2009 Acura TL Overview Change Vehicle

This 2009 Acura TL review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2009 TL, and includes Acura TL safety, reliability, and fuel economy information.

Acura redesigns the most popular model in its lineup, the car most critical to the brand’s success, giving it the company’s new signature shield grille treatment and calling the result “evocative.” We’d say “provocative” is more accurate, in that the TL’s new styling provokes derision.

While the new look is an acquired taste, what’s under the sheetmetal continues to impress. Longer, wider, and taller, the new 2009 TL has more rear seat space than before. A new SH-AWD model replaces the Type-S at the top of the lineup, equipped with Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive system and a stronger 305-horsepower, 3.7-liter V6, the most powerful engine Acura has ever installed in a production car. Other upgrades include a new five-speed Sequential SportShift automatic transmission with paddle shifters and grade-logic control, and a new Technology Package that adds desirable options to either model.

Acura sells the redesigned 2009 TL in two trim levels: TL and TL SH-AWD. Standard equipment includes leather seats, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth hands-free calling and streaming audio capability, a power moonroof, and dual power front seats. The exterior is decorated with genuine stainless steel body trim – perhaps too much of it – and the TL comes with high-intensity discharge headlights and 17-inch alloy wheels. The standard sound system includes satellite radio, an auxiliary audio input jack, a USB port, and a CD changer.

Upgrading to the TL SH-AWD adds performance-oriented equipment, including the Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive system, a more powerful V6 engine breathing through a high-flow dual exhaust system, a sport-tuned suspension, performance brakes with front brake cooling ducts, special calibration for the electric steering system, and bigger 18-inch wheels and tires. The SH-AWD can be outfitted with optional 19-inch wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 2 summer-tread performance tires.

Both versions of the TL can be equipped with the optional Technology Package. This adds a navigation system, real-time traffic and weather reporting with Doppler-style weather maps, a reversing camera, GPS-linked solar-sensing climate control, an Acura/ELS premium surround sound system with a hard disc drive and storage for up to 2,500 song files, keyless entry and push-button ignition, and premium leather for the seats.

Acura TL buyers have a choice between two engines for 2009, each paired with a new five-speed Sequential SportShift automatic transmission that features manual shift control via paddles mounted to the steering wheel as well as grade logic control.

The standard engine is a 3.5-liter V6 making 280 horsepower, almost as much as last year’s performance-oriented Type-S model. It requires premium fuel, and is rated to get 18 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. The standard TL is a front-wheel-drive model. The TL SH-AWD has the most powerful engine Acura has ever installed in a production model, a 3.7-liter V6 capable of 305 horsepower. Fuel economy drops a peg with this car, landing at 17 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.

The TL SH-AWD is equipped with Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system. The Super Handling part of the equation references the AWD system’s ability to direct more power to one of the rear wheels to create what Acura calls a “yaw moment” for crisper corner turn-in and a more thrilling corner exit attitude. The idea is to mimic the feel of a rear-wheel-drive sport sedan while providing the security and foul-weather handling capability of an all-wheel-drive sport sedan.

In addition to six airbags, traction and stability control systems, antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, active head restraints, and Bluetooth hands-free connectivity, the 2009 Acura TL is equipped with the company’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure. With ACE, the new TL better manages crash impact energy, channeling it away from the car’s interior with the intent of lessening occupant injury.

Evidently, it works. The 2009 Acura TL is that rare automobile to receive 5-Star ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in every single crash test assessment, including resistance to rollover. It just doesn’t get better than this. The TL is also a Top Safety Pick according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which subjects vehicles to more rigorous testing than the NHTSA. In these tests, the TL receives the highest score possible, a rating of Good, in the offset frontal, side impact, and rear impact injury prevention assessments.

Reliability is also quite impressive, at least according to Consumer Reports, which gives the TL its top rating in this regard. J.D. Power and Associates is less favorable but still predicts that the TL will perform slightly better than average over time.

Beauty is more than skin deep, an adage proven true by the redesigned 2009 Acura TL. The new TL continues to be a paragon of safety, luxury, performance, and reliability, long hallmarks of Acura’s mid-level luxury sedan. Unfortunately, its controversial new styling turns many would-be buyers away.

By Christian Wardlaw