Acura, a line of performance and luxury vehicles derived from Honda, delivers a diverse menu of models to the class of 2005. Leading the line is Acura's elegant full-size flagship 3.5 sedan, which emerges in a second-generation design packing a powerful new engine and an intelligent all-wheel-drive (AWD) system which disburses the engine's torque not only to wheels fore and aft but left or right as well to maneuver like a sticky race car.

Acura upgrades its full-size flagship with a new design that matches European machines in sophisticated mechanical hardware and lavish cabin appointments yet shows a smooth exterior with understated styling. The unit-body structure, incorporating Acura's new advanced compatibility engineering (ACE) body surrounding the passenger compartment, is composed of high-tensile steel and aluminum.

Muscle comes from a new 3.5-liter aluminum V6 engine that runs up to 300 hp and connects to a five-speed Sequential SportShift automatic transmission with paddle shifters on the steering wheel. And the AWD mechanism -- labeled Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive (SH-AWD) -- can direct up to 70 percent of the engine's muscle to a single rear wheel to help maintain traction on slippery pavement.

The new RL also carries an adaptive front lighting system (AFS) with Xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights, Acura's keyless access system, and four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock brake system (ABS) and traction control through a VSA device. Leather and hardwood trim the five-seat cabin, while standard equipment extends to a moonroof and power everything plus a DVD-Acurao system with XM satellite radio service, OnStar telecommunications and a Bluetooth-based hands-free phone interface.

Read our Review: Acura RL

Acura defines the sleek and chic TL as a mid-size performance sedan for the near-luxury category. It's capable of performing hard-wrought maneuvers like a sports car, although the contents of a five-place passenger compartment -- with soft leather hides covering the cushy seats and sophisticated electronic controls governing the climate and sound and navigation gear -- portray a conflicting image, one of elegant, even luxurious, motoring. A new generational design emerged last year representing a significant upgrade with fresh exterior styling evident, a boost in power from a new engine and noteworthy chassis improvements.

For 2005, this version continues but with several safety enhancements such as buckles of front seat belts mounted to seat frames. For strength, Honda's 60-degree V6 engine runs to 270 points through a close-ratio six-speed manual shifter or electronic automatic five-speed with Sequential SportShift manual mode. Big disc brakes go to all wheels, with ABS and a traction control system (TCS) plus vehicle stability assist (VSA). With the manual gearbox, front ventilated discs bump up to four-piston Brembo calipers. Xenon HID headlamps are standard, as is a glass moonroof and cabin trimming in brushed aluminum accents with perforated leather covering all seats. (CONTINUED...)