TRACK TESTING

During testing and evaluation, Acura engineers spent much time analyzing and comparing the TL SH-AWD® 6MT to other vehicles in its competitive set. The TL falls in a unique category whereby it has more passenger/cargo volume than vehicles such as a BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-class, yet it is has less volume than a BMW 5-series or Mercedes E-class. However, based on the engineering goal to build a vehicle that would outperform competitive set sedans regardless of size or price, the TL SH-AWD® 6MT track testing focused on the best handling versions of each manufacturer's model. In all cases, this meant the smaller, lighter models (such as BMW 3-series).

TL SH-AWD® 6MT testing occurred at a variety of locations including at Virginia International Raceway as well as at Honda R&D Americas' own Transportation Research Center (TRC) 1.6-mile, 15-turn road course (designed by renowned track designer Alan Wilson) that was specifically built to highlight challenging handling characteristics including quick corner transitions along with increasing and decreasing radius turns. The goal of the TL SH-AWD® 6MT was to generate an extremely neutral handling vehicle that provides great feedback to the driver along with excellent predictability. Often times, all-wheel-drive vehicles provide more overall traction but are saddled with a heavier feel and a pronounced amount of understeer. With front-wheel-drive, typically there is a constant battle with understeer which dramatically hampers handling performance. Rear-wheel-drive traditionally delivers quick road course times, but requires a skilled driver to manage the constant transitions between understeer and oversteer. During testing, although the BMW 335i and Infiniti G35 Sport generated similar (yet slower) lap times, the driving level required to achieve the times came with a constant threat of an oversteer-generated spin-out. In short, a driver of average skill level will be able to drive the TL SH-AWD® 6MT much closer to its handling limits without fear of a spin or crash as compared to if the same driving skill level were applied to any of the TL's competitors—especially the rear-wheel-drive BMW 335i or Infiniti G35 Sport.

In lateral g-force acceleration testing on a 200-foot diameter dry skidpad, the TL SH-AWD® 6MT effortlessly outperformed all competitive set sedans as the 6-speed manual transmission TL generates an impressive 0.96 g in clockwise direction driving and 0.97 g in counterclockwise driving. For comparison, the TL SH-AWD® 6MT generates more lateral grip than some exotic supercars.

All said, the TL SH-AWD® 6MT proves highly competitive not only within its premium class competitors—regardless of engine size, transmission style, or drivetrain design—but also amongst much more powerful and more expensive limited-edition sport edition sedans (such as the Audi S4) offered by competitors.

NOTE: All data and test numbers were conducted using a pre-production prototype 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD® 6MT