Jaws54

I'm an active car guy in my mid-50s and I enjoy performance and high performance oriented cars. I've owned 15 Vettes, 14 911s (currently have a 2020 C2S), a ton of AMG and M cars. I buy a lot of cars because, hey, you can't take it with you when your times up.

Besides the C2S, I wanted a small to mid-size sedan to daily drive, had a degree of practicality, and was fun to drive. I am tired of BMW and Mercedes, never liked Audi, Lexus and Infiniti are not my cup of tea.

For me, that left Genesis, Acura, and Alfa Romeo. I am a pretty big guy (6'3" & 250 lbs) so ease of entry/exit and overall fit were an important consideration.

I originally purchased an Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio, which was an impulse buy because the performance was absolutely intoxicating, the car was beautiful, and I'm STUPID
Within 3 months the car had a ton of warning lights, pieces of carbon fiber trim fell off, and getting in and out was painful because of the B pillar placement. I had enough. So last week I decided to replace the Alfa with either the Type S or G70. After driving both, looking at pricing/value, I bought the Type S (Modern Steel/Red) and I couldn't be happier, despite reading all of the complaints about performance and power numbers on this forum and carefully reading/watching all of the internet reviews.

I really thought about the purpose of the cars, despite Acura's or Genesis's marketing messaging. These are not "sports" cars or track cars. They are everyday sedans turned up a notch to allow for entertaining driving on a daily basis. Driving on highways or local streets, whether you are getting to 60mph in 4.5 sec or 4.9 sec is irrelevant. Both of these cars, with AWD, will be driven year round in all weather, sometimes alone and sometimes with family in tow. They both excel for that purpose. I chose the Acura because it fit me better, it handles great, is entertaining and quick/fast enough for a daily driver, the stereo, and the overall appearance of the car. It is stunningly good-looking.

So I'm writing a quick review, coming from a sports car driver accepting reality about what these cars really are and what their real missions are.

• Pricing The cars are prices identically but the G70 deals are much better. The 2022 redesign of the G70 looks great and there is no ADM, at least in NJ. The Type S is being exploited by the dealers right now. I was quoted anywhere from $2500 over MSRP to $10k over. Interestingly, 2 dealers I visited wanted $10k over for cars with the Performance wheel and tire option and "only" $5k over for the cars with standard setup. So stupid considering Acura charges $800 for that option. I chose a Type S with the standard wheels because I wanted all-seasons (daily driver) and I already ordered Continental DWS06+ tires for the car and I liked the look of the standard wheels better than the Y-spoke upgrade. BTW, the the car will handle better with the Contis then the Pirelli PZero tires on the upgraded wheel package and be drivable in winter.
  
• Comfort The front seats in the Acura are super comfortable and adjustable for a bigger or taller person. So much room. Much more comfortable than the G70 seats. Overall space is unreal for the front seat passengers, adequate for the rest of the car, but completely useable. The Genesis has a backseat as useable as my 911. Aweful. Material quality is acceptable for both cars in the price range. The Acura, to me, felt more special and engaging.
  
• Tech. The Genesis has more Tech (HUD, Surround View, Etc....) but both cars give you so much. I personally am not a fan of HUD and always shut it off in cars that have it. I find it distracting. I love the sound system in the Acura. It sounds amazing. I am a classic rock and blues guy and after fiddling with the sound settings I am completely impressed with the sound clarity and quality, especially at this price point. Not a fan of the Genesis system. NAV is NAV and most of us use Waze or Google Maps at this point with CarPlay so I love what the Acura has. It more than suits my needs. My only complaint is the touchpad control. While it is far better than the Lexus touchpad, having a touch screen or control knob seems a little easier to use. Why car companies keep trying to reinvent these interfaces is beyond me. Physical buttons and simple controls would be so much better, which is why I love the gauge cluster in the Acura. Analog and simpler than the G70
  
• Appearance I think the Acura TLX Type S is one of the best looking sedans on the road today, at any price point. It looks aggressive and mature at the same time. Compared to the G70, which has a great front end look and questionable rear, the Acura stands out and makes you look twice and the interior design is more eye catching.
  
• Drive/Performance To me, this is the biggest selling point of the Type S, as long as you keep sight of what the car really is and what it was designed to do. 1st and foremost, this car handles incredibly well, even with the standard all-season tires. It is sharp, direct, great turn-in, and very playful in corners and sweeping roads. Just awesome. It does not feel its size while driving aggressively. It is not a car I would drive on track and clearly the engineers tuned this car for the street. It sounds great in Sport or Sport+, and the transmission is responsive as long as it is in S. As far as acceleration and power, it is more than adequate. It feels quick, especially from a role, and accelerates strongly at passing speeds. It is a very sporty feeling drive in those 2 modes. The Comfort setting will never be used and Normal will only be used on long highway or interstate drives. The Genesis starts with a sportier feel (because of rear wheel drive dynamics and weight distribution) but the Acura feels much better in the higher settings. The G70 just gets too stiff for daily driving at the sportiest settings. I will say that the G70 does feel slightly quicker from a standstill but the difference is really negligible. The Acura feels like the more complete package. The fastest car isn't always the best car.

