2021 Acura TLX AWD with Advance Bundle
Class: Premium Midsize Automotive
Miles pushed: 180
Gas used: 8.9 gallons
CG Report Card | |
---|---|
Room and Consolation | B+ |
Energy and Efficiency | B |
Match and End | A |
Gas Economic system | B- |
Worth | A- |
Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus different autos in the identical class. Worth grade is for particular trim degree evaluated, and will not mirror Shopper Information’s impressions of your complete mannequin lineup. | |
Huge & Tall Consolation | |
Huge Man | B |
Tall Man | B |
Huge & Tall consolation rankings are for entrance seats solely. “Huge” score based mostly on male tester weighing roughly 350 kilos, “Tall” score based mostly on 6’6″-tall male tester. | |
Drivetrain | |
Engine Specs | 272-hp 2.0L |
Engine Kind | Turbo 4-cyl |
Transmission | 10-speed automated |
Drive Wheels | All-wheel drive |
Actual-world gasoline economic system: 20.2 mpg
Driving combine: 60% metropolis, 40% freeway
EPA-estimated gasoline economic system: 21/29/24 (metropolis, freeway, mixed)
Gas kind: Premium fuel really helpful
Base value: $48,300 (not together with $1025 vacation spot cost)
Choices on take a look at car: None
Value as examined: $49,325
Extra Acura value and availability info
Fast Hits
The nice: Stylish, distinctive inside trimmings; properly balanced experience and dealing with; beneficiant listing of consolation and know-how options
The great: Respectable energy from turbo 4-cylinder engine; clean 10-speed transmission
The not so good: Rear-seat area is simply OK; not as customizable as most class rivals
John Biel:
The Acura TLX is all new for 2021 and it’s, Acura could have , its personal automobile. No slicked-up remedy of a concurrent Honda, the premium midsize sedan is constructed on a body-and-chassis structure that’s unique to the model. It does borrow a powerteam from the RDX premium compact SUV, however that represents an entire change from what powered the previous-generation TLX.
TLXs are available in 4 states of trim: base, with Expertise Bundle, A-Spec, and with Advance Bundle. All can be found with a alternative of front-wheel drive or Acura’s “Tremendous Dealing with All-Wheel Drive” (SH-AWD), the latter at a $2000 premium. The next-performance all-wheel-only Kind S was slated for a spring ’21 launch. Shopper Information editors sampled an Advance with SH-AWD, a automobile that begins at $49,325 with supply.
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Wider by 2.2 inches and decrease by 0.5 inch than its predecessor, the TLX is restyled with an extended dash-to-axle span to conjure up the look of a rear-drive sport sedan in what’s basically a transverse-engine front-drive automobile. It’s fronted by a wider interpretation of Acura’s “Diamond Pentagon” grille and “JewelEye” LED headlights. The hood, entrance fenders, and entrance bumper are a part of the brand new mannequin’s intensive complement of aluminum elements.
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Beneath the pores and skin is a physique construction that has been made 50 p.c extra inflexible total and advantages from entrance and rear underfloor braces. The entrance suspension adjustments to double wishbones from MacPherson struts. Within the newest model of SH-AWD, torque makes a speedier front-to-rear switch when essential, with as much as 70 p.c of all accessible twist accessible to the rear axle. The TLX Advance options customary adaptive damping wherein a constantly adjustable valve in every damper raises or lowers fluid strain based mostly on sensor knowledge, altering fluid movement charges inside the tubes and softening or stiffening damping drive as highway situations change.
An “Built-in Dynamics System”—Acura’s time period for “Consolation, “Regular,” “Sport,” and new configurable “Particular person” drive modes—influences issues like throttle response, shift factors, steering resistance, and damping. There’s delicate distinction in driving really feel between Consolation and Regular modes, however Sport brings out a clearer change in steering and suspension traits—although we wouldn’t go so far as calling the restrict of the adaptive damping “race car-stiff” as Acura claims. The automobile rides fairly properly, even in Sport, and there’s sufficient steering suggestions for drivers to really feel sufficiently in contact with the highway beneath. Dealing with is nice, even in fast corners.
The two.0-liter turbo 4-cylinder engine generates 272 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque at 1600-4500 rpm. That’s rather less horsepower than was accessible from the three.5-liter V6 within the 2020 TLX Advance, however virtually 5 p.c extra faster-acting torque. The engine is satisfyingly highly effective for the overwhelming majority of driving wants with the in a position help of the totally clean 10-speed automated transmission. Sport brings out a transparent change in shift factors, delaying them to squeeze further energy from every vary. The exhaust report is usually a little bratty underneath acceleration, and in these moments undercuts the Acura premium-brand picture. TLXs with SH-AWD are rated by the EPA at 21 mpg within the metropolis, 29 mpg on the freeway, and 24 mixed. When this driver topped off after 64.6 miles, with 48 p.c city-style operation, he noticed 21.9 mpg.
Naturally, because the king of the pricing hill (a minimum of till the Kind S arrives), the Advance has the most effective of the usual gear supplied within the car line. That features issues like an influence moonroof, heated and ventilated entrance seats, wi-fi charging, 17-speaker Acura/ELS premium audio, satellite tv for pc radio, navigation, dual-zone local weather management, Wi-Fi hotspot, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone compatibility, AcuraLink linked providers, 7-inch info show within the instrument cluster, collision mitigation and pedestrian detection with emergency braking, adaptive cruise management, lane-departure warning and lane-keeping help, and blind-spot and rear cross-traffic screens. Site visitors-sign recognition and traffic-jam help are newly customary for TLXs, too.
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Past that, the Advance stands out from different fashions with the adaptive dampers, Pewter Grey Metallic machine end for its 19-inch alloy wheels, LED puddle lights, power-folding exterior mirrors, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and windshield-wiper deicer. Inside are sport seats with perforated Milano premium leather-based; 16-way energy entrance seats with energy changes for lumbar help, thigh extension, and aspect bolsters; heated steering wheel and rear seats; open-pore wooden trim on the console and door panels; head-up warning; surround-view digital camera system; and a ten.5-Inch head-up instrument show.
An ethereal, open-feeling cabin offers nice driver imaginative and prescient. Engaging and plush entrance seats are decidedly snug. There’s loads of head- and legroom in entrance; rear legroom is nice however not excellent, and headroom isn’t nearly as good for tall people. The large driveline hump guidelines out a 3rd grownup passenger in again. Door tops are thinly padded, however there’s numerous soft-surface materials in different places.
I didn’t lose my thoughts making an attempt to determine learn how to enter radio presets with the assistance of the “True Touchpad Interface.” This system is a little more correct than one thing just like the late Lexus system—there’s no dragging a fingertip or manipulating a mouse throughout the energetic management space whereas making an attempt to drive—however I nonetheless discovered myself generally questioning why a spot on the ten.2-inch show display screen was not activating in response to the place I believed I used to be touching the console pad. A padded handrest does a superb job of holding errant mitts from contacting the touchpad and unintentionally altering stations or display screen views.
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Cabin storage choices are assorted and usefully sized. Trunk capability of 13.5 cubic toes is a slight lower from earlier than. The flat flooring narrows fairly a bit between the wheel homes. Rear 60/40 seats fold flat, with a clean transition from trunk flooring to retracted seats, however a bulkhead on the threshold constricts the opening considerably. There’s some hidden storage in a foam organizer underneath the ground.
The TLX has a document of being Acura’s best-selling sedan. By being its personal automobile for 2021, it ought to stay a automobile numerous individuals will wish to personal.
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2021 Acura TLX