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Acura CL coupe debuts with sharp styling, affordable figures
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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A blacktop back route, barely wide enough for two passing cars, rolled across lesser bumps of California's Santa Rosa Mountains in rugged outlands stretched between San Diego and Palm Springs. With scant traffic and an array of corkscrew curves, the course gave an assertive driver the excuse to play with a new kind of sports coupe.
It looks sleek and swift with tapered prow spread across a wide stance accented by exaggerated wheels, with all lines concluding at the unique boattail crease in back.
It carves space for four inside, with comfortable front buckets, analog instruments and gear for comfort.
It stocks sophisticated systems for sporty performance, such as the independent double-wishbone suspension, rack and pinion steering and multi-valve aluminum engine.
And it can rip around a set of slippery curves.
So what's new about a cute sports coupe which can playfully tackle a mountainous track and also maintain an inside aura of civility for driver and riders?
Unlike other 4-seat sports coupes with their mega-bucks window stickers, this one comes with a price tag you won't have to hock the house to pay for -- starting at $22,000.
Call it the 2.2CL sports coupe by Acura, Honda's upscale label to showcase sporty and luxury models.
The initial CL with 1997 designation totes a 2.2-liter 4-cylinder Honda powerplant rated at 145 hp. By fall, the 3.0CL with premium luxury equipment aboard will pack a new V6 for $27,000.
These coupes, fourth in a stream of new models which redesign and redefine Acura's line in its tenth anniversary year, forego recognizable names in favor of alphanumeric designation like those used by elite imports from Europe.
But don't call CL an import: It comes out of Ohio.
Checking its developmental path, you may consider the CL from bumper to bumper an American car.
Concepts were created at Acura's California design studio, development occurred in Ohio at Honda's research center, with testing at California and Ohio proving grounds, powerplants lifted from Honda's Anna, O., engine facility and final assembly at Honda's massive Ohio plant at East Liberty, which also produces the Honda Civic.
Underpinnings begin with Honda's best-selling Accord, but exterior and interior styling remains unique to Acura.
Strip off all of CL's streamlined sheetmetal and you'll find Accord's chassis and basics of its independent double-wishbone suspension, yet with a few new twists designed to affect sporty driving characteristics.
The chassis, for instance, contains added elements to increase rigidity by as much as 30 percent, which in turn sets up a stiffer platform to attach suspension components. This stiffer quality allows CL to act in a more agile and sporty manner than Accord.
Also, front nitrogen-charged shock absorbers use new progressive variable valves.
Intent is to perform seemingly conflictive tasks of softening ride quality when CL hits a bump in the road but frim up during increasing loads such as when moving into a tight road curve.
Big solid stabilizer bars, implanted in front and back, check body roll and increase the lively feel of this coupe when it lunges through a turn set.
Although CL's measurements for wheelbase, width and height equal those of Accord's coupe, overall length of the Acura stretches almost five more inches due to CL's unique exterior shape.
Most apparent styling asset occurs at the rear with that centerline boattail crease which interrupts the fluid rhythm of so many curves. Couple that effect with exaggerated taillights and you end up with a distinctive appearance unlike any other car on the road.
Overall streamlining seems more pronounced due to CL's forward-canted profile that culminates in a roofline extension pitched above the rear seat. In addition to a styling purpose, this roofline bubble creates headroom for rear riders that's uncommon for a slinky coupe.
Climb aboard and anyone who favors the multitude of perks apparent in a Honda or Acura product will find familiar details in CL's tilt toward fittings for luxury.
In the interior layout, a flared console separating front bucket seats stacks audio and climate controls in a dash tower capped by multi-flexing vents.
The recessed instrument panel posts highly legible white-on-black analog gauges dominated by side-by-side tachometer and speedometer.
Dash trimmings include a wrap of high-gloss simulated wood paneling extended to front doors that puff up in richly padded side panels.
The backseat contains cushy articulated recesses for two riders with center fold-out armrest and hidden pass-through gate to trunk. In a pinch a third person could ride the rear seat's padded hump -- but may not like it.
Capacity of the trunk comes as a surprise, as it's generous for a compact coupe with room for a week's gear.
Spend a day on the road with Acura's CL, like I did in California tests, and it grows on you due to the easy-to-use nature and willing personality. So many touches of luxury add up to continual comfort, while sporty hardware in suspension and steering mechanisms make it fun to drive.
Acceleration for 2.2CL feels good too.
CL's 2.2-liter 4-in-line aluminum engine boosts power through a variable-valve engine management system dubbed VTEC by Honda. It's a sophisticated concept which produces relatively strong output from small displacement -- in this application as much as 145 hp.
Both 5-speed manual and auto 4-speed transmissions may be teamed with the 4-cylinder plant.
When it emerges next fall the 3.0CL will carry a new VTEC V6. Power rating has not been announced, but quick spins in a prototype make me suspect it exceeds 190 hp.
Safety items built into the Acura coupe include crash zones and dual airbags.
Pricing for 2.2CL begins at $22,000, while 3.0CL is expected at $27,000 with 4-speed automatic transmission.
1997 ACURA CL
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 1997 ACURA CL Specs |
| Description: |
Compact sports coupe |
| Model Options: |
Compact sports coupe |
| Wheelbase: |
106.9 inches |
| Overall Length: |
190.2 inches
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| Engine Size: |
SOHC 2.2L I4 16v VTEC
SOHC 3.0L V6 24v VTEC
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| Transmission: |
2.2: Manual/5, Auto/4
3.0: Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
2.2: 25/32 mpg |
| Price: |
$ 22,000 to $ 27,000 |
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