FIRST DRIVE ~ 2012 ACURA TL

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The clacking wipers set a frenzied beat as we blasted through rain and road spray, four 2012 Acura TLs vapour-trailing nose-to-tail through the corners of Carolina Motorsport Park.

Oh, what fun.

I was nicely into the zone where the sensory overload of rain and engine roar, cornering G-forces and the aroma of hot brakes, seems to diminish into just a soothing soundtrack.

There’s a comfort there. Dare I say, a Zen-like oneness with the car that comes somewhere after 30 or 40 laps around a twisting road course. In that rhythm of growing familiarity, bravado begins to overcome anxiety, dangers become mere technical challenges and blind corners hold no more surprises.

Like this one coming up, for example.

Stand on the gas down the straight, wait, wait, and brake hard, downhill into the dip. Blip and downshift into third in preparation for the exit, the gravity of the climb up the other side helping the brakes to squeeze the speed down by 100 kph or so, the shift in momentum compressing the front wheels for the hard turn-in to the right. Back on the power and unwind the wheel, easy, easy, using the whole width of the track.

There’s a wriggle as the rear end momentarily breaks loose, the warning thrum of a race curb rumble strip, the alarming bang of a wheel edging off pavement and the shotgun spray of dirt hitting the wheel well. But then, whew, there’s the reassuring shudder of the car clawing back onto the racetrack.

A bit of a close call. But apparently not close enough.

“Try to overdrive the car a little more for the next few laps,” the voice breaks in over the two-way radio.

You don’t often hear the driving instructor in the lead car advise you to get into more trouble. But this was Scott Goodyear, one of Canada’s greatest racing drivers, who along with his co-instructor for the day, Al Unser Jr., represented the most celebrated and closest-fought 1-2 finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

The whole point of our exercise under these two noteworthy instructors was to push past the usual point of no return, to where things go awry and the world shifts slightly sideways.

We were there to test the saving graces of the Acura TL SH-AWD. That acronym stands for Super Handling All Wheel Drive, one of those Japanese-constructed names that makes everyone giggle - except the Japanese.

But the only tittering in the TLs on that rainy day would have been nervous laughter as the SH-AWD system continuously corrected our mistakes, straightened our skidding lines and just generally pulled our fat out of the fire.

I asked Scott Goodyear how he would have managed at these speeds in the rain without it?

“Oh, I’d be in the mud,” he said. “You can fight your way through every lap but, with all the rain and puddles on a day like this, eventually a corner would bite you.”

“Yeah, wish we had this on our race cars,” Unser added.

Under normal cruising, the SH-AWD operates benignly with up to 90 percent of the engine torque rotating the front wheels. But in hard cornering and under acceleration, up to 70 per cent of available torque can be directed to the rear wheels to enhance vehicle dynamics.

And, depending on conditions and sensor feedback, all of the engine power channeled to the rear axle can be applied to either of the rear wheels.

Now, the more astute readers out there will know that the SH-AWD system is not exactly new. So why all the fuss about the 2012 Acura TL?

The 2011 TL was a good car. But some customers just couldn’t get past its looks. To put it bluntly, the 2012 Acura TL needed a nose job and a fanny tuck, dialing down the proportions of polarizing elements like “Dynamic Power Plenum”, the shield-like grille mounted on the front of the TL like a giant bottle-opener. It was a fixture that looked fine on the MDX sport ute, but it was way too overpowering on a sports sedan.

Designers added horizontal elements, reduced some of the more garish cues and, in general, created a more refined exterior. The cabin is quieter and the interior received some minor trim adjustments along with a long list of other small changes.

More importantly, Acura added a new six-speed multi-clutch automatic transmission that, along with aerodynamic improvements and engine tweaks, improves fuel efficiency by about a litre per 100km, depending on model choices. A six-speed manual is still available.

There are new wheels, new colours and a new Elite model with new heated/ventilated seats, the first Acura Blind Spot Information (BSI) system and new, bigger 19-inch wheels.

Acura is sticking with last year’s prices on the 2012 TLs that started arriving at dealers in mid-March.

Now, lest we get caught up in all this talk of styling refinements and cosmetic changes, we should remember that Acura chose a racetrack to highlight the sum total of the TL’s sports sedan qualities.

And, as it turned out, a road course in the rain was the perfect venue to test the 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD’s power and handling abilities.

Towards the end of the day, we held a lapping competition with two-man teams, one lap each with a driver switch. I paired up with fellow automotive journalist Mark Hacking, and we ran what we thought was a nice opening time that somehow stood up to the eight teams that followed.

Then our instructors climbed into a car to give us our comeuppance.

Hard as it may be to believe, the final result was:

Beintema/Hacking - 2:34

Goodyear/Unser - 2:36

Rain and the Acura TL’s all-wheel-drive system were the equalizers that day. That and a whole lot of luck.

And while I can’t promise that the this car will make you into another Scott Goodyear or Al Unser Jr., I am sure that, whether you’re taking it out on the track, enjoying a mountain road or simply trying to get home through a snowstorm, the Acura TL SH-AWD will help you to be the very best driver you can be.

BODY STYLE: Mid-size entry-luxury sports sedan.

DRIVE METHOD: Front-engine, front- or all-wheel drive.

ENGINE: 3.5-litre 24-valve VTEC V6 (280 hp, 254 lb/ft of torque); 3.7-litre 24-valve VTEC V6 (305 hp, 273 lb/ft of torque).

FUEL ECONOMY: TL 3.5-litre 10.4/6.8L/100km (city/hwy); TL SH-AWD 3.7-litre 11.4/7.6L/100km (city/hwy)

PRICES: TL $39,490; TL Tech $42,990; TL SH-AWD $43,490; TL SH-AWD Tech $46,990; TL SH-AWD Elite $48,990