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DANBURY, CT – The Acura TL sedan helped propel American Honda Motor Co. Inc.’s 20-year-old-but-still-upstart near-luxury brand past 200,000 units in 2005.
It has been a consistent best-seller for Acura, and in 2004 and 2005 the stylishly redesigned TL managed to lock up second place in the Ward’s Lower Luxury segment, behind the class-leading BMW 3-Series.
But since then, TL sales have fallen while the sector has grown viciously competitive with arrival of refreshed entries such as the Infiniti G, Cadillac CTS, Mercedes C-Class and Lexus IS and ES sedans.
This year, an all-new fourth-generation ’09 TL arrives and promises to raise the brand’s stature, although the sport sedan still lacks the hard-to-quantify luxury aura given off by the gold-standard 3-Series.
Talking to current TL owners, Acura product planners found they liked the car but want more distinctive styling.
The new TL sports a signature “power plenum” grille that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, judging from the debate it stirs among online forums. Still, Acura designers deserve credit for taking chances and breaking away from the 3-Series template.
