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Posts Tagged ‘Acura’

The standard features of the Acura RL 3.7 include 3.7L V-6 300HP engine, 5-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic, 18″ alloy wheels, cruise control, and an ABS and driveline traction control.

The Acura RL is a satisfying luxury sedan with a supple ride and ample power. Its cabin is comfortable and friendly and it offers seriously high tech features, making the RL one of the best buys in the class. The test drive of the Acura RL outside Sacramento, California; with reports by Mitch McCullough in Los Angeles.

The 2010 Acura RL boasts significant power increases over pre-2009 models. The RL comes with a 3.7-liter V6, not a V8, and we found its 300 horsepower delivered strong, smooth thrust on the freeway. We found the brakes to be excellent, with a good, firm pedal. The interior is comfortable and functional, with controls that are easy to operate. Build quality, fit and finish put the Acura RL near the top of its class. Creature comforts abound, including cooling for the front seats and an impressively comprehensive navigation system.

The 2010 ZDX shares some mechanicals with the big MDX crossover, but gets a coupelike body more suited to its seductive mission. The rear end has a muscular appeal, and the side view does all it can to convince you it’s a coupe. Up front, the big, controversial Acura shield grille gets its most attractive installation yet.

Some reviewers have moderate praise for the ZDX’s styling. CNET calls Acura’s latest MDX derivative “a mash-up of sedan, SUV, and sports coupe,” while USA Today points out “a tucked and tailored roof covered in black glass panels and…rear-wheel bulges that would be striking even if the roof’s taper did not accentuate them.” Car and Driver considers the Acura “endearingly weird, the sort of vehicle you might expect Citroen to produce,” though whether you find that charming or off-putting is a matter of personal preference.

The ZDX’s cabin has a more dramatic flair inspired by destination hotels, with alternating concave and convex surfaces in plastic and real leather-but also a stark, monolithic center stack of black keys that “come to life” with white lighting when the car starts. USA Today deems it “the most elegant cabin in a luxury Honda to date.” Jalopnik drools over the cockpit, calling the ZDX’s driving environment “one of the nicest we’ve seen, period,” thanks to a design that “puts the driver and passenger in comfortable and attractive ‘pods.

While it’s similar to the Honda CR-V in duty, the 2010 Acura RDX develops quite a different personality from its relative. The styling is sportier, with a more sloping rear end that sacrifices some cargo room for a sleek look.Reviewers from across the Web find the 2010 Acura RDX’s styling inside and out to be among the best in the compact luxury crossover segment. With high praise coming from almost all reviewers, the mildly updated 2010 RDX carries Acura’s reputation for modern, tech-influenced designs.While Kelley Blue Book notes the “unconventional tailgate that is integrated into the rear bumper” provides a “smoother look to the rear end.

Inside the RDX, Edmunds finds the interior to be “considerably more upscale than the average small SUV.ConsumerGuide pans the console design by complaining the audio and climate settings are undersized readouts in a distant dashtop slit.

While Car and Driver sums up the styling by noting that, inside and out, the RDX “doesn’t match the sense of occasion presented by the Mercedes-Benz GLK or Audi Q5.” The driver-focused cockpit of the RDX gets new climate controls, ambient lighting, and more metallic trim to accent its high-tech look and complement its leather seats.

New in 2007, the Acura MDX—described by Car and Driver as “a tall wagon [that] is an all-weather hauler on the sporty side”—gets a minor makeover inside and out for the 2010 model year. Reviewers from around the Web are mostly pleased by the richness of the cabin, but the oddly styled grille encounters more controversy than favor.

Kelley Blue Book reports “the characteristics that made the original MDX appealing have carried over intact, if not improved,” with few changes from 2007.There, opinions on the new MDX front end veer south. Car and Driver calls the MDX’s styling “techno-futuristic,” but adds that while the new look is “more glitzy and expressive…the end result is just as funky as most other Acuras.” Edmunds feels the design lacks “a little in terms of personality and prestige.” ForbesAutos deems the MDX “bolder and richer-looking” with “chiseled lines” that are less conservative than its predecessor, and Kelley Blue Book adds the overall look is “wider, lower [and] more aggressive.”

Step into the big doors, and the MDX gives a far better impression, most reviewers say. The largest Acura gets a “thumbs up for interior design and layout” from the Washington Post, while ConsumerGuide notes the “attractive blend of rich-looking materials, with especially pleasing switchgear feel and movement.” As with most reviewers, Car and Driver feels “the dash looked as busy and complicated as ever,” but gives Acura credit on content, if not execution: “Fortunately, the leather is sumptuous, the seats are very comfortable, and the navigation system is still one of the best available.” Jalopnik demurs on the newly stained wood trim: “Bizarrely, Acura has slathered the dash and console in an ugly wood trim that isn’t in keeping with the otherwise tech-focused nature of the interior.”

Some of the car’s technical details have also been revealed by Acura in official unveiling. The renew designed 2009 Acura TL will arrive in showrooms soon. This luxury sedan is available in two distinctive versions including ‘Super Handling All-Wheel Drive’ (SH-AWD) on the TL.

The TL continue with Acura’s new design language seen on the redesigned TSX and RL, featuring a bold front grille treatment. Outback, the TL looks to have an Accord-inspired rear fascia, but its design is rather exaggerated and could polarize some potential customers. Looking awesome by the way! The TL’s interior is less controversial and features several arches in its design language.

As said, the new TL will be available in two versions: a base front-wheel drive car and an up-level all-wheel drive model. The front-driver will be powered by a 285 horsepower 3.5L V6 whereas the AWD model will receive its motivation from a 3.7L V6 producing 305 horsepower. Both models will use a five-speed automatic transmission.

Despite boasting 305 horsepower and all-wheel drive, the range-topping model will not sport the Type-S nameplate but will be distinguished by quad exhaust. In fact, Acura will not offer a Type-S model, at least not in 2009. It remains unclear if the performance model will eventually join the lineup.

Acura’s redesigned 2009 TSX sports sedan has unwrapped, weeks ahead of its official intro at the New York International Auto Show, at Tokyo. Its more pwerful than ever before, just to raise the standard for Acura’s entry level sedan.TSX: Based on Japanese-Euro Accord: has powerful double plenum grille (same as that found on the new 2009 Acura RL) and all.

In the grand scheme of things, Honda does two Accords. One ‘narrow body’ car for Japan and Europe. Then a ‘wider body’ model for North America with different looks. So it goes that this 2009 TSX is closely linked to the new European Accord, which coincidentally went live and got its official launch party at the Geneva Salon in early March.

Dubbed i-DTEC, it’s said to be smoother, cleaner and even more refined than the acclaimed i-CTDi engine, Honda’s first diesel that’s sold exclusively in Europe to date. So clean, in fact, that the i-DTEC already meets America’s tough ‘Tier II Bin 5′ emission standards, Honda says, and the next stringent European benchmark — Euro 5 — as well.

Visually, the Acura TSX gets a different grille and set of wheels compared with Europe’s new Accord. Size, meantime, takes a sizeable leap upward, the new model being more than 2 inches longer and 3 inches wider, also sitting some quarter-inch lower.So it’s no surprise Acura is rolling out a new one and like its European/Japanese Accord relation, it clearly packs a lot of promise.