The only option is the addition of 19-inch wheels and high-performance summer rubber, which our car did not have. You want to row your own, you’re going to pay for the privilege. Additionally, it only comes on cars with the Tech package—premium leather, navigation system—which boosts the manual’s base price to $43,195, or more than $7000 higher than a base TL.
The manual is only available paired with all-wheel drive—Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, or SH-AWD in Acura lingo—and a 305-hp, 3.7-liter V-6. The clutch, too, is wonderfully tuned with a progressive, predictable takeup and a light feel that requires just enough muscle to keep it from feeling overly assisted. In addition to the tidy throws, the effort is nearly perfect and the action crisp and clean. In our first drive of the TL manual, we relayed Acura’s boast that these are the shortest throws in class, and we have little doubt the claim is still true. The TL gets a manual transmission for 2010, however, and although we wonder why—Acura concedes that maybe five percent of buyers will opt for the manual—we welcome any transmission as satisfying as this.
The manual is only available paired with all-wheel drive—Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, or SH-AWD in Acura lingo—and a 305-hp, 3.7-liter V-6. The clutch, too, is wonderfully tuned with a progressive, predictable takeup and a light feel that requires just enough muscle to keep it from feeling overly assisted. In addition to the tidy throws, the effort is nearly perfect and the action crisp and clean. In our first drive of the TL manual, we relayed Acura’s boast that these are the shortest throws in class, and we have little doubt the claim is still true. The TL gets a manual transmission for 2010, however, and although we wonder why—Acura concedes that maybe five percent of buyers will opt for the manual—we welcome any transmission as satisfying as this.
