Acura, the upscale brand from Honda, has never enjoyed the prestige achieved by the Lexus (Toyota) or Infiniti (Nissan) upscale lines. But with the TL Acura has produced a fine “Japanese Beemer,” a car clearly designed to penetrate the BMW 3-series market with a less expensive but advanced sports sedan.

The Acura TL looks fast in the showroom.

The TL looks fast in the showroom. On the road, the 270 hp, V-6 engine squirts this car from 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds. Driving is a joy. Taking off from lights or stop signs is fun; you can leave most of Highway 101 wheeled stuff behind. The five-speed automatic is so good and well matched to the engine that using the manual auto shifter slows you down on acceleration.

For drivers with rear wheel drive experience, the TL’s front wheel drive torque steer is noticeable under hard acceleration and the car does not handle corners and curves like the Europeans. Pushed to the limit, the TL will under steer and scrub the front tires. Overall the ride is excellent and long freeway trips relaxing.

The interior is sports sedan nouveau with silver metallic, gray leather, carpet and rubbery material on the dash. Although this works OK the leather seems a little thin and the dash material really heats up in the summer sun. The instrument panel is especially pretty at night, with purples, reds and readable modern instruments.

Get a true concert hall experience from the 225 watt six-channel Acura/ELS Premium 8-Speaker Sound System with six-disc changer, tape deck, and an XM satellite radio. You can out boom the boomers. Try a Beethoven symphony alongside a loud rap boomer and you will see some startled young faces.

At a base price of $33,100 with lots of advanced technical and luxury equipment standard this car is a solid, good value alternative to its European competitors.

Motoring since 1952, Austin Lynas has owned 55 cars and at one time raced mini-sedans in England. An aerospace engineer, he was instrumental in developing the anti-skid systems used in British military aircraft that preceded today’s ABS systems. Lynas can be reached by e-mail at austin@sandiegometro.com.