Acura TLX sedan brings the heat and the luxury

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo reviews of the latest motor vehicle models also can be seen on The Sacramento Bee’s website at www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

This review first appeared in the October 2017 edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News published out of Folsom, California – mg

Sacramento, California – Sometimes, you can get blurry-eyed and lost in Acura’s lineup of “X” cars, but the recently tested 2018 Acura TLX 3.5L AWD A-Spec sedan doesn’t let that happen.

Its enthusiastic performance stays in your brain, and it’s a fun-filled blast when you’re dishing it out behind the wheel.

The is not the 573-horsepower NSX, but this TLX A-Spec added to the lineup for 2018 does just fine with its 290-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 matched with a nine-speed gearbox and a sport-tuned suspension.

My ride dispatched most everything else on the road, with my right foot planted only halfway to the floor, as pleasing a feeling as one can expect these days on the typically gridlocked freeways.  Acceleration in the low end is pretty good, and it gets better from there as the revs ramp up.

And instead of the $160,000 or so you need to walk in the door just to look at an NSX, the tested TLX A-Spec wore a bottom line of $45,750, and that included everything on the standard equipment sheet.

My tester had an arm’s length list of safety features (including a driver’s knee airbag and vehicle stability assist), and the interior luxo package included heated front seats, a driver-recognition memory system and a remarkably versatile touch-screen control center.

The tech package utilized a multi-view rear camera, real-time traffic/street conditions and rain-sensing wipers.  A special A-Spec package piled on with ventilated seats, singular styling touches, 19-inch alloy wheels and parking sensors.

Yes, luxury and performance made for an enjoyable week, and the TLX’s racy lines were easy on the eyes.  That “matte-black diamond pentagon grille” wrapped in chrome is a head-turner in parking lots.

For all its spirited oomph, the TLX ride was exceptionally quiet and smooth, a hallmark of Acura engineering.  And yes, the paddle shifters on the steering wheel were a joy to mess with.

Fuel mileage checked in at an OK 20 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway.

Luxurious perks and rubber-burning performance are nice, but I also was impressed with the simple usefulness of the vehicle.  Plentiful interior space, a generous trunk and rock-solid road manners are not to be taken for granted.

This TLX competes in a tough neighborhood that includes the BMW 3 Series and the likes of the Audi A4, but it compares well with both.  Testing the BMWs and Audi and passing on the TLX would be a mistake.

This new TLX offering raises Acura’s fleet a notch or two in my book.