Interesting article on the 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD 6 speed manual by Fortune Magazine. The review is mixed. In an unusual twist, the writer did not like the 6 speed manual but actually likes the styling/design of the vehicle. The article also discusses Acura's struggle to define itself as brand.

Link: http://thewheeldeal.blogs.fortune.cn...010-tl-sh-awd/

The Wheel Deal
It's all about the product.
By Alex Taylor III

Type Size
October 30, 2009, 11:06 am
Athletic Acura: 2010 TL SH-AWD



For as long as I have been writing about cars, Acura, the move-up division of Honda, has been struggling to create an identity for itself.
Part of the problem is its positioning. Unlike Lexus and Infiniti, Acura was never conceived as a full-bore attack on the German luxury carmakers, but rather a step up for Honda buyers. So while Acura markets cars in small, medium, and large sizes, just like the Germans, they are several notches lower in price and prestige.
Another part of the problem is perceived exclusivity. Two-thirds of Acura’s current passenger car lineup is based on the Honda Accord sold in Europe, a heritage that isn’t going to appeal to status seekers. Over the years, Acura’s styling has been appropriately conservative without being distinctive. And its nomenclature is forgettable, with the model range designations going mysteriously from TSX to TL to RL.
So while Acura is three years older than Lexus or Infiniti, it hasn’t been able to use those extra years to establish a higher profile. Even difficult economic conditions haven’t helped, despite Acura’s generally lower price points and superior gas mileage. Its sales have fallen 34% this year, more than its luxury competitors.
A car that could raise Acura’s recognition factor is the TL, the mid-size in the lineup. Powered by a 305-horsepower V-6 and available with a six-speed manual transmission, it has been praised by enthusiasts for its smooth shifting and zesty performance.
I was less impressed. When navigating through a six-speed gearbox, it is helpful to have an indicator of the instrument panel to tell you what gear you are in; Audis do but this Acura did not. The TL also seemed to reward higher-rev shift points than I am accustomed to using. Down in the lower revs, I found myself downshifting frequently on hills despite the reputedly torquey characteristics of the engine
What I did like was the TL’s design: aggressive but not so much as to scare small children. The paint job, in a deep radiant black, sets a standard for this class of car. The interior was as handsome as Honda products ever get, and the instruments were characteristically clear in function and easy to use.
Honda likes to position the TL as a rival for the BMW five-series. With an as-tested price of $44,195, that would make the Acura a bargain. I’d rather think of it as a range-topping Accord with a special appearance package. And I would very much like to test one with an automatic transmission that does the shifting for you to fully appreciate this impressive machine.

 

I also found the 3.7L to be less torquey than I expected it to be.
3.6L DI from GM felt more torquey.
Maybe it's the AWD, I don't know...

Dan

 

That reviewer sounds like he's metrosexual.....It is the AWD that makes the car feel less torquey but believe me, you, push the darn machine and it will show you what torque is. I love driving this car agressively, it pins you in your seat. People who drive cars like they belong in a Lexus should look elsewhere, this is not the car for you.

 

Why would you need an indicator on the dash to tell you what gear you're in with a manual, that's the whole point of needing to shift the knob into different positions in the first place, otherwise you would just move the shifter "up" and "down", oh wait, that's sports mode... This guy is clearly a douche!

the only thing anyone would possibly need would be a shift indicator to tell you when you're about to hit the limiter, but even then, that's why the engine gets progressively louder...

 

I think the TL SH-AWD 6spd manual would be a beast to drive, just fun as hell in my opinion

 

"I’d rather think of it as a range-topping Accord with a special appearance package"

Thats more true for the TSX i think

 

^

 

I know exactly what you mean, so much for putting potbellied vasculopaths with multiinfarct dementia by a 6-speed, their reflexes plain suck.

 

That is incredibly lame. Maybe he needs a sign to tell him that "this is a clutch pedal" too?

 

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot? There's no way this guy should be writing automotive articles in Fortune or anyplace else. Anyone who has driven a manual more than a few days remembers what gear they are in when they are driving. Maybe he's got early Alzheimer's.

 

On a side note, what does this say about the Audi driver? [ducks]

 

if you've driven the car a few days you can also tell what gear you're in by feeling the location of the stick/knob.

 

Having driven my TL 6-Speed for about 3 weeks now, and having not driven manuals for over 10 years prior, I know EXACTLY which gear I'm in at any time... For one, I never even understood those cars that had a light telling you when to shift, isn't that pretty obvious?

And the 6-Speed is a beast to drive, I'm only at about 500 Miles, but once I get a couple hundred more on it, I'm finally going to be able to open 'er up!

 

If you can't tell what gear you're in from the position of the knob (which I can), or from the sound of the engine (which I can), isn't that what the tachometer is there for in the first place? It's basically of no value in an automatic. It's to help a manual driver know the engine speed to know when to shift.

I've had two manual TL's, an '06 and now a '10, so I know of what I speak.

This is a strange, strange complaint.

 

Exactly. I guess he needs some sort of indicator to also tell him the percentage of throttle opening he has committed, too.

