A coupe is supposed to look sexy, or at least a bit racy compared to the typical sedan. The CL may not be avant-garde in its styling, but it's clean and attractive. Sexy? Let the buyer decide.The CL shares mechanical components with Acura's mid-sized TL near-luxury sedan, but none of the TL's body panels. The coupe is lower, with a longer hood and shorter rear deck than the sedan.
Structural enhancements inside the CL's body shell are designed to reduce noise, vibration and harshness. There's a fiberglass liner under the hood, asphalt sheeting in strategic areas around the cabin and electrically controlled hydraulic engine mounts that vary dampening rates at different engine speeds. Acura's engineers claim the 3.2 CL is quieter than the C70, CLK or 328Ci. Measured by finish quality, the 3.2 CL is a gem. Panels and seams on our test car matched flawlessly, and the paint had a deep luster.
The CL follows Acura's proven chassis layout: front-wheel drive with wishbone-type fully independent strut suspension and disc brakes at all four wheels. Its 3.2-liter V6 is free-revving with dual-overhead cams and multi-valves. The standard CL makes 225 horsepower, which is a lot of power for this class. The Type S, thanks a number of subtle engine tweaks, makes an even more impressive 260 horsepower. Those tweaks include a higher volume intake system, less restrictive exhaust pipes, higher compression (10.5:1 vs. 9.8:1) and a higher redline (6900 rpm vs. 6300 rpm).