2021 Acura TLX Review // Don’t Buy That Mercedes, Yet.

Thomas pretend you're an executive, okay, it's time to get something befitting yeah. What about this? All right! Honda record, yes, has a problem, though. Oh it's, blue, no it's front wheel, drive okay, right, there's, another option. Yes, this is the hyundai sonata inline like a sonata right, but more peppy right also has a problem. Looks like a catfish, no it's front wheel, drive right, okay, okay, that leaves you with this. Yes, the new acura tlx, and this is front wheel, drive no! This no you're watching throttle house i'm thomas and i'm james, and this is the acura tlx and today this one is all will drive. Thomas, oh and for 2021 it's seen a complete redesign longer lower wider, stiffer heavier yeah coming in at 4, 000 pounds and 52 000 canadian. This super handling all wheel, drive version in its premium. Elite trim is fully decked out before the type s comes anyway. Four cylinders: a turbo 272 horsepower double wishbone front suspension and a battery now moved to the trunk like a bmw for better weight distribution. So we know it beats its german counterparts in price and with all this new stuff, can it actually go toe to toe with them and if the accord is already so good, why spend the extra on just a fancier version of one if you're new, we do Car reviews track tests and quite a lot of messing around so subscribe and hit the bell. Okay, acura tlx four cylinders, but we get the 10 speed from the accord, which is a tried and tested and proven thing on throttle house as a winner on the drag strip, so we're starting off at a good point.

But more importantly, even though we're on the track, this isn't quite what the car is meant for. So if i drop it down into comfort mode – and i put it in normal drive – then suddenly it becomes a really nicely damped, calm vehicle that still drives incredibly well. Very light steering in comfort mode, which is what you want. No aggressive piped in engine, sounds it doesn't sound good, but it sounds like a four cylinder: that's turbocharged, it's, honest and it's just really easy to get along with now. It is worth saying that in this mode, when you slam it down, not much happens and then it's turbo lagged and then you're in the threshold and then it it kind of goes. But then an audi a4 suffers from the same thing. So it's not alone in that, but we are on the race track, so i am going to put it in sport mode and suddenly there's more pipes in engine sound, but the steering gets heavier. The car just becomes tight like a toyguy. Okay, the engine is very turbocharged, no matter how you look at it and it come comes on a little bit sluggishly. The shifts, though, are half decent remember. This is not a sports car and i'm on a race track right now, but the first thing that i've noticed about this car is really sharp turn in and the front does grip. The steering ratio is fast and i'm on winter tires right now, and the big news is obviously.

This has sh all wheel drive, which is an active torque, vectoring, rear, differential it's, actually, a very good system. I will say, though, it's not doing sh all wheel, drive things very much if i come through here with the traction control off and i stomp on the throttle at the very most it neutrals out it doesn't kind of push the rear end out, like i've experienced Sh all wheel drive to do before, but i imagine the snow will be able to do that. The thing is, though, is that, after driving it out here, i've realized that there's a really good car in here somewhere a good chassis, and i think that if you push it, i might experience something kind of exciting here. Shifting manually driving a little bit quicker. Now turn in yeah on the throttle it neutrals out nicely and traction control completely off coming through. Here, oh put the traction controls off it it's, one of those systems that lies to you. I was determined to see if the systems were holding the chassis back, because the car feels like it has potential. So i popped the hood and pulled the fuse for the abs and traction control. Okay, fuse is out what i've done is broken the car completely um. Every single light is on the dashboard um power steering still works, that's important, but the traction control in the abs should be completely off now. So that means, if i come through here now and i go to a neutral throttle, the rear starts to go and it neutrals out very, very well the front grips it doesn't understeer that's, what i'm looking for in a sporty car there's, something good in here.

There is i can't wait for the type s the new 3 series is better dynamically than this, and you can turn the traction control all the way off without breaking the car, but it's, not quite as playful as i'm feeling in this car. This reminds me of a type r more than it does a luxury sedan. Actually it's kind of got that, like dirty front, end, feel ah that's great that's great. The new 3 series doesn't really have that this is a fun car to drive and there is actually plenty of power. You can complain that 272 horsepower is not enough, but i think that would be fully because it's more than you could ever need and we've again. It'S the same as the accord engine, this is obviously a little bit heavier, but you get all wheel drive now. So if you do decide to drive like a maniac it's, a car that looks after you, you can't really get into trouble and everything's predictable. Brakes confidently turns in sharply nice steering ratio is a julium sharper. Yes, but if you want that light, japanese vibe and you just want the elevated fancy version of it with all wheel – drive it's a bit of a no brainer and it's, not just the ride. It'S. The insulation on the highway at 100 kilometers an hour you can whisper to your passenger that's kind of the extra stuff that comes with going for the accurate you know going for the lexus over the toyota going for the acura over the honda there's merit to it.

