Introduction
Over the years Acura has given us some really great sedans. The TL Type S is an iconic car that, despite being out of production for nearly 20 years, continues to both be relevant and a staple in the car community. As I scour through my memory, I can’t seem to think of any times where I didn’t like being inside an Acura sedan, they had really great interiors.
I believe the same is true for the current generation TLX, it looks great inside and out, and seems to have some of the same magic formula of the OG TL Type S. Speaking of things in common with the TL, the TLX has also been discontinued (I’m still recovering from hearing that). But despite this, I say that the TLX is, or was, the most slept on sedan of the 2020s.
Some of you may already be jumping to your keyboards to say that the TLX Type S is too heavy and can’t compete with the M340i, but hold your horses – I’m not talking about the TLX Type S, I’m talking about the Aspec. I actually agree with you when it comes to the TLX Type S, for the amount of money it costs, there are better options. But I think because of how loud the resentment for the Type S has been, the Aspec was able to slip under the radar.
Interested yet? Let’s dive into what the Aspec brings to the table.
What does the Aspec offer?
To start let’s talk more broadly about what the TLX offers. The TLX was (RIP) Acura’s sports sedan and came in several different trims, but the two we are most interested in are the Type S and the Aspec.
From the outside this is an incredible looking car, nearly every angle looks good on the factory model. It isn’t often that a car comes from the factory looking this good, usually you’d have to add some side skirts, a splitter, a diffuser and some form of a spoiler to get a car to look this presentable. Acura really doesn’t get enough love for coming up with, and selling, this design.
We find more of the same on the interior, it is an amazing looking interior. The seats are very unique and reviewers seem to love them, and I’m a big fan of the overall design of the interior. Additionally, the Aspec would come with a 16-speaker ELS sound system that blows nearly everything in this price range out of the water.
The only real gripe that I have with the interior is that it is somewhat cramped. The dash comes quite far out and the doors do protrude a good bit inwards, and while this does look good it takes up a lot of cabin space. I recall reading that a Honda Fit actually has more cubic feet of cabin space than the TLX, and I’m inclined to believe that.
Now let’s talk about performance, specifically on the Aspec. It is powered by a 2.0L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, which is the same base engine used in the Civic Type R, and this engine is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
This is the same power train that was used in the 10th gen Accord, which gained a great deal of respect in the car community. It manages to upset quite a few muscle cars and surprise many others. With a proper tune, bolt-ons and optionally a bigger turbo, these cars can make a lot of power. Which is a deadly combination when coupled with the 10-speed automatic.
What the Aspec has that the Accord didn’t is Acura’s SH-AWD (Super Handling All-Wheel Drive) system, which is nothing to scoff at. When you combine the 2.0L turbocharged engine, 10 speed automatic transmission and SH-AWD, you end up with a lot of performance potential. And even more potential when consider the tuning possibilities (check out my article about drivetrains!).
The one thing that holds this car back performance wise is it’s weight – she’s a big girl. The Aspec weighs in at about 4000lbs while the 10th gen Accord weighs in at about 3400lbs. So while these two vehicles do share the same powertrain, the Aspec is nearly 600lbs heavier, which of course slows it down.
The 10th gen Accord can move from 0 – 100 km/h (60 mph) in about 5.5 seconds while the TLX Aspec takes about 5.9 seconds to get to the same speed. The Accord makes roughly 20 horsepower less than the TLX, but the Accord is also 600lbs lighter. This difference in the power to weight ratios of the cars is what accounts for the half-a-second difference in acceleration (check out my article and TikTok about power to weight ratios!).
Why is the Aspec slept on?
While this may be a surprising take, I think the leading reason that the Aspec is slept on is due to the fact that the TLX Type S exists. In particular, I think that the hate the Type S got was subconsciously extended onto the Aspec, which caused most people to think negatively of it without considering its positives.
The car community has given the Type S a hard time since it came out, while I don’t agree with all of the hate it gets, some of it is true. For example, it is very heavy which in turn slows it down and it is simply unable to compete with other cars in its class (i.e. M340i would smoke it). Additionally, I agree that it should and could have come from the factory making more power than it did, this would likely alleviate the aforementioned pain point.
Finally, it was also pretty expensive for what it was offering performance wise – there were simply better options available. But what if we take a step back from performance? Well the Type S looked amazing, had an incredible interior, an amazing drivetrain between the SH-AWD and 10 speed automatic as well as forged internals which gave it a ton of tuning potential.
But despite what my personal opinion may be, the fact remains that the Type S did not impress the car community. And this general disappointment tricked down through the entire TLX lineup. All of the TLX’s were dubbed as being too heavy, slow and expensive for what they offered.
Furthermore, the Aspec was forced to live in the shadow of the Type S. I believe many people don’t even consider the Aspec as an option because the Type S is the top dog. And unfortunately, in our society materialism usually wins and people will buy what is most likely to impress others.
All of the issues I’ve mentioned above have allowed the Aspec to slip under the radar for a long time, and may continue to allow it to slip under the radar of most enthusiasts (unless of course they are cool enough to be reading or watching this).
Why should you buy it?
Let’s see if we can wrap things up nicely here and put a little bow on top. So the TLX Type S has gotten a bunch of hate and was found to be underwhelming by the community. This disappointment got passed through the entire TLX line up which caused most enthusiasts to dismiss any TLX as something that was too heavy, too slow and too expensive.
This then allows the TLX Aspec to be overlooked by most, despite what it offers. It offers a wonderful interior and exterior, great creature comforts, a powertrain from the 10th gen Accord that we already know has lots of potential, and Acura’s SH-AWD. It offers all this, at a price that is significantly less than that of the Type S.
It is also placed in a unique market segment, it doesn’t compete with the M340i like the Type S does, but it also doesn’t compete with cars like the Civic Si either. It may compete with cars like the Mazda3 Turbo, Civic Type R, Golf R, and Lexus IS350. When I think about it, I conclude that it beats each of these cars in at least one category.
In my personal opinion, it has every one of those cars beat when it comes to exterior looks and interior design, though the Lexus is a close second (check out my TikTok about Lexus interiors here!). The cars that beat it on the performance side, lose to it on the comfort side and vice versa.
At the end of the day, it comes down to the simplest but most complicated question of all – what do you want? Do you want a daily driver that is luxurious and comfortable? Something that can be sporty without being so raw that it’s uncomfortable to drive everyday? If so, then it might be time for you to stop sleeping on the Aspec.
I know I’ve said that I’m really after the Civic Si, but the TLX Aspec makes a very compelling case (and so does the Mazda3 but that’s a future video).
Sources: Car and Driver, Wikipedia TL Type S, Wikipedia TLX Type S
Image Sources: Reddit, Sam CarLegion, Acura, Love Changes Everything, MSN
