2003 Acura CL Review
Fuel Economy
20 - 21 mpg
Summary
What Edmunds.com says
If you are looking for a luxury coupe for about $30,000, you'll be hard-pressed to find anything better.
Pros
Powerful V6 engines, lavish standard features list, comfortable cabin, great value.
Cons
Average interior materials, lacks the panache of some competing luxury coupes.
What's New for 2003
Acura has made a number of changes on its already highly competent luxury sport coupe. The biggest news is the availability of a six-speed manual transmission on the Type-S trim. If that doesn't interest you, there's certainly more. On the outside, the CL gains new wheels, updated headlights and taillights, a revised grille and new exhaust tips. Inside, Acura has added LATCH child safety seat attachments, a dual-stage and dual-threshold driver's front airbag and an auto-up driver's window. Cars with the optional navigation system also gain OnStar, the vehicle communications service.
Consumer Ratings & Reviews
6sp Manual type S
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 9 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 10 |
| Comfort: | 10 | Interior Design: | 10 | Reliability: | 10 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
2003 Acura CL 3.2 Type-S 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Incredibly fun car to own and drive. Beautiful and high quality interior, especially considering the price. Seats grip your sides and hold you in during hard turns. Smooth and quick shifting 6 speed manual. This car is fast too.
Favorite Features
Seats, thick rimmed steering wheel, quick manual shifter, powerful V6.
Suggested Improvements
I live in AZ and the paint is starting to fade near the back window due to the harsh Arizona sun. Only other thing I would change is to make it real wheel drive, then it would be a real "sport" coupe.
An enjoyable drive.
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 9 | Fun-to-Drive: | 9 | Build Quality: | 7 |
| Comfort: | 9 | Interior Design: | 9 | Reliability: | 7 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
2003 Acura CL 3.2 Type-S 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Purchased brand new on May 2003, with 45 miles on it. It has been babied. Till this day, I enjoy everytime I drive it. It can handle most corners with its stiff suspension, and can get up to freeway speeds with ease. I liked the interior and thought it was the best in class during its time. I also liked the revised exterior styling for 2003, making it look more aggressive. However, there are some drawbacks. My transmission failed at 32K miles, which is a common problem with the automatic. I also started to hear squeaks and rattles after 2 years of owning the car. And the stock rotors warp too quickly causing steering wheel vibration. Still love the car though.
Favorite Features
They're pretty rare. I still get stares from people wondering what the heck I'm driving. Engine noise when it hits the infamous VTEC at around 4800RPM. Aggressively styled headlights. White gauges in the day, black gauges at night. Memory seat positions.
Suggested Improvements
Better transmission. Better rotors. This is easily fixed with aftermarkets, though, as I did with mine. Fewer squeaks and rattles. Better paint. Mine already had swirls after a year. The Bose it comes equipped with blows.
My ride
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 10 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 10 |
| Comfort: | 10 | Interior Design: | 10 | Reliability: | 10 |
| Fuel Economy: | 6 | Exterior Design: | 10 | ||
Vehicle
2003 Acura CL 3.2 Type-S 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 5A)
Review
I have had my Type S for a little over a year now. I love the sound of the engine. This is my second car in my lifetime the first one was an Acura Legend. They know how to make cars.
Favorite Features
Suggested Improvements
Gas mileage is terrible for a sedan, it cost $60 dollars to fill up but what can you do.
0 out 2 people found this review helpful
Not bad so far
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 7 | Fun-to-Drive: | 8 | Build Quality: | 8 |
| Comfort: | 9 | Interior Design: | 7 | Reliability: | 10 |
| Fuel Economy: | 7 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
2003 Acura CL 3.2 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 5A)
Review
Purchased this car used with 72k mi on it. Over 12k later in a few months I really like the car. It gets average mileage for a v6 if I could just keep my foot off the pedal my personal mileage would be better but I've gotten 26 - 27 mpg average from a few tanks. Its very comfortable and has a ton of leg room but limited head room at 6'1" as long as I keep the seat all the way down and slightly back its not a problem though. Great stock sound, trunk is huge, looks nice, similar to the accord but much much better. I worry a bit about the potential trans problem to surface but don't plan on keeping the car after the 107k mi extension of coverage. Would have gotten the manual type-s if I did it over.
Favorite Features
Heated seats, automatic climate control, tilt side view mirror in reverse for parking, big trunk, sleek classy style, smooth ride. It was a well executed luxo/sport coupe, too bad it's gone and I can't replace it with a newer one, although the new accord coupe is very nice.
Suggested Improvements
They discontinued the model unfortunately but a coupe version of the current tl would nice this time with more head room. Would have be Nice if they had re-engineered the trans and given the replacements the classic Honda no worry reliability so I could keep this car for 100s of 1,000s of miles
CL-S 6-Speed: Wolf in sheep's clothing
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 10 | Fun-to-Drive: | 9 | Build Quality: | 8 |
| Comfort: | 10 | Interior Design: | 9 | Reliability: | 10 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 10 | ||
Vehicle
2003 Acura CL 3.2 Type-S 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 5A)
Review
My wife and I both drive and enjoy this car. We bought it with 18k on the odometer and 6-speed manual because we prefer self-shifting and heard about the problems with the automatic versions. My wife especially loves the CL for its clean exterior lines and interior creature comforts with those particular appealing Acura-Honda ergonomics. I like it for its rarity factor as well! Reliable with no problems yet. Very quiet with a solid feel on the highway - cruising in 6th gear - with superb handling and road-feel on the curves. Great for long trips. Lots of power and torque for those sticky highway situations. At 260-hp it's the most powerful car we've ever owned and probably ever will.
Favorite Features
Looks, seats (heated leather with excellent custom positioning), sound system, large trunk, handling.
Suggested Improvements
Fog lights, better stock tires, larger sunroof.
1 out 1 people found this review helpful
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