2007 Acura TL Type-S Review

acura tl

Something about your kid’s playset just didn’t seem right. All the parts were included and labeled, the necessary tools provided. Unfortunately, as your good buddy Bob pointed out, you were looking at the diagram backwards, hence, what was left ended up right, and vice versa. We’re guessing the same thing happened when Acura assembled the TL Type-S, a car that should be rear-drive, but somehow the plans got mixed up and the folks in the assembly plant mistakenly put together a front-driver. The product of this miscommunication is a sport sedan that suffers from one of the worst cases of torque-steer currently on the market, a shame since this stylish four-door makes for an otherwise appealing package.

What we Drove

We drove a pre-production version of the 2007 TL Type-S provided by Acura, meaning that it was an early build model and not destined for your local dealer. As such, we won’t pass judgment on the car’s build quality, but we can report on all other aspects, including how it was equipped and the price. Our Carbon Bronze tester was the variant with high-performance tires, which equates to a base price of $38,995 including a $670 destination charge. Given that our car was delivered without any of Acura’s dealer-installed options (there are no factory options), that sticker price represented the final sum. Our editors logged about 500 miles on the Type-S throughout Southern California.

Performance

As a regular driver, one that its master occasionally uses to squirt through traffic or in which she bombs down the highway at high speeds, the 2007 Acura TL Type-S performs admirably. The six-speed manual transmission, with its super-precise gates and short throws, is a joy to row, and the 286 horses under the hood are eager to please. However, tapping into that power requires a measured approach, as a dump of the throttle elicits little response unless the revs are high. More than the 256 lb.-ft. of torque on hand would help negate that problem. The result is more required downshifting than one might expect of a V6-powered sport sedan, and that’s when the stiff clutch becomes noticeable. We recorded 19 mpg overall.

Handling

As this is Acura’s flagship in terms of sport sedans, the TL Type-S leaves something to be desired. Sure, the suspension is stiff, the 235/45R17 Bridgestone Potenza rubber does a good job of maintaining grip, and the brakes are up to snuff even after plenty of abuse, but there are an equal number of counterpoints. The steering, though responsive and characterized by plenty of road feel, can be responsive in mid-turn, causing a mild case of oversteer. Torque-steer is always a concern, and makes this TL feel downright unruly at times. Add a stiff ride into the mix, and you’ve got a sport sedan that’s short of finely-tuned.

Visibility

When driving a sporty car that’s well suited for darting in and out of high-speed traffic, it sure as heck better offer sufficient visibility. The Acura TL Type-S does, with large side mirrors, an ample greenhouse, relatively narrow pillars, and a rear window that gets the job done, albeit with two large headrests that do their part to muck things up. Whether merging on the highway or keeping an eye on the double yellow heading into a blind corner, the Type-S never prevented us from focusing on what we needed to see.

Fun to Drive

Rodeo dudes would love this car. Nothing compares to untamed, four-legged, stubborn muscle like a 286-horsepower front-drive sedan with hellacious torque steer. Though we’ve never attempted to ride eight seconds atop an irate bull, we’re betting that it’s no more difficult than holding on to the 2007 Acura TL Type-S’s steering wheel under full acceleration. Get past that, and the sportiest of TLs delivers a buckled-down ride, an eager V6 engine, one of the sweetest six-speed manuals on the planet, and a price that puts it in the realm of a daily driver and not a garage queen. Or should we say corral queen?

Front Comfort

Acura knows how to build comfortable interiors. The TL Type-S’s front seats are spacious, well-bolstered (especially on the back rest), thickly-padded, and feature large adjustable headrests. The driver benefits from a 10-way adjustable seat, while the passenger gets six power adjustments. Soft-touch surfaces on the window sills and armrests, including a center armrest that moves fore and aft for premium placement, increase the level of hospitality, as do the leather and alloy shift knob and leather-wrapped steering wheel with tilt and telescoping functions. Since we were experiencing some unusually chilly mornings during the TL Type-S’s stay, the two-setting heated front seats came in handy, though we felt they took too long to warm up.

Rear Comfort

What you think of the TL Type-S’s rear seat will largely depend on your stature. Our six-foot-two-inch tall editor referred to this area as “tight” while our five-foot-eight-inch tall editor considered the TL’s rear seat accommodations to be “spacious.” Our more diminutive staffer noted generous foot and head room, sufficient leg room, a very comfortable seat with outboard head restraints, the wide fold-down center armrest, and the padded door sills and armrests. Rear vent controls on the center console are an added bonus. Nobody was all that crazy about front seatbacks that were only slightly padded, or the seat that was positioned too close to the floor.

Interior Noise

Sports-oriented vehicles are not famous for being especially quiet, and the 2007 Acura TL Type-S is no exception. Though far from loud, this TL suffers from noticeable tire noise, an unexpected amount of wind noise around the A-pillars at highway speeds, and suspension noise when traveling over bumps or potholes. All that while the engine, the one thing enthusiast drivers often prefer to hear as they ascend toward the rev limiter, was relatively quiet. There’s some audible action when VTEC kicks in, but even that is fairly well muted.

Loading Cargo

WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get. Without a fold-down rear seat, the trunk space you see in the TL Type-S is all you get for storing cargo. Thankfully, the fully-lined trunk is actually pretty big, with a wide opening, covered hinges that won’t damage items, ten tie-down points, and a handle on the inside of the lid. The lift-over height is low enough so that you won’t have to be a powerlifter to get items into the car, and the lockable pass-through, which can be opened from the trunk or the interior, will help with longer items, though it looks to be too small for things such as snowboards.

Build Quality

Our Acura TL Type-S test vehicle was a pre-production unit. We did not assess build quality, as it is our rule to praise or critique this aspect of a vehicle only when it is reflective of what consumers will find at the local dealership.