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2007 Acura TL Type-S Road Test

The Acura TL is a great sedan that deftly combines modern styling, advancedengineering, cutting edge technology and an athletic grace, both in its driving demeanor and appearance. I was always kind of curious to find out what it would be like if it could turn everything up an aggressive notch or two to match my personality, which people tell me is nothing less than excitable, and often affectionately described as ‘on crack’. Well, now there’s a TL for people like me, the TL Type-Spaz. It’s always nice to be able to learn something about oneself through writing, but it’s no revelation to me that I can sometimes be a little overwhelming, and so, sadly is the TL Type-S.

I so wish this could be a glowing review, a stream of praise and aweabout how Acura has turned the excellent

The TL is a great looking sedan on its own; the TL Type-S gets dark wheels and aggressive fascia kit. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

TL sedan into a white-cloaked land missile that can pluck a pigeon while parallel parking at 70 mph. Sadly, as much as the everyday TL was a fulfillment of all my expectations for a sporting luxury sedan, the Type-S was one of the biggest disappointments I have yet to experience in my brief career as an automotive journalist. It was appropriate that it should be painted white since someone should have thrown a bucket of whiteout over

Not exactly the sport sedan Jon was hoping for... (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

the marketing product pitch. Surely the engineers knew that the TL was just about as perfect as it could ever get on its current platform. It’s not that Acura can’t make a better car than the current TL, it’s just that I don’t think they can make a sports car from the current platform and configuration (Accord roots, front engine, front-wheel drive).

First of all, I want to make it perfectly clear that this car is plenty powerful; butthen again, so is the base TL and for the first time ever (and I hope the last) I’d have

Growl and bark: 3.5-liter engine is from the RL, and what a noise it makes! (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

to say that it’s a car with too much power. The Type-S borrows the 3.5L V6 from Acura’s RL, but it is slightly de-tuned to 286 horsepower and 256 lb-ft of torque. It also gets a re-tuned suspension featuring stiffer springs and anti-roll bars for a firmer ride all around, and four-piston Brembo brakes locking down on 310 mm rotors up front. The firm ride was well measured and helped the Type-S keep a firm grip on the road, and though there's a fair bit of bounce on rough roads it's well dampened and the car regains composure quickly. On the go, the Type-S feels solid and well planted, but it's under acceleration and in

Tail pipes have as much to say as the rest of the styling kit: power. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

tight corner work that it’s flaws begin to surface.

What does a front-wheel drive car do when there is so much power andit has to worry about steering, too? It torque steers, and the TL Type-S is a shining example of that demon. Surprisingly, after driving it I decided to look up some other reviews for confirmation, and while many experienced similar effects, I read quite a few reviews praising the TL Type-S for its ability to harness all 286 horsepower with only mild torque steer and seemingly complete mastery of heavy power out of corners. Maybe you can chalk it up to the very good, very grippy winter tires (high-end Bridgestone Blizzaks) wreaking havoc on the setup in the Type-S I drove, but I was getting

A handful, and we know exactly why. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

lane-changing levels of torque steer taking off in second gear, and that without showing any particular rush.

Maybe on the car I was driving someone disconnectedthe limited slip differential that is meant to harness all that power and put it down to the pavement evenly, or maybe the other reviewers of whom I speak are blessed with forearms that Popeye would envy, but I felt like I was wrestling a skinny little python (the steering wheel diameter is wider than you’d expect in a sporty Acura and the grip is kinda’ skinny) any time I tried to get anywhere when embracing the ‘sporty’ nature of this sedan. The worst was one time when I approached a turn with some hard braking, a hard downshift, and tried to catch hell coming out of the corner hard on the throttle—that’s when

Type-S needs that LSD... (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

the steering wheel felt like it buckled in my hands. For a second I thought each wheel was going to take a different route around the corner, but only a half-lane over and thankfully no traffic to object, I came out straight, but it’s quite possibly the worst and most dangerous incident of torque steer I’ve ever experienced. I am not alone in this opinion—a mechanic (and weekend rally-cross driver) who has also driven the Type-S also confirmed my misgivings.

How about understeer? Surprisingly, not as bad as the torque steer, but consideringthere was plenty of rain and a bit of snow, I caught understeer on almost any on-ramp or turn I wasn’t exceedingly careful with—slick roads tend to exaggerate this effect, so I expect it is a rare occurrence on dry roads in pleasant weather. I was careful the rest of the time not to test its limits, although once I even got a little

It's comfortable, and slickly styled. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

lift-off, wag-the-dog oversteer on a particularly light-traffic night—nothing dramatic, just a little 5-degree wiggle quickly and easily corrected. So that takes care of my big complaints; I never thought I’d be complaining about too much power, especially not in a nasty TL that sounded ready to strip down some asphalt and transform into the meanest Decepticon ever, but you’d have to add the limited slip differential from a top-fuel dragster to straighten out the Type-S. Scary.

The rest of it was pretty much perfect for me:aggressive but tasteful styling with all the same grace of the regular TL plus an added measure of attitude, particularly in white, a perfect backdrop for the wheels. The rims especially are a piece of work, with delicate, square angled spokes in gunmetal grey; they’re easily my favourite OEM rims on the market.

Like the exterior, the interior is a combination of technical trim and high-tech goodies, including

Type-S logo finds itself in all sorts of places, including the headrest of the well-bolstered seats. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

Type-S exclusive gauges and aluminum carbon-fiber-look trim, embossed Type-S logos, ambient lighting, as well as all the top-end features from the common TL: sat-nav, voice command, HandsFree Link for Bluetooth phones, climate control, Acura’s symphony-hall quality DVD-based 6-channel surround sound system, comfortable chairs and good ergonomics throughout the cabin.

While the chairs are comfortable, they’re not much of an upgrade overthe standard TL seats, with little additional bolstering necessary for the Type-S’s higher threshold, and only embossed Type-S logos to impress guests. In a way, they reveal the nature of the Type-S, which is a sportier version of a sporty sedan, but it’s no sports car, and the TL never will be on its current chassis. I’m hoping the next generation incorporates Acura’s stellar SH-AWD, which will surely launch a quantum leap forward for the TL and its Type-S franchise, but without all the antics.

What may confuse some is how much it looks and sounds like a full-bore

Gearbox is a touch stiff, but it's wonderfully precise. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

sports car. It just screams barely disguised tuner special, and it sounds like a V8 on steroids right from start-up and then starts to roll thunder as the tach climbs, but the low-rev growl is so infectious that I likedkeeping it on a slow boil throughout my week. Of course, there’s no shortage of power, and unlike the front wheels and steering rack, the close-ratio six-speed handles it adeptly. Together with a stiff, even clutch, the shifter is satisfyingly mechanical in that once you slot it through the gate there’s a bit of metal-on-metal click as it settles in.

I, on the other hand, never quite settled in, never quite accepted that this is no sports car. I kept wanting more than it had to offer, kept wanting to gorge on all that power that the front wheels couldn’t quite digest. It was a violent struggle, and I felt defeated by the end of my week, disappointed in a car that couldn’t handle its own strength. In retrospect, maybe we were just too similar—like the wrong ends of a magnet pushing each other off the mark—two hyperactive, barely mature juveniles dressed up in some fine duds.

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