All-new 4G Acura TL sedan comes to China this year

Shanghai, October 21 (Gasgoo.com) Honda Motor (China) Investment Corp has revealed that the all-new 2009 Acura TL luxury sedan is scheduled to enter the Chinese market later this year, said sina.com today.

Honda's Motor's luxury brand Acura has announced in North America the all-new, fourth-generation 2009 TL sedan, available in four models with a choice of 3.5L and 3.7L engines, and the 3.7L edition first ever uses the SH-AWD (super handling all-wheel drive) of Honda Acura.

The new TL is larger, with optimized suspension, more powerful power-train and new Sequential SportShift transmission. The standard engine is a 3.5-litre V6 i-VTEC with 280 horsepower and 254 lb-ft of torque in the front-wheel drive model; this new and more powerful engine returns fuel economy ratings of 11.6 L/100 km in the city and 7.5 L/100 km on the highway.

The TL SH-AWD uses an all-new 3.7-litre V6 i-VTEC engine that produces 305 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque, with ratings of 12.3 in the city and 8.1 on the highway. The SH-AWD system distributes more torque to the outside rear wheel during spirited cornering to create a "yaw moment" to help the vehicle turn in more quickly and precisely.

In the American market, prices for the new models are $39,990 for the TL; $43,490 for TL Technology Package; $44,490 for the TL SH-AWD; and $47,990 for the TL SH-AWD Technology Package. These are cheaper than the three Acura models currently available in China, which are priced at 400,000 yuan ($58,500) and above.

Based on its good sales performance and strong confidence in the Chinese market, Honda China expects to see the sales of its Acura brand more than double in 2008 up to 3,000 units from last year's 1,402 units.