Comparo: 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD vs. Volvo S60 T5 AWD

Story and photos by John LeBlanc When it comes to the sports sedan market, the Germans rule, but there are buyers who don’t necessarily want to drive an Audi A4 or a BMW 3 Series. This is why we’re comparing a pair of non-Teutonic sporty four-doors. While the Japanese Acura TL and Swedish Volvo S60 are marketed as antidotes to German domination, which one is the better sports sedan?

FIRST PLACE: 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD

Since the current fourth-generation TL debuted for 2009, it’s been marketed as an alternative to pricier German sports sedans. And although a replacement for the TL is due within the next year, the 2013 TL still rocks as a sedan for drivers. Front-wheel-drive TLs, with a 280-horsepower 3.5-litre six-cylinder gas engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, start at $41,895 (all prices include a $1,945 freight and pre-delivery inspection fee). Enthusiasts, however, will want to pop for my tester: the $45,895 2013 TL SH-AWD. It adds such driver-oriented features such as a larger (3.7L) and more powerful (305 hp and 273 pound-feet of torque) V6, 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, larger front/rear anti-roll bars, a sport steering wheel and headlamp washers. Most importantly, though, is the addition of Acura’s excellent SH-AWD (Super Handling-All Wheel Drive). On dry roads, SH-AWD’s primary function is to shuffle torque away from the TL’s front wheels to reduce understeer and torque steer. (You can call up a small display between the speedo and tach that graphically shows the torque distribution to all four wheels.) When cornering hard, the system reigns in the Acura sedan’s inside rear wheel while doling out grunt to the outside. As a result, the TL SH-AWD takes corners with more poise and balance than the less-co-ordinated S60 T5 AWD. The downside is a much firmer ride than in the more comfort-oriented S60. The Acura also offers a more engaging steering system. You always seem to know what’s going on at road level, with a lot of off-centre weighting. Taking 6.2 seconds to go from zero to 100 kilometres an hour, the Acura is 0.2 seconds quicker than the Volvo. (Note the $49,395 TL SH-AWD with a six-speed manual takes only 5.5 seconds.) With pre-programmed throttle blips on downshifts, I also preferred the Acura six-speed automatic. It shifts quicker and crisper than the Volvo autobox with the same number of gears. Where the Volvo has it all over the Acura, though, is interior design. The TL SH-AWD is hindered by Acura’s unintuitive centre dash design, where a wall of Chiclet-sized buttons is hard to fathom when parked, let alone when the car’s in motion.

SECOND PLACE: 2013 Volvo S60 T5 AWD

When it was introduced two model years ago as the “Naughtiest Volvo Ever,” the second-generation Volvo S60 was only available with a 300-hp, turbocharged straight-six gas engine and all-wheel-drive. Since then, Volvo has bracketed the S60 lineup with the $53,065 (all prices include a $1,715 freight and PDI charge) S60 T6 R Design AWD (with 325 hp) at the top end and a front-wheel-drive $40,865 S60 T5 at the low end (which uses a 255 hp and 266 lb-ft turbocharged 2.5L straight-five). My tester was a 2013 Volvo S60 T5 with $2,400 worth of traction at all four wheels. Despite being down on power, the Volvo is only slightly slower in a straight line. This is a bit of a surprise, as the overall larger and roomier TL SH-AWD weighs 270 kilograms less than the 2,090-kg S60 T5 AWD. The Volvo’s avoirdupois doesn’t help when it comes time to fling it down a back road. When pushed really hard, it doesn’t deliver the type of detailed and delicate responses the Acura does. One reason is Volvo’s less aggressive AWD system. It defaults to 95/5 front-to-rear torque distribution, but can send all the turbo-five’s power to the rear wheels alone. The new torque-vectoring hardware grabs the inside wheels during hard cornering to assist the outside wheels in getting power down, but unlike the Acura system, the Volvo setup only works under acceleration. If not as razor-sharp as the TL SH-AWD, the S60 T5 AWD shines when you loosen the reigns a titch. On public roads, the Volvo’s ride is never harsh. The steering isn’t as communicative as some hardcore drivers may like, but the S60 arcs through corners cleanly and in a linear way. From a price standpoint, the mid-range, $48,265 S60 T6 AWD would have been a better match for the Acura than my tester. But I’ve driven the S60 T6 AWD, and it also doesn’t have the cojones to keep up with the Acura when the road starts to turn. In the end, the 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD remains the anti-German sports sedan of this pair.

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