Please For me the decision to buy the Type S was really easy after driving both cars. After a few hundred miles, I am 100% confident that I made the right decision and my expectations for the car and the purpose for which it was bought have been exceeded.

Nexx

"I personally am not a fan of HUD and always shut it off in cars that have it. I find it distracting."

I thought I was the only one. I found myself almost staring at the HUD more than the traffic in front me.

BEAR-AvHistory

Have read that before going back to when the HUD first came out in cars. Guess it just an opinion matter. Personally two things that I see debated that I would not buy a car without are the adaptable suspension & the HUD. Not having to look down for speed, tach, nav & other selectable items are big pluses for me.

ELIN

Congrats and look forward to seeing you in the TLX Owner thread (or start your own specific to the Type S)!

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Congrats on the new car and welcome to AcuraZine!

jjsC5

I have had a G70 for four months, but fully agree the TLX was the right choice for you. The G70 is tight to get in and out of, and the seats are also built for skinnier guys. I don’t agree with you about the ride though. I’m very happy with it. It rides much better than the BMW 540 I traded for it even. But certainly the TLX could be even cushier, and you may have worse roads than I do.

Congrats on the car.

Jaws54

The G70 was much tighter inside than the TLX Type S.

In terms of ride quality, the G70 starts out in the “softer” modes stiffer and sportier than the Type S and, at least to me, gets much stiffer from there.

The G70 is a great car and an unbelievable value proposition. Overall an excellent “sport” sedan. The diamond quilted seats are very nice to look at and the materials, especially the metal trim pieces and knobs, are ahead of Acura.

But for me, to my eye and being in the car, the Acura feels a bit more special and the layout is very appealing.

I think we are all lucky to be able to make choices like this and that there are these amazing options for us to look at.

fiatlux

Your review reminds me of why I like Honda/Acura engineering, but why I dislike H/A corporate and really really really dislike their marketing department. For what the car actually is in a vacuum, it's really really good, but for what they "promised" us (and the expectations they themselves set), it is not. I really do feel bad for their product developers and engineers knowing that their hard work gets derided and scoffed at because of their snakeoil marketers.

Jaws54

That is unfortunate.

Marketing departments have completely different objectives than the engineering group.

The Type S is a great car by any measures, it is an exceptionally sporty sedan, significantly more so than the non-S variants of the TLX. That is what the objective of the engineers was, mid-level performance sedans, and they hit their mark. The car is gorgeous, it fits the pricing parameters, it’s exciting to drive, and practical.

As I said earlier, the fastest car isn’t always the best car. A balanced car (power, speed, handling, drivability, and practicality) is what suits this segment.

I would argue that Acura hit the mark as an overall experience. Obviously, the M340 is faster and the S4 is a bit quicker, but the total package and accessibility of the performance and the car itself make it a win, just like the Genesis G70.

SH-AWD is a game changer for handling in a Fwd based platform and really makes this a 4 seasons car.

jhb31

HUD is not distractive at all. Can't remember a time where it ever was a distraction. Just display the info you want, the location and brightness level are easily adjustable. As for "It looks aggressive and mature" (to the OP, not you Bear) that's subjective. I thinks it's got a good look but as for mature that is personal option and color may play a factor. The Gold and Blue are a racer boy vibe bit do flash incredibly well and look great. Not sure the OP mentioned the color. The white or black probably reduce the flash but the tlx sure looks faster than an Audi/BMW if I was judging speed by appearance.

oh, +1 for the continentals. I assume its the extreme contact ones and those are great tires.

SGPMan

Thanks for your thorough write up! You're right that the G70 and Audi are the main competitors. To me, the TLX Type S just looks so much better looking that the other cars. When I walk up to my car, I want to have some excitement as I look at my car. I get no feelings at all looking at the G70 and Audi.. absolutely no feelings. I am so happy to have made a deposit and am waiting impatiently for my Type S to be delivered. Enjoy your car! It's one heck of a car!

Jaws54

I actually made a last minute change with the tires and bought Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4s instead. They were slightly more expensive but I was told they are much better for spirited performance.

As for color, I got the Modern Steel with Red interior.

I love the appearance of this car.

