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After what has seemed like forever since we had the chance to test drive a Honda/Acura product, but has really only been about 5 years, much to our elated surprise, the fleet company that represents them called up and asked if we would consent to taking an Acura on its way from San Francisco to Denver? It took us all of about .5 seconds to answer with a resounding “yes, it would be fantastic to have to real time with the new 2015 model TLX”!

Along with the Acura stars aligning to get the vehicle to our home, we also had the opportunity to take a overnight trip to Moab, so what a better way to really try out the new TLX and its much hyped sporting ability and technology than with and extended road trip! So we threw together an overnight bag Friday afternoon, and headed for the 4 wheeling capital of Utah. Oh, and as Deanne mentioned- they also have so great places to shop for her favorite rustic décor.

With the new design of the 2015 TLX Acura claims to have ratcheted things up a few notches on the thrill dial, with not only a new naming convention in the sedan line, but also with additions of things like a new 8- speed dual clutch transmission, precision all wheel steer (P-AWS) and a technology package that’s one of the best we’ve seen yet.

The TLX we had for the week came equipped with the smaller of the two engine choices in a 2.4-liter producing a respectable 206 horsepower. At first glance we would have thought that this would be a weaker choice for a midsized sedan that was built for the driving enthusiast, with 4 different driving modes from Econ to Sport plus, this turned out not to be the case, the TLX was extremely engaging and performance minded, weather as it was accelerating to overtake a semi heading up Spanish Fork Canyon, or just opening things up for the short 80 mph sprint from Green River to Crescent Junction.

The engine and the 8- speed dual clutch transmission that included a torque converter just sang in a beautiful chorus together. This would be because as Acura points out it is a semi-manual transmission for a fully automated world, in essence, it predicts the next shift then prepares for the next gear, allowing the driver to do things faster and smoother. This is a racing inspired transmission and with the addition of the torque converter the TLX slide through the gears with no hesitation and more importantly without any jerky shift changes that more than we would like accompany a higher performance vehicle.

The V6 model comes with a different 9- speed transmission that would have most thinking it would be the better choice with more gears, more power should equal a better experience, but more folks after driving both have gone back to the 4- cylinder version opting for what is a better motor and transmission combination!

The TLX also came with an option that has been out there for over 10 years, but has not be used by many car makers in the past, that being all wheel steering. We just don’t encounter many vehicles that the back wheels have the ability to turn in conjunction with the front. The really cool thing that Acura has added to this technology is that it works differently at different speeds.

It works something like this, at parking lot speeds when tight turning is a necessity to get into that ever increasing smaller spot the rear wheels will counter steer in the opposite direction to the front wheels helping to bring the rear around faster. However when handling a tight curvy mountain road at optimum speed the rear wheels will work in conjunction with the front wheels to add stability during quick lane changes and tight cornering. This is all done in the background but after a 300 mile drive with the TLX that included all of the above it really did make the driving experience way more enjoyable.

On the safety side the TLX came with some additions that enhanced the long drive to and from Moab and of course helped us a couple of times to avoid a parking lot collision, or make it more than just a near miss. There was blind spot monitoring that is always helpful when on the freeway or one of the many two lane roads between Utah County and Moab, although the indicator lights were mounted in the side front pillars of the Acura instead of the normal side mirror placement, took us a bit of driving to get used to the new location.

There was also rear cross path detection, again helping whenever backing up the vehicle and a forward collision warning system. The safety addition that really intrigued us was the Lane Keep Assist that would literally keep the vehicle in the center of the travel lane as long as there were lines on each side. The technology worked better than any of the few that we have driven in the past that allowed the vehicle to drift from one side of the lane to the other before announcing to the driver to replace his hands on the wheel.

The TLX would just stay right in the center and on our drive to Moab as long a Craig had his hand on the wheel it would continue to make small corrections to keep the car centered in the lane. At first this was a little hard to get used to but he ended up really liking the way it worked with the TLX almost driving itself at points during our journey. The TLX can also be upgraded to come with an adaptive cruise control, and yes then it almost could drive itself with very little help from us humans. Eerie and cool thing at the same time!

Of course there were all that standard luxury items we would have expected from Acura, leather heated seats that were very comfortable to be in for the extended four hour drive. Dual zone climate control, heated mirrors, auto dimming rear view mirror, rain sensing wipers, driver memory seat, SMX texting functionality, along with a way to connect Apple phones via Siri, and who wouldn’t want her help with just the touch of the voice command button on the steering wheel.

An addition that was different from any other vehicle we have driven to date was the inclusion of two large screens in the center dashboard, one inset higher in the dashboard that was great for keeping the navigation running on, and was controlled by a wheel like device on the center console. There’s also an equal sized touch screen just underneath the other screen that was used to control the audio and climate and other vehicle functions.

At first it seemed this was almost too much video on the dashboard, but after taking the TLX to Moab, we really came to rely on the two screen and never had to change from navigation to climate control. This was very handy when we were trying to get to a certain point on our voyage. There are some that don’t like this dual screen set up, but for us…. more technology is better. It’s kind of like having two computer screens to work from, one never thought that two would be necessary, but in the end it is always a more useful situation.

In the end, we were grateful that we chose to take the Acura to Moab for a quick overnight trip, it turned out to be a way to really get to know the vehicle inside and out, and we would highly recommend looking at the TLX if in the luxury sedan market. After our week with the Acura we took a look at the price point and found it to be less than we would have expected. For and exhilarating ride and technology that just won’t quit, see the new TLX today at Mike Hale Acura in Murray or Jody Wilkinson Acura in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.

Base Price: $35,000

Price as Driven: $36,420