If you have reached the conclusion that this Acura was not my favorite you are correct. For the price there are better handling entry-level luxury sedans for those who put the emphasis on luxury.
Young working woman's view: The trunk is smallish with a small deck opening, hinges that take up space, and only a ski pass through opening instead of the rear seat fold downs on the Accord. Storage space inside is adequate, and the seats comfortable. In other words, this Acura is not really a family oriented vehicle and does not pretend to be one.
The best part of the TL is the design of the interior. It quickly dispels any lineage to the Honda Accord. The gauges are easy to read and the leather first rate. The navigation system is more complicated than necessary. Honda has the best system in the business, but in the Acura the engineers have decided that more is better and so make yourself familiar with this option before journeying from the dealer's lot. It is interesting to note how different you feel when sitting in the Acura TL as opposed to the Honda Accord. The Honda feels open and the Acura cozy and much more formal. Getting into the backseat isn't a problem, but the rear seats are not all that comfortable.
There is no question that Acura has loaded the TL with a lot of standard features. All TLs come with ABS, 17-inch wheels, ABS, front and side curtain airbags, leather interior, heated front seats, sunroof. satellite radio, dual-zone automatic climate control, high-intensity discharge headlights, a 10-way power driver seat and a four-way power front-passenger seat, telescoping steering wheel, a 225-watt surround-sound audio system that can play both CDs and DVD discs, Bluetooth hands-free cell phone capabilities, steering-wheel audio controls; one-touch front windows, and the stick shift cars get even better disc brakes.
So, for the extra thousands you pay over the price of the Accord you are getting a significant amount of goodies. But, despite the spiffy interior, more potent powerplant, tight suspension, and more youthful appearance, the Honda Accord is my choice. It does the job well, gets superior gas mileage, has superior resale, and is more comfortable to drive on roads that have seen the anger of mother nature.
Dad's view: Although I like the Accord a great deal, the one that I like the most is the stick shift equipped four cylinder model because it is thrifty to operate and a lot of fun to drive at the edge because it doesn't take long to reach its limits. The Acura is much more serious. The tires, P235/45WR17, are significantly better than the Honda's P205/60R16 even though I find the Acura has too much tire for normal driving and they generate a constant and, should I say, tiring sound over roughened roads. I also dislike the suspension settings on the Acura. Yes, they certainly make it handle well, but the low profile tires on winter-tortured roads become a source of irritation despite the fairly well isolated cabin.
Knowing the Acura is going to appeal to a more spirited driver, the manufacture is offering a more diverse range of options. You can order everything from sterner shocks, stronger springs, to exterior styling add-ons.
Statistically, the Acura TL has a 3.2-liter, 24 valve, single overhead cam engine that produces 270 horsepower at a very high 6200 rpm. Torque is 238 ft-lbs. @ 5000 rpm making this engine a good candidate for supercharging. The average sized gas tank and above average gas mileage makes 600 KL trips possible on premium unleaded.