My TLX had a brilliant 3.5-liter V6 under the hood (Honda makes superb V6's) and all the go-fast upgrades that earned it the A-Spec designation.

The A-Spec package adds some oomph to the regulation TLX. A 290-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 is under the hood, and it's fantastic.

The TLX replaced the TL in 2015 and was quickly greeted with the usual sighs about how Acura is never going to top the Big Four luxury automakers: Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, and Audi. Along with Infiniti (Nissan's luxury brand), Acura has long strived to replicate Lexus's achievements, but of the Japanese carmakers, only Toyota has truly cracked the luxe code.

This is a misplaced lament. Acura has been around since Ronald Reagan was in the Oval Office and over the decades has sold many vehicles, including the much-loved Legend and Integra. The brand has its own thing going, and in my view, it's different from Lexus's "Don't think about it" approach toward luxury and the Germans' focus on driving performance.

I gave some serious thought to buying a used luxury sedan a few years back — certified pre-owned luxury cars are great deals — and Acura was my first stop. Yes, rear-wheel-drive is nice, but if you're mainly going to be navigating freeways and urban/suburban roadways, you don't really need it

The TLX's infotainment system checks all the boxes: navigation, SiriusXM radio, voice commands, Bluetooth connectivity, AUX/USB ports. Everything works well, although the overall interface, combining touchscreen and controllers, isn't as compelling as what's on offer from Audi or Cadillac, the luxury segment infotainment leaders.

But here's a twist: the TLX provides not one but two screens.

As you can see from the photo, I ran both audio and nav at the same time. But whats really cool is that you can use the upper screen to run Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, while keeping the lower screen devoted to Acura's own system.