the interior needs a redesign, suffering a bad case of equating technical choices to luxury.
Acura offers two engines with this car — A 3.7-liter V-6 good for 305 horsepower for all-wheel drive models and the 280-horsepower V-6 in the test car. The tester also came with paddle shifts that were quick acting, but so was the tranny. The car needed just a touch over six seconds to 60 mph. It was EPA rated at 20-29 mpg; I got 18.9. Premium fuel is required.
The suspension is a nice combination of handling and ride quality. Feedback wasn’t great, but drivers who want that probably are shopping BMW
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and Audi
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anyway. You can still have some fun in the outback, while long trips on the interstates are a no-brainer. I’d drive this one to the other coast in a heartbeat.
The TL has all the obligatory safety and voice-recognition devices expected at this level, but good luck with the voice recognition. I had hoped it would forward my burger order to the drive-through, but no luck. Do people actually remember a tenth of these voice commands? Does a cat come when called?
In the end, you’ll take home the legendary Acura promise of long life and high build quality — and with the exception of that crazy front end, a quietly distinctive sedan.
Vehicles tested for this column are on loan from the auto companies through local distributors.
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Ron Amadon writes about cars for MarketWatch from Washington.