GhostTL09

iTrader: (1)

Awesome review, I too felt the Standard wheel was more attractive than the Y-Spoke until I saw them in person. Easy to clean and shows off the Brembos beautifully. Enjoy the TypeS. Although, the Type-S isn't the easiest to get out of. 😆. I'm in GA so don't really worry about bad roads.

dmski

For me S4 does nothing, however S5 Sportback is eye candy. Optioned the way I want it so 15K more than my S.

oldsnwbrdr

Give the trackpad a chance. I started off hating it, now it’s the best interface yet devised.

jhb31

That is the color combo I wished I had gotten in my TLX and would be my top choice. Just a great look but not the flash. As for tires I drive way over on the spirited side and have been pretty happy with the conti extreme contacts. Enough that I will probably replace them with the same as they have been pretty solid, quiet and surprisingly not wearing all that fast. Can't say what they would do in snow but probably will just leave the car in the garage. My last tlx had michelins of some sort stock and the one time I did have it out in the snow left me a bit white knuckled. Probably more so as I was so used to using my tacoma 4x4 which handled the snow really well. Anyway congrats on the new car, good to have more new buyers in the forum.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I never understood all the review people who would pan the old two screen setup as confusing. If you spent a few days with it you had it mastered and after that you just used it without thinking. I suspect the new trackpad is the same.

Edward'TLS

Jaws54, congrats on your purchase, and welcome to Acurazine.

F23A4

Agreed and it is! Having both the new TLX and MDX, setting the icon positions and then developing muscle memory can be accomplished in less than a week. Never a bad thing to l e a r n how to work a new system.

Tony Pac

Congrats! Your summary is awesome. Enjoy your car and drive safe!

Legend2TL

Congrats on your new Type-S and best adventures with it, also well written review. The bold below captures the same reviews on YouTube (SG, Matt Moran, Edmunds most recently) who complement the overall Type-S package especially it's overall handling and responsiveness.

SergeyM

Sorry, I cannot make myself to believe you. Someone accustomed to drive Porsche, AMG and M cars cannot like an Acura. It is like saying I am tired of gourmet restaurants and decided to eat at McDonald's for the next 2 years.

Nexx

I think a car enthusiast can enjoy just about any range of vehicle.

mapleloaf

Re-read the review, i think you missed most of the key points. As to whether you cannot believe he likes his Acura.....it's fine to have a contrary opinion, albeit without owning or driving the vehicle, but it is not okay to suggest another person's opinion and personal experience is not genuine. Perhaps the OP is tired of paying inflated prices for good food

Jaws54

1st, I am an enthusiast and I appreciate cars at all price points.

2nd, for me, the Type S is a daily driver, all seasons.
The Porsche and M/AMG cars are not great daily drivers, especially during the fall and winter months. While fun, that much power combined with summer tires and rear wheel drive is a recipe for trouble. Even with AWD, like the TurboS or new M5/E63, it is challenging daily.

I honestly believe the Acura is a perfect daily driver. As I said in my review, it is not a track car and if you have realistic expectations and understand what the car is, the Type S is a fantastic car.

F23A4

Just to be clear, you absolutely don't have to justify your opinions, preferences and observations to anyone.

Very much appreciate your write-up and it sounds like you've acquired a fantastic daily driver.

Jaws54

Thanks for that.

I know I don’t need to justify anything, but those kinds of comments are just so ignorant.

Price of a car doesn’t matter. I have been on track with a Toyota 86 and had a more enjoyable experience than being on track with some of the M or AMG cars.

Btw, I still have a Turbo S in my garage. The Acura TLX Type S is built and engineered to be a daily driver for all seasons with the ability to be entertaining and add some fun when you want it.

If people are looking for the Type S to be a M3, M5, Quadrifoglio, etc… it is a mistake. Plus, I would argue, 90%+ of buyers of those cars don’t extract or use anymore of the performance compared to what the buyers of a Type S, G70, M340, etc… use on streets day to day.

Tony Pac

Welcome to the forum! Enjoy and I feel horrible that you get a message such as the one above. I think you don't need to justify your purchase or decision. It's just sad that you wrote an honest opinion and people are saying they don't believe you. SMH

BEAR-AvHistory

Think that is the heart of the issue.....People did not expect in their wildest dreams the Type-S would be the equal or be remotely close to the Quad, M3/5 ect. What they did expect was a car that it would match up well & by some some super fans (400BHP Guys) opinion surpass the M340, S4, MB C43AMG. Icing on the cake would be to throw in the G70 as a pre-lunch snack.

