My 2019 was in for service so I took a new 2021 as a tester/loaner overnight. Below are my thoughts...just my personal opinions so you may disagree.

Looks - overall I think the 2021 definitely looks better, except for the rims. Seems pretty cheesy that Acura has the same (ugly) rims across models, but with different paint schemes.

Ride quality - new TLX is smoother and handles bumps better. Feels slightly bigger, but more solid.

Engine - I'm going to call this one a tie. The four banger turbo is nice and torquey around town, but on the highway the six is better. Stop & go, and back roads the new TLX feels faster. Sound-wise, the four sounds almost harsh at times, not as refined as the 6. There is some turbo lag, but it's not too bad. The biggest lag is in the transmission...

Transmission - the new 10 speed is better than the ZF9. They've improved the ZF9 a lot since 2015 and it's fine for certain vehicles, but not a "sport sedan". Is there still hesitation in the new TLX?....yup still there! Just cruising around 40 mph, put your foot to the floor, and you'll have to wait a good second or two before anything happens. I tried in all Dynamic Modes and with the transmission in "S" mode. While driving you can hammer your foot down to the floor and bring it back up before the car will lunge forward...it will just downshift after you let up. I'm sure Acura's programming is not helping matters. Also, I live on a pretty busy road so I need to back out and quickly get going forward. The time it takes my TLX to get going is maddening. The new TLX is better, but still sucks! Hesitation aside, the transmission was good cruising around and on the highway.

Seats - New seats are more comfortable, I just wish they had the extra adjustability that the Advance has because the first thing I noticed when I sat in it was the lack of thigh extension. I'm not that tall, but use the extension a bit anyway in mine. Not sure why they took that away from the A-Spec. Mine has the red leather seats without alcantara. The new one had the alcantara strip in the middle and it does add nice grip.

Infotainment - I do not like this infotainment at all. The true touchpad is OK and easy enough to get used to (but adding touchscreen would have been nice). The problem is with Android Auto integration. If you never use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, then I think you'll be fine. First thing I do (and I think more and more people are doing) is plug in my phone to use Android Auto w/ Waze. Well, I could never get Waze working. Never showed up in the list of apps. Every now and then, this happens in my TLX and all I need to do is open Waze on my phone and it pops up on the screen. No matter what I tried Waze would not be available. I actually opened Waze on my phone (Galaxy S9) and started navigating. Google Maps was displaying on the screen, yet Waze audio navigation was coming out of the speakers. Then to add to the frustration, the true touchpad works differently when in Android Auto.

Screen - it looks nice but how they split it up doesn't work for me. Again, this is pertaining to Android Auto. The purpose of the split screen is so two apps are visible. 99% of the time this will be navigation and audio. As long as you are using the built-in navigation and audio, this is fine. But if you want to use Google Maps and listen to high-res music on Amazon Music you can't display both of those. Some people hate on the Acura dual screen, but I like it. Always have nav up top and audio down bottom. Works with any combination of navigation and music apps, built in or on your phone.

Sound - The older system can sound good with CD quality or higher music, but the new ELS sound system is superior in everyway. Even XM sounds pretty good. There is way more mid bass in this new system and you can feel it pounding from the door on your leg.

Instrument Panel - Too busy, small print, and don't like the layout. First gen simpler and easier to read, outside temp and trip meter always visible. First gen engine temp and gas are real needles on the outside, now they are digital on the inside and take up space in the MID. They also got rid of the timer which I use daily in my car. I have it set to Trip B and it resets mileage and time with ignition off. I love that feature.

Center stack - I don't get it. We're not in an NSX, why is the Dynamic Mode knob so prominent? A toggle on the steering wheel would suffice. I think they could've done better utilizing the space. For example, the area for phone sucks. My phone is relatively small (Galaxy S9 standard), and it barely fits. You can't just lift your phone straight up as it catches the hand rest that overlaps the front of it and the center console arm rest overlaps the backside of it.

Steering wheel - looks and feels nicer than first gen. What I don't like, however, is they moved the steering wheel volume from the roller to a toggle. However, the roller still there and used to skip forward or back tracks by toggling it left and right but rolling it up and down does nothing to the volume. It's used to scroll apps in the MID...huh, why Acura? Doesn't it make more sense to keep the same knob for volume, track skip forward and back? Can't tell you how many times in my 70 miles of driving I tried adjusting the volume with the scroll wheel

Other quick notes -

• No 70-80 vibration felt (yes, my car has it)
• Forgot to specifically look, but didn't notice any hood flutter (yes, my car has it)
• Needs a little nub on the Home button for the true touchpad so you can quickly feel it
• Dynamic mode defaults to Normal instead of whatever mode you were in last. Doesn't make sense.

Overall, I think the new TLX is a decent improvement over the first gen. As you can see from above, my biggest gripe is with the infotainment and Android Auto.

 

Nicely said and I appreciate your opinion. As someone who has now owned the new TLX for a month, some of the things you don't like I felt the same way about at first. Some have grown on me and not as bad. Although there are things I still prefer in my 2018 Aspec. For instance engine sound and smoothness. Overall I am enjoying the new TLX over the old. I never really had complaints about the old. By the way I had major hood flutter in the 2018. There is very little to none in the new TLX. May/probably has something to do with the new design of the hood.

