I have driven just about every sports car that is out there - from a Porsche 911, BMW 540i, Jaguar S-Type and even the Subaru WRX. There is something about the driving experience of this Acura that is special. While its true that it is not the best handling or fastest car on the planet... this is one of the very few cars that will give you performance with the reliability issues of the german cars or the spartan comfort of the WRX.  
 
The exterior styling is not offensive but can look odd from some angles. From the side the TLS looks gorgeous, from the back it is quite boring and from the front it may be wierd looking. Someone mentioned a corolla... I kind of see the resemblence of the high beam curve outs a little. Anyways, I think it should be improved. If we look at the RL, NSX and RSX we should see that the Acura has largely ignored the TL as far as styling goes.  
 
The interior is another picture. I too absolutely love the interior dash. Ergonomics are top-rate. I would preferred real wood but the existing plastic wood does not look as bad as some make it out to be. The white faced guages are just lovely and "reverse illumuinate" at night. The dash has external temperature readout, trip A, trip B, ODO in digital format and various other indicators for VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist), Cruise etc. etc. There is also the Sequential Sportshift gear readout which tells you which gear# the Sportshift is currently in.  
 
The SportShift feature is without argument the best out there. It surely beats anything offered by BMW, Porsche or Audi. Acura has done a great job here. Engine response with the SportShift feels quite close to a manual...but of course it can never be as good as the real thing.  
 
Since this car is a front wheel drive it suffers from some handling problems like oversteer. Launch spin as someone mentioned is also a problem. But then again, this car is not exactly a $100,000 Porsche 911. RWD is expensive to manufacture, at the TLs price I think they would have to remove a large chunk of standard equipment if they made it RWD.  
 
The HIDs are standard on this vehicle. HIDs are currently very expensive and not even found standard on a high end Mercedes or BMW, yet Acura offers them standard. They cost somewhere between $500-$700 itself!! These lights illuminate the road almost like its daylight! The light uses a Xenon gas chamber which is ignited with an electrical arc. This is not just some blue paper over a regular halogen bulb. The "firing" of this chamber requires an expensive device called a Ballast. The beam also needs focusing which requires more electronic circuits. When you first turn these lights on you can see the light being focused...it is amazing! And the blush-white rays look cool too :-) Although the Acura version does not have "Dynamic Auto Levelling" which is an even more complicated headlight which is optional on Lexus, BMW, Mercedes etc.  
 
The space inside the car is roomy for 4 adults. 5 could sit for short distances. The trunk is HUMONGOUS! This car is LONG! The tires need to be wider for the performance of this vehicle.  
 
Basically I found this vehicle to be very desirable and offering a lot for the dollar. If you have money to burn you may want to buy a Lexus GS430 or 540i... but for those that want to use their dollars wisely I would highly recommend the TLS.  
