2004 Acura TL
Acura is diving confidently into German-infested water with the all-new 2004 Acura TL. The new design doesn't just look slippery, it is. The new body, combined with aerodynamic undertrays, produces a 0.29 coefficient of drag.
Acura hopes to attract younger buyers with the new TL. The base model is gone, as is the Type-S moniker. All new TLs are full-performance, fully appointed, with the only option being navigation.
The TL is a smorgasbord of digital and cutting edge electronics, which (unlike certain expensive marques) are fully functional and easily used. Have a blue-tooth compatible cell-phone? Simply carry it with you into the TL's cabin and it immediately becomes hands-free and integrated into the car's voice-activation system. Acura's touch-screen navigation is the most capable and easily used system we've experienced, and it's voice-activated.
The TL really opens new gateways to audiophile geekdom. Its standard ELS DVD Audio system plays DVD audio in full 5.1 digital six-channel stereo surround on eight speakers. Wow. The standard kick-ass TL stereo is also XM enabled. Audiophiles will start taking the long way home daily.
A final bit of electronic geekdom is the 3D solar sensing that references the car's direction using the navigation's GPS unit position combined with the time of the year to extrapolate the position of the sun relative to the car and adjust the car's climate control system accordingly. Nuts.
The same 3.2-liter V6 we loved in the last Type-S receives a bump in compression and variable runner-length intake manifold to boost horsepower to 270, up from the 260 of the last Type-S, with improved horsepower and torque, particularly from 4000 rpm up. The stance of the TL has been lowered 20mm from the previous model. Wheel and tire size grow substantially from the last Type-S, from 215s on 6.5-inch wheels to optional 235/45R-17 Potenzas on 17x8-inch wheels. If you opt for the manual transmission, you also receive four-pot Brembo calipers squeezing larger 12.2-inch discs.
Equipped with the six-speed manual transmission that also houses a mechanical limited-slip differential, the TL is an eager creature. The car never lets you forget its heft or its front- wheel-drive layout, but remains composed when pushed harder, even when we were confronted with less-than-perfect roads. Equipping the car with the five-speed automatic means you get slightly softer springs, smaller anti-roll bars and an open differential, but as automatics go, the driving experience was good.
The TL offers a fairly unique value package of style, luxury, go, bling and gadgets, likely to satisfy a broad spectrum of buyers, enthusiasts and otherwise. -Jared Holstein