For Honda lovers that want an upscale version of their favorites, there’s always Acura, which is Honda’s luxury sister company. And, when it comes to luxury sedans, Acura has several options in its line up. The 2021 Acura TLX is one of those options, and recently, it was completely redesigned. 

The completely redesigned for 2021

As Motor Trend wrote, the TLX has been completely redesigned for the 2021 model year, and it’s practically a brand-new car compared to before. Almost everything has been changed about the TLX, from its exterior styling, to its interior design, to its engine options, as well as the infotainment systems itself. This was very necessary since the TLX has some stiff competition in its class, and in many ways, it can now compete. 

Since it’s a sporty sedan, one of the more important changes has to do with its engines. According to the reviewer, the TLX now comes standard with a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine that gets 272-hp.

A more powerful 3.0-liter, turbocharged V6 is available, and that engine gets about 355-hp. While forward-wheel drive is still standard, Acura also offers “Super Handling All-Wheel Drive” on the TLX, which will make it an even sportier sedan. 

In terms of its interior, the TLX is also fittingly luxurious for its base price tag of about $37,500, as there’s plenty of leather in its interior. Motor Trend also said that the TLX comes standard with a 10.2-inch infotainment display, a 7.0-inch gauge cluster display, and a WiFi hotspot among many other standard features. 

How the 2021 Acura TLX compares to other luxury cars

While this complete update of the TLX has made it far more competitive with its rivals, the TLX still falls short, according to Motor Trend. The 2021 TLX is definitely better than before, but when it’s competing against other luxury sedans like the BMW 3 Series or the Audi A4, the TLX just isn’t as good of a luxury car when it comes to sportiness.

To be fair to the TLX though, Motor Trend also said that the latest TLX should be sporty enough for the average driver. It might not outpace its rivals in a race, but that’s not what most luxury car owners do with their cars, so it’s not that big of a deal to begin with. 

However, compared to its rivals, the TLX might have some issues in terms of its interior. That 10.2- inch infotainment display in the TLX isn’t actually a touch screen, and it’s controlled by a touchpad that’s nearby.

While the reviewer said that this infotainment system was better than many other touchpad-based infotainment systems, the reviewer overall preferred the touch screens that are more common.

An overview of the 2021 Acura TLX

Those issues aside though, the TLX is a very good car in other ways. Like Motor Trend wrote in its overall review, the TLX’s standard 2.0-liter engine can accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in 6.5 seconds, which is pretty quick for most people. This engine should also be pretty economical, since it gets an estimated 22 MPG in the city and 28 MPG on highways. 

But the best part about the TLX might just be how many smart safety features that Acura has put in the car as standard. This is thanks to AcuraWatch, which is Acura’s suite of smart safety features and includes things like adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, and lane-keep assist among many other smart safety features. 

Additionally, the TLX will be the first Acura to come with a three-chamber front passenger airbag. These types of airbags should provide more protection in certain scenarios.