First Drive Review
As the home chapter of American Drivers Dedicated to the Revival and/or Preservation of the Manual Transmission, we at Car and Driver are more than gratified to pass along this first look at something we expected but didn't dare to believe until we actually laid hands on it: an Acura 3.2CL Type-S that won't change gears until you move the lever into the proper slot. That's right. It has a manual transmission.
Let us sum up our collective reaction in a single word: Yes!
Not only does this update enhance the driving experience—more interaction between man and machine, less likelihood of excessive cell-phone usage—it lends an extra element of sportiness to a car that, for all its excellence, needed it.
In our December 2000 short take on the then-new 3.2CL Type-S we found ourselves "not particularly liking a nearly perfect car," which we summed up as "a sort of digitally remastered Lincoln Mark VIII LSC—a pleasant, powerful grand tourer that remains a bit wanting."
That car sent power to its front wheels via Acura's five-speed Sequential SportShift, one of the better compromises between manual and automatic, but nevertheless afflicted, in our view, with "the same dissatisfying pause of all manumatics."
There is nothing remotely dissatisfying about the action of Acura's new six-speed manual. Although it employs cable linkage, they're heavy-gauge cables, worthy of a suspension bridge, judging by the decisive feel of the engagements. The shift throws are short, the gear ratios close, and if it isn't quite NSX-precise, it's at least as good as anything in this price class. And exceptional for a front-drive car.
This brings us to the other element that puts more butch in the balance sheet—a brand-new helical limited-slip differential. Similar in concept to the Torsen and Quaife limited-slip diffs, the new Acura system is mechanical, using gears to apportion torque and thus reduce wheelspin. A limited-slip diff evens out power delivery in any car, but it's particularly helpful in front-drivers. Here's why: Since the front tires serve dual roles—steering and power transfer—it doesn't take much for the inside front to overcome adhesion and start spinning, particularly during the pronounced weight transfer that goes with hard cornering.
Wheelspin is bad juju. It reduces cornering speed, magnifies understeer, and emasculates corner exit speeds. It adds endless seconds to racetrack lap times, and undue drama to back-road recreation.
The CL's new limited slip cures this affliction like a mechanical miracle drug. During a day of preview driving in the mountains that form the west wall of California's Silicon Valley, we were thoroughly impressed with the way the CL dealt with abrupt transitions, decreasing-radius turns, and all the other little surprises that make high-country back roads so entertaining.
There were some who returned from strafing the hinterlands with complaints about torque steer, but we're inclined to classify such carping as—let's be kind—nonsense. What one feels, thanks to the CL's scalpel-sharp rack-and-pinion power steering, is the limited slip doing its job. It bites into corners like a bulldog, and the little hints of something going on down there are simply reminders of the diff adjusting to cornering loads, steering angle, and what the driver is doing with his right foot. Honda R&D really did its homework here. This device closes the front-drive versus rear-drive gap by a bunch.
Although enhanced cornering is the biggest benefit of this drivetrain, the new gearbox also adds straight-ahead zip. The six-speed Type-S is 60 pounds lighter than the automatic version, and that, plus the greater efficiency of a manual, should add up to about a half-second at the drag strip, according to Acura. If true, that would mean a 0-to-60 time in the low-six-second range. Which would put it right in there with the BMW 330Ci, the perennial king of this class—for about $4000 less.
That four-grand price advantage doesn't mean scrimping in the area of hedonism. Like the base CL, the Type-S comes with all the right indulgences—leather, excellent audio, electric sunroof, power everything. The only thing to add is a DVD-based navigation system, which now includes GM's OnStar communications service.
Although the '03 CL lineup does get a few small cosmetic tweaks, the only really significant change is its new manual-transmission option for the Type-S. And that's just fine with us.
