The Acura TL – A Luxury Car with Superb Features

Acura are owned by the more well-known Honda brand from Japan, who want the Acura models they produce to be more of a luxury option for North America drivers.  One of their more popular models is the TL car which first rolled of production lines all the way back in 1995, and was up until recently the best-selling model in the whole of the Acura range.  It has become one of America’s best-loved automobiles for a reason and here’s a short potted history of how it became to attain this status.

1^st Generation from the Mid-1990s

The first-ever Acura TL was initially launched in the mid-90s and only had very standard functionality and features.  You would have been quite limited as a driver when compared to today’s models – but having said that it was still street’s ahead of some rival competitor brands of similar-sized vehicles.  Here’s an overview of what a driver of a 1995 TL could expect to benefit from:

• Electric Power Central Locks
• Dual Airbags in Front Section
• Automatic Climate Control and Air Con
• Tape Cassette and Single CD Player
• Efficient Safety Anti-Lock Brakes
• Electric Powered Windows

Unfortunately the standard TL did not come with a leather interior, this was something you would have to pay an extra price for.  Also back in those days it was not possible to have GPS either in the dashboard and there was no such thing as the Acura TL navigation update or voice command directions.

2^nd Generation from 1999 Onwards

In 1999 Acura really took another level with the TL, as the second generation version came with loads more features.  This was also the first model to actually be manufactured in North America at the then new Marysville plant (Ohio).  By the time 2003 came around, the new TL was taking a place inside the top ten popular selling cars in the United States and was now a seen as an affordable family car with a touch more luxury when compared to other brands.  Features you could expect to see where as follows (in addition to those from the first gen car):

• Air Bags Now Also in the Side Panels
• Acura Navigation System with Full GPS
• Black Leather Interior and Padding
• Skirt Kit Fully Painted

3^rd Generation from 2004 Onwards

2004 saw the TL finally cement itself as the number one Acura model in the US and was rating highly with both the end-consumer driver, and automotive reviewers and bloggers.  It was possible to either choose from an automatic or manual transmission and there were many new and improved safety features which made it very popular with family drivers.  Some top-line performance levels are as follows:

• 0 to 60 mph – in 5.5 secs
• 0 to 100 mph – 13.8 secs
• 0 to 130 mph – 19.5 secs

The overall maximum speed of the new Acura TL is 150 miles per hour – which is quite unusual for what is essentially pitched at being a family car.  As you can see, it offers both great performance levels with high-end features.

If you would like to know more about the TL model and the features that the later generation models are going to include, for example the Acura DVD map update functionality then make sure you visit their official website.