Acura TL

Acura
Acura TL (2007)

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The TL sedan is Acura's best-selling model, and for good reason. The midsize sedan has broad appeal, and its design and performance have raised it above the level of the generation — called the 3.2 TL — that it replaced in 2004. Along with incremental styling and chassis changes, the big news for 2007 is the reintroduction of the sporty Type-S version, which boasts significant enhancements from bumper to bumper that make it more fun to drive and distinctive but not clownish in appearance.

Exterior & Styling

Most people won't notice the TL's styling changes, but if you study it, you'll find a larger grille with honeycomb mesh. The previous grille was set deeper and was less noticeable than the honeycomb, which I'm not sure is an improvement — especially because a cutout that enables access to the hood latch is clearly visible. The bumper has been reshaped and makes the lower twin intake vents less visually dominant. Now containing the fog lights and a horizontal chrome strip, they make the car look lower and wider — a nice effect overall. The headlight clusters, which formerly included the fog lights, now house a pair of more defined daytime running lights. The rear bumper also has been reshaped, and the all-red taillight lenses have been replaced by clear lenses over a more intricate cluster of lights with a new LED pattern. In the regular TL, the largest segments are now white — again, not an improvement in my eyes. The side mirrors now incorporate turn-signal lights.

The Type-S variant is nicely distinguished by a number of cosmetic and functional elements — most noticeably in the rear. Here the taillights are all-red, delineated by a smoked-chrome bezel, which is a much better look. Atop the trunklid is a small, tasteful spoiler. The biggest at-a-glance difference is the tailpipes, which consist of dual chrome tips on either side. I'm not wild about the execution; the TL's rear is one of the most cohesive and distinctive on the road, a solid wedge with a brilliantly executed interplay of trapezoidal shapes. The Type-S' tubular pipes do away with one of the slickest elements, the trapezoidal exhaust tips that fit flush with the bumper in perfectly shaped notches. Certainly there was a way to distinguish the Type-S without borrowing from a different stylistic vocabulary. (What am I, an art critic?) Between the pipes is another honeycomb grille posing as a diffuser; it is strictly cosmetic.

The Type-S has wider side sills than the regular TL but shares its front-end changes and is distinguished by "black chrome" trim on the grille and bumper in place of the bright chrome elements. Alloy wheels with five split spokes are new for 2007. The Type-S has charcoal wheels with matrix-style spokes. Both are 17 inches in diameter, but Acura offers 18-inch wheels as an option.

Beauty is subjective, but for what it's worth, I think the TL is one of the best-looking cars on the market. Granted, most models look tragically similar, and the TL is guilty of the same, but I've never mistaken one with anything else in traffic — except maybe its look-alike little brother, the TSX. Practically since they were first imported, Hondas, Toyotas and their luxury versions have been exceptionally well-rounded, quality cars held back by uninspiring styling. (Hard to imagine how much more successful they could have been.) When I first saw the TL, I believed that the tide had begun to turn, and that competing automakers should be very concerned.

By Joe Wiesenfelder