Autoweek has been driving an A-Spec since 2/17/2004 and here is the transcript of initial impressions:

"Nice, very nice. Almost makes me forget about the BMW 3 Series. Almost. For starters, it has one of the sweetest engines I remember driving. There is plenty of power and an awesome torque curve mated to the slick six-speed gearbox. The exterior looks menacing, the interior is roomy and well built. There are little to no hard shiny plastic bits and pieces that drive me nuts in so many 'upscale' cars. This is a big confortable, good-looking interior. There is some torque steer if you really plant your foot into the throttle, and the low-profile tires harden the ride and make the car tramline some. Nothing overly dramatic, but noticeable. That is while driving on secondary roads. On freeways it is a smooth, fast rocket. Overall the TL isn't quite as smooth and refined as the mighty 3. It is close, though, really close. And, come to think of it, I'd probably take the TL over an Audi A4."

Interesting, I opted for a TL over an A4.

 

Thanks for the article!

 

Thanks, I miss that thread until now...

 

Autoweek is our friend - I always see objective reviews from them where as C&D is the exact opposite with a mental block that can't get past the fact that it is FWD.