Vehicle: 2009 Acura TL
Price as tested: CDN$41815

Performance: Beneath TL’s interesting looking body lies a heart of a lion. The new TL is motivated by an exceptional V6, which has 3.5 liters of displacement, along with all the advanced i-VTEC technology combined with SOHC and 24-valves. This engine is anything but. Its not only smooth and willing to rev, as one expects from Honda. Its also extremely quiet and refined at the same time. With 280 ponies and 254 lb/ft of torque at driver’s disposal, performance has never been an issue with TL. The impressive 254 lb/ft of torque arrives at 5000rpm, which seems high when its on paper. Its actually eager and peppy at the low end, without sacificing Honda’s hallmark high revving character in all of its excellent engines.

Unlike other cars with manumatic, which driver usually has to move the lever to the next gate for complete manual shifting. The new TL has a silver lining behind its “D” and “S”. Whenever driver selects both of these gears, they can activate the manumatic mode through the nifty paddle shifters on the steering wheel. That encourages more manual shifting than related on the gate. This has to be one of the best 5-speed automatic ever available on the planet. The part and full throttle kick-down are amazing, so does the speed of up and downshifting. Its also allow driver to rev it pass redline before upshifting. This is the type of gearbox which all other automakers have to judge when they are going to design the next slushmatic.

Handling: When it comes to dynamic abilities, TL has always been regarded as one of the better ones on the market. With the new generation, TL is finally available with SH-AWD after much-criticized with its torque steer and understeer as in previous car. The improvement is significant enough even in our front-drive tester. Honda enginners have cured the nasty torque steer even with 280hp going through the front-wheel. Everything from the suspension caliberations to steering ratio have improved to change that aspect. The result is a car that as delicated and balanced as any other front-drive Honda I have ever driven. The electric power steering provides plenty of weight and feedback, with a nice level of responsiveness through the turn-in. The body rolls are minimal with a sense of understeer when pushed. VSA or Vehicle Stability Assist remains uninstrusive even when pushed hard into a corner. It allows a decent level of speed into a curve until the helping hand steps in. That’s the hallmark of a good stability contol system.

The single biggest difference between the new and previous TL has to be the inheritant softness through the suspension. The new car feels more softly sprung, even when comparing with the previous non Type-S TL variant. All have done without losing Acura’s European suppleness and firmness through the suspension feedback to the driver. That translates into a more comfortable ride quality on all the patholes and roughness of what we called Vancouver. On the other hand, it also means Acura will come out with a firmer spring sportier TL called Type-S pretty soon.

Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, TL’s braking performance certainly lives up to its name. The stopping distance is short, while both the brake feel and modulation are reassuring and confidence-inspiring. When drop the pedal into metal, ABS doesn’t step in unnecessarily unlike some lesser system.

Interior: The single biggest drawback of the TL has to be found around the trunk. Along with the lack of fold-down rear seats, the sloopy trunk cut-off and artifically high liftover have given TL limited accessibility and versatility in car of its size. You will lost a sense of dignity when loading up heavy luggage into TL’s trunk for such a terribly high liftover. With only a ski-pass through, the size of the luggage also will be limited. Even if the actual trunk is deep and the size is pretty large, it won’t be able to swallow much else inside. In TL’s case, its definitely style-over-function in this regret. Shame on you, Acura.

The rest of the interior in finished in top-notch materials with excellent fit-and-finish. There are plenty of high-quality plastic all over the dashboard and door panels. Leather seating material is soft and supple, with a sense of firmness for proper support. The seats are comfortable with all the supports in all areas. The instrumentation gauges are clear and analog. All the automatic climate control and stereo are placed on a logical location for excellent ergonomics. In terms of ergonomics, there are at least 30 buttons in the center console for both occassions. Whether you like it or not, button-happy interiors are here to stay in all Acura products sans the entry-level CSX premium compact.

There are plenty of legroom at the back of the TL, its also spacious enough to fit 3 adults properly across. The headroom seems to be at a bit of a premium given the sleek C-pillars they have designed with the new TL.

Conclusion: While the new TL’s styling is debatable, its level of engineering gone through this wonderful set of wheels are nothing worth to debate. Its not only drives exceptionally well, it got a great powertrain and a beautiful interior to boot. With $41k as starting price, its also a smoking deal given its Acura nameplate. The bottom line? TL remains the high water marks in the luxury sports segment.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2009 Acura TL
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Performance: 5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 1/5
Value-for-money: 5/5

Overall rating: 4/5