Thanks to the folks over at Edmunds Inside Line , the embargo is broken and pics are out of the 2009 Acura TL. It's a 28th century wedge of cheese. Acura is really taking their cyborg design theme to the extremes (they call it Keen Edge Dynamic), and while I don't like the general styling, it may look better here on the new TL than it does on the recently debuted Acura TSX. The TL's grill is all ready to plow your snow. That should be a fairly easy job thanks to the optional AWD, included on the higher priced 3.7 liter V6 models. The base 3.5 liter V6 puts out 280 horses through the front wheels only. Both engines route power through a 5-speed automatic: no word if a stick will be available, sorry to friend that like using the left foot. Like in the TSX, the interior on the TL is another Acura buttonfest – an ironic and sad development from the Honda folks that used to build ergonomically pleasant cabins. Since brands without an identity are now trying to sell themselves as the high tech gadget companies (Acura, Lincoln, Ford, Tesla, Nissan), the TL will be loaded up with bluetooth this and alphabet-soup that. Another one bites the dust? How will it stack up against arch rivals like the fellow front wheel drive, automatic only Nissan Maxima? We'll wait to drive it of course, but the TL is off to an ugly start.
Find Reviews by Make:
Read all comments
That’s a sedan, yes? Because that’s the hatchbackiest lookin’ thing I’ve ever seen. It looks like somebody broke the front already. The back is really busy. Both overhangs look kind of bloated, too.
Didn’t Wesley Snipes drive this in a movie about 10 years ago?
The angle on the trunk isn’t as severe as the photo would indicate.
I love keen edge dynamics; wonderful designs inside and out.
Every other car I’ve been in lately feels cluttered, obsolete, cheap, or ugly in comparison.
But yeah too many buttons.
That’s a sedan, yes? Because that’s the hatchbackiest lookin’ thing I’ve ever seen.
Boy, does that ever piss me off. Modern sedans have such a uselessly small trunk opening that they might as well make them hatchbacks and save me having to cram a stroller through their tiny leetle rear portholes.
I’ve seen bigger glovebox openings.
Seriously, something is screwed up when an 80s-vintage Corolla has a wider trunk opening than a 2008 Chevy Malibu.
Rear crash safety regs possibly?
And I thought the Vigor was an ugly Acura.
Hyundai couldn’t ask for a better Genesis competitor.
The good news is Acura didn’t cover the engine with a piece of tupperware. The bad news is Acura covered the engine bay with 4(?) pieces of tupperware.
is it coming or going?
I just can’t get over that cheese-slicer grille. Why not put teeth on it already. Chomp, chomp…
No longer does the Maxima have the fugliest front end. Wow, just wow!
+1 to Cerbera re the engine bay.
And the rear… I’m just speechless.
Somewhere, the people who used to be Honda’s talented and non-aesthetically-challenged designers are quietly crying themselves to sleep, just like I am. They’ve taken perhaps the best-looking 4-door entry-level luxe sedan and beat it with the ugly stick until (and possibly even after) the poor thing cried for mercy.
And they did that with the TSX.
And they did that with the Accord…the old one, while conservative, had a well-proportioned, very clean look. The first time I saw one, I could instantly recall its main features. Every time I saw one after that, I could identify it immediately, even from a short glimpse, or even a glance at a since portion of the body. The new one? The only distinctive part I can latch on to is the grille.
Likewise with the new Acura models. The TL and the TSX used to be instantly recognizable. Whatever your complaints about the concept of a FWD sports sedan, aesthetically, they were beacons of conservative beauty in a sea of flame surfacing and steroid-infused wheel arches.
Of all the designs Honda’s come out with recently, only the new Civic coupe works for me. I dunno…how did they get that right, and everything else so damn wrong? They ought to take a page out of Nissan’s book, especially the way in which they’ve evolved (intelligently designed?) the G35. It went from a gawky Pokemon look-alike to something that’s approaching elegant badass-itude.
Holy SHIT! That is a HUGE back bumper. Front looks okay, so do the rear lights, I think. It’ll grow on us like the Accord, I think and will be a big hit. Makes the old TL look really boring, imo. But wow… that back bumper.
I like it from the A-pillar forward…and thats it….
That is the ugliest sedan I have seen in a long time! Atrocious in a Pontiac Aztek sort of way.
I feel bad for those Acura dealers forced to sell these things for the next 5 years.
I really think that instead of car designers, Acura has hired caricature artists instead.
You know, take a subtle, yet defining feature, and stretch it to oversize proportions (presumably for humorous effect).
From the chrome “octopus beak” in the front to the goofy trunk opening, it looks like they’re inverting the Acura “compass” and applying it in a overbearing fashion wherever they can.
