There seems to be an inconsistency between the fuel ratings published in the brochure and those found on the sticker/net. According to the brochure, the 5AT gets 19/29 while the manual gets 19/28. All the stickers I've seen so far, however, have shown 20/28 for the auto. The link below from hondanews.com reports 20/28 for the auto and 20/30 for the manual.

http://hondanews.com/Forms/acura/TL/...ia***-***acura(directory)TL(directory)***.ws4d?acura/TL/results(r)_text.html

Which is right?? If the latter numbers are true, the TL 6MT w/ 20/30 is virtually identical to it's 4-cylinder little-sib which lives @ 21/29.

And BTW, how does the EPA get these ratings (I assume there must be some standard methodology). Are the cars tested using only a few gallons in the tank and a 90 lb. person behind the wheel?

EDIT: Okay, something is screwed up with the link. Go to the following page and then click on "Powertrain - Part 1."

http://www.hondanews.com/forms/acura...h+currentacura

 

Maybe they are both wrong..

They were about the side signals

 

Well, I found how EPA calculates the fuel mileage... Pretty interesting stuff. I thought they would just fill the tank with a predetermined amount of fuel, test the car along a standardized path and then measure the fuel remaining. Instead, they measure the carbon in the emissions...

They also conducted a study and found that in real-world usage, people were getting 90% of the predicted city mpg and only 78% of the predicted highway mileage, so all of their test results are multiplied by 0.9/0.78 before publication.

The following link talks more about the program and the course they put the cars through. If I read correctly, manufacturers come up with the fuel mileage numbers and the EPA only confirms 10-15%.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/factshts/fefact01.pdf

 

VtecMW,

Same hear, I also have seen 20/28 for the auto.

I would be shocked if the MT has 30 for highway, as the gearing on that car would cause the RPM's to be higher at the same speed for the MT than the AT (which would be lower).

Look at the final gearing of the two and you will see.

Typically the MT's have lower RPM's at the same speed as AT's, but this would not be the case in the TL, as Acura made it more "sport"

 

Final gear ratios have little to do with actual MPG. Remember, the engine has a torque curve, and very low RPMs produce MUCH less power than higher RPMs. When you're cruising on the highway, you're not just coasting, the engine has to constantly work to keep the car at a constant speed. Just think how much more power at 65MPH the TL puts out per gallon at 2500 RPM than at 1800 RPM, especially since we are not talking about a turbo engine. Besides, manual transmissions lose a lot less power at the crank... I've seen countless manual transmissions that get better gas mileage than an auto with a lower final gearing.

My guess is the sticker is what really counts, as the brochure is written by the PR department. I would say the 20/28 for AT and 20/30 for MT are the official final numbers we will see on the stickers. I was shocked that the brochure had the MT at a lower MPG than the AT, since I've never seen such a thing before, especially with a 6-speed. The 20/30 number makes much more sense.

 

My '99 3.2TL had 19/27 EPA ratings. The '04TL has 20% more horsepower, and the 5AT gets 20/28. You've got to like that progress.