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Acura says the TLX Type S is the quickest, best-handling all-wheel-drive sedan in its history. But can it provide its unique brand of performance in the midst of a brutal Maine winter? That’s what Co-Host Chris Teague set out to find this past week as he road-tested the car.
Certainly the 2024 version of the Type S has the specs to get the job done. It features improved throttle response in the Sport+ drive mode from its turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. Incorporating tech derived from the twin-turbo NSX, the engine generates 355 horsepower and 354 lb.-ft. of torque. For the 2024 model year, the TLX Type S gets additional features, including a 10.5-inch head-up display and surround-view camera system. Teague will offer his opinions in this episode.
In the other half of the road test segment, Host Jack Nerad will evaluate and report on a car that is in some ways very similar to the Acura TLX and, in other ways, its polar opposite. The 2024 Lexus ES 300h is about the same size and competes in the same segment as the Acura. But in its Ultra Luxury form, it makes no attempt to accentuate sportiness and instead doubles down on luxury.
The 300h combines a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor in a full-hybrid system. Its total horsepower output is 215, which pales in comparison to the horsepower of the TLX Type S. But that isn’t the point. With its electric torque, the ES 300h is much peppier than its rating would suggest. And it has plenty of acceleration for the type of cruising it is expected to do. Its goal is total comfort plus uncommon fuel economy, and Nerad will tell you if it succeeds.
In the news, the slowdown in the growth of electric vehicles is causing many auto executives around the world to do more than just wring their hands and shrug it off. It’s having serious economic effects across the globe, and we’ll tell you what it could mean to your household coming up.
More positive news: Honda is making wireless AppleCarPlay and wireless Android Auto available to more than half a million owners of older Honda models, and we’ll have the details. If you have the right car, wireless functionality could be yours for just $150 or so.
You might not yet have noticed, but the auto industry is trying to kill AM radio. Several brands have already dropped AM tuners from their audio systems, and others are threatening to do so. But now an unusual coalition of lawmakers, talk-show hosts, and Luddites is fighting to save it.
And if banning AM radio isn’t enough, a proposed new California law would put speed governors on every new vehicle sold in the somewhat tarnished Golden State. We’ll have more on that revolting development and our comments coming up.
This week our special guest is Mike Spagnola, President and CEO of the Specialty Equipment Market Association. His organization does an immense amount of work for companies in the automotive industry, including sponsoring one of the biggest trade shows in the country. So we think you’ll enjoy our conversation with him.
All that and more are coming up on America on the Road.
America on the Road is brought to you by Driving Today.com, Mercury Insurance, YourTestDriver.com, and EMLandsea.com , the publisher of Nerad’s latest book, Dance in the Dark, which is available HERE on Amazon.com