Sometimes you just want to be calm, and this can be a very calm car to drive and just in case you don't feel like this is enough power there's an incoming type s, and if it, if you know with this chassis and this transmission, i think that's Really something to look forward to. Oh, you know what i want to say: i'm, pleasantly surprised, yeah, but i'm, not because i'm pleasantly it's, like it meets my expectations. I i thought it would be a gussied up, executive luxury. All wheel drive accord. No, but it is that, though, that's what i mean: i'm, just pleasantly i'm, not surprised. Okay, yes, exactly no it! It is exactly what you just said. It is like an all wheel drive in my opinion, better looking accord but like i think that it drives honestly better a little bit better than i expected it to yes, the turning's, sharp the tourist power feels transmission's great yeah it just it. Just is a bit turbo lag. It definitely has that no question i'm, not sure i agree with you on the looks, though i mean this is in black, so it's kind of it's kind of dulled down, but, like you know, you saw the blue concept come out. It looked wicked, this kind of looks a bit inoffensive it's, not exciting. I guess a little bit, but i mean like cars, rarely look like their concepts anyway. No, the concept becomes irrelevant right, it's, a push towards the design language, but i just i just think it kind of looks a bit long in a way that doesn't work is a bit long.

It is long, it's, actually quite a long vehicle, but like here's here's. What i like this front end other than this abomination right here on the front, i think that's, the most idiotic thing, it's like just as bad as what who is it that does this uh genesis, genesis, yeah. I think this proportionally in terms of the size of the headlights, the size of the girl is better than the accord it's just for not very much more money, you get a car that is stylistically superior. The tough thing, though, is these all enter into the julia segment and the julia's, just everyone loses so pretty yeah and the g23 series, i think, is a bit long, but anyway, this is all subjective. Yes, the proportions are fine. More interesting, then, is the inside, because that's kind of where you get a completely different experience to the accord massive and to the germans – yes, okay, nice kind of hump on the clothes there, that's neat, um, okay, there's some stuff in here – that i hate interesting – that I hate yeah and stuff that i really like um things that i hate a list from thomas yeah. Occasionally, this right here is uh horrible, it's, almost okay on the accor, because it's lower closer or the transmission, the transmission selector, like you, do not get used to this. People give us a hard time in the in the mock e review, because we said that the little flick shifter on the mustangs are fine, as they are yeah, because you can do them without looking.

You can't not look well these each one of these feels different that's. The idea, i think you get yes, i don't want to put my car into drive by braille, so people, you know the other thing they've done with this design and they've kept with it, and this is on the front grill, where they've just taken everything that's normal And gone like benders come along and just bent it so that's what this is. So it immediately feels a bit strange, but once you get used to it, everything's a button everything's a button which is really nice. I do like that. No, it also the design of it is very much, not german. No it if it was german, everything would be much more ordered, yeah exactly the first class is just a it's, a bam yeah yeah exactly, but i do like that: there's actual physical buttons. Okay, we have to talk about this infotainment screen because there are so many people that give this a really hard time and here's the thing once you learn it it's fine right, but by definition then it's not intuitive, exactly it's like a whole, so you can't, you Can learn it. The thing is: it's absolute positions. You have to hold your finger on the exact spot. I agree: there's, better systems it's better than lexus, where alexis just flicks you in the finger. Every time you touch something yeah. No, this is this is better than like it's, a weird decision, though that said i've heard mixed messages from people about it.

Some people say it's really easy to use some people hate it it's kind of a you either like it or you, don't type, a system yeah, but you know what you said. If you get used to it and it's your car, who cares yeah? This is the premium elite, so we have some cool stuff. We'Ve got the wood tree and we've got the ambient lighting and we get a color head up display and because it's the premium elite, we get the upgraded sound system which is actually fantastic. At the 50 000 canadian level, i don't think you get much better than that, but, interestingly, and and you like, this is in a brand new car new gen, we have a mixture of analog and digital gauge cluster yeah, but they didn't execute it super. Well, oh so now you agree that it depends on how you execute it. I never didn't agree with you. You always said analog, plus digital equals a win. Well, no, i know it's not true, because sometimes i just like analog gauges, but these analog gauges aren't particularly amazing, to read something busy about them and that yeah and that center screen is just a jumbled. Mess of information seats are incredibly comfortable. They are yes, plenty of headroom yep. You know where it misses out, though, even though it's longer than the three series where in the back seats, oh they're, not as they're, not as spacious, that's too bad well, there's.

Some points knocked off, but i mean, but can i just conclude very briefly in here: the g20 3 series overall is a sportier sedan. The alpha julia is, i think, better dynamically in every way, but it loses out in terms of like ergonomics and comfort. Yes right, the mercedes c300 is fine. I think it's a great car it doesn't drive as well as this, though it's not far off no it's not far off. The point is: is that not only does this make sense as like a slightly more expensive accord to buy yeah, it absolutely does go toe to toe with the competitors in the class it's great i'm. Probably i like this car yeah. If you're, if you're a honda fan boy yeah, then it makes a lot of sense. Absolutely so amazing sound system not so intuitive infotainment, great chassis, not so perfect. Engine response comfortable seats, though not much rear legroom. There is a yin to every yang in this car. So no it isn't perfect and yet our entire team found themselves very fond of it by the end of the week as a value proposition. It certainly challenges the germans as an accord dominator. Well, apart from the overly complicated infotainment and aforementioned inferior rear, legroom it's every bit the upgrade, especially at only a 20 premium, although numbers suggest that in a race the accord might take it, perhaps that's something we'll have to explore in our next video. In the meantime, if you don't know already thomas and i have taken to discussing things and posting more content to our new extra throttle house channel, it consists of laid back smaller production style, stuff, hot laps behind the scenes.

Pov drives and much much more that we haven't thought of yet so far, we're really happy with the response from you guys. So if you've missed it, don't worry, we are just getting started.