Performance-Tested - How Does The V6 Compare to the Four-Cylinder? - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term

Edmunds.com

Performance-Tested - How Does The V6 Compare to the Four-Cylinder? - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

It didn't take long for us to complete the break-in period for theV6 engine in our 2015 Acura TLX. We brought it to our test track for performance testing.

Read the full story here

fordson1

Well, it certainly has Honda brakes, doesn't it? $46k and the SHAWD package, and that doesn't buy you any larger brakes, or ventilated rear rotors, and it doesn't buy you any better tires than these ancient Goodyear rim-protectors? What is the point of super-handling all-wheel-drive with dynamic performance this poor?

You may have set an all-time low-mile record for warping a set of Honda brake rotors...not by much, though.

ebeaudoin

Interesting to see how little effect the ESC had on acceleration data. It seems like other vehicles lose at least a couple tenths of a second in acceleration runs with ESC on, but this car performed impressively well with ESC on or off.

Sounds like Honda has the same old brake problems.

redskinsdmv

9 speeds just seems like too much. I know in part it has to do with fuel efficiency, but for sporty driving I feel like it will search for gears to often. I'd like to drive it to get an impression, though I will say the BMW 8 speed is amazing.

allthingshonda

redskinsdmv said:

9 speeds just seems like too much. I know in part it has to do with fuel efficiency, but for sporty driving I feel like it will search for gears to often. I'd like to drive it to get an impression, though I will say the BMW 8 speed is amazing.

BMW doesn't nor have they ever made their own automatic transmissions. You mean ZF's 8 speed is amazing. Also, this 9 speed transmission is also a ZF unit.

agentorange

Six stops from 60 fried the brakes? Hopeless. That's almost as much a major fail as the Colorado (not) on the RTI ramp.

schen72

I don't see a problem with the brakes. I don't need my car to be track ready. I don't take it to the track, like 99.9% of the population.

redskinsdmv

allthingshonda said:

redskinsdmv said:

9 speeds just seems like too much. I know in part it has to do with fuel efficiency, but for sporty driving I feel like it will search for gears to often. I'd like to drive it to get an impression, though I will say the BMW 8 speed is amazing.

BMW doesn't nor have they ever made their own automatic transmissions. You mean ZF's 8 speed is amazing. Also, this 9 speed transmission is also a ZF unit.

Yeah I know it's a ZF, but the gearing was fantastic when I drove it. However, I feel like with the turbo it gives such a broad powerband so you won't have to gear hunt. Again I like to see how good that ZF 9 speed on the TLX is.

grijon

Great post, Cameron; thank you.

The brake judder referred to after the sixth stop - was that really from the rotors warping? While I agree with @schen72 that I wouldn't expect my TLX to be track-ready, that does seem disturbing for the brakes to be so fragile.

billyperks4

Warping is nothing new to Honda- their brakes and lack of low end grunt is their nemesis.
I had the 2009 sh-awd and the brakes warped twice in a short space of time.
I am also surprised that they went down in tire size from the 2009- I had 245, the current version shows 225- man that's a step back.

chol92594

This car really just seems to be very middle-of-the-road. The power and performance numbers aren't that impressive, especially when compared to a BMW 328/335 or the new C-Class. I know these cars are a bit more expensive than the TLX, but if Acura really wants to compete in the luxury class and convince customers to buy their cars, they should start equipping them with competitive engines. I still don't understand why Honda/Acura seems to be so averse to turbocharging. I'm not necessarily saying that they should follow the status quo, but plenty of manufacturers have had great success with turbocharging engines; there's no reason why it couldn't benefit Honda as well.

henry4hire

@ SChen72 - Yeah but what about when you are coming down a huge hill grade like the Grapevine here in California and your brakes are making the steering wheel jiggle in your hands and it starts fading before you get to the bottom. Being track ready is one thing, but there are situations out on the regular road that will test your brakes like you are at the track. This is just a symptom of a larger problem that is simply exacerbated at the track. I have a 2006 Acura TSX that I do track and daily drive. When I first bought the car, I had the same issue with the crappy rotors. I replaced the rotors with some high quality blanks, added some Akebono race pads, high performance fluid, stainless-steel brake lines, and only now does it stop with authority. Honda has had terrible brakes (especially rotors) for years now and it looks like they are still up to the same shenanigans. I love my Honda, but those rotors were already dead when I got the car and a simple rotor swap with a non-Acura set made the difference night and day.

fordson1

billyperks4 said:

Warping is nothing new to Honda- their brakes and lack of low end grunt is their nemesis.
I had the 2009 sh-awd and the brakes warped twice in a short space of time.
I am also surprised that they went down in tire size from the 2009- I had 245, the current version shows 225- man that's a step back.

I agree with this...car is almost 3800 lbs. - I have 225-section tires on a 3100-lb GTI. C'mon - put some upsize and better-grade tires on it - these are H-rated, too small and too old. A Grand Touring-class tire, according to Tire Rack, and even in that "developed to deliver a smooth quiet ride" category, they rank 32 out of 36 models. Bleah.

Looks to me as though it's been a long time since Honda's suspension lab and procurement have qualified any new tires. This was the OEM tire on the Honda Element (um, yeah...) in 2007. So 8 years ago they were putting them on their $20k breadvan. What's not to like?

expensivehobby

Brakes, in addition to an inordinate amount of trim rattles, that convinced me years ago to get rid of my TL, with only 27,000 miles. It's not like I was racing the thing but the few times in traffic I had to brake hard the brakes felt weak and the stop took longer than I thought I'd need. There might have been a little rotor warp but I did not have confidence in the brakes. The rattles were a pain but I think I eventually could have quieted them all --otherwise it was a very nice car. It's a shame and (maybe) an overreaction but I've never considered a Honda product since.

desmolicious

Ahhh, now I remember why I've always avoided Hondas. The brakes.

mrvtecski

Acura has definitely cut some corners here, and the base car has Goodyear tires nowadays that are not highly rated on Tire Rack reviews.

mrvtecski

chol92594 said:

This car really just seems to be very middle-of-the-road. The power and performance numbers aren't that impressive, especially when compared to a BMW 328/335 or the new C-Class. I know these cars are a bit more expensive than the TLX, but if Acura really wants to compete in the luxury class and convince customers to buy their cars, they should start equipping them with competitive engines. I still don't understand why Honda/Acura seems to be so averse to turbocharging. I'm not necessarily saying that they should follow the status quo, but plenty of manufacturers have had great success with turbocharging engines; there's no reason why it couldn't benefit Honda as well.

Stay tuned, they are releasing their new engine family with Vtec turbo soon here in the States.

banhugh

While the brakes are a letdown, the engine/4wd system seems to be doing better than the Mercedes 0-60mph times. The new C300 4Matic tested by Edmunds did it in 6.5 sec while the V6 TLX does it in 6.1
The 328 BMW is at its own league with a 0-60 in the mid 5s