The Acura TLX Type S & Lexus IS 500 F Performance, Pitted Grille To Grille Against Each Other

Acura and Lexus have both released very stunning sport saloons that have been turning heads and grabbing attention of fans all around.

Hence, Caricarz has pitted these two brands’ latest iterations against each other, and to see how they fare in comparison, we dissected aspects of their builds to determine the champion

Rolling it off, the contenders from each brand comes in the guises of the 2021 turbocharged V6, Acura TLX Type S and the 2022 fire-breathing V8, Lexus IS 500 F SPORT Performance.

Gandering at both of the overall exterior build, the Acura is slightly longer and wider than the IS, which is 234 mm longer and up to 76 mm wider.

Styling wise, the 2021 IS has been said to be one of Lexus’ best designs. It features a revised spindle with bulging fenders, a wide rear end with stacked quad exhaust and an athletic side profile that looks gorgeous.

Mixing the right amount of contemporary styling contours with menacing details makes the IS 500 F SPORT Performance arguably the best-looking vehicle in its segment.

Moving over to its rival, the TLX Type S is no slouch either. It features Acura’s ‘diamond pentagon’ grill, a long hood that helps hide its FWD underpinnings, swept-back coupe-like roof and short rear minimal decklid.

Unique to the Type S trim, it upgrades the silhouette with dedicated front and rear bumpers with sporty lip kits and a quad exhaust, making the Type S more appealing than it already is.

Then, getting paired with the optional split 5-spoke wheels with red brake callipers, the Type S certainly looks the part and portrays an overall menacing presence.

Interior wise, even though the IS 500 F SPORT Performance features only minimal overall changes but being a Lexus, it still offers the brand’s renowned luxury interior upholstery at its finest. 

However, it does get one major upgrade, which is a 10.3-inch touch screen infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

On the contrary, the TLX Type S benefits from being an all-new design. It comes with ambient lighting, ELS Studio 3D audio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on a 10.2-inch screen without touchscreen capability. Overall, it adorns a design that just seems fresher than the IS.

Taking a look inside the chassis, the IS 500 F SPORT Performance seems to have the specs and firepower to put the TLX Type S squarely in its rear-view mirror.

Weighing in at 3,891 kg, the IS 500 F SPORT Performance harbours a 5.0-litre, naturally aspirated DOHC 32-valve with Dual VVT-i V8 engine that generates up to 472 hp of power at 7,100 rpm and 395 Nm of torque at 4,800 rpm.

All that power is then transmitted through an 8-speed direct-shift automatic gearbox paired to a rear-wheel-drive with Torsen limited-slip differential drive system, which can dash from 0 - 100 km in just 4.5 seconds.

In the other corner, weighing in at 4,221 kg, the Acura TLX Type S underpins a 3.0-litre turbocharged DOHC 24-valve V6 engine with an output of 355 hp of power at 5,500 rpm and 345 Nm of torque between 1,400 rpm to 5,000 rpm.

The power it generates gets transferred through a 10-speed automatic transmission paired to the Super Handling all-wheel-drive system, which dashes from 0 – 100 km in 5 seconds.

With all of that in mind, after comparing horsepower, torque, drivetrain layout, weight and engines, the IS 500 F SPORT Performance is more of a raw performance machine, while with the TLX Type S, Acura has put together a compelling all-round package that’s just not quite as aggressive.

After considering all the aspects between the TLX Type S and IS 500 F SPORT Performance, rooting for a more performance-oriented car is always the better decision, and for this instance, it’s a clear-cut case of who is the winner.

To concur, Lexus might be late to the turbocharging trend in performance cars, but the classic combination of a meaty, naturally aspirated V8 and rear-wheel-drive is just too good to turn down.