Recall Alert: Honda Accord, Civic, Acura TL

Honda is expanding a recall from 2008 to include an additional 440,000 vehicles. The recall is for defective airbag inflation systems that could deploy with too much pressure, causing injury or even fatalities. According to Bloomberg News, the default has led to one death in the U.S.

Included in the recall are model year 2001-02 Honda Accords, 2001 Honda Civics and 2002-03 Acura TLs.

Honda will send out recall notices in the next few months, but concerned owners can visit their recall website at www.owners.honda.com/recalls or www.owners.acura.com/recalls for Acura owners.

Through Ian's Lens: 2009 Acura TL

My first reaction to the 2009 Acura TL was one of great conflict. How in the world did the highly trained automotive designers at Acura leave that ugly plate of chrome on the front of that poor car? In all honesty, I think the designers at Acura were working on something bigger than replacing a grille on a car. They were hard at work instituting design cues that the entire Acura line of cars could execute. After spending some time with the nose of the TL, I can see what they were aiming for. And I really like it.

The 2009 Acura TL is a sharp-looking car that takes the Acura brand to a new level of quality. With a brutish front end that contains a large chunk of matte chrome paint, the TL looks like a Honda Accord dressed up for a “Star Trek” convention (in a good way). Sharp lines from the front flow through the body panels and end at the rear of the car, near the sharp taillights. All this aggressive movement ends at a vertical point in the middle of the trunk. This symmetry allows the TL to look mean from all angles.

Check out the quality of the interior by looking at the full set of photos below. Please leave your remarks in the comments section, and feel free to use the full-screen mode on the photo browser.

Reader Review of the Week: 2009 Acura TL

If you’ve had to drive a big car for a while because your family requires the space, it can be refreshing to get behind the wheel of a car that can really move. At least, that’s what PADriver from Pennsylvania found after purchasing a 2009 Acura TL. According to this driver, the TL was the right car for the right price. The flaws are evident, but the combination of speed, practicality and a good deal makes it a winner. Read the full review to find out why the TL beat out the Accord and Camry in this reader’s opinion, then post your own car review here.

Cars.com Podcasts Are Here

After 10 years of penning car reviews, the editors at Cars.com have finally decided to broadcast their unvarnished thoughts through the magic of podcasting. We know we’re not the first automotive publication to record a podcast, but we wanted to do something slightly different than the rest.

Each week, editors Joe Wiesenfelder, David Thomas, Kelsey Mays and Mike Hanley will hold an informal roundtable on cars we’ve recently tested. Ever wondered what all of us think of the cars that get reviewed? This is the podcast for you.

This week, we take on a number of compact cars, like the 2009 Honda Civic and outgoing Mazda3, as well as all-new midsize sedans the Mazda6 and Acura TL, all in under 20 minutes. That should eat up some of your commute and/or workday.

You can download the podcast via iTunes or listen on your browser, here. Non-iTunes folks can subscribe to the RSS feed here.

If you have any suggestions for us, please leave them in the comments or email to editor@cars.com.

Cars.com Videos: 2009 Honda Civic, 2009 Acura TL and More

2009 Honda Civic: Mike Hanley takes a look at the higher-end features — including a navigation system, heated leather seats and a USB port — in this premium compact car.

2009 Pontiac G5: The XFE G5 gets a whopping 37 mpg on the highway, but Kelsey Mays says there are better compact cars on the market.

2009 Acura TL: The radically redesigned TL now comes in a base version and a performance-minded TL SH-AWD one, and both come with the love-it-or-hate-it grille, David Thomas says.

2009 Audi A4 Avant: This completely restyled station wagon puts a premium on interior space, especially when there’s a child-safety seat in the backseat, David says.

2009 Mercedes-Benz M-Class: The ML320 Bluetec is equipped with a clean diesel engine and a new navigation and entertainment system that’s really impressive.

View and share all of Cars.com’s videos via YouTube.

