Acura Finally Unveils 2015 TLX

Anticipation has been building surrounding the unveiling of the 2015 Acura TLX, and now the luxury brand has finally revealed the new model to the world. The car was shown off during a press conference at the 2014 New York International Auto Show, with Mike Accavitti, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Acura, addressing the media. Accavitti revealed that the new sedan was designed around the theme of a Red Carpet Athlete, which apparently entails an obnoxious metal bar across the grille, a feature that can be found on all modern Acura vehicles.

Among the big features of the TLX are two engine choices. One is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder that produces an anemic 206 horsepower, with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission attached to it, plus a torque converter. The second option is a 3.5-liter V6 that puts out 290 horsepower, making it a proper choice for a luxury sedan. The V6 comes with a nine-speed automatic transmission. And since the sedan has an “X” in its name, it comes with Acura’s Super Handling All Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) plus Precision All Wheel Steer (P-AWS) and Agile Handling Assist (AHA) for even better handling characteristics. Acura claims that the TLX is the most advanced vehicle it has produced to date, at least when it comes to driving dynamics.

The sad truth is that the TLX does not mark a change in design philosophy for Acura. Many car shoppers have complained about the styling of Acura models over the past several years, and Acura has responded by making the styling even more extreme. The inclusion of the same four-cylinder engine that is available on the ILX is questionable, but Acura says the move is geared at drawing in a wider array of buyers. Time will show if the strategy is brilliant or will backfire.