Driving a Honda product that’s been used and abused like a 50 cent hooker is a right of passage for any petrol head. This example, a 2004 Acura TL A Spec, was graciously and mistakenly left in my hands by a friend and unwilling MSIMA viewer.

Great another person who’s about to wax lyrical about some old shitbox. On fucking brand for you guys, really.

1. Insult me again and you will wake up in a Serbian prison with nothing but Kokomo playing on loop in complete darkness, wishing for your purgatory to end yet nutrients are still being provided by an IV.

Jesus, y’all need some

2. No this car was a bit of a basket case and is far from the sharp handling “luxury” sports sedan it was claimed to be. Honest it drove like a more like a cushion with VTEC.

It’s a car that hung up it’s racing gloves after ten years of being forced to corner and now wants to be a bit like an early 2000’s fwd Cadillac but not as incompetent or slow.

So like any good car with over 200,000 Km, there’s a lot of worn out bushings, questionable brakes, and misc cracks in the interior that “add character”. But under the many layers of use and abuse, there still lurks the original personality of whatever this A Spec was meant to be. I think.

Oh how the mighty have fallen

Yeah it’s a bit of a shame, but you first have to have been mighty to begin with. And this all oddly adds to the new character the car has assumed after so many years.

Seems like a nice way of calling it a turd

Perhaps, but I would be doing the car a disservice to call it a slow and uninteresting turd. Even after all those miles, there still echos the remains of a sporty Honda product.

The car’s single over head cam v6, although no more powerful than the regular v6 TL (but a few more horses then the outgoing type S, and yes Acura’s naming has always been this dumb), nonetheless manages to move the sedan at a surprisingly fast pace. It doesn’t scream and rev like an s2000, but whatever’s left in the vtec bag of magic go fast-ness still lingers on, perhaps a bit too well for it’s own good. The engine will still take abuse and be none the wiser for it, all the while helping claw the car from apex to corner exit.

And at this state of mechanical wear it’ll need all 270hp, 238 lb-ft of torque, and the desire to hit 6500 rpm when faced with a corner.

What’s up with the suspension?

Dunno really. Contemporary magazines couldn’t shut up about how well this car handled, but contemporary magazines also thought the PT Cruiser and HHR were acceptable vehicles back in 2004. However when I pushed the car a bit, it felt like a buncha overcooked noodles atop a jetski in a hurricane.

I hate you

Anyways, the car probably did handle wonderfully, and have the crispest shift and a class leading interior. However, after 20 years of rural North Eastern USA wear and actual use, it’s up to the powertrain to convince you that it’s still a sports sedan.

Cornering is vague, you feel a lot of roll and understeer, but then you can mash the throttle and still manage to have a semi-decent exit speed. However, to get to the point of corner exit, the car is genuinely a bit scary. There’s piss poor communication, followed by a lot of slosh. And while a 40 or so year old c4 vette might have vague chassis communication, steering feedback is lovely and you’re still aware that you have grip, though this isn’t the fairest of comparisons. However a worn 90’s bmw is, and as ruined as the suspension was, the steering is still able to tell you enough to corner with a degree of confidence.

Maybe it’s my fault for having some level of expectation going in. I’m glad to report as far as handling that it not only failed to meet them, but infact took that notion and shoved up my ass.

Ok, that’s unfortunate. But it’s still a sporty Honda, transmission should feel nice right?

Changing gears in the car was also an affair.

Oh…

People often talk about how great Honda manuals are. And while I have felt the shifter in modern sporty civic and Acura offerings, I’ve yet to actually drive a “fast” Honda until now…

… and I think I’ve driven the wrong one because that poor clutch and shifter were begging for euthanasia. You knew it was in gear, but god did it feel like a blend of recycled Vietnamese condoms and a blender having a wild night. And the clutch was standing by ready to give me its final eulogy whenever it felt appropriate (thankfully that has yet to happen).

Anything else of note?

Ya know this car apparently has “aero” too? Yea according to contemporary magazines, the A spec received a revised body from the factory, improving overall aero efficiency for track use. Thanks Honda!

And to combat all that raw, finely engineered horsepower, the car’s brakes were… suggestive. I’ve driven the car before the brakes had been replaced. And while your foot doesn’t go the floor, you’d be met with a less than pleasing understanding that your life is in the hands of worn pads the size of a toddler’s kidneys.

So what was fun about this one?

Ya know that’s a great question.

For all its wear it still holds up to college kid abuse, but most under-stressed 20+ year old shit-nuggets that’s I’ve reviewed will do that. It doesn’t have the 80’s character of an e30 or Time Machine qualities of a K car. It’s not a simple sporting experience like a Miata or z3, and plenty of cheap US pony cars from the last 30 years will fix that go fast itch better then this TL A spec.

Granted it’s a car my friend got handed to him, and as a fun mode of transportation, especially with him continuing to fix the poor thing, it’ll continue to shine closer to what this car used to be.

But in 2023? This car showed up to Florida to join the 2003 Toyota Corolla on its tirade against god and man in the left lane on i95 towards Miami, and be damned if your in it’s way. Not that my friend treats it as such, but you get the impression that’s what this car would be doing had the owner not despised Florida drivers.

It soldiers on, loyal and unwavering, v6 still trying to let you know it has grunt. Bushings fail, dashes crack, and brakes fade, but this bar of plastic just won’t die. Within the desire to retire lies a car that’s still fun and will prove to you that’s it’s not done. It’s kinda like someone who just fell of a motorcycle, clearly has three broken bones, but is on an adrenaline rush so massive they’re gonna pick up that bike or collapse trying.

Drive a beat up Honda, push it a little bit, and I think it’ll make sense.