Acura 3.2CL Type S

Acura 3.2CL Type S Acura 3.2CL Type S
Short Take Road Test

Listen, this brings us no joy. We love coming across a new car that is so freakishly compelling that we encourage you to sell the house immediately and buy one. At the same time, we are ever ready to publicly smack the snot out of a new car that warrants it.

We've just gotten out of the 2001 Acura 3.2CL Type S, and unfortunately, neither approach seems appropriate. That's because the Type S is so undeniably good, so well-produced, so good at the process of being what it is supposed to be that it has left us utterly unmoved.

This was not supposed to be the new 3.2CL's lot in life. The 3.2CL, and especially this performance-tuned Type S, was supposed to bring passion and huevos to Acura.

Both of which Acura could use. The pre-'99 TL sedan was so devoid of personality that even radar waves passed through it without taking notice. And other than rear-end styling that looked vaguely like Ultraman's head, the previous CL didn't exactly set buyers' imaginations afire.

If you judge by specs and numbers alone, the 3.2CL Type S should at least throw some sparks. The smooth SOHC 3.2-liter VTEC V-6 introduced in the TL makes a class-competitive 225 horsepower. Added to the Type S model is a low-restriction exhaust, a two-stage intake plenum that creates a resonance-supercharging effect to broaden the torque curve, and a higher compression ratio -- all of which add up to a 260-hp powerplant.

The Type S also gets stiffer springs and dampers all around and a larger-diameter rear anti-roll bar. To this, Acura adds 17-inch wheels with wider (215/50) Michelins.

It's all the right gear, and our track numbers show the Type S to be fleet and capable. Yet somehow the specs don't tell the whole story.

Although the 0.82-g skidpad number is impressive for a car on all-season performance tires, good grip does not necessarily equal fun. It takes some pushing to get the front end of the front-wheel-drive Type S to push off-line. Inevitably, though, it will.

But that's not the problem. The problem is that it's not much fun getting to the limit. The Type S carries 63 percent of its 3526 pounds at the front, and it feels that way.

Honda engineers have done a fine job of stiffening the Type S's ride for performance duty. Its body is well-controlled, and the ride quality is pleasantly firm. The nice, weighty steering feels eager to turn in, but the steering is making promises the car will fulfill only grudgingly. It lacks the necessary balance and fluidity that we want from a sporting car. No amount of grip can completely mask their absence.

Acura has added performance to a good all-around car instead of designing a performance car from scratch. There are inherent penalties to that approach.

The five-speed manumatic transaxle exhibits the same traits. Its gears are well-spaced. Its shifts are firm and certain. The Type S's manumatic is one of the best of its ilk. It responds relatively quickly to shift commands. The shifting motion is a natural fore-and-aft flick. And its action has the positive, mechanical feel of a spring-loaded toggle switch. But it still suffers the same dissatisfying pause of all manumatics. More to the point, the high-revving, 260-hp engine positively screams out for a proper manual transmission. The manumatic is a brilliant execution applied to the wrong concept.

The Type S exhibits the same general competence that puts the Honda Accord on our 10Best list with inevitable regularity. That same mix of virtues vaulted the 3.2TL to first in a comparo of nine luxury vehicles earlier this year . No wonder, since they all share Honda's new mid-size platform.

Isn't it fair, though, to ask more of a two-door -- certainly one that Acura claims can run with the BMW 330Ci? After all, the two-door configuration gives away practicality. Is it wrong to expect something in return besides basic goodness?

We think not. Yet we're still in the awkward position of having nothing concrete to dislike about the car, except that headroom isn't great and the interior trim looks like a low-quality photograph of fake wood.

But if what you're looking for is a subtly graceful, large two-door with good performance and a luxury nameplate, the Type S fills the bill. And that bill is light. Everything, except the navigation system, is standard, including heated leather seats, xenon headlamps, automatic climate control, a power sunroof, and a CD changer. All for its $30,785 price.

The Type S is a car that succeeds brilliantly at the mission set out for the Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe. It's a sort of digitally remastered Lincoln Mark VIII LSC -- a pleasant, powerful grand tourer that remains a bit wanting.

Acura would like to present the Type S as something else -- a BMW 3-series, for instance -- but you just can't believe everything you see and hear, can you?