The Acura TLX Is the Latest Midsize Sedan to Get the Axe
Acura is discontinuing the TLX midsize sedan due to declining sales as customers prefer SUVs. The TLX, introduced in 2015, replaced the TL and saw peak sales in 2015. Acura will continue with other models like the Integra, which comprises 40% of its entry-luxury sales.
This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next
The TLX, as you'll recall, enjoys a rich lineage stretching back to Acura's TL sedan—itself a successor of sorts to the original Acura Legend. The TL first appeared in 1995 as a biggish front-wheel-drive midsize premium alternative to the Honda Accord; the TL's second generation grew sleeker and sportier (even gaining a Type S variant); next up was the surprisingly Italianate third-gen model that resembled (if this makes any sense today) an Alfa Romeo as designed by Honda.
Finally, the TL line died with the brutalist fourth-gen model, which was the first to introduce Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) to the TL family—you could even buy a TL with SH-AWD and a six-speed manual transmission. Acura then replaced the TL with the TLX. Wearing a mashup of past TL styling cues, the TLX was sporty, if not as much so as past models. You could get SH-AWD again, but only with the heavier six-cylinder model; four-cylinder versions were somewhat more fun to drive, and included an acronym of their own: P-AWS (Precision All-Wheel Steer), a clever rear-wheel steering system that could tighten the lively TLX's line.
That first TLX lasted from 2015 to 2020 and was replaced by the TLX you know today for the 2021 model year. Acura went with a sportier vibe yet again, combining available SH-AWD with a new Type S variant powered by a 355-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 engine. Despite its dramatic look and decent performance, the second-generation TLX and torch-carrier for the TL lineage saw continued sales declines.
Figures provided by Acura show that the TL's annual sales peaked in 2005 at 78,218 before falling off steeply through 2014, the year it was replaced by the TLX. Sales of the TLX peaked one year later, far sooner than the TL's (that model went on sale in 1995 and took a decade to reach its best year). Sales then steadily slumped through 2024, when TLX sales totaled a mere 7,478 units. Acura says production of the TLX will stop later this month.
Still, as Acura points out, it sold over 1.2 million TLs and TLXes over their 30-year run. And though the TLX is unapologetically being killed off because of poor sales due to those pesky SUVs, Acura isn't dropping cars entirely like some brands. The smaller Integra is selling strongly, apparently making up 40 percent of all sales in the entry-luxury space, and it offers a six-speed manual transmission and a hotter Type S variant based on the Honda Civic Type R. And who knows? Maybe the NSX supercar will see a successor?
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