 

You might want to try a couple more cars to see if it's something that's persistent. Of the 4 cars I test drove, 2 of them exhibited lag as bad as the ZF9, 1 had lag that was a bit better but still bad (sounds like what you experienced), and 1 was decent (no ZF8, but close to an Aisin 8). No rhyme or reason, seems like there's quite a bit of variance so both the salesperson and I were stumped. He said all the cars came off the same truck and should have the same TCU programing, so who knows why, but the TLX is definitely a case of the "test drive the specific car you plan on buying" affair again.

Strangest of all, the RDX with the exact same transmission and engine combo doesn't seem to have this problem. I'm guessing it's some sort of programming issue, like you said.

 

I’ve had my car going on three months and 1,700 miles. The transmission delay I had been experiencing is now significantly reduced. Could be I've simply adjusted my driving style. I have no complaints now about the shifting and the damn car has become sneaking fast. My 2019 RDX was the same way in that the shifts became better over time. I’m not an adherent of the belief that a transmission learns over weeks/months; however, I think the programming logic might allow for a break in period before operating at peak efficiency.

 

Do you prior 1G owners feel 2G takes longer to brake?

 

No I do not. No difference in braking between the 2 cars to me.

 

Depends what you mean by "longer to brake". The 2G definitely has a more responsive and better feeling brake pedal, so braking feels more immediate and direct. However, objectively speaking braking distance appears to be longer; both MT and C&D recorded longer stopping distances for the 2G compared to the 1G.

 

A nice review ... thanks for taking the time to write up the review. Just one thing about the Home button ... it doesn't have a nub? I know the RDX has it. The TLX photo gallery on Acura's website also shows that it has it ... it's the little raised portion right under the house icon on the Home button:

 

I feel if I'm not paying attention, I can definitely hit the car in front of me. The brakes don't give me a ton of confidence and I can definitely see myself riding on them much longer than other cars I've had.

 

On my 1G, the brake peddle feels a bit spongey, which didn't inspire confidence when I first bought it. Now, because I'm used to the pedal feel, braking is progressive and consistent, not harsh and jarring.

 

Another claimed issue that my 2018 never experienced. I'm curious how this happens, but also confused because the hood design is completely different and you're experiencing something similar, albeit less, with your 2021 .

 

How would you compare the road noise between models?

 

I've seen notorious hood flutter on every Acura since they went to aluminium vs steel in 2013.

 

My 2018 had serious hood flutter to where it seemed the hood wasn’t completely latched although it was. The 2021 is just a slight vibration. Nowhere near what I experienced in the old car. I’ve read several others that experienced this as well.

 

I am extremely thankful to be 1G issue free.

 

I've owned 8 Acuras and have never had the slightest hint of a hood flutter on any of them.

 

My 2016 also doesn't have it, or at least I haven't noticed it. Maybe it's more noticeable on certain colors than others?

 

Hmm, that’s weird. I swear the 2G I was driving was completely smooth. If it’s there, I didn’t feel it! Maybe a current 2G owner can confirm?

 

There’s the nub by the home button in my TLX:

 

My 2016 didn’t have it either, but my 2019 flutters significantly. I thought is was something to do with the refreshed design of the hood. Kind of odd how some flutter and some don’t. Not to go down this road, but sort of like how some 1G SH-AWD owners say they don’t have the 70-80 vibration.

 

Well, that was quick! Thanks ELIN. My bad for saying it needed one. Guess it needs a more prominent one for me...haha.

 

No flutter at all in my 2019.......

 

I know that this has been covered to death in 1G thread(s), but I haven't experienced either. Since you're saying you experienced both, have you discussed these issues with your dealer, and what do they say? Reasonable explanation, solution, or make excuses/flat out lie?

I would think any movement in the hood would be subject to failure at some point and a serious liability and Acura would want to avoid the possibility of a hood vibrating open while in operation.

 

When I first got my 2016 I brought it in for vibration and they forced balanced the tires and the vibration was still present. The lead tech took a ride with me and could feel it immediately. He said it was inherent with all SH-AWD TLXs and not much more could be done. Being a member of this forum, as soon as I saw the TSB regarding the vibration I contacted service to make an appointment before they were even aware of the TSB.

The service from the TSB helped, but the vibration was still felt. As others on here, I lived with it and mostly drive just above the vibration speed. My 2019 is no different.

As far as the flutter goes, I noticed it on the day I drove the 2019 home from the dealer. The first thing I did was jump on Acurazine to see if others were experiencing the same thing and sure enough, they were. As long as it wasn’t just my car, I took it as a bad design of the hood. It only flutters when going highway speeds and not enough to feel or hear it. It’s all the way up near the windshield where the bulge is, so it doesn’t seem dangerous where the hood could pop open or any thing like that.

Getting back on track, I’m just glad I didn’t notice either of these issues with the 2G!

 

Seems like a lot of QC issues for 1G. Doesn't appear to be as much for 2G but more owners need to exist to make a proper comparison.

 

Whether by luck or proper assembly, my 2018 has no SH-AWD vibration, and my hood is stable at all speeds. Except for the flawed design causing ZF9 issues that appear to be mostly resolved in the 2018-20 models, IMO, the vibrations in the SH-AWD and hood are due to poor QC in manufacturing.

 

Haha! We both said essentially the same thing and timestamped at the same time.

 

Yes I have neither of these issues with my current 2G. Hood/car vibration I have now is normal to any car I have ever driven. Basically zero flutter/vibration.

 

Your 2019 is no different? I had vibration in my 2019 and got it balanced and I might have a bent wheel if I recall. I got them both fixed and been vibration free since