05:43AM - 04.08.'14
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News Source: autoblog.com
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Immediately after landing at Washington's Dulles airport, an Acura representative handed me the keys to a 2014 TSX with fewer than 180 miles on its clock. The four-cylinder engine started and I pointed its signature beak towards a destination in Middleburg, VA. It was a curious move by the Japanese automaker, especially considering that I had flown no less than 2,300 miles to drive the discontinued vehicle's ostensible successor, the all-new 2015 Acura TLX. Yet spending a solid 40 minutes with a sparkling-new version of the outgoing model that still smelled showroom fresh, allowed me an opportunity to scrutinize the dropped sedan and remind myself why it had never really blown me away – it was good at doing many things, but truly great at doing none. Time with the TSX also started me thinking about the Acura TL, the second model that the TLX will effectively replace. I have better memories of the slightly larger sedan, especially the SH-AWD 6MT trim – it's a solid driver's car – but it, too, fell short in areas where competitors, including the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Cadillac ATS, Lexus IS and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, excelled. As I pulled up to the hotel a short while later, it became clear that Acura had some work to do. Its task over the next 48 hours would be to persuade me that its clean-sheet TLX was not only a worthy replacement for the TL and TSX, but a competitive player in this fiercely contested segment. The easiest way to replace two vehicles, especially when each is a different size, is to split the difference. And that is more-or-less what Acura has done with its new TLX. When the wraps were taken off the sedan at the 2014 New York International Auto Show earlier this year, it revealed a vehicle larger than the TSX, yet still a few inches shorter than the TL. More importantly, the excess length was not taken from the passenger cabin or wheelbase – it was cut from the front and rear overhang to leave interior volume and a comfortable ride intact. Visually, the new silhouette works. Shortened overhangs, and a lower roofline give the sedan a wide and stable appearance, with the Acura's debatable satin aluminum beak cleanly integrated into the design – one of its best applications. The TLX will never be accused of breaking new ground in terms of overall design (I'd call it conservative compared to what some other automakers are offering), but it won't offend, either. That's something I kept in mind while dropping into the cabin of the new four-door, noting that the front seat easily accommodated my six-foot, two-inch frame, affording ample torso, leg- and headroom without any hint of being overly confined. I moved the driver's seat (standard 10-way power adjustable with lumbar) and steering wheel (manual tilt and telescope) into my preferred positions and then climbed into the second row, which gave my knees about a half-inch of remaining clearance and left my head a couple inches shy of the headliner (credit a deep bottom cushion in the second row). All told, the cabin will accommodate four adults comfortably, or five in a pinch, even if each have different political views. The interior, in terms of design and execution, reminds me of the recently released RLX, which is Acura's current flagship. That's actually a very positive association. A three-spoke steering wheel, with excellent button and wheel controls, sits between the driver and an instrument cluster with a tasteful and easy-to-read mix of two round analog gauges on either side of a multifunction color digital display. The center stack has two large full-color displays, but it isn't as clean ergonomically as the workload of replacing buttons and switchgear is split between the pair. There are only two rotary dials on the console – a small one to control the audio level, and a larger one for the navigation screen. Most everything else is controlled via touchscreen or buttons, controls that require more than a bit of familiarization. |
