When I learned my next vehicle was to be the Acura TLX, I was looking forward to stepping up to a mid-luxury car and all it entailed. Comfort, quietness, smooth ride, and because it was an Acura, I assumed some amount of performance fun.
Well, after 13 months and nearly 19,000 miles, I think we have a split decision.
Work prevented me from taking the TLX on much of a road trip, but I was able to get the full experience of living with it in the next best way possible. Moving.
I logged roughly 600 miles in four days of shuttling junk—err, my precious items—from my old place north of Los Angeles to my new digs some 33 miles to the south.
I found the TLX can hold a surprising amount of boxes, books, and small items. The trunk had “tons” of room (it sure felt like I was moving tons), and with the vehicle full, I felt like I was zooming down I-110 heavier than an elephant in its 20th month of pregnancy. Factually this is wildly inaccurate, but that is what it felt like.
An athletic pregnant elephant, anyway. Once loaded, the TLX showed no problem getting up to speed on on-ramps and didn’t labor at all to keep up the speed, even up the gnarly hills of San Pedro. The only time I took it easy was around corners to avoid being crushed by the shifting boxes, no fault of the car. Stopping was never an issue.
During the Hell Week that was my move, I looked forward to the hour or so when I was behind the wheel and shuttling between apartments. Why? Because the TLX is comfortable. The seats are perfectly soft and supportive. A few times after driving other cars, I’d come back to the TLX and instantly realize I’d missed its charms.
I must mention the move was during a vicious heat wave, so the AC was working to keep the cabin as cold as I could get it. It worked so well, in fact, that I had to turn it down only a few miles after I turned it on. The TLX is also really quiet. Even at highway speeds, with the windows up, the outside world barely makes itself known, which is a testament to its smooth ride.
Unloaded, the TLX is a competent driver, just not an exciting one.
The TLX accelerated just fine when needed and had plenty of speed on the highways to pass even the most zealous Prius drivers, and acceleration off the line was good enough to jump ahead of most cars when I really needed to switch lanes, but there were times when I had to concede the race because the TLX doesn’t have the kind of pin-you-back-into-your-seat oomph. It’s that lack of zing that keeps it from being a great enthusiast car. I made a few efforts to toss it around corners, pretending like I’m racing, but it just wasn’t having it. The steering and transmission are too smooth to get the blood going.
Let’s talk about the tech package. It costs an extra $4,055, and I’m pretty sure we could have used that money better elsewhere. The navigation system was good, but when I really wanted to get somewhere, I busted out the phone and used Waze. During those times I would use the Acura’s navigation map as a supplement to the phone. Kinda like adding another monitor to your computer. Don’t need it, but if you have it, might as well use it. Blind-spot monitoring may have saved my behind a few times, but that’s because I had been relying on it a little too much when changing lanes. Same with the forward collision warning and rear cross-traffic monitoring. OK, the rear traffic monitor worked really well. I’d like to keep that à la carte, please.
I literally used lane keep assist once, and that was at the request of tech guru Kim Reynolds. It worked. I did not leave my lane. To be fair I normally don’t need help staying between the painted lines. I guess it would be useful if I were on my phone while driving, but no one should be on the phone while driving.
Despite not really needing most of these techno additions, I appreciate that their execution was close to flawless and realize it’s all for a safer driving experience down the line.
(To prove I’m no technophobe, I daily thanked the stars that the backup camera comes standard.)
I can also vouch for the tire pressure monitoring system. It gave me plenty of heads up when I was losing air pressure in my passenger rear tire after I unknowingly ran over a nail. Much better than waking up to a flat or, worse, losing the tire on the freeway.
For reliability, the Acura was a dream. During its nearly 19,000-mile stay with us we took the TLX in twice for an oil change, tire rotation, inspection, and a software update, and that’s it. Total maintenance costs tallied just $235.40—that’s on the low end for cars of this ilk sold by manufacturers that charge for maintenance (we paid more than $600 to maintain a 2007 Infiniti G35), but it should be noted that plenty in this class now offer it gratis for the first few years, as was the case with our 2014 Lexus IS and 2013 Volvo S60. After I ran over that aforementioned nail, I took it to a local tire shop in El Segundo, and that set us back $15. It was worth it to see what a mess the tire sealant and inflator kit makes when it’s been used to fix a flat.