I guess we should be glad that the Acura symbol isn’t a four-leaf clover…
It has been the fashion of FWD car makers to increase the rear leg room by streching the cabin rearward and borrowing trunk space to do it. psarhjinian is completely right, to get at least some utility out of that design they may as well make them hatches.
As for the design, it looks overdone to me. Penned by designers charged with giving Acura a distinctive look it seems to have turned out cartoonishly awkward from just about any angle.
At first I thought my 2006 TSX was getting boring and I would need to run out and get a 2009 TSX when it came out. I got to drive one 2 weeks ago when I was getting my brakes done. Wow. What a total mess. Looks bad, drives bad, costs more. If I wanted a Camry, I would get one…no point the the TSX.
So I thought I would consider upgrading to the new TL. I really don’t see how this rolling train wreck can be a case of “looks better in person than in pictures” – this thing is a mess. It’s a Maxima on acid, its every bad styling cliche. The 2008 TSX and TL are great, competent, good looking cars – and seem to have been what lots of people were looking for.
So now, they have downmarket styling tricks and increased prices?
Unbelievable. I have no idea what client base Acura is chasing, but they are certainly chasing away the “Upgraded Honda” crowd. I want to love Honda/Acura but they just make it so damn hard…why? Bottom line is that the 2006 TSX, a car that I love, a car that suits my needs perfectly, will be my last Honda/Acura until things turn around…
It certainly is…..um…..”unique”. One good thing, you won’t have to worry about trying to find it in a sea of Camrys at your local mall parking lot.
Since when is covering pretty much the whole engine bay in plastic seen as luxurious? I get it, it must be soft touch plastics, that why it’s luxurious!
Still, why is Acura abandoning their excellent touch screen navigation systems in favor of knobs and buttons?
As for the “styling” so far it looks terrible, I’ll reserve final judgment until I see it in person.
No luxury car buyer would even touch a hatch, they are like poison for some reason. Victims of discrimination for no good reason, just like wagons and minivans.
Additionally, I pray that they have not canceled the available manual transmission.
carguy622 :
Still, why is Acura abandoning their excellent touch screen navigation systems in favor of knobs and buttons?
I asked the Acura dealer this same question…apparently the warranty replacement cost is too high for touch screens. Oddly enough, the $149 portable nav systems at Circuit City have touch screens, many new mobile phones are getting touch screens, etc…seems like the price of touch screen technology is coming down and should apply to larger touch screens as well. Wouldn’t the “technology leader” Acura want to be cutting edge , like iPhones, etc? The positioning of the Honda/Acura control knob is bad. BMW iDrive may not be the best either, but I can use my friends’ 750i setup much easier than in the TSX loaner that I had. Touchscreen is far superior, and for several thousand dollars, well worth it.
This is not the first time Acura has done a trunk like this. Does anybody else see a strong resemblance to the 2.3/3.0CL of the late 90s?
That trunk looks really pissed.
Anyway, yes the original CL was awkward, but the 2nd gen was in my eyes a very classy, competent design.
Oy Acura. You sell nothing I want.
Honda usually visually screws up every other generation. So here’s to 2013…..
Further proof that the idiot “designers” at Honda/Acura have lost their freaking minds.
There is no hope at all now — these people need to be lined up and SHOT.
I will LAUGH as we watch Acrua sales sink even deeper down the toilet.
Oh god… no. Please stop… no… no, nNOOOOOOOO!!&@*WRETCHHHHHHH*$*%#@&BLEUCH!
Ugly coming and going. To think that I considered getting an Acura several years ago; now I wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole. I wouldn’t allow any of my cars near one for fear that the ugliness might be catching; afterall, it has swept through the Acura brand like the Black Death through Europe.
To err is human. The Acura team has been very human lately. Far too human, for my tastes.
Wow.
Acura is really Bangling things up.
Too bad, cuz AWD is a welcome addition. But that styling and button orgy… Notsomuch.
I just wanted to add that I am really disappointed in Acura generally. The notion of frugal luxury appeals to me. And I like the technology. As for the styling I don’t like it. I do wonder whether it is just that it is new and new models often look strange at first. But I don’t think the new TL will grow on me.
I will say in Acura’s defense that the 2009 TSX seems to be selling pretty well.
Boy, that is seriously ugly. The side aspect could have been ok if they hadn’t added the bump over the front wheel openings. And that back! It looks like it was bashed in by the front of another TL on the boat or something.
Looks like a modern 6000SUX.
So, when you compare this to a g35. or G37 (sedan) if they call it that now
G35/37 gets more Horsepower 3.7l v6 @330hp
G35/37 is RWD with an optional AWD system (rear-biased)
G35/37 gets a 7spd automatic vs 5spd Acura.
This seems to me like a Maxima or some kind of FWD techno-boat.
