Things certainly get blown out of proportion, don’t they? 2009 was the worst year for U.S. car sales in more than a quarter century, and when that translated into poor sales for Acura’s top product – its premium, midsize, 4-door TL sedan - something had to get the blame. Keep in mind, “poor sales” according to Acura means just under 35,000 units in 2010, but that’s not enough to satisfy dealers. As a result, the controversial styling the TL adopted in 2009 got a big target painted on it. What this means for us is a mid-cycle refresh that’s been undertaken a bit earlier than mid-cycle. What it entails is a visual massage, a new 6-speed automatic transmission, revised steering response and some engine tweaking.

So good news from bad tidings, as the TL gets a visual update to visually lengthen and widen its more disagreeable parts, most notably the front grill and rear fascia. For 2012, Acura has applied what it's calling “sophisticated emotion” as opposed to 2009’s “linear fluidity.” This apparently means something. Whether or not it translates, Acura has made some small changes that it thinks will make a big difference. The chrome trim for the hood has been changed to body-color, giving it the effect of lengthening the hood visually. The “beak” grille that got so much bad press has been minimized a bit as well, and the front bumper has shrunk, too. You’ll notice changes to the head- and foglights, too - mostly in surrounds. The rear got even more attention with a smaller bumper, a raised license-plate mount, shrunken deflectors and a raised diffuser. Small changes, but they add up to a 1.5-inch drop in length overall, 1 inch up front and a half-inch in the rear.

Acura claims these improvements help the aerodynamics as well as the aesthetics – reducing drag by 5.4%, to be precise - and they’ve made some changes to complement these adjustments. New plumbing for the cold-air intake and reduced piston friction for the 3.5-liter V6 and a 14 percent tall final drive ratio for the new 6-speed automatic result in an overall 11 percent increase in fuel economy for front-wheel-drive (FWD) versions and 5 percent in all-wheel-drive (AWD) configuration. Otherwise, the 3.5-liter V6 in the Base and the 3.7-liter V6 in the SH-AWD are left unchanged, as is the 6-speed automatic transmission.

Moreover, the TL gets adjustments to its electric power steering for more response and feel from a far more progressive ratio. It’s made one of the best-handling sedans out there even better. There’s no surprise that Acura chose to leave the suspension and chassis bits alone. The AWD trim is labeled SH-AWD, which stands for “Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive,” and that's not lying. Sadly, that handling has been compromised a bit this year with the deletion of the sporty summer tire option for all-season rubber. The summer tires were a “low-take” option, much like the 6-speed manual transmission – only 1 and 3 percent of TLs are so equipped, respectively – but they’re both big for street cred, and the TL is poorer for the loss of its sportier tire option.

Acura also addressed two more complaints owners wouldn’t stop chattering about – the interior noise. That noise came in two flavors, actual acoustic penetration and switchgear busy-ness. The TL has been criticized for being far too noisy, and its control layout has been called a bit too complicated with regard to the sheer amount of buttons and dials the driver is faced with. To address the former, Acura has injected the TL with additional sound insulating materials, which it says makes the vehicle 3 dB quieter on the highway. The latter has been taken care of thanks to a new, 60GB navigation and infotainment system that’s supposed to vastly improve functionality. We sure hope so.

The TL also gets a new Advance Package that gets listed as a separate trim from the Base and SH-AWD when added to either. It equips the TL with blind-spot alert, ventilated front seats and 1-inch larger wheels for either trim, which nets out to 18 inches on the Base and 19 on the SH-AWD.

Acura is betting these small changes will result in a big increase for its sales leader. Again, the economy will have more to do with that than any small changes the company makes, but they’re welcome changes regardless. And please Acura, don’t ditch that 6-speed.