2015 Acura
TLX

Ten Things to Know About 2015 Acura TLX

The amazing R&D team at Acura spent the last 5 years on the TLX and it was time well spent. It’s comfy enough for a family but I say to my friends get one for yourself. Ultra-quiet, this is car was designed to perform “at the will of the driver.” The 2015 Acura TLX may be the only thing that listens to you all day.

I drove all three versions of the 2015 Acura TLX: the 2.4L with Precision All-Wheel Steer (P-AWS); the 3.5L with V-6 9-speed automatic and P-AWS; and the Super-Handling All-Wheel drive with more bells and whistles than I could count. I never felt I was trading low to mid-speed stability for high-speed agility. Which one is right for you depends on whether you want to grin so hard your face hurts, laugh out loud ‘cause you’re having that much fun or actually whoop with joy on the open road.

Acura has gone out of its way to reduce road and wind noise turning the interior into your Happy Place, whether you have to work, need time to think or practice your power ballads.

I’m 5’1 ¾” on a good day so pretty much every car is roomy for me, but TLX project leader Mat Hargett is 6’8”. I watched him get in and out as a passenger and a driver and I’m here to tell you, he could’ve been wearing a hat and Lady Gaga shoes and still have been fine. Not that he would wear a hat and Gaga shoes but if he did, who am I to judge?

The 2015 Acura TLX features AcuraWatch, a suite of sensing and driver assistance tech specs that are in a class by themselves: blind-spot warnings, lane departure warnings, a Road Departure Mitigation system that doesn’t just tell you when you’re straying but will also provide braking assist to keep you on the road; a Collision Mitigation System that senses cars that are stopped, cars that are braking, cars that are oncoming AND pedestrians. While test-driving in Northern Michigan, I felt the seat belt tighten when I braked suddenly or pulled that one fast U-ee. And I was glad.

There’s no gas cap. No gas cap to fiddle with, no gas cap to forget to put back. No gas cap. Thank you.

The 2015 Acura TLX body is rigid yet lightweight making for nimble performance and premium feel

Its technology is designed to respond to voice command, so you keep your eyes on the road and your hands free while keeping you connected to everything and everyone.

Acura TLX project engineer Brian Hourt told a group of automotive journalists that having grown up on a working ranch, he’s ridden horses all his life. Some, he said, were strong-willed and took hard work to ride. Some were kind of boring to ride. But he had a favorite horse. A horse that intuitively knew where he wanted to go and how he wanted to get there, a horse that was a pleasure to ride and made you want to ride even more. That’s the itch he was scratching while working on the 2015 Acura TLX. That’s what he’s most proud of.

Jewel-Eye LED headlights, frameless rearview mirror, driver’s 10-way power seat, buttery leather seats and leather-wrapped steering wheel, sleek white-on-black dial faces on the gauges, a red starter button and a choice of exterior from elegant to exhilarating – these are a few of my favorite things on the 2015 Acura TLX.