Driving on Sunday: Acura TLX Type S is back in the saddle again | News, Sports, Work-Standard Examiner

2021-12-14 14:40:29 By : Ms. Sunny Feng

If you are a car history enthusiast, you may remember that in 2001, Acura introduced the original Type S in its CL coupe. The following year, the company introduced it in TL and RSX, and launched it again in TL in 2008.

What is Type S, and why is it different from the recently popular Type R?

Type S is designed to retain all the luxury that Acura vehicles usually have, while adding extra power, braking and turning capabilities not normally seen in standard vehicles. R type is more to increase as much power and impact as possible without worrying about the comfort of daily drivers. We think it is more of a racing type vehicle, mainly designed for weekend track experience, rather than daily driving.

Although Type S is fully capable of handling track-style driving, it will also provide a beautiful, comfortable and controllable daily driver. If set to Sport or Sport+ mode, it will inject a lot of power.

The Acura Media website did not discuss the reasons why Type S disappeared after 2008, but we guess that the economic conditions at the time were related to this. We are happy that they keep the standards alive.

Fast forward to 2021 and Acura will introduce this concept again, first in TLX and then in the new MDX. Both models have been fully remodeled for the 2021 model year.

The TLX Type S is equipped with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine, made of aluminum, designed to fit the space allocated by the beautiful new TLX body. This new power plant produces a staggering 355 horsepower and 354 foot-pounds of torque with the help of a single twin-scroll turbocharger.

The kit is connected to the wheels via a fast-shift 10-speed transmission with standard torque vectoring and super handling all-wheel drive. This is another first in the S-type department and includes Brembo brakes everywhere.

The new Model S is touted as the best performance Acura car ever, and its time from 0 to 60 is only 5 seconds. It has a top speed of 155 miles per hour, which is much better than the standard TLX in general, and we found it very interesting in itself.

As we mentioned, TLX Type S is not only about speed. On the first night we have, simply take out the TLX, which is a good experience in itself, because the exterior lighting is all LED with surround headlights and taillights, making the vehicle very aggressive-or Even better, based on performance-look. They are all part of the Type S package.

The interior is indeed inlaid with white LED light bars, curved around the cockpit, providing a very unique appearance in the dark. With these lights and beautiful dark maroon leather seats, the atmosphere is settled, and we like every minute of driving at night.

As always, we found that Acura has one of the best lane keeping assist features we have ever driven. It will keep us in the center of the lane and combine with adaptive cruise control to lag behind the person in front of us at an appropriate speed.

Five years ago, we first encountered this technology in the same model as a new product from a car manufacturer. We were very impressed when we traveled to Moab at TLX and it has gotten better since then. It's great to have a car that stays in the lane and is confident that the system will work flawlessly as in the Acura series.

TLX is equipped with Acura's new True Touchpad interface, which connects users to the infotainment screen instead of installing a touch screen. The touchpad is located on the center console, and the driver can easily reach it. Its function is similar to a touch screen, placing the cursor precisely on the screen where the driver’s finger is placed.

The device is a bit like the settings in Lexus, the user can slide and pinch to move the icon on the screen to get the desired result (change the station, set the navigation, etc.). It is difficult to adapt to the first few days, knowing that you must move your finger to the correct point to start.

We found ourselves wandering through the wrong radio station or menu until we really got the hang of it. This is a clever system that works well; it just takes some thinking to get used to it and remember how it works, because we are used to touching the screen on many other devices.

Of course, the seats inside are both heated and cooled, as well as a heated steering wheel, adding more material enjoyment to the performance package. We also like Acura's wireless Apple CarPlay and integrated mobile phone charging pad.

We fell in love with the new Model S, and it turned out that the Acura performance package was too short for a week.

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