In my opinion, Acura dropped the ball. I thought they were trying to sell this thing on technology when all 3 basic car characteristics are outclassed by its natural competitor.
What a hideous thing.
Jordan Tenenbaum :
Looks like a modern 6000SUX.
Perfect assessment…thank you.
And I like the new Acura styling. Even I think this is ugly in the back! It’s still distinctive on the front.
This new TL looks upmarket and luxurious, though I question the size of the trunk opening and the rear visibility. The problem is, the old one was the archetype for a proper sport-sedan styling. In place of distinctive sportiness, this car is distinctively avant-garde.
Fortunately for Acura, distinctiveness alone is what sells, provided a car isn’t distinctively ugly. RIP, previous TL.
Yo Acura is so ugly, it has to chase down water fountains for a drink!
Yo Acura is so ugly, it’s reflection quit and walked off the job!
Yo Acura is so ugly, that if ugly were an Olympic event, Acura would be the dream team!
Hmm…I’m beginning to think Acura peaked with the Legend.
Disclosure: I drive a Legend.
This cars ass is uglier than my wifes – not quite as big though
In February 2004, it came down to the G35 Sedan vs a TL for me. The TL was a more comfortable ride. However, I went for the performance and handling of the G35. I was influenced in no small part by the TL’s torque steer.
The big news here is that the TL gets Acura’s Super Handling AWD. If that cures what torques, I expect the TL to be a “contenda.”
I’m sorry. I just don’t see how anyone willing to pony up 35 grand for a car would be willing to be caught dead in one of these abominations.
I really wondered what Acura would make out of the Abominable Honda (Accord) — could they make silk out of a sow’s ear, or would it be a worse turkey than the Ugcord? Quite obviously, Acura decided to plumb new depths of automotive ugliness. Absolutely, utterly unbelievable.
Hey, where’d that picture of the Packard go? That’d work for a good “Question of the Day” — which one is uglier? Packard or TL? That ought to be interesting….
Ok, so I guess that does it then.
After seeing the new TSX I was holding out hope that the new TL design would at least be a little more easier to swallow.
*ack!*
So, unless I’m in the market for a CUV (which ain’t gonna anytime soon) any new Acura will be off my list. Mechanically, the car is brilliant (c’mon, 3.7 300+hp V6 and SH-AWD are still fantastic combos….oh wait…no 6 speed manual…scratch that) but what’s the use of driving a mechanically brilliant car if you alway get the sense you’re driving a TL that was beaten by an ugly stick?
I get the feeling this look wears more appropriately on larger vehicles (MDX, RDX) but just doesn’t translate well to Acura’s smaller cars.
It looks like the Acura designers saw the Imperial concept from the rear and decided the they wanted to compete with them head on… or rear on…
http://www.chinaherald.net/2007/02/chrysler-imperial-economy-faw-wants-to.html
Looking at it from any angle that doesnt include a view of the grill, it looks pretty good. I dont mind the buttons either. I generally find overly complicated instruments to be overly complicated for the test drive and maybe a short period afterward. Generally, if you are capable of obtaining a GED, you can probably operate any system on the car with no issues after a few attempts.
Still, it is impossible to love a car you cannot stand to look at, at least for most of us. Prius owners have been doing it for years with no complaints.
I have a 2006 TL. Elegant. Spacious. Powerful. Cheap at it’s price of 32k, loaded, with stick and nav. Ok – it’s front-wheel drive – it only seems to hurt me in low gears powering into corners, never during braking a corner. I agree with everyone else – I’d been yearning for an all-wheel-drive fix, but this new version is off the future list – it’s just too ugly. Even my wife asked “what did they do to it? and why did they do that?”
This is terrible
I like it. It is unique and I am proud that Honda is trying something different. Everyone always bitches about how boring all the luxury cars are nowadays (I’m looking at you Lexus…) so why is everyone hating on Acura who is at least trying to make fun, reliable and most of all unique cars?
It actually looks impressive. They ripped off the CTS a little, and are trying to make an Audi interior. Competition in this “information age” is getting really interesting, in a sadistic kinda way.
Folks, welcome to 1958!!! (when almost everything got ugly for a few years…)
I just read the first drive review on InsideLine. The first word that came to my head when I saw this? FUGLY. This thing makes me want to barf, yet those guys made no comment on the new look.
Once again, my 2005 TSX continues to look better and batter inside and out, at least until I can swing something from Bavaria.
OMG…. Acura?!?!?! What have you done to my beloved TL?? Once the rebirth of the glory that was the legend… now? Some half assed Saturn Aura with twice the buttons and price tag?
The 2003 TL-S’s are all ashamed to be of your lineage.
Seriously, lose that urban assualt crap from Demolition man and bring it in. You have all the ingredients on hand to make an amazing car, stop F*&%ing it up!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to want another TL!!