The 2021 Acura TLX challenges what we thought we knew about sedans

Acura's mid-size sedan was in need of a complete overhaul. The Acura TLX was somewhere between mainstream and luxury.

The 2021 Acura TLX, which debuted Thursday, moves away from that middle ground and does it quickly. While the new TLX still has one foot firmly planted in the traditional sedan economy, the 2021 version offers a racier shape, a stiff new chassis, and a turbocharged powertrain menu with future performance potential.

It is powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 that pushes an unspecified amount of power to all four wheels via an updated torque vectoring all-wheel drive system and a 10-speed automatic transmission, separated by the promised Type S that will arrive early next year. This new transversely mounted V-6 engine hints at the user-friendly architecture used in all TLX models, which allows the TLX to send up to 70% of its torque to the rear wheels when equipped with all-wheel drive, despite being a front-drive based sedan. The base TLX sedan's powertrain is a 2.0-liter turbo four with 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet, an increase of 66 horsepower and 100 pound-feet over last year's base engine, but it also produces more than 100 pound-feet of torque at low rpm and gets off the line Fast. The base model will also feature a 10-speed automatic, and front-wheel drive will be standard.

All of this is supported by a chassis that is 50% stiffer in torsional stiffness than the current TLX and 100% stiffer in the corners where the suspension meets the chassis. Acura ditched the MacPherson struts from the front last year, this time using double wishbones, held in place by a front shock tower bar and aluminum tower mounts. Acura says the aluminum and steel chassis uses 56% lighter materials than before, but does not say how much lighter the body-in-white is compared to the 2020 version.

Complementing the stiffer new chassis are adaptive dampers, variable-ratio steering, and an electro servo brake-by-wire system borrowed from the NSX. In the Type S, four-piston front Brembo brakes sandwich large-diameter rotors behind standard 20-inch wheels or lightweight NSX-style wheels wrapped with summer tires.

According to Acura, the latest torque vectoring all-wheel drive system transfers torque from front to rear 30% faster and distributes that power 100% left or right across the rear axle. Additionally, the rear axle is overdriven by 2.9%, resulting in sharper turn-in and increased yaw.

This performance technology is wrapped in a sharp body that closely follows the Acura Type S concept car we drooled over. Acura lengthened the dash-to-axle distance by nearly 8 inches and added 3.7 inches between the wheels, and even though the TLX's architecture is front-wheel drive, the visual effect is like a rear-drive sports sedan, with rising character, door and window lines, The sedan looks like a Sprinter poised on the block. The interior space, however, is baptized when compared to the previous version.

Acura has drawn lines across the hood and front fenders to gather into a diamond-pattern grille, adding tension to the exterior. At the rear, a high decklid spoiler rests above the wide taillights and exhaust ports (quad exhaust tips on the Type S).

On the interior, the TLX is covered in boldly hued leather (especially on the A-Spec and Type S trim) and features a 10.2-inch infotainment screen, touchpad controller, 7.0-inch digital information cluster, and optional heads-up display are standard. Acura's push-button shifter is again located on the center stack, below the drive select knob that allows the driver to switch between stun and kill (normal mode, performance mode, and individual mode).

Acura did not say how much the TLX will cost when it goes on sale in the fall, but said it will likely start in the mid $30,000 range. More information on the Type S will be available before it appears early next year.