I entered my time with the Acura TLX hoping for a comfortable, refined, and fun ride. In the end, it didn’t quite meet all my expectations, but it was nonetheless a year well spent.
More on our long-term 2015 Acura TLX 2.4 here:
| Our Car |
| SERVICE LIFE |
13 mo / 18,915 mi |
| BASE PRICE |
$32,365 |
| OPTIONS |
Tech package ($4,055: navigation system, blind spot monitoring, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, rear cross traffic monitoring) |
| PRICE AS TESTED |
$36,420 |
| AVG ECON/CO2 |
28.3 mpg / 0.69 lb/mi |
| PROBLEM AREAS |
None |
| MAINTENANCE COST |
$235.40 (2-oil change, inspection, tire rotation) |
| NORMAL-WEAR COST |
$0 |
| 3-YEAR RESIDUAL VALUE* |
$17,482/$16,650/$19,550 |
| RECALLS |
None |
| *ALG lease residual (at 36,000 miles)/IntelliChoice trade-in/retail (at 42,000 miles) |
| 2015 Acura TLX |
| POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS |
| DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT |
Front-engine, FWD |
| ENGINE TYPE |
I-4, aluminum block/head |
| VALVETRAIN |
DOHC, 4 valves/cyl |
| DISPLACEMENT |
143.8 cu in/2,356cc |
| COMPRESSION RATIO |
11.6:1 |
| POWER (SAE NET) |
206 hp @ 6,800 rpm |
| TORQUE (SAE NET) |
182 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm |
| REDLINE |
6,900 rpm |
| WEIGHT TO POWER |
17.4 lb/hp |
| TRANSMISSION |
8-speed twin-clutch auto. |
| AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO |
4.57:1/2.19:1 |
| SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR |
Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, coil springs, anti-roll bar |
| STEERING RATIO |
15.0:1 |
| TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK |
2.6 |
| BRAKES, F;R |
12.6-in vented disc; 12.2-in disc, ABS |
| WHEELS |
7.5 x 17-in, cast aluminum |
| TIRES |
225/55R17 97H M+S Goodyear Eagle LS-2 |
| DIMENSIONS |
| WHEELBASE |
109.3 in |
| TRACK, F/R |
62.8/63.1 in |
| LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT |
190.3 x 73.0 x 57.0 in |
| TURNING CIRCLE |
39.2 ft |
| CURB WEIGHT |
3,578 lb |
| WEIGHT DIST., F/R |
58/42% |
| SEATING CAPACITY |
5 |
| HEADROOM, F/R |
37.2/36.7 in |
| LEGROOM, F/R |
42.6/34.5 in |
| SHOULDER ROOM, F/R |
57.5/55.4 in |
| CARGO VOLUME |
13.2 cu ft |
| TEST DATA |
| ACCELERATION TO MPH |
| 0-30 |
2.7 sec |
| 0-40 |
3.9 |
| 0-50 |
5.4 |
| 0-60 |
7.3 |
| 0-70 |
9.4 |
| 0-80 |
12.2 |
| 0-90 |
15.3 |
| PASSING, 45-65 MPH |
3.7 |
| QUARTER MILE |
15.6 sec @ 91.0 mph |
| BRAKING, 60-0 MPH |
123 ft |
| LATERAL ACCELERATION |
0.82 g (avg) |
| MT FIGURE EIGHT |
27.7 sec @ 0.64 g (avg) |
| TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH |
1,700 rpm |
| CONSUMER INFO |
| STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL |
Yes/yes |
| AIRBAGS |
Dual front, front side, f/r curtain, driver knee |
| BASIC WARRANTY |
4 yrs/50,000 miles |
| POWERTRAIN WARRANTY |
6 yrs/70,000 miles |
| ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE |
4 yrs/50,000 miles |
| FUEL CAPACITY |
17.2 gal |
| EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON |
24/35/28 mpg |
| ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY |
140/96 kW-hrs/100 miles |
| CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB |
0.69 lb/mile |
| REAL MPG, CITY/HWY/COMB |
23.7/36.4/28.1 mpg |
| RECOMMENDED FUEL |
Unleaded premium |
The post 2015 Acura TLX 2.4 Verdict appeared first on Motor Trend.
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