2012 Acura TL SH-AWD

Mention the Acura TL as a next-car possibility, in certain sport-sedan enthusiast circles, and it's possible you might lose some credibility. If you want a serious sport sedan, they'll argue, you might as well get one on a dedicated rear-wheel-drive platform, like the BMW 3-Series, Cadillac CTS, or Infiniti G37 (or larger Infiniti M). Point taken; it's true that the TL remains built on the same platform as the best-selling Honda Accord sedan. But you might miss out on an excellent choice if you dismiss it for that reason. As we recently discovered over the course of a week with the new 2012 TL in high-performance SH-AWD guise—directly following a week with a Honda Accord V-6, no less—the TL has a completely different personality, and it's truly worth the extra money. And on public roads, you'll have nearly as much fun, if not more, than those traditional sport sedans.At least in SH-AWD form, the TL has a 305-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6, with a six-speed automatic transmission and the Super-Handling all-wheel drive system (base TLs come with a 280-hp, 3.5-liter version that is essentially the Accord V-6). But the higher-performance TL engine is sweet; unlike the Nissan/Infiniti 3.7-liter, which takes a step down in refinement next to the 3.5-liter, Honda has somehow created a stronger (and better-sounding) engine that's also just as smooth. It's an enjoyable engine; there's lots of torque down low, but it's fun to rev all the way to redline. For that, we recommend using the steering-wheel paddle-shifters, as in Drive, unless you keep your right foot mashed, the TL's automatic transmission tends not to waste revs; it wisely shifts up as soon as you ease up on the throttle, and it completely avoids the low-speed, part-throttle indecision that's always bugged us about Honda's five-speed units. By the way, Acura still makes a six-speed manual available in the SH-AWD; we haven't driven that version since 2010, but we found it well-matched to the engine's rev-happy personality. While we managed nearly 20 mpg in the Accord, we the trip computer in the TL clocked a meager 16.5 mpg by the end of the week—in a comparable 150-mile mix of short-trip city driving, a couple of runs to the suburbs, and a stint on twisty backroads. That's likely a matter of the TL's larger-displacement engine, its additional weight, and the drag of all-wheel drive. The SH-AWD system is among the better all-wheel-drive arrangements in luxury sedans, as it's not just for foul weather. It completely quells torque steer by sending more torque to the rears on quick takeoffs and at lower speeds, but you can also feel it dial up power to the rear wheels in moderate-speed corners, to gently reduce roll in front and give this sedan a more confident feel. And overall, the TL's steering—an electric power steering unit—shows that all the difference is in tuning; in the TL it feels somewhat hefty, but it does manage to transmit some feel of the road surface. Altogether, we found the system hard to fluster, even on a tight, somewhat damp roadway with mixed surfaces.