As requested by Shnak I test drove an Acura TL today at the local Acura dealer. In the showroom they had a nice pearl white with auto and no navi screen, I took my pics of this car even though I drove a blue TL with Navi.
I arrived and it was a beautiful day, dry roads 0 degrees, I had my hopes up to drive a 6 speed manual, I asked but was told I could only drive the automatic
. The salesman offered to drive a manual to my home when the weather got nicer, it was nice enough I though…. Anyway….
So first things first, the lighting on the white pearl was interesting, the bumpers did not look to be the same colour as the rest of the car, you could see more of a yellow tint to the bumpers, this could have just been the lighting but it really bothered me
Interior-Exterior Impressions The car is very sexy, Acura did a great job of making this car appeal to all ages in my opinion. The interior has a nice aluminum finish with some texture. And the door panels have something that looks like simulated carbon fiber
A nice touch is that both the front and the rear have nice sill plates to remind you this is an upscale car as you enter it.
I wasn’t very impressed by the size of the rear seats, I sat back there with my girlfriend and we both commented it didn’t seem like sitting 5 people would be very comfortable, it’s more of a 4 seater (I don’t even remember seeing a third seat belt in the rear? The leg room was not very stellar either, my girlfriend noted that in the CTS with both her parents in the back seat there was plenty of room to slide around as I was driving.
And this one is for Shnak a very well thought out trunk
look no “wire” hanging out in thin air. Although the TL does not have hydraulic hinges to hold the trunk up. One thing to note though is that the TL only has a sky pass through no folding rear seats, which really reduces cargo space, a big negative in my book.
Since this is my fifth review and having had a closer look at the other cars I was test driving I really started to get more picky with some of the fit and finish. The TL interior feels really good, soft rubbers on the door sides, a little cubby that folds out at the bottom of the door and the trim pieces don’t feel like cheap hard plastic. Thumbs up for Acura on the interior materials which are ages ahead of that in the CTS.
On the other hand the console was not as intuitive as it was on the CTS, I found that I had to hunt and peck to find dual zone climate control and a few of the radio controls, it was better laid out in the caddy.
Surprisingly I was a little disappointed in the bumper and trunk fitting on the TL, the bumpers didn’t line up perfectly and the trunk has a funky quarter inch seam between it and the body, probably design intent but usually they line up this was odd.
Here’s another oddity, maybe a little too nit picky but I’m sure Audi doesn’t put “VW” on any of their parts, this sidemarket said “HONDA” on it. I just thought it was a little funny.
The engine bay is VERY tidy indeed and all plastic to keep the engine looking like new for years
nothing really much to look at here.
Driving Impressions So unfortunately I test drove the automatic so I can’t compare as much as I wish I could but I will say the automatic transmission was smooth and quick to downshift when required during a highway merge. The TL has 270hp and 238lb-ft/tq which is more than the 220/220 on the CTS and you could feel it, the TL felt very quick and the V6 had a nice exhaust note that was audible in the cabin, the CTS masks the exhaust almost completely.
The brakes on the TL were VERY grabby, pretty must an instant grab which is a very sporty type feel, I was a little surprised for a luxury type vehicle to have such a quick pedal to grab. The throttle response on the TL is very quick nothing out of the ordinary here.
The steering was sharper and more firm than that on the CTS, I believe the CTS I drove had the speed sensitive steering option which made it VERY light at slow speeds, the TL seemed to be the same all the time, I didn’t drive this car nearly as long as I did the CTS therefore not getting as much of a feel for turning radius and such but it did feel like it would be longer, and the car felt bigger than the CTS as I was driving it down the road, this may have had to do with the front wheels driving the car. The LSD did do it’s job well on the car, I never felt any torque steer, but I didn’t hammer the car around either.
After merging on the highway we noticed immediately the car was not as quiet as the CTS, there was wind noise coming from the passenger’s side door, we tried lowering and raising the window to no avail, this was a big negative! Riding along carling avenue, we both felt the bumps and jarring of the suspension was not absorbed well enough for the type of vehicle, I was expected a softer ride, the TL really had a harsh ride, remember I even drove the sports suspension version of the CTS, my girlfriend even complained about the ride and we are use to my crappy impreza!! I also noticed some sounds coming from some of the interior plastics as we hit these bumps.
The drivers seat was very comfortable and I as happy, my girlfriend on the other hand was not, her seat had only 4 way adjustments rather than the 8 way I had. The Caddy had 8 way on both sides, she has been spoiled and was not comfortable and complained about the seats not having up/down adjustment like the Caddys. We also noticed the heated seats didn’t seem to warm you very much at all.
We played with the DVD-Audio system and it sounded very nice, MUCH nicer than the radio in the CTS, the CTS has a subwoofer but it was horribly underpowered and at any volume the speakers distorted. The TL had a VERY nice sound system that would be enjoyed with any type of music, and the DTS surround is a nice touch. We also played around a bit with the GPS and it was quick to engage and fairly easy to use, considering I turned it on and played with it while driving
I liked the big display much more so than the display on my Garmin, but for the $4000 price tag it BETTER be good
Overall Impressions Well I suppose it’s fairly obvious from the tone of my review (and I didn’t right this immediately after getting home, I let everything sink in). The TL didn’t impress me all that much. The CTS was a much quieter and more luxurious car. The TL did impress me with the interior styling and I usually value that quite heavily, but the ergonomics of the dash didn’t turn me on very much. The ride was pretty harsh for this type of vehicle, it wasn’t quiet on the highway at all it was average at best.
Mostly I was surprised at how I WASN’T totally impressed by this car. On the surface it looks great, but after the drive I was a little under whelmed. Maybe the CTS spoiled me? A few weeks ago I certainly would NOT have recommended the CTS over the TL, but depending on ones priorities I would now. If you are looking for a quiet ride with good performance the Cadillac is a great value. The TL has great interior styling a very powerful engine and Honda reliability (assumed) but it is more of a sporty type ride which I expect from something like the TSX but not the TL. This makes me wonder what the RL is like while driving.
Speaking of the RL, I sat inside the RL after being in the TL for a length of time and the RL does have a nicer interior, I agree the one at the autoshow was iffy, but the one at the dealer was much better.
