Honda Acura TLX

This is a car that has had to combine the best of the TL and the TSX and at the same time bring in a dynamic design with the premium feel of room and body structure. It a very compact sedan with the same interior space and wheel base as the TL but the exterior more of tends toward the TSX. It has a new powertrain, chassis technology, precision overall steer with super handling drive. I hope you remember about 11 years ago when Honda pioneered torque vectoring technology that uses the propeller shaft to send torque to the differential. Then, one could only send torque to the outer wheel when going round corners but now, more can be done. With the new super handling overdrive, you can send torque to the inner wheel at low to medium speeds to minimize rotation and maintain that planted stable translation during high speed highway driving.

The best part is that the new differential is a very clever design, as small as a digital camera and has replaced all the planetary gears and stuff. It now just has one hydraulic motor that is self-lubricating for efficiency.

AWD systems have all been about super traction and not super handling. All wheel steer solves the rotation problem a bit in two wheel drive systems but for AWD systems, super handling gives the agility on the highway. You get the low to middle speed agility by moving the rear wheels out of phase with the front wheel. At high speed, the wheels are in phase to prevent rotation. This makes it more planted as it translates from lane to lane. The Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system helps in that when you loose the traction it intervenes to keep the car stable by breaking. The Agility Handling System uses the brakes independently to stabilize the car just like creating yaw moments to extend the functioning of precision over steer till when traction fails then the VSA kick in and the two work hand in hand. You can only appreciate all these things when you drive the car.

The all new power train is the worlds first engine with dual transmission and a torque converter. This gives the vehicle a sporty feel as it shifts quicker. DCT’s do the same but at lower speed….it is hooky. This is where the torque converter comes in at a low speed. The torque converter also gives it a smoother transmission at low speed and also multiplies the torque. What is fascinating is that Honda does its CVT, DCT, transmission and engines….wow. It now did its own hybrid DCT with a torque converter. There are two new powertrains, an i4 and a V6. The 2.4 Direct injection here has a higher compression ratio of 11.4 to get more torque out of it as well as its dual stage intake-a long runner for low rpm and a short runner at above 3900 rpm to maintain a flat torque curve always. Fuel economy is 24 mpg in city driving and 35mpg on the highway.

The V6 is an Acura exclusive direct injection engine, iV-TEC with VCM i.e Variable cylinder Management as it switches between 3 and 6 cylinders for fuel economy and that coupled with the ZF 9 speed automatic helps improves fuel economy. For the 2 wheel drive its 21 34 and the AWD is 21 31. AWD has nearly same fuel economy due to the start stop feature that is always in the hybrids.

I am more interested in the infotainment system. It is a dual screen ODMB on demand display. It is a reconfigurable touch screen. The connectivity package is wonderful and elegant, easy to access and use. All wires have been hidden underneath and that makes it nice and tidy for the premium touch. Drive this at night and you will find the illumination brilliant.

Wow, push button transmission shift is awesome in the Acura TLX. It’s just different and has the direction of motion of the vehicle integrated in it. This is very intuitive and is coupled with positive detent-awesome feedback of that “kachank” sound for every input of transmission shift that gives more feeling and satisfaction compared to just the respective lights coming on.

The trade-offs made were towards good performance and they make it feel premium to drive. The suspension fitness points were mostly at 100% fitness to prevent low frequency drumming. When you hit a bump, normally body panels move and cause the air inside to move hence the frequency drumming that makes a lot of noise. Making the joints stiff so that the body panels don’t move helps solve this in the TLX. Also, acoustic foam has been added to seal off the section and prevent air hence sound and noise from coming into the cabin. The car is very quiet and he ride so comfortable for a flat sporty ride that filters out most road imperfections.

During the design of this vehicle, the company benchmarked the BMW i3, Mercedes C class, Lexus IS, Audi A4 and the Infiniti G37.

Of course I have a criticism…the styling is good but it’s not yet THERE. When we talk about the design form language, here it doesn’t stand out as Acura yet. I do not like the goofy grill, something must be done about it. However, I am optimistic that as Acura stands out on its own, just like the Lincoln, the Cadillac…it will come out clearly.