Acura is a brand created because Honda wanted to increase profits per car. Nowadays, Acuras are quite different from their regular sisters, and they have a loyal following in the premium car segment. But how much faster is the new TLX compared to the more common Accord?
To answer that question, YouTuber Sam CarLegion lined up the two rivals, and their specs are very important here. The top-dog TLX is the Type S with a 355 horsepower V6, but that's not available for drag racing yet. So, instead, we're looking at the sporty trim called A-Spec.
This is known for adding aggressive-looking bumpers, big wheels and comes standard with a 2.0-liter turbo. The four-cylinder makes 272 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque and sends power to all four wheels (SH AWD) via a 10-speed auto. The Accord also has a 2.0t and a 10-speed, but lacks the AWD and is only rated at 252 hp and 273 lb-ft.
The Accord is not supposed to win this, right? It's got less power, and the TLX's AWD is quite good. But the Honda sedan has been amazing in many past drag races, where it usually faced much more powerful rivals. Plus, we noticed an advantage in the weight department, where the TLX A-Spec is at a disadvantage of over 600 lbs.
What we like about Sam's drag race videos is that he's thorough, doing multiple launches and using all the drive modes. Things start off in Normal Mode, where the Acura gets the jump, but the Honda quickly closes in. Somebody needs to check that 2.0T for doping because it sure as heck doesn't make just 252 horsepower. Did they put a Civic Type S engine in there by mistake?
Sport Mode doesn't change the outcome. If anything, the Accord sedan gaps its sister car even harder. And in the rolling races, the difference is gigantic. Can you imagine paying more to be slower? If given the choice of a free car, we'd still pick the TLX A-Spec, but the Accord 2.0T is an LSD short of being a sports car at this point.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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