Acura

First Look: 2012 Acura TL in 2011 Chicago Auto Show

Acura’s much-maligned TL has been reinvigorated. With fresh styling and a new six-speed automatic transmission, the refreshed 2012 Acura TL may no longer be the odds-on favorite to make fun of from a design perspective.

The mid-size Acura four-door debuts at the Chicago Auto Show and goes on sale later this year. The five-speed automatic transmission on the TL is gone; for 2012, all automatic-transmission TLs get a six-speed. In front-wheel-drive form, fuel economy is expected to improve from 18/26 mpg city/highway to 20/29 mpg, a noticeable boost.

Acura’s 280-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 and 305-horsepower 3.7-liter V-6 remain, but the automaker says that optimized gear ratios will make the cars slightly quicker. The new six-speed automatic will also allow double-kickdowns, for example, from fifth to third gear. The six-speed manual transmission is still an option for those who start with the 3.7-liter V-6 and Acura’s “super-handling” all-wheel drive.
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First Test: 2010 Acura MDX

It was hard to follow a trio of silver Lexus RXs on the freeway — as I did this morning — without wondering what on earth could be going through their driver’s minds. Whatever it was though, my suggestion would be they quickly see a doctor. Outbreaks of mass automotive repetition like this on our highways need to be nipped in the bud.

Fortunately, there’s a treatment for the particular strain I witnessed — medically referred to as Silver Lexus Crossover Syndrome, I think — and that’s Acura‘s latest MDX. First of all, the MDX is never, ever, seen in groups of three (let alone two, come to think of it). And while the Acura is a bit pricier than the RX (by about eight percent, comparing AWD base versions), for it you’re rewarded with a handles-like-no-other-crossover experience, made better for 2010 by a fairly comprehensive sprucing.

What’s spruced most of all is an all-new 3.7-liter V-6 engine featuring a higher compression ratio and a bigger throttle body girded by a stronger crankshaft and connecting rods, a more rigid block, and better cooling. On paper, all this revamping appears to be kind of puzzling, as its maximum power is not only identical to its predecessor’s (both offering 300 horses from 3.7 liters), but the new engine’s torque actually decreases 5 pound-feet, to 270. The riddle’s answer is that the new engine’s peak power is at 300 more rpm while its maximum torque appears at 500 fewer revs. In other words, it’s tremendously more flexible. It also gets better mileage, by 1 mpg both in the city and on the highway.

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