Rental Acura TLX

My dad got his ILX serviced recently and had to leave it, and they gave him a TLX loaner in the meanwhile. Naturally, I wanted to test drive it and see if it’s as “bad” as most reviews seem to think it is.

The TLX was a V6 FWD trim with navigation. I’m guessing it was a 2019.

The interior of the TLX is alot nicer than I expected. The material choice is good and the seats are super comfy and the cabin is pretty spacious. I had plenty of headroom and overall it’s a good place to spend time.

On the road the TLX is extremely quiet inside. This is what sets it apart from the Accord IMO - this a much more luxury level experience (I’ve also been in a 10th gen Accord and it was a bit louder still). You can feel the weight of the V6 in turns, but overall the car has a good feel when turning. Nowhere near as precise or extreme as a CTR, but it’s not supposed to be. Acceleration is about 6 seconds to 60 if you don’t spin the tires all day long.

The V6 sounds amazing in sport plus, I love that VTEC snarl past 5k. The transmission, derided by many as it’s the infamous ZF 9 speed, was decent. I didn’t really feel any of the jerks and whatnot people complain about but supposedly the issues are less prevalent in the newer years. The push button transmission does take a bit of getting used to, but I found it generally fine.

Ride quality is extremely nice. It’s not cloud soft but it’s not teeth shattering stuff either. It’s perfect IMO.

Overall I left with good impressions of the TLX. I think if you are fine with a slightly slower 0-60 the 4 cylinder with tech package is the way to go, as the 8DCT is smooth and I would presume the car feels much more lively without the extra weight of the V6. These are priced close to the price of last gen Accords used and I think that it presents a lot of value so long as you aren’t expecting either a cloud surfer or a corner carving monster.

Compared to my CTR, the TLX is night and day more comfortable and quiet. Performance wise the CTR slaughters it and leaves it for dead. But that’s fine, because the CTR is a completely different type of car. A more fair review would be the upcoming TLX Type S but that’s not out yet unfortunately for me to test.

TLDR: The TLX is a nicer Accord, but it definitely feels more luxurious than you would expect after reading reviews.

Nice read I always like the TLX especially with the p.a.w.s the civic was cheaper obviously can’t wait until the new one comes out

saz468 said:

Nice read I always like the TLX especially with the p.a.w.s the civic was cheaper obviously can’t wait until the new one comes out

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I agree, I like the TLX too just a shame the transmission had a crap load of issues which shot Acura’s reliability in the ass.

I think a lot of the issues are with V6 SH-AWD models.

I got a TLX right now, but planning on buying a Type R as a secondary....so since you pushed both your saying the type R definitely outperforms the V6 TLX? In a straight Line?

If only they offered a 6MT...

rnarains89 said:

I got a TLX right now, but planning on buying a Type R as a secondary....so since you pushed both your saying the type R definitely outperforms the V6 TLX? In a straight Line?

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Assuming you have a dry surface and the person driving has decent shifting skills, I think the CTR would take out the TLX handily. Once the CTR gets going past the initial lag it pulls like no other.

hicompb18c1 said:

If only they offered a 6MT...

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The 8DCT is actually pretty enjoyable (at least in the ILX), but they should've offered something even better with the V6. I'm going to assume the next gen TLX has a 10 speed.