Review of the 2009 Acura TL

Manufacturers love, nay, need to create massive buzz about cars that have been redesigned.  I’ve always found it entertaining though, because it’s kind of like saying

We fixed all the mistakes we made on the last one, and since it was fundamentally wrong from the start, we redid it from the ground up.

Well, it’s not like that, but we can make fun, can’t we?  Redesigns are usually of the revolutionary or evolutionary variants.  It’s usually cars that don’t sell as well that tend to go for revolutionary redesigns, because they have much less to lose.  The Acura TL sort of defined a new value point way back in the late 1990s when it came out, and its comes-one-way package of the time accentuated that.  Its sales have been declining in the past few years, and since the Accord it’s based on was recently redesigned, the TL too gets the same treatment.

Acura is easily the least successful of the three luxury Japanese brands, and from my point of view, it’s easy to see why.  Even though they were first to the North American market, they never really got the status they wanted.  Many times over the years, Acura’s (idiotic) marketing team has wondered and obsessed over why people refer to their cars as a Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Audi or Infiniti, and to their own cars as an Integra, Vigor or Legend.  Their brainiac response to this was not to understand why people value those brands more, but to rename the Acura lineup to have forgettable models, such as a 3.2TL, CL, RL and RSX.  Funny thing… when you don’t fix the problem at the root, it has a way of biting you in the derriere later on.  People still call them TLs.

From the start, Sochioro Honda, brilliant engineer and entrepreneur, didn’t believe in excess.  He thought that a 4-cylinder engine was more than enough for anyone.  That’s why Accords of his time had 4-cylinder engines exclusively.  Even after his death, the folks at Honda tried to follow his philosophy, and that is why Acura’s flagship cars have never had anything more than a V6.  But the problem is that people don’t need luxury cars.  They buy them because they want to, because they want to be pampered and enjoy the excess of a Hybrid V8 like in the Lexus LS600h or a twin-turbo V12 like in the Mercedes S600.

Buyers responded to this philosophy by simply not buying Acura’s high end luxury sedans, which are the flag carriers for a car company.  It doesn’t matter if it consumes fuel excessively, is heavy, too expensive or anything else for that matter.  Even if they sell it at a loss, its purpose is to generate lust in people’s eyes and fulfil an aspiration to own it, if nothing else.  Honda/Acura seemed to understand this idea with the NSX (that it is a flag carrier), and continued producing it long after it wasn’t profitable anymore, but mysteriously, this idea evaded them for the regular lineup.  The NSX too, never really gained the popularity they wanted in North America, so in essence, Acura had nothing to show off, and nothing for buyers to really want.

Acura also focused its efforts on the cheaper models, models which never should have been sold as Acuras, such as the Integra and RSX, and the CSX (in Canada).  Mercedes and BMW quickly realized that North America doesn’t like the idea of an expensive 4-cylinder car, and they got rid of the 4-bangers in the 3-series and C-class, and Lexus knew this from the start.

So, while a V6 is entirely acceptable in the entry level segment that the TL competes in, it lacks the prestigious nameplates that the others carry.  Acura is lost in the same no man’s land that also contain Volvo and Saab.  People don’t know what to make of them.  They’re not quite Toyota and Ford, and they’re not quite BMW and Mercedes either.  For this reason, Acura really needs to undercut the pricing of the other guys, and while this used to be the case with the first generation, pricing is not really a plus point anymore. The price of the TL has gone up, and the price of the C-class and 3-series have come down.  The Infiniti G35 has really shaken this segment up too.

So what do I make of this new TL?

Firstly, I think it takes the best design features of Acura concepts, then messes them up as good as it can.  The front-end reminds me of a city snowplow, and the rear end is sloped to such a degree that you could cover it with snow and teach your kids to ski on it.

The four exhaust pipes LIE about the power that does not exist underneath, for this is not the Lexus IS-F, and it certainly doesn’t sound like it either (the IS-F has a wonderful Nascar-sounding engine).  About the looks, what can I say?

What’s with the lines and sharp creases?  Trying to be like Cadillac, is that it?  Well, that’d be the worst idea, seeing as how Cadillac is a company in the midst of reinventing and finding itself. There isn’t much of an Acura identity, so there’s nothing to adhere to, and therefore nothing to strengthen the brand’s presence (they still don’t get it).

Bottom line:  an exercise in fugliness.

The interior is nothing to write home about either, though its not actually bad, like the exterior or the idea of the car itself is.

Clearer, better gauges, a bigger screen with better navigation and such features can only be good. Acura has finally decided to start using colours other than tan and black, which is good.

Live weather updates are a good thing.  I am a little concerned about the quantity and concentration of buttons on the center console.

This might be a bit of a nightmare for people that aren’t very techno-savvy.

Fundamentally, I think the car is all wrong.  It’s based on an Accord, so it can’t feel all that different, no matter what they do.  Front-drive is a no-no in this segment, and I’m a little stumped that Acura didn’t understand this.  Don’t they see the success of the 3-series, C-class, and most of all, the Infiniti G35?  The SH-AWD system isn’t bad, but it works more as a gimmick than anything else, because I don’t think any normal person will be taking their Accord-based family sedan onto a track, and then admiring the few thousandths of a second the SH-AWD system saves them.  At least it’s still an AWD system.  The EPA estimates for the SH model are 17/24.  Did you read that?  That’s the kind of mileage you’d expect with a V8 car such as the Mustang.  Lexus GX 470 owners report that their 6000-lb, V8-powered SUVs get 18.5 mpg in real-world conditions, something that this TL might be able to.  That’s pretty pathetic, isn’t it?  Honda never used V8s and larger, more powerful engines in the past with the argument that they’re not as good on gas.  What’s all this about then?

Here’s what I say… The Honda Accord can be had with the same chassis, similar engine (that runs on regular gas and is quite efficient), navigation and many of the features the TL has for about $10,000 less.  For about $8,000 less, you can get yourself into a Mercedes C300, or for $13,000 less, the C240.  Around the same money will also get you into the delicious rear-drive IS350 from Lexus as well.  There is no compelling reason to buy this redesigned monstrosity that is still called the TL.

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