It is hard not to draw comparisons of this car with the 3rd generation TL Type-S that I owned back in 2008. That car had the strongest motor in the TL line-up at the time, putting out a claimed 286-hp to the front wheels and, if you had the manual transmission (which of course I did), a limited slip differential. That car is still, to me, the one that got away and I regret ever agreeing to sell it. Despite being FWD, it handled surprisingly well and was extraordinarily well balanced between comfort, performance, luxury, reliability, and cost. Coming into my test of the 2014 TL, I was expecting Acura to deliver once again on this formula, given its past success, but I would leave feeling more than a little let down.
Where I have no complaints, however, is in the drive train. Acura's excellent J-series V6, coming in at 3.7L in this application, and produces a slightly underwhelming 305-hp. While on paper, the engine seems like it will easily be outrun by the competition in this class, the TL holds its own in part because Acura has done such a tremendous job on the overall character of the engine. During my time with the TL, I never once felt like there was a lack of power, although it also never quite blew me away, either. It does, however, deliver a syrupy smooth wave of motive force when called upon and accompanies it with a beautiful mechanical symphony from under hood. Somehow, Acura does manage to make one of the best sounding motors, even if it is down a bit on power compared to its rivals. One suggestion would be for Acura to find a way to get a slightly more aggressive exhaust note, especially on the performance model of the line-up. Even if it is not the fastest car, nothing says it cannot sound like it has a little more grunt.
Steering, however, is not as lively as I would like in a car with such performance potential. The electronic power steering offers good accuracy, but could stand to be weightier to compensate for the lack of feel. I was shocked to find that getting back into my TSX, the steering action actually felt stiffer and offers a greater level of feel and precision than the steering in the much larger and much more expensive TL.
Out on the road, which still had a thin layer of salt, sand, and frozen snow on it, I had a chance to really press the car in conditions that tested the AWD system's ability to not only maintain traction, but really take this two-ton car and make it handle like something significantly smaller and lighter. The beauty of Acura's SH-AWD system is just how seamlessly it is able to transition between powering only the wheels with traction to forcing nearly all power to the outside rear wheel to help the car rotate in a corner. There is still a bit of initial understeer as the TL is a nose-heavy car, but almost as soon as the understeer rears its ugly head, it disappears as the power is shifted to induce rotation and the car tracks as if on rails through any corner. However, you must stay on the power in order for things to work since the system is only able to distribute the power when torque is being applied from the motor. That can lead to some pretty seriously crazy moments if you are looking to push the car hard and is a great way to scare your passengers half to death. Ultimately, what it boils down to is an AWD car that is incredibly throttle steerable.
That trick AWD system is attached to a very stiff chassis by a traditional double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension. The spring rates and dampers are well tuned to offer both great control and a ride that is sporty without being harsh. There are no fancy electronically adjustable dampers here so everything has to be done right and, for the most part, Acura has gotten it to where the greatest number of buyers will accept the compromise. However, at the end of the day, it is still a compromise and with competitors moving more towards electronically adjustable damping, Acura needs to give that some serious thought on future generations of this car.
As my time with the TL SH-AWD drew to a close, I could not help feeling just a bit let down by some of the choices that Acura chose to make with this car, especially as compared with how good the third generation TL Type-S was. Being long-time Acura owners, my family has often been able to overlook some of the shortcomings in order to embrace what have generally been excellent cars and while empirically, the TL is a very good car, it simply lacks some of the driving character of its predecessor and tries to replace that with technology and that very polarizing look. With the news that our first look at the 2015 TLX is only weeks away, and the fact that we just acquired two very handsome new Acuras to replace ones we already had in our long-term fleet, I hold out hope that the mistakes in this fourth generation car will be addressed and the new TLX will restore Acura's sedans to their glory days from just a decade ago.
Special thanks to the team at Bernardi Acura of Boston for providing the vehicle for this test drive and the lively banter on the general state of the Acura brand.
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