1996 Acura CL Type-S

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Car and Truck pricing can be complicated and sometimes confusing. As an authority on car buying needs we provide information about new cars, such as the Acura RL and all the features it comes with. The RL gets 16 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway, and it has a comparable warranty. The Ford Focus and the Honda Accord are other vehicles that might interest you.

Honda’s transmissions have been among the slickest for decades and the all-new six-speed box in the CL is no exception to the established tradition. The throws are relatively short, the precision surgical and the weighting near perfect. Compared to Honda transmissions, other front-drivers feel like stirring a swizzle stick in the abdomen of a parakeet.

Both fifth and sixth gear in the CL are overdrives; fifth a slight one and sixth a much deeper cruising gear. So the real joy comes in taking the car through those first four cogs, which are spaced rather closely. It’s in those gears that a thorough appreciation for the glories of the Type-S engine leaps forth.

Engine

The 260-horsepower number is impressive, but that comes at a relatively high 6100 rpm. The engines heart is down between 3500 and 6500 rpm where it delivers at least 232 lb-ft of torque, thanks to the Honda’s VTEC variable valve timing system. With a slight induction growl but not much of an exhaust note, the Type-S V-6 has a true, compelling personality that meshes perfectly with the slick trans and engaging differential. This is an engine that pulls for redline with the sort of confidence once solely the province of BMW straight sixes; in particular the brawny 315-horsepower, 3.6-liter six found in the M5 sedan and M6 coupe. That engine had more total horsepower than the Type-S motor, but in character and deportment they’re almost indistinguishable. The 3.0-liter straight six in BMW’s current 330Ci is nearly as sweet as the CL’s V-6, but is rated at just 225 horsepower.

Features

While it’s possible to get a “regular” CL with an engine that makes only 225 horsepower, the majority of CLs are of the “Type-S” variety with their higher-compression V-6 tuned to make 260 horses. Type-S models also get slightly slower and heavier rack-and-pinion steering, and bigger P215/50VR17 Michelin MXM4 tires on appropriate alloy wheels. On five-speed automatic equipped Type-S models there’s also “Vehicle Stability Assist” (VSA) which modifies throttle and braking to aid stability and an integrated traction control system. But both VSA and traction control are dispensed with on the latest six-speed manual version of the car.

While the transmission change is the most obvious difference between the manual and automatic CL Type-S, the more significant change is the adoption of a helical gear limited slip differential in the manual car. Limited-slip diffs aren’t anything new or novel, but they’re still far more effective traction enhancers than the dozens of electronic gizmos and goofball schemes manufacturers have foisted upon the buying public over the last decade or so. Limited slips are relatively rare on front-drivers in particular and driving the Acura CL Type-S six-speed indicates just how desperately every other vehicle needs one.