We drove the 2024 Acura TLX Type S. Do its 355 horsepower and Type S flourishes put it in line with competitors such as the Mercedes-AMG C43
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00:00 (car engine roaring)
00:02 This is the 2024 Acura TLX Type S,
00:05 a car that doesn't quite know what it's trying to be.
00:08 Is it trying to be a heavyweight highway cruiser
00:12 or a feisty sports sedan?
00:14 I don't know.
00:15 And I don't think Acura does either.
00:17 Let me explain.
00:20 On roads like this, sweeping corners such as this,
00:24 it's perfectly agreeable, this car.
00:27 The 355 horsepower and 354 pound feet of torque
00:31 are delivered pretty damn well
00:33 via this rather nice 10-speed automatic gearbox,
00:36 which holds the gears really well in sport mode.
00:40 It sounds good.
00:42 I think this car looks pretty mega as well.
00:45 However, on roads such as this,
00:49 the TLX Type S starts to fall apart.
00:54 The steering to begin with is heavy to a fault
00:58 and that's artificially heavy, of course.
01:00 It doesn't matter which of the settings you have it in,
01:03 sport, comfort, normal.
01:06 It's just a bit weighty.
01:09 And I don't usually find that to be a problem,
01:11 but with this car, coupled with the brakes,
01:15 which are not exactly confidence inspiring,
01:18 they certainly get mushy
01:19 once you've thrown it round a few corners,
01:23 and the suspension, which is really, really firm,
01:27 overly firm, I would say, for a car like this
01:31 with 355 horsepower.
01:34 So you put all of those elements together
01:37 and what you get is something that's a little bit messy.
01:40 It doesn't feel cohesive.
01:41 It doesn't feel like a performance car
01:45 so much as it does feel like a car
01:47 with some performance upgrades.
01:50 The all-wheel drive system's doing a decent job
01:52 laying that power down.
01:54 The car does have torque vectoring.
01:57 I can't feel it at work, but then again,
01:59 perhaps that's the point.
02:01 I will say that it never feels
02:04 like I've got rear bias power.
02:07 It always feels like the car is pulling
02:09 from the front axle.
02:10 The suspension, which is multi-link at the rear
02:14 and double wishbone at the front
02:17 is incredibly firm for a car like this.
02:21 Doesn't really make much sense.
02:24 It's a shame, really, 'cause the TLX Type S
02:31 is a really good-looking car.
02:33 And whilst the interior might feel slightly dated,
02:37 slightly tired, it's very busy,
02:40 I do like the larger screens and the heads-up display
02:43 is nice, but it never quite delivers on its looks,
02:48 this car.
02:51 It's a shame, really, because the drive here
02:54 promised so much.
02:55 I was scything through city traffic,
02:58 I was breezing along the coast,
03:01 even cruising up the hills, mountains,
03:04 toward this road on those nice sweeping corners.
03:08 That drive promised a lot.
03:11 Unfortunately, this car couldn't deliver on that promise
03:14 once I got it up here to this technical section
03:17 and started pushing it.
03:18 It's just a little bit too all over the place.
03:23 It's not cohesive.
03:25 The Integra Type S was a spectacular driver's car.
03:28 I really enjoyed it.
03:29 Sadly, this doesn't quite live up to that hype.
03:33 (upbeat music)
03:36 (gentle music)
03:38 (slurping)