Japanese sports civil war, brand-new Lexus contrast brand-new Acura TLX

To tell the truth, Germans still dominate the mid-size luxury car market. These companies have been manufacturing sports cars for decades and have been recognized by consumers around the world. However, at this level, brands such as Lexus and Acura still have enough room to gain a foothold. These two brands have also come up with models that can compete with them: IS and? TLX. More importantly, at this key node in 2020, is and TLX ushered in a long-lost big change. The former has updated its appearance, interior and some basic configurations, while the latter is completely based on a brand-new platform. Who can raise the banner of Japanese sports and watch it again?

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Lexus is: if you don't put it together with the old one, it's hard to find out what changes have been made in the new one. In the product concept of Lexus, the right thing never changes deliberately. If you are familiar with the hIStory of is, it is not difficult to find that each generation of new IS is slightly modified on the basis of the previous generation. The effect of the modification is immediate: it becomes more modern and attractive.

Aside from those official words, the new IS slightly adjusted the texture and size of the net compared with the old one, adopted a flatter headlight shape and a more sculptural body decoration, and then added the popular through taillights. If you choose F? Sports version, then 19 inch wheels, more sporty front and rear bumper decoration, and optional carbon fiber tail will make this car more eye-catching, especially with this red paint.

Acura TLX: The size of the new TLX is much larger, and it is more like a compact car in front of it. In design, the new generation TLX is also successful. Although it is a horizontal front drive, the long hatch cover and short tail wing make it have the same rear-wheel drive body proportion as IS, and the visual effect is amazing. The family-style rhombic pentagonal air intake grille has also been continued, and its shape and style have been obviously improved. Headlights are slimmer and sharper, and the side of the car body is more beautiful; There is also a beautiful conical design at the tail, supplemented by the blackening blessing of the A-Spec suite. Its aggressiveness and uniqueness are not lost to IS.

Interior decoration

Lexus IS: It may be that Lexus engineers think that the interior of the old IS IS almost perfect, so the interior of the new IS is basically a "relic" of the previous model, with only some minor improvements, such as a larger 10.3 inch screen and some gray ornaments. However, Lexus IS always has a comfortable and clean interior, and people who get into the car will not complain because all this is too familiar. In addition, the seat performance of IS is the best in its class, soft and high quality? The "NuLuxe" material makes it feel the texture of crushing those German opponents who use artificial leather in all directions.

Acura TLX: Unlike IS, the change of TLX racing car is subversive. A-Spec Suite's unique red Milan leather seat is comfortable and provides strong support. The flat steering wheel in front of the seat also has beautiful red stitching, and the car is covered with a large number of high-quality aluminum buttons and leather materials.

However, TLX has two major problems. The first one is that the driving mode knob feels bad and turns rough. The key shifting mechanism also needs you to spend more time getting used to it. The second problem is its sitting posture. Although the quality of the seat itself is excellent, it is awkward relative to the position of the center console and door panel. If the seat is lowered, the line of sight will be greatly affected, and the whole person seems to be standing on the center console after being raised. Therefore, in the interior experience, IS is much better.

perform

Lexus IS: participating in the comparison? The 350 is equipped with the same 3.5-liter V6 engine as the old model, which can output the maximum output power of 365,438+05 HP and the performance of 380 Nm. If it's not in motion? s？ Driving+mode, almost 4500? The next turn won't give you much passion.

However, the overall driving experience of Lexus IS should be praised. The upgraded suspension of the vehicle at the corner has a decent and smooth posture, a small body roll and excellent front directivity. You can also choose the dynamic processing kit to get the functions of adaptive shock absorber and limited slip differential to improve the comfort and handling of the vehicle.

The most important thing IS that IS has a strong foundation in road driving, and the shock absorption ability of suspension is commendable. Facing all kinds of potholes, drivers will not feel uneasy. Even when driving at high speed, the NVH in the car is still excellent. It may not be the most active, but it is undoubtedly one of the most comfortable.

Acura TLX:? The whole TLX car revolves around the movement, and its 2.0T inline four-cylinder engine IS more powerful than the sleepy six-cylinder engine on IS. Even though this engine can only output 276 horsepower and 380 Nm of power, it provides better low torque and a more surging sense of midway acceleration. You don't need to step on the accelerator like in IS to reach the speed you want.

It is doubtful that the attitude of TLX when cornering is not perfect, the body is too inclined, which will also lead to understeer (after all, it is the front wheel) and the tire grip is not ideal. However, as long as you switch to Sport+ mode, TLX suddenly changes, the steering becomes super sharp, the road suspension can effectively communicate with drivers, and the dynamic response is faster than one and a half weeks.

After the TLX driving mode is adjusted to "comfort" mode, it is like a high-quality road cruise plane. The suspension absorbs all the annoying vibrations from the road, and the steering is light and easy to operate, and the leather seat mentioned above also provides high comfort. However, this double-sided adjustment does not reach the threshold of defining "sports" for BBA models of the same class, but needs to choose a sports champion-TLX.

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The interactive configuration of two cars can basically be described as "pulling the crotch". IS has the same annoying and inefficient interactive system as before, but now it supports Apple? CarPlay and Android? Auto and a 10.3 inch touch screen, but the high probability of misoperation of the touchpad is still the biggest disadvantage of IS.

TLX doesn't even have a touch screen here, and it still relies on the traditional touch screen for operation. Even though Acura engineers have made many settings to prevent misoperation, it is much wiser to give a touch screen in 2020 than to make these fancy and redundant things. If one day Acura engineers want to understand, they will also be scolded by consumers because the screen is too close to the windshield.

safe

Lexus IS: Like many newer Toyota and Lexus products, IS is equipped with the company's latest safety? System? Besides? 2.5 driver assistance system. It includes automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection function, high beam assistance, road sign recognition and advanced adaptive cruise control system.

Acura TLX: Acura Watch is a standard configuration, including automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assistance, lane centering, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection and traffic sign recognition. With Lexus? Safe? System? 2.5? Plus is just as good.

Written at the end: in the field of luxury cars, Lexus and Acura are always at the second-rate level. The above two new cars have not changed this pattern. But it doesn't matter, because these two cars have a place in the market segment, and the price is more affordable but the functions are still rich. However, if you have to choose, one of them will definitely stand out.

The new TLX feels more like an extreme sports luxury car, but is it "new"? IS prefers all-round development. Combined with the keyword "sports" of the title, the final winner is undoubtedly TLX.

Wen/Tie Ge

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.