2009 Acura TL sedan to sell in China next month

Shanghai, November 19 (Gasgoo.com) Yesterday at the Guangzhou auto show, Honda Motor's luxury brand Acura released all-new 4th-generation sporty 2009 Acura TL model and announced that the sedan will go on sale across China next month, said xinhuanet.com today.

The all-new Acura TL offers two engine choices: a 3.5-liter and a 3.7-liter V6 VTEC. The standard engine is a 3.5-liter 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-liter 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.

The 2009 TL features cutting-edge technology with the addition of new high-tech items including AcuraLink weather, AcuraLink Traffic Rerouting, a new Note function for XM Radio, Active Sound Control, and Bluetooth Audio to an already robust list of features found on the previous RL.

In the American market, the 2009 Acura sells $44,490 for the TL SH-AWD edition, and $47,990 for the TL SH-AWD Technology Package. This suggests the all-new Acura TL to sell in China next month may be cheaper than the three Acura models currently available, which are priced above 400,000 yuan ($58,500).

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 this year up to 3,000 units from last year's 1,402 units.