Acura TL reviews

2003 Acura TL Driving Impressions

The Acura TL cruises quietly, but doesn't make the driver feel isolated from the driving experience.

It's very stable at high speeds and feels solid in fast, sweeping turns. The TL inspires confidence with predictable handling. Like most front-wheel-drive sedans, the TL understeers when pushed to the limit of the tires. It doesn't have the hard, precise edge of the rear-wheel-drive BMW 3 Series cars. The steering is very light at low speed, which makes it easy to handle in crowded parking lots, yet it offers good feedback.

The suspension dampens bumps and vibration, yet the handling is taut. Acura designed the TL's multi-link rear suspension and double-wishbone-style front suspension to enhance its sporting performance while preserving its luxury feel. The chassis roll center of the current-generation car was lowered to reduce body lean in corners. V-rated Michelin MXV4 tires that provide good grip are mounted on 16-inch wheels.

Equipped with four-wheel disc brakes, the TL provides smooth, sure braking performance. Anti-lock brakes are standard.

The standard TL model offers plenty of power from its 225-horsepower V6. It delivers strong acceleration at highway speeds and sharp throttle response at lower speeds. The TL can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 7.5 seconds. At the same time, the engine is supremely smooth and quiet, and it gets an EPA-rated 29 mpg on the highway. The 3.2-liter V6 comes with four cams, 24 valves and Honda's famous VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) valvetrain.

Acura's five-speed automatic transmission is much more refined than most. Shifting is silky smooth. It downshifts into the appropriate gear when quick acceleration is needed and doesn't hunt unnecessarily between gears. The staggered design of the PRND side of the shifter gate seems a bit clumsy, however. We found it cumbersome to shift from drive to reverse when trying to get out of tight quarters in a hurry. The shifter in the TL-S model that we tested felt too stiff, even when just notching side-to-side in the SportShift mode.

The semi-automatic SportShift feature allows the driver to change gears manually. Slide the shifter into a two-way gate on the left; downshift by pulling the lever back, upshift by pushing it forward. It's fun to use and, if used correctly, can improve performance and efficiency in many situations. Mostly it gives you a heightened sense of control. You can use it for slowing the car slightly on a downhill grade so you don't have to brake for a slower car. Or you can use it to maintain third or fourth gear when you're in the mountains or on a winding road. You don't always want the automatic to upshift on short straight stretches because it will just have to downshift again after you brake and accelerate out of the next corner; the Sportshift solves this. The SportShift can add entertainment when slogging along in stop-and-go traffic.

The Type-S has an aggressive wild streak. For every satisfying driving quality the Type-S has, there's an untamed one. It's a visceral, exciting, imperfect car. No one can say this is one of those Japanese cars that's engineered so tightly it lacks character.

The Type-S suspension is noticeably firm, thanks to stiffer shocks, a slightly larger rear stabilizer bar, and 17-inch alloy wheels with Michelin P215/50R17 high-performance tires. It twitches over bumps in medium- and high-speed curves and does a poor job of absorbing shallow potholes and other big bumps. The increased steering ratio allows the Type-S to turn into corners very crisply, which is exciting. It feels pointy, like an arrow, and it wants to slash and dart, with confidence. It's a point and shoot kind of car. It feels light under the driver's hands, sometimes too light.

When driven very hard, like on a race track, the front-wheel-drive TL Type-S does not offer the level of handling found in rear-wheel-drive sports sedans, such as the BMW 3 Series and the Infiniti G3