Okay, you've waited long enough, let's talk about how the TL handles the road. After well over 1000 miles of testing, I think it's safe to say that the TL is an amazing car in manual transmission form. Simply driving down the freeway at a normal pace, the ride is wonderful. Smooth, fluid, but nicely damped. You know what's going on at the tires, but the information isn't forced on you. You simply choose to notice it or not. The car allows you to enjoy 500 mile days on the road and arrive refreshed. The engine plays perfectly in the lux-tourer role as well. At cruise it's absolutely quiet, producing nearly 30 mph for every 1000 rpm of engine speed in 6th gear. And even if it were equipped with tighter gearing, the motor's smooth enough that 4000 rpm feels and sounds much like 2000 rpm does when you're at part throttle. I once found myself driving along in 4th gear at 80 mph without realizing it! There's only one glitch in the luxury cruiser side of the TL's personality - the steering. Oh yes, we've heard all the complaints about torque steer, etc. and let's dispel that right now, this car doesn't have a torque steer problem. The amount of power you choose to deploy through the front tires does influence the steering, but it does so in the manner you choose. But there is a drawback, one present only on the 6-speed model TL as far as we can tell. At very, very light throttle, say as you add a little throttle to maintain speed up a grade, etc. the steering can develop a little wiggle. Nothing major, almost imperceptible most of the time, but it is noticeable in gentle sweepers. Lift off the gas and it goes away, apply more throttle and it disappears again. What's causing this? It's the LSD stupid! (that's directed at the auto mags who've been bitching about torque steer, not you dear, intelligent and well informed readers). At very light throttle openings you're right on the verge of where the LSD really begins to take action and when it does it helps steer the wheels into a corner, hence the slight variation in steering angle. Combined with the very quick steering, especially off-center, and you get a little movement in the wheel, if not in the path of the car. It's a price we're more than willing to pay, as you'll understand in a moment, but it may be something that Acura takes a look at for mid-model cycle revisions.

Having experienced the luxurious side of the TL as we cruised to our favorite mountain roads I began to wonder how a near 3500 lbs FWD sedan that rode as well as the TL did would perform. Given that the TL was in a caravan with an S2000 and an NSX, I could only think that it wasn't going to be pretty. Then the road began to turn twisty and the pace began to climb. The terrific thrust of the J32 kept me in the game on the sweeping turns, but the old CL-S 6-speed felt like this too, maybe not quite as nimble. And when the roads got tight, the CL-S felt out of its element - heavy, a bit recalcitrant and simply too much for its tires, brakes and chassis setup. Sure enough, the dreaded tight turns soon appeared in our sites. I found myself grimacing in anticipation of heavy body roll and understeer.

O.k., set up on the brakes - wow, great bite and modulation, if a bit too much brake dive. Ease off the brake pedal and begin to turn in - nice, the steering is really accurate and quick, no real understeer yet. Now, fully off the brakes and bring the throttle into play again to get the LSD working - Holy Cow! Feel this thing dive for the apex on the gas, totally neutral still. And now we power out, unwinding the wheel and aim for the edge of the road - this car is a rocket and is really putting the power down. Now for the next corner, let's push it a little harder. Pick a braking point, wait for it, wait for it, okay, "NOW!" - Damn these brakes work well, no fade at all. Twitch the wheel just a bit into the corner to begin turn in - hey, is that the rear end coming into play? Yes it is, I've actually got the tail out on a 3500 lbs FWD car! When the car has rotated enough, get back on the gas, smoothly but quickly - the LSD just locks you onto your line, again there's no understeer. And the game just went on and on like that.

By the time we were done with our mountain road flog of the TL I was grinning ear to ear. I consider myself someone who prefers RWD for most applications, certainly for anything with the word "sport" in its title or market description. That's why the only car I currently own is an S2000. But the TL is just another example, seemingly one that violates physics, of Honda and Acura's ability to create simply stunningly good FWD chassis - even when the vehicle in question weighs in at close to 2 tons with driver. Were there any complaints? Sure, FWD still is a serious hinderance for standing start applications. The only way to get the TL off the line effectively is to launch at idle, maybe 100-200 rpm higher. And in 1st gear corners wheelspin (and the attendant understeer) can be an issue. But how often do you find yourself in a 20 mph corner? And if you do, the J32 has enough torque to pull strongly in 2nd gear and alleviate any wheelspin issues. Oh, and after a particularly spirited downhill run, I did get the rear brakes to smoke a bit, but as far as I'm concerned, that just means they're working - the fronts never wavered the entire time.