As all the vaunted drivers of the 3rd gen TL know, myself included, that one of the few yet critical "flaws", if I may, present in our vehicles is the FWD layout.

However, only $20k and an uglier body above, the RL is blessed with AWD and 30 more horses, also present with a bit more torque.

All speculations and realistic concerns aside, I believe it would be feasible to "graft" the transfer case, axles and other components into our beloved vehicles and singularly join the upper echelon of sport compacts in totality.

Truly, when the TL becomes AWD, it will rip apart half the vehicles present on the road.

So, what's your opinion?

 

Good luck

 

Nope wont happen. It would be cheaper to just buy the RL.

 

the awd system in the RL is not mechanical and is electronic and requires a bunch of ecu to control the system. you cannot simply saw it off the RL and weld it onto the TL. it will be alot cheaper to go to your dealer and trade in your car and pay the difference for the RL. it is not a 20K real workd difference in cost as you can get considerable discounts on the car right now. i have seen prices as low as 45K in the RL forum.

 

If the TL goes SH-AWD, there would be no need of an RL. I'd rather have the TL be RWD but I wouldn't mind if the TL was AWD, as long as it is one step lower than the RL. I do hope Honda drops the FWD platform on most of their cars.

As explained above, it would be a lot cheaper, less effort, and less time consuming if you just trade in your TL for a RL.

 

true, the RL would become useless if the TL had sh-awd, an RWD option would be nice. Honda would never even think of dropping fwd because its more fuel efficient and economical especially for people livng in snowy climates.

 

what is the AWD RL layout? FWD traditionally have transverse engine mounts. MY AWD car that I have has a traditional mount.

 

I believe the RL has a tranversely mounted 60 degree V6 (J35 series). As far as I know, the only Acuras with longitudinal mounts are the Vigor, and the 1996-1998 2.5TL (which I have).

Because of the heavy rear differential, the RL's weight distribution is better than the TL's. The RL is kinda handicapped by it's luxury suspension though. I can't wait to see how well the A-SPEC RL will handle! If I had the money, I'd buy one in a second.

The RL has a "FWD" layout that's been 'tweaked' to allow for SH-AWD.

 

cheaper and more reliable.

 

More fuel efficient? Economical for people in the snow belt? How does geographical location affect economics?

FWD was created for one simple reason -- cheap. Cheaper to engineer, manufacture and maintain... benefits of which all go to the manufacturer. RWD with well-programmed TCS won't have a problem in the snow any more than your ordinary FWD car.