QOTD: Is the Acura TLX's Facelift Too Little Too Late?

The Acura TLX did not start poorly. When the TL/TSX replacement arrived nearly three years ago, we asked whether the TLX could restore Acura’s car business. First month results were strong.

The next month, the TLX’s early results suggested that, by Acura standards, the core Acura sedan might be a hit.

The Acura TLX then produced some very impressive results in just its third month of availability. In fact, so great were those results, when nearly 5,000 TLXs were sold in October 2014, that Acura has only exceeded that total once in the 28 months since. Instead, TLX sales have rapidly declined, sliding 5 percent in 2015’s fourth-quarter, plunging 21 percent in calendar year 2016, and falling 19 percent so far this year. TLX sales have declined in 14 of the last 16 months, year-over-year.

But 2017’s New York International Auto Show will host the reveal of a refreshed, facelifted Acura TLX next month. Acura says the TLX will feature “a design direction that has already successfully influenced the styling of the 2017 Acura MDX.”

U.S. sales of Acura’s car sales are down 27 percent this year. The Acura brand is down 13 percent. The loss of more than 1,000 TLX sales in just two months is a big factor in the brand’s decline.

Is a refreshed Acura TLX way too little, way too late?

Quick, spacious, and handsomely equipped, the TLX can be had with different engines and transmissions as well as front- or all-wheel drive. Compared with premium rivals, the TLX is affordable, as well. Priced from $32,950, the TLX’s base sticker is thousands of dollars cheaper than the price of top-selling German rivals.

Plus, while as bland as plain rice, the Acura TLX was never incompetent. It handles well, rides very well, and is reasonably efficient. True, the shifter can be annoying and it’s not a particularly aggressive sports sedan. But on paper, this is far from a bad car.

If only the TLX didn’t feel like a very expensive Honda, perhaps we’d have a winner.

And there’s very little Acura can do with a thorough refresh to turn the idea of an Acura TLX into a more prestigious notion.

With crossovers now accounting for seven out of every ten Acura sales, will a refreshed 2018 Acura TLX be enough to get Acura back on the entry luxury map, or is a refresh way too little, way too late?

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.