Facelifted Acura TL goes on sale on March 18

The 2012 Acura TL gets a face-lift, more technology and brand new six-speed gearbox. Lets start with the exterior. At the front, the bumper is all-new with repositioned and redesigned fog lights. The grille is new as are the headlights and turn signals. The door handles and rear window trim are now body colored. Around back the TL gets smaller reflectors, a revised boot lid and a repositioned licenses plate fixture.

Inside, the “Technology Package” buys a new SatNav system featuring a larger, brighter screen with real-time traffic & weather rerouting and a 440-watt sound system. The Bluetooth interface has also been improved.  Opt for the “Advance Package” and the front seat are ventilated, there’s a “blind spot” detection system, and you get larger wheels. Acura has added more sound deadening material and weather striping, reducing interior noise by 3 dB.

There are the usual array of new or improved safety features, including structural, passive and active safety systems.  Should you ball-up your new ride, Acura has included six dual-stage, duel-chambered, multi-threshold airbags for the front seats and side curtains for the front and rear. 

The biggest change to the TL comes in the form of its Sequential SportShift six-speed transmission. New software lets the driver “double kick down” or drop two gears for faster, safer overtaking. The new gearbox is also more efficient, improving fuel economy over the 2011 TL by three mpg.

Power remains unchanged. Front-wheel drive models get a 3.5-liter 280 hp V-6. Tick the “Super Handling All-Wheel Drive” option and power comes from a 3.7-liter 305 hp V6. 17” wheels are standard for the front driver with 18" wheels optional.  All-wheel drive models get 18” standard wheels with 19” options.

Pricing starts at $35,605 for the standard TL and ends around $44,000 for a loaded, all-wheel drive model.  The 2012 TL goes on sale starting March 18th.