2009 Acura TL vs. 2009 Audi A4: Part 2

Joe Bruzek and Kelsey Mays, Cars.com

Yesterday we introduced our latest comparison, between the redesigned Audi A4 and Acura TL. In our comparison, these competing luxury cars are similarly priced around the $40,000 mark, which made for a perfect matchup of which car offers the most for the money. Perceived value will of course be in the eye of the buyer, and both cars we tested had their own merits. In the end, though, there can be only one Highlander … er, winner. 

The A4 provided an upscale interior experience with finer materials and more precise build quality. While our preproduction TL lacked such finesse, it offered more gadgets, interior room and a sportier performance for less dough, earning the value-winner nod.

Throughout our Audi A4 and Acura TL drive, we kept bringing up “what ifs” for the Audi’s somewhat lackluster driving performance compared to the sporty TL SH-AWD. What if it had the optional sportier tires, or what if it had the optional stiffer suspension, or what if it were the S-line model?

2009 Acura TL vs. 2009 Audi A4: Part 1

Joe Bruzek and Kelsey Mays, Cars.com

Tough times in the auto biz are giving entry-level luxury cars more relevance than ever. Among the brands that sell them, nameplates like the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G comprise more than two-fifths of those manufacturers’ sales — and with premium brands tanking as fast as the rest of the industry, that share is likely to go up. Among this year’s crop are two redesigned mainstays, the Acura TL and Audi A4. Both offer all-wheel drive, strong V-6 engines and larger dimensions than their predecessors, but beyond that their personalities differ. Acura heads the way of brute performance and nervy styling, while Audi sticks to classic proportions and interior quality.

In our initial drives, both models earned high praise from the reviewer team — Kelsey Mays in the A4 and David Thomas in the TL. For round deux, we procured two jet-black examples: an A4 3.2 Quattro and a TL SH-AWD. Both test cars had six-cylinder engines, all-wheel drive and automatic transmissions, and as luck would have it, the prices lined up nicely. Well-equipped but not brimming with options, our A4 stickered at $40,400, while our preproduction TL came loaded to the hilt for $42,235. Editors Joe Bruzek and Kelsey Mays put both to the test in a variety of pavement and weather conditions, and they offer their impressions in a two-part series.

2010 Acura TL to Get Manual Transmission

One big oversight of the new 2009 Acura TL is its lack of a manual transmission, especially in the new high-powered TL SH-AWD model. The company will address this issue for the 2010 model year by offering a six-speed manual in the 2010 TL SH-AWD, which will go on sale in the fall of 2009.

The all-new TL just went on sale this week, so we find it a bit odd that Acura would make the announcement now. However, it could be a move to make sure fans of the previous TL don’t buy a competing car and wait another year for the manual. Of course, manual sales, even in performance cars, are a small fraction compared to automatics. Both 2009 TL models have shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel to allow for manual shifting. 

More Acura TL News

Acura Prices New 2009 TL Sedan

We reviewed the all-new Acura TL sedan last month, but one major piece of information was missing/still being withheld: the price. Today, at 5:30 p.m. EDT, Honda released prices for the sedan, which hits dealerships on Sept. 24.

The front-wheel-drive TL will start at $34,955. Add the Technology Package — the lone option — and the price rises to $38,685. The more powerful TL SH-AWD will start at $38,505. Adding the Technology Package brings the price to $42,235. Optional 19-inch wheels can also be added, bringing the top price possible to $43,235.

A destination charge of $760 is not included.

The outgoing 2008 TL started at $33,725. The $1,230 increase is significant, but the cars are radically different. More impressive is the fact that the all-wheel-drive TL SH-AWD is just $280 more than the outgoing TL Type S.

Related
More 2009 Acura TL Photos, Q&A
Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Acura TL
First Look: 2009 Acura TL

More 2009 Acura TL Photos, Q&A

Below you’ll find two photo galleries of the 2009 Acura TL. One includes photos shot by yours truly during my test drive of the TL base model and TL SH-AWD a few weeks ago. That’s where you’ll find how the different colors look in the sunlight, how the gadget drawer slides and look at real screen images.

There’s also a gallery of the manufacturer’s provided images. Enjoy both sets of photos.

If you have questions about the new TL that I didn’t answer in the review, or just want to pick my brain about it, feel free to drop any thoughts in the comment section below.