The new TL can provide Doppler radar maps on an interior display to show where rain and snow showers are, so there's no need to check weather maps on television. No need to scour travel books to find popular scenic drives, unless you want the details. It can come with a list of scenic routes, by state, and will direct you there via an onboard navigation system.
And if you want to drive in spirited fashion, the normally front-wheel drive TL offers all-wheel drive for the first time in 2009.
It's not any old all-wheel drive, though. The 2009 TL gets Acura's Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive that not only shifts power to both front and rear axles when slippery road conditions require. The system also can apportion power to the left- and right-side wheels, thus ensuring precise, stable cornering.
Slotted between the entry Acura TSX sedan and the full-size Acura RL sedan, the fourth-generation TL is a five-passenger, midsize car with newly expressive styling, larger dimensions and the most powerful engine in Acura.
You get a 3.7-liter, single overhead cam V-6 with 305 horsepower, which is a tad over the 300 horses that a similar V-6 produces for the 2009 Acura MDX sport utility vehicle.
Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $35,755 for a front-wheel drive, 2009 TL with a base, 280-horsepower V-6 and minus the weather maps and navigation features. Prices zoom to near $40,000 with the Technology Package - Doppler radar, scenic drives, voice recognition for audio and other controls - and to $42,995 when the top TL engine is added.
Acura's best-selling car, the TL looks and is bigger for 2009, with an additional 6 inches of length, nearly 2 more inches of width and a half inch increase in height. This translates into improved hip room, front and rear, and better rear-seat shoulder and leg room. The TL trunk also grew to 13.1 cubic feet from last year's 12.5 cubic feet.
But it wasn't the car's size that caught my eye. It was the new styling, with chiseled sides, pointy trunk lid and almost cartoonish front grille.
To be sure, the shiny, silver-colored accents on the door handles, along the roof line and in the headlamps and taillights provide a fine finish. And the light-emitting diode interior lights look cool.
But the exterior styling reminded me of a Cadillac concept car, not a luxury car from Acura, which is Honda's luxury brand.
Fuel economy isn't noteworthy. The best federal government rating for the 2009 TL is for the base engine and front-wheel drive model, which has an estimated 18 miles per gallon and 26 mpg highway rating. This was the equipment combination on the test model, and I wound up with 21 mpg in combined city/highway travel.
Passengers in the test TL felt most road bumps as the car rolled over them, but the experience wasn't harsh and punishing, just some jiggles here and there.
The test car came with a push button on the dashboard to start the car, not a key slot.
The Tech Package on the test car included upgraded Milano leather, which covered the seats and steering wheel, and made the wheel one of the smoothest to touch, with no puckers or wrinkles. I loved how the steering wheel slid through my hands during turns.
But the smell of the new materials, including plastic, inside the test TL was nearly overpowering. It gave me a headache if I didn't open a window.
To aid views out the back window, the TL has rear-seat head restraints that fold backward and lay down when not in use. The Tech Package includes a fine rearview camera, too.
But watch the lower door sills when exiting the TL's back seat after a rain. On the test car, the sills were wet and dirty and brushed against my pant leg. *
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