 

"I’d rather think of it as a range-topping Accord with a special appearance package."

Um, when was the last time this guy was at his local Honda dealership? This car is not an Accord, not designed like an Accord and doesn't even resemble the Accord.

What a f-ing tard. :eyeroll:

 

Well not the exterior atleast, but the interior, especially the dash and the center stack are very similar between the two cars. Those accord headlights are probably the ugliest things I have seen. I could actually use the top of the headlight as a coaster for my drink. Yep.

 

TL uses the same platform as the North American Accord. TSX uses the Euro-spec Accord platform.

 

Kinda harsh. I bought my 2010 TL last week, so I've probably been in all the dealerships more recently than you. Both outside and inside, the TL resembles an Accord far more than it does any Audi, BWM, Infiniti, Mercedes, VW or Porsche. The closest of those would be the Infiniti G-series, but even those are further from the TL than the Accord is.

That's not a bad thing per se. The Accord was, for a long time, the best selling car in the U.S. But it isn't what you expect for BMW/Audi money.

 

Narcisism, or the neologism you employed to describe it, is a very good description of these self-absorbed, bored and depressed types

 

And for a good reason, after all until recently Acuras were just rebadged European model Hondas.

 

Not true.

Only the TSX.

Thanks for playing.

 

OK, to come clean i test drove the 6MT SHAWD Tech and loved it. Amenities beat SAAB, but lacks that visceral connection to the road the Turbo X has.

By the end of the 45 minute test drive i was quite happy with the clutch, maibe because my current car also has an electric assist clutch.

 

Well I guess it depends where you live. In Canada, Audi and BMW sell for 10-20k more for a comparable product. The base price is similar, then come the options and BAM! Headshot to your wallet!

Welcome to Azine btw!

 

Thank you. That really depends on what you mean by comparable though. The Acura is more featured for the dollar. The BMW and Audi are both better looking externally and have better low-end torque and better AWD systems for slick conditions (speaking from personal experience here.) Plus more "prestige" or "image".

You can get a nice Audi A4 Quattro for about $6K less (in the U.S.) than the Acura TL SH-AWD 6MT. Add in the Nav system and a few other features to get the price to the Acura's $42.5K range and you wind up with a few big differences: The Audi will be slightly better looking, the Acura will be much faster and still a few more features. In my case, much faster (and six cylinders) was worth it; I'm allergic to four-bangers.

 

Saab's road feel is admittedly the best out there for FWD.

Its something Honda has really lost its way on. Having owned older Accords and a Prelude in the past that felt like fighter jets

 

Interestingly, I still get people who get into a 2009 TL and comment that the steering "is too hard" to turn. Now, IMO this car is anything but too hard, yet here I am trying to explain that it is designed to feel that way.

 

The 3rd gen TL-S had little power steering boost yet still felt numb to me.

I've only driven the FWD 4 gen TL so I'm out of the loop on this.

 

i buy Fortune Magazine for financial information and not car reviews.
i buy R&T, MT and C&D for car reviews, and not financial planning.

i find it odd not one of these car magazines mentioned the difficulties in shifting...

 

Me too! I'm now hooked on 6 cyl engines since they seem to warm up much faster in colder temp. A big plus in canadian winter!

You're right I should have expressed it more clearly: in Canada, BMW and Audi are a notch or three above Acura in prices. Even an Acura is serous money, a fully loaded car like mine is 2 x yearly average salary for a Quebec worker, so it's expensive already...

So for me at 31 yo, it was a choice: buy an econo car and save my money for 4-5 years (and be unhappy about it) to buy a german luxury car or buy an Acura now, a car whose styling I like (I'm one of the few, I know), that came fully loaded and will serve as my ticket to luxury cars for the rest of my life AND I'm learning about cars, mods and car care in the process. I'm very happy with my choice and I have a great dealer also, which is a huge plus for me!

Ahhh...let's not turn this post about my way of life, sorry for the OT! lol I hope nobody felt asleep!

 

I think the current TL is very much Accord-like, for whatever that's worth. You can tell the TL and Accord are very closely related...and that's a good thing.

My experience with my 2006 Accord has a lot to do with how I ended up in a 2010 TL.

In the writer's defence, the current TL 6-6 is really rather quiet. You can hear the exhaust note change a little, but there is surprisingly little engine or road noise.

Honestly, at any given time, in normal driving, it would be possible to be in any one of three gears without necessarily noticing a big change in the noise level. I can imagine that if you're not accustomed to the car, you could forget what gear you are in.

 

You should be able to tell the gear just by putting your hand on the stick.

As for a shift light most all the MT race cars I have ever driven had one so you don't need to go head down to see the tach at critical times.

Back before computer powered ignition systems the quality after market racing tachs had settings for a shift point light & a redline power take down circuit.

 

Torque steering was a biggie, but the Haldex made XWD AWD 40/60 rear biased with electronic LSD and passive rear steering pretty much eliminated it all.

BTW as a new Ohioan it was a pleasant surprise to learn that the TL is assembled in Marysville.