Another go in the Japanese sports sedan
2025 Acura TLX Type S review by The Road Beat
Words and pictures: Mitchell Weitzman
I first experienced the TLX Type S only earlier this year in a disappointing fashion, and six months later, I've already had a chance to give this Japanese luxury sports sedan a second go. And while my new experience has definitely elevated the Type S in my mind, it does go to show that Acura does need some help in realizing what this sports sedan could be and what potential lurks underneath. Priced at reasonable $59,545 for this highly-optioned example, the Type S is a good sports sedan, but is missing everyday refinement in its convenience features, and it becomes tougher once you remember what hooligan V8 rival you could have instead.
To embrace greatness, the necessary improvements are not all that complicated. Where the TLX Type S lacks is in the (frankly) terrible touchpad-controlled infotainment system, a hallmark travesty in modern Acuras, and an intrusive and unsettling cruise control system. The rest is really rather rock solid and does the important dynamic bits all quite well. I'm at least somewhat familiar now with the touchpad interface from repeated use, but it's still a nightmare to operate, easily laying claim to the worst user experience of any new car. With a trackpad that recenters itself if you lift your finger, it's awkward and uncomfortable to use, let alone one lacking accuracy. I thought utilizing Apple CarPlay would improve the experience, but it somehow became even worse and clearly shows a lack of thoughtful throughput that went into this design. When BMW first debuted iDrive in the early 21st century, it was appalling, and while this is not as bad as original iDrive, it's as close as we can get to that tech travesty today. Put it this way: if Apple were to release the same trackpad design on their laptops, there would be literal riots in the streets.
Circling back to the cruise control, the problem is when the Type S often loses speed up freeway hills, and then overspeeds upon the immediately following descent, and when it goes past your set velocity, the Acura panics and abruptly brakes to slow you back down rather than just gently coast. Because the ride quality is quite resolved, and the car is quiet and comfortable, it's very easy to tell when the car decides to brake and becomes all the more noticeable and simply unsettling. Cruise control has been around for decades and decades; It's not that hard. No other car applies the brakes down hills quite like the cruise control on an Acura TLX Type S. Remember, this is supposed to be a luxury car, and anything remotely jarring undoes that.
Once you leave behind the bad tech above, the TLX Type S is an unexpectedly solid sports sedan. With firm and weighted steering, I can't remember the last BMW 3-series that steered this naturally or this good. The brakes also have a sporting weightiness to them that give confident feedback (big front calipers look the part, though the little rear floating binders are disappointing to see) and stopping power. The ride can be firm and jiggly at low speed (expected in a car with dynamic aspirations), but improves as pace increases, settling to a welcome combination of control and comfort at cruising speeds. AWD is standard in this application, dubbed the so-called Super-Handling AWD, but it's clever in its distribution of power, pulling you admirably through corners with substantiated grip. Often AWD cars can be plowing and boring, bloated beasts of understeer, but this Type S remains positive and neutral under duress and can be quite pleasing to drive quickly, definitely more fun than expected. A definite contributing factor to the fun to drive metric comes from the weight of the controls, and the TLX Type S feels like a car instead of just guiding a toy or a sim rig.
355-horsepower is churned out by a 3-liter turbocharged V6 engine that emits a gutsy and guttural growl, dishing out smooth enveloping power with ease. This is not close to the fastest thing on the road, but I like that the Type S feels fast in the way it builds and delivers power, all while making a noise that no farty four-banger can replicate. It's a shame then that the transmission is too lazy on downshifting, and even when selecting sport mode for both the transmission and engine, each downshift has a distinct pause where it seems to freewheel in neutral, not the rifle-bolt cracks of cog-swapping that other transmissions deliver (looking at you, dual-clutch automatics, or even most ZF eight-speeds that BMW and Jaguar have used recently), even other torque converter trannies. Upshifts are fine, but it's when changing down that leaves lots of room for improvement.
I personally think the dash and center stack inside are too busy for my own taste, but the rest of the cabin has the usual Acura quality to it, featuring plush leather and solid touch points. I also could do without the push buttons for operating the transmission, but that's just what Acura and Honda seem to be committed to in many of their vehicles. On longer highway hauls, this is a very comfortable and capable distance tourer, with the only real fault in this regard being the nosy cruise control when you come across a landscape of rolling hills. If there is one real complaint with the cabin, it's that the ventilated seats don't seem to do anything, and I was surprised at the lack of a heated steering wheel considering all the other equipment onboard.
Acura's TLX Type S has the fun fundamentals of a sports sedan, but it's in need of refinement in the right places to deliver itself as a truly viable alternative for sports sedan aficionados. There is good value here, too, as this loaded example costs less than the entry price of a BMW M340i. There's also quite a bit more character here than what you'd find in an Audi S4, and both more engaging and easily better looking than the four-cylinder Mercedes-AMG CLA 35. But, if AWD isn't a priority or needed, there is nothing at this price point that compares to the Lexus IS 500, a V8-powered hot rod that just oozes charisma and doesn't have the same troubled user interface. I came away liking the TLX Type S quite a bit more the second go-around, but continues to be too annoying in the tech department to topple what Lexus brings to the game with their mighty V8 IS 500.
2025 Acura TLX Type S
As-tested price: $59,545
Pros: Feels legitimately rapid; Great chassis dynamics; Looks superb
Cons: Intrusive cruise control; Industry worst infotainment interface
More images of the 2025 Acura TLX Type S.
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