Payne: The Acura TLX gets its mojo back

Posted by Talbot Payne on January 14, 2021

Think of great career athletic comebacks and a few come to mind. Tiger Woods at the Masters in 2019. Andre Agassi winning the French Open in 1999. Nike Lauda’s rebound after a fiery crash to win the world Formula One title.

Add Acura to the list.

Hondas’ luxury brand was the choice of motorheads at the turn of the century with such apex-carvers as the Acura Integra and TLX Type-S. Then Acura took a wrong turn and got lost in the wilderness. The quick moves gave way to soft cars as Acura built luxury liners like the RDX and hung big chrome beaks on its bow.

With its all-new 2021 TLX performance sedan, Acura has returned to its roots. The new car — with the first Type-S performance trim in 12 years lurking in the wings — is a toned, powerful, affordable athlete.

Yet in the decade-plus that Acura wandered the wilderness, the market changed.

Acura has once again positioned itself as a value athlete against the German trinity of BMW, Mercedes and Audi. But this go-around, Acura isn’t the only brand that is redefining itself with premium sedans. The $40,000 sedan market is flush with ambitious products for those who are looking for something different than the same ol’ German.

For example: while TLX baselines competitively to the Teutonic trio, the Mazda 6, Kia Stinger and VW Arteon (a mainstream German) baselines to the TLX, undercutting it in price while offering equally compelling specs.

Opt for the A-Spec package and the 2021 Acura TLX gains a luscious red interior.

In this boiling piranha tank of great sedans, I took the TLX predator for a ride.

Acura boss Jon Ikeda and his musketeers realized last decade that Honda’s performance brand had to build a distinctive brand or be left behind. Not for nuthin’ have the Germans achieved their renown. They’ve built reputations at the highest levels of motorsports which trickle down to their performance-studded production lineups.

Take BMW. With the mid-engine, 1979 BMW M1, Bimmer set a performance halo that is the envy of today’s luxe bands. The M badge — now appearing on Olympians like the BMW M4 and M2 — brings track-tuned athleticism that trickles down through every SUV and sedan in its lineup.

So Acura launched the mid-engine NSX in 2015, jump-starting Acura Precision Performance.

Awesomeness had followed. The NSX wowed with its hybrid performance, all-wheel drive and sculpted styling — a $160,000 supercar offering the same tech as a $900,000 Porsche 918. The NSX has spawned a competitive, IMSA GTD race car. And just to be sure no one questions Acura’s commitment to supercar performance, it won the IMSA championship outright in 2019 with a striking Acura DPI entry run by Captain Roger Penske.

The commitment to performance has spread through everything in the lineup. The Acura RDX may be a volume SUV, but its interior style and athletic handling are inspired by Papa NSX. Even the MDX mid-size sedan shared the NSX’s electric, all-wheel-drive system.

The distinctive front end of the 2021 Acura TLX complete with A-Spec, dark trim.

But it’s the TLX that most closely follows the NSX lineage. The world may be moving to SUVs — 70% reckons Acura by 2025 — but the premium brand realizes that buyers still want ground-hugging performance sedans.

Take my friend John, who has eschewed SUVs for a Tesla Model S and now an Audi A6. Why? Because when he leaves the city behind, he wants to have some fun on America’s wide-open roads.

The TLX is the perfect companion to the Acura RDX, one of my favorite SUVs for not only its handling, but its supreme value. This is a $38,000 SUV that offers standard adaptive cruise control, panoramic roof and leatherette interior. Good luck finding that on a German.

For about $700 less than the RLX, the TLX offers all that value with sedan handling.

Using all 272 ponies in TLX’s all-new 2.0-liter turbo-4, I consumed corners over Oakland County’s Old Pontiac Trail. The chassis has 50% more torsional rigidity than the last gen. The 10-speed tranny shifts like butter. The torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system grips like a fly on ointment.

The 2021 Acura TLX comes by its performance naturally - the Acura brand races sedans (far left) as well as it mid-engine, supercar NSX.

But surveying my stallion after my spirited ride, I wondered if that was enough.

For all its race car inspiration, the TLX is conservative in styling. Sure, designers have made a lower, wider, sleeker sedan. But everyone’s doing that these days — have you seen the Hyundai Sonata? At just $26,000, it’s created a rear LED light show that would make the luxe class proud.

TLX’s fascia design is more competitive with the Mazda 6 and Kia Stinger, which offer specs similar to the TLX — but for much less.

Consider that the Mazda — outfitted with a comparable, smooth, 2.5-liter turbo-4 — is the Acura’s equal in style and standard appointments, yet stickers for 7 grand less. Or for really insane value, consider Kia’s flagship AWD Stinger, which boasts 100 more horsepower, better interior and cargo room for a price similar to Acura’s AWD A-Spec model.

As I say, boiling piranha tank.

Better that I view the TLX from the interior — my 6’5” frame and broad shoulders fit easily in a driver’s seat that is noticeably broader (thanks to a wider track stance) than the last gen.

The 2021 Acura TLX is all-new with 50% stiffer chassis, 272-horse turbo-4 engine, double-wishbone front suspension, and sculpted styling.

Here, Acura has constructed a more distinctive landscape. The center console immediately reminds of the NSX supercar with a Drive Mode button so big it could launch a nuke. The clever “trigger” shifter is signature Acura.

The red leather seat option is, well, red leather. It’s irresistible.

More resistible is the touchpad-operated infotainment system. While not as maddening as Lexus’ unworkable mousepad, it’s a distraction. Better to stick with tried-and-true rotary dials (Mazda) or touchscreen (BMW, Merc) that are more intuitive to a generation of smartphone users.

It’s worth noting, too, that Mazda also races a mid-engine IMSA racing prototype that competes against Acura. And the Mazda 3 hatchback is more beautiful than any entry-level luxury compact.

Coming attractions: The Acura TLX Type S will feature a 355-horse turbo V-6. Yum.

But TLX (and TL predecessor) has built impressive numbers over its 25-year U.S. run despite slips along the way. In 2019, TLX was the third-best selling model in compact luxe — behind only Audi and Cadillac. With the 2021 model, Acura is rewarding its fans with the best TLX in three generations. It’s a credit to Acura’s investment in a brand that speaks performance again.

The comeback is complete, but nowhere near done. Just wait until the 350-horse, turbo 6-powered Acura TLX Type S arrives this spring. The Audi S4 should be nervous. But both will struggle to keep up with the Stinger GT.

2021 Acura TLX

Vehicle type: Front- and all-wheel-drive, four-door, five-passenger sedan

Price: $40,525, including $1,025 destination charge ($47,775 A-Spec as tested)

Powerplant: 2.0-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder

Power: 272 horsepower, 280 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.9 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 131 mph

Weight: 3,920 pounds (AWD as tested)

Fuel economy: EPA 22 mpg city/30 highway/25 combined (FWD); 21 mpg city/29 highway/24 combined (AWD)

Report card

Highs: Distinctive interior; taut chassis

Lows: Conservative exterior; glitchy touchpad

Overall: 3 stars

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