Pros
- Looks the business
- Good on a back road at reasonable speeds
- Neat screen animations
Cons
- Sloppy, inconsistent on-limit handling
- Light-switch brakes
- Underwhelming engine
We were as excited as anyone to see Acura’s venerable Type S performance subbrand make its triumphant return after a 13-year absence. But in our closed-course Performance Vehicle of the Year testing, the 2021 Acura TLX Type S was a resounding disappointment as a sport sedan.
Based on our previous reporting, this verdict surprised. Past street drives had convinced us the new TLX Type S was a legitimate sport sedan that could just use a little more power. In our PVOTY testing, though, we discovered its street moves don’t at all translate to near- or on-limit handling. What works at quick but reasonable speeds on a back road falls apart when you push the car hard on a track.
Far and away our biggest source of frustration was the inconsistent Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system. Despite knowing full well the Type S carries 59 percent of its hefty 4,100 or so pounds on the front wheels—and as such needs to be driven like a FWD car—and despite knowing the torque-vectoring AWD system won’t kick in until power is applied, judges couldn’t provoke consistent responses from the car.
“If smooth is fast, then this is the opposite,” senior features editor Jonny Lieberman said.
In some cases, getting on the gas would send too much power to the outside rear tire and send the car into wild oversteer. In others, it felt like no power at all was being shuttled rearward, leaving the car to understeer hopelessly. Then, every so often, SH-AWD would send just the right amount of power to each wheel and the car would shoot out of the corner like it should, though not without grinding the front outside tire in the process. You never knew what you were going to get, but often it was too much or too little of what you wanted.
“You shouldn’t have to be a massively experienced track driver using advanced track techniques to get some fun out of the Type S,” executive editor Mac Morrison said. “But you need to make this car turn by unweighting the rear, left-foot braking some in corners to keep the nose planted and to rotate the car—and it’s still difficult to get the result you want every time.”
Equally frustrating, the brake-by-wire system was virtually impossible to modulate. In heavy braking zones, the brakes’ grabbiness inspired confidence the big sedan would stop in time, but it was an annoyance everywhere else. The slightest press of the pedal had the car standing on its nose, making it extremely difficult to get the braking you wanted, much less adjust.
Although the TLX Type S can handle its weight at moderately fast speeds, going all out results in far too much body roll. Stiffening the adaptive dampers does nothing to improve the handling. It just makes the ride quality worse.
On the other end, the combination of a heavy car and segment-trailing power and torque result in an engine that feels fine but not powerful enough for the job it’s asked to do.
For a company that has rebranded itself as the purveyor of “precision crafted performance,” the TLX Type S isn’t where it needs to be. It’s a quickish premium sedan but certainly not a four-door sports car.
2021 Acura TLX Type-S SH-AWD Specifications |
|
Base Price/As tested | $53,845/$55,145 |
Power (SAE net) | 355 hp @ 5,500 rpm |
Torque (SAE net) | 354 lb-ft @ 1,400 rpm |
Accel, 0-60 mph | 5.1 sec |
Quarter-mile | 13.7 sec @ 101.8 mph |
Braking, 60-0 mph | 112 ft |
Lateral Acceleration | 0.97 g (avg) |
MT Figure Eight | 25.0 sec @ 0.75 g (avg) |
EPA City/Hwy/Comb | 19/24/21 mpg |
Vehicle Layout | Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan |
Engine, Transmission | 3.0L Turbo direct-injected DOHC 24-valve 60-degree V-6, 10-speed automatic |
Curb Weight (F/R DIST) | 4,183 lb (59/41%) |
Wheelbase | 113.0 in |
Length x Width x Height | 194.6 x 75.2 x 56.4 |
On Sale |
Now |
Keyword: 2021 Acura TLX Type S PVOTY Review: Decent on the Road, But …