What they got after 17/18? years of waiting & being teased along with strategic leaks, for the rebirth of the Type-S touted by Jon Ikeda as "the return of Acura to the performance arena". Reality was the Type-S is the very nice family daily driver that you like so much. Most people get that, its a nice daily driver but, don't get that its the lead ship in a class leading high performance car.

You may disagree on this but after some of the performance tests both video & print publications, the rigged Type-S/S4 Laguna Seca "drag race", public opinion was very very unhappy with what Acura delivered vs what Jon Ikeda has been saying he was going to deliver for as long as he has been around.

Legend2TL

FIFY, your opinion and some others are not public opinion.

Edmunds, AoA, SG, and Matt Moran all disagree with you on what the Type-S is and isn't. SG sums it up very well at the end of their video at 26:00

You may disagree but not everyone lives their life a 1/4 mile at a time

Jaws54

I totally get the expectations that were created by the “marketing department”

1st, most of the reviews have been quite positive. All agree that the handling is the strong point, exception is Throttle House, which were really cold on the car past 8/10ths. Trust me, I own the car and I own very fast cars, the car performs amazingly well on the street. It feels quick, stable, and fun when in sport or sport+.

2nd, Acura very easily could have dialed in more power during development and those added costs would be passed on to the consumer. Remember, the BMW M340 is $10k-$15k more similarly equipped. Same with Audi S4. Acura is offering value based performance in a great looking package with a top notch AWD system and a killer sound system. I really want to see anyone push this car past it’s limits on public roads. They would deserve their fate.

dmski

It's going to be interesting to see what Acura does next after missing the performance targets. If the car sells well they do nothing and call it a success. If the car is a sales failure they do nothing just like with NSX and just kill it off prematurely.... Probably releasing an EV in the future and call it a day.

Legend2TL

Unfortunately they're some that live for those comments in the 2G TLX forum.
However as time moves on more and more new 2G owners are contributing to the forum, which has improving content.

Your 2nd comment reminds me of when I ride my little sport bike rev'ing to 12k redline. It's more enjoyable than a torquer 1L sportbike with 170HP on tap on twisty backroads, gotta keep that power in check on public roads.

BEAR-AvHistory

Go to Sams Type-S vids & read the comments & tell what you think public opinion is.



So exactly what is a Type S? The car than Jon is selling the one that should be competitive in the Vids? The "Pinnacle of Performance"? A competitive sports sedan in the G70/M340/S4 arena? Another very nice daily driver with a good radio than the flacks like?

Or at $54,000 a pricy mid level daily driver?

Legend2TL

Meh, go to SavageGeese, Edmunds, Matt Moran, and Alex on Auto's comments.
Some good, some not so good but it's not all pitchfork folks.
Those reviewers are also driving the car as it was meant to be driven.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaGwaX63ZeE&t=183s&ab_channel=AlexonAutos



Again go and watch those videos, all from Carlos at Edmunds to Sam and Mark at SavageGeese

Sam from SavgeGeese @ 24:00 describe the Type-S very well for what it is

djhtsx

iTrader: (2)

Who cares about what others think. Test drive the car yourself and form your own opinion. No car is perfect in this segment, all have their flaws and some greater than others however after driving every car in this segment except for the BMW (that’s because I wouldn’t own one if it was giving to me) I would definitely take the type s at its price point and if money wasn’t a true factor I would take a s5. If you watch any video on the type s. The reviews are overall positive of course if you watch a video of the type s losing a people are bashing it.

CaliAtenza

Great writeup! Wouldn't the BMW M340i be the perfect daily driver though? It has the speed, comfort, handling, etc...also available in AWD.

CaliAtenza

It's the damn weight. Why the frick is this car so heavy?! There are many crossovers that weigh less than this. If they knew the weight was gonna be on the higher side, they should have given it more power. If this was 3800-3900 lbs, performance would be in line with the competition.

Jaws54

The M340 is a great car. There is no question about it, although I would 100% have reliability concerns as with most modern BMWs.

I chose the Acura (I could get any car I want) because it ticks all of the boxes for me and the cost of entry is much lower than the competition.

again, it’s a daily driver. It is what I wanted

mike03a3

More like I'm bored eating Chateaubriand from Chez Francoise and feel like some North Carolina BBQ from the roadside stand down the road.
I've driven everything from a '59 MGA to a sweet V12 Jag E-type, autocrossed a modified Formula S Barracuda, built a Dodge Humpback panel with Jag XJ6 suspension and a Dodge AAR 340, drag raced a B/Alky Funny car and raced an ex-works Lotus 18 in SCCA Formula B and C. In their own way each of them was fun to own and drive, so is my '07 Acura TL Type-S 6MT. It's sadly out of date technology, and pretty slow by today's standards, but it's still fun to drive.