J E E - R A H L

TL party

Got invited to the TL launch party at the local Acura dealership. Gotta say that they have a very impressive vehicle on thier hands. Got there around 7:00pm to checkout the car and free hour'dourves. The car itself was nothing short of stunning. It's about the size of a Lexus GS series, a bit shorter than the previous TL, but also a bit taller.

From the outside, it has a very athletic stance, sporting wide tires, 17" wheels, and flared fenders. Body lines are clean and mimic european styling, a-la Audi or BMW. From the front, the five point grill is unmistakably acura, the headlights akin to the recently released TSX. The rear of the car sports new LED brake lights and dual exhausts to reinfoce a very sporty, yet serious look.

Moving on to the interior, Acura has really done a great job. The instrument cluster is brightly backlit in blue and orange/red tones. There is a information panel that sits at the bottom of the right-most cluster that is a nice touch. The steering wheel is very nicely done, however it seemed a bit cluttered with so many buttons on it (cruise control, radio, bluetooth phone). The car comes standard with both XM and bluetooth, very interesting indeed. XM as you may know, is a stellite based radio system (3 month subscription included). Didn't get to listen to it but if you're wondering, that's what the nub on the back of the roof of the car is there for. Bluetooth is a wireless standard, and in this case, is used for connectivity to compatible mobile phones. If you happen to have a bluetooth enabled phone, you will be able to seamlessly use your phone service through the speakers and microphone in the car. So, call comes in, the radio shuts off and you start talking and the conversation comes through the car speakers. Moving on, the dash, leather, aluminum trim are all very well done.

Now for the bad part. The TL is still front wheel drive... A car of this size and power rating should definitely be rear wheel drive. Sorry folks, all wheel drive is simply overrated. Honda/Acura also has a nasty habit of not incorporating enough antidive geometry in their suspension in my opinion. Even the previous TL Type-S was very soft and had a lot of body roll, even for a car that size and wieght. If you don't believe me, drive a TL and a BMW 5 series and you'll know what I mean. I also think Acura should have made the whole rear light custer LED. If you're going to make LED brake lights, why not do it all and have LED blinkers too? One last nit-pick is the side marker light (right below the side mirrors). These should definitely not be there and moved up to the front of the mirror like in the TSX. Some Acura brochures actually state that the TL was supposed to be configured this way. What's worse is (although I didn't see it myself) that they don't blink.

All in all, I think they did a great job. For just a few thousand more than a new Accord V6, the Acura TL is a great semi-luxury sports sedan. For us pretentious Asians, I'm sure it will be very popular in the years to come.

Posted by e1000 at October 23, 2003 10:04 AM