2010 Acura TL: Automotive.com’s Weeklong Review — Summary

I come away with mixed emotions after a weeklong visit with the 2010 Acura TL. And that’s a good thing.

The TL fits between Acura’s entry level TSX and RL flagship where it, metaphorically, fits among luxury brands as well. First, Honda Accord owners moving up into the TL will find it both pleasantly similar and yet different. The interior design layout is similar, with many of the controls and features in their familiar functions and controls. Those owners whose Accords were equipped with navigation will, especially, feel right at home.

Yet the controversial “in your face” chrome front fascia; the busy trucklid and dual tailpipes; thick steering wheel and thick side bolsterings on the driver’s seat; AWD; etc., the list goes on and on proclaiming the TL’s sporty nature. This is especially true when pressed: the 300+ horsepower engine revved to life, and the TL felt like a much smaller vehicle on the twisting roads thanks to its Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, or SH-AWD. The powertrain, a first for the TL line, kept the sedan planted to the road in all but the tightest turns. (So I hear.)

But during normal driving, the TL proclaims itself a cruiser. I found the luxury sedan smooth on the streets and freeways, with the suspension just tuned up enough to feel the road without either being jostled or float like the auto barges of yesterday. I only heard the engine when revving up to speed. Wind and road noise, too, were luxury-car level as well.

Soft plastics were plentiful with brushed aluminum inserts spanning the with of the dashboard. Cloth, not “mouse fur”, covered the TL’s ceiling and sides. Control buttons, switches, and storage lids were suitably dampened. The TL had plenty of sound-dampening materials, making it easy to carry conversations at a normal tone or listen to the excellent ELS sound system or available SIRIUS XM radio. And speaking of systems: while the TL continues Honda’s so-called “buttonitious”, I found the current layout to be quite logical and relatively easy to use. (Course, I read the thick instruction manual, too, a rarity.)

I quickly grew to like the rearview camera.

There were a few nits. (Remember the in-between metaphor?) Headspace is compromised for tall passengers in the rear seats. Truck space is on the lower end of such a large sedan. I found the leather on the thick steering wheel to be quite hard, almost solid, a sharp contrast to the seats and their supple, premium, leather. And some of the materials within used were a bit pedestrian (e.g., the interior door handle). Same with the manual tilt-and-telescoping steering column, which seemed out of place for a technology-rich car.

My take? The 2010 Acura TL does a nice job straddling that nebulous line between a sporty vehicle and a street cruiser. Feature-rich and yet competitively priced, even naysayers have a hard time arguing against the TL’s bang-for-buck value among luxury brands. I can see why the TL is Acura best-selling brand, and think the polarizing design will, at the very least, get potential buyers to notice the line.