What exactly is the Type S, and why is it different from the Type R that has become so popular as of late?

The Type S is made to keep all the luxury that normally comes with one of the Acura vehicles while adding additional power, braking and cornering abilities that one would not normally see in the standard vehicle. The Type R is more about adding as much power and punch as possible while not worrying about the comfort level for the everyday driver. We think of it more as a race-type vehicle designed mainly for the track experience on weekends and not for the everyday drive.

While the Type S would be perfectly capable of handling track-type driving, it would also provide a nice, comfortable and controlled daily driver that would have a huge amount of power injected if set to Sport or Sport+ mode.

Why the Type S went away after 2008 was not a discussion on the Acura media site, but we would guess the economics of the time had something to do with it. We are very glad they kept the standard alive.

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Fast forward to 2021, and Acura is introducing the concept again, first into the TLX and soon into the new MDX. Both of these received complete makeovers for the 2021 model year.

The TLX Type S comes with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine made of aluminum and constructed specifically to fit in the space allotted in the beautiful new TLX body. This new power plant produces a whopping 355 horsepower and 354 foot-pounds of torque, with help coming from a single twin-scroll turbo charger.

The package is connected to the wheels via a quick-shifting, 10-speed transmission with standard torque vectoring and super handling all-wheel drive, another first in the Type S department, and included Brembo brakes all around.

The new Type S has been touted as the best-performing Acura sedan ever with a zero to 60 time of just five seconds. It boasts a top speed of 155 miles per hour, all in all doing much better than the standard TLX, which we found to be quite entertaining in and of itself.

As we mentioned, the TLX Type S is not all about speed. Simply taking the TLX out the first night we had it was quite an experience in itself as the exterior lighting is all LED with both wrap-around headlights and tail lamps that give the vehicle a very aggressive — or, better yet, performance-based — look. They were all part of the Type S package.

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The interior is also literally laced with white LED strip lights that curve around the cockpit and provide a very unique look in the dark. With these lights and the beautiful, deep maroon leather-clad seats, the mood was set, and we loved every minute of our nighttime drives.

As always, we found the Acura to have one of the best Lane Keep Assist features that we have driven. It would keep us centered in the lane and, in conjunction with the adaptive cruise control, at the proper speed behind those in front of us.

We first encountered this technology five years ago in the same model as a new addition from the automaker. We were impressed then while taking a trip to Moab in the TLX, and it has gotten only better since. It is so nice to have a car that stays in the lane and be confident that the system will work flawlessly as it does in the Acura line.

The TLX comes with Acura’s new True Touchpad Interface that connects the user to the infotainment screen instead of having a touch screen installed. The touchpad is located in the center console within easy reach for the driver. It functions like a touch screen by placing the cursor exactly on the screen where the driver puts his finger.

This device is somewhat like the setup in a Lexus where the user can swipe and pinch to move an icon about the screen to get the desired results (changing the radio station, setting navigation, etc.). It was hard to get used to during the first few days knowing that you had to move your finger to the correct point in order to start.

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We found ourselves wandering through the wrong stations or menus until we really got the hang of it. It is an ingenious system and works well; it just took some thought to get used to it and remember how it worked, as we are so accustomed to touching the screens on many of our other devices.

Of course, the seats inside were both heated and cooled, and there was a heated steering wheel, adding even more creature comforts to the performance package. We also enjoyed the wireless Apple CarPlay and integrated phone charging pad that came in the Acura.

We fell in love with the new Type S in what turned out to be too short of a week with the performance-packaged Acura.

Base price: $53,100

Destination charge: $1,025

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Price as driven: $54,625