Sliding into the 2007 Acura TL Type-S’s seats is a wonderful experience, because they are very comfortable and supportive, even if the front passenger’s seat lacks height adjustment. However, there is room for improvement when it comes to comfort: The leather-wrapped steering wheel offers thumb rests, but the wheel rim is a bit thin given the Type-S’s sporting mission, and while the climate control worked well to combat the mid-Atlantic region’s summer heat, ventilated seats would be nice to have for warm, muggy days. Like the front chairs, the rear seats are also comfortable but snug – there’s not much room to move around in.

Driving the 2007 Acura TL Type-S is a real thrill, despite some concerns about the steering, suspension, and brakes. The engine loves to rev and sounds great doing it, but mind the tachometer because it’s easy to bang this refined powertrain right into the limiter. The six-speed manual transmission is tight, fluid between the gears, and blessed with positive engagement, however, I thought the clutch was a little tricky. That’s why I preferred the SportShift automatic’s five forward gears, actuated using paddle shifters or the gear selector. Unfortunately, torque steer is a problem with either transmission, but was more pronounced in TLs with the manual.

In models with the manual transmission, the steering tugs plenty as it fights torque steer and the tendency for the summer performance tires to hunt on imperfect road surfaces. However, response to input is quick and the steering is accurate. Assist levels at low speeds could be lighter, but at higher speeds the TL Type-S works beautifully. Adding Acura’s Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive system, or switching to rear-wheel drive, would make the TL a more entertaining machine to drive if for no other reason than guiding the car would require less work.

Couple the TL Type-S’s torque steer and wandering tires with suspension tuning that offers a bit too much compliance and range of motion for a sporting sedan with high handling limits, and the result is a vehicle that feels a bit too light on its feet at speed on imperfect roads. The nose can bob a bit too much on undulating pavement, and the body rolls a little more than expected. Ride quality is a bit busy on irregular surfaces, but the TL Type-S does a masterful job of soaking up larger bumps, such as railroad crossings. On fresh blacktop the TL is unflappable – smooth, solid, with just a hint of wind noise and rather excessive tire roar intruding on the driving experience above 80 mph. We hustled the TL to a buck-fifteen on I-68 in Western Maryland, and the Type-S seemed to be in its element at such lofty velocity. Unfortunately, going a buck-fifteen in America is not recommended.

Good thing the brakes on the TL Type-S are exceptionally good at arresting speed, though on several occasions when hustling along roads that frequently dipped just as they twisted the binders didn’t bite as hard as I would have liked. Also, the ABS engages easily on lumpy pavement, creating a bit of braking delay just before corners and blind rises in the roadway.

Given my concerns about the TL Type-S’s tendency for the front wheels to misbehave, for the suspension to lose focus, and for the brakes to struggle with certain road surfaces, I must conclude that this new sporting Acura can’t match the BMW 3 Series in terms of entertainment factor. But that’s a bit like saying that Stephen Colbert isn’t as funny as John Stewart. Compared to the confining and technologically impaired Lexus IS, the aged and outgoing Infiniti G35, and most other similarly-priced domestic and European competitors, we’d prefer to snag the keys to this Acura. And despite our gripes about the steering, suspension, and brakes, the Acura TL Type-S is an impressive piece of work. Now all it needs is Acura’s SH-AWD system, or a proper rear-drive platform.