2017 Acura TLX, 2018 Infiniti Q50 & 2017 Lexus GS F Sport Sedans

Sometimes it’s a sad fact that developing an automobile takes about five years; right now there are many amazing sedans coming to market, just as everyone seemingly has decided that they need a jacked-up station wagon—i.e. a “crossover” to be fulfilled. But for those who still value a low center of gravity, here are three superb Asian alternatives.

Acura TLX A-Spec

Some deep reflection at Acura has led to a product renaissance that is wonderful to witness. Case in point the TLX A-Spec, here tested in “Super Handling” AWD form. It looks stellar, especially in white, with blacked out trim and wheels. In particular, many find the 3D “expanding” grill audacious without being off-putting. Not since the wedge-tastic TL of the early 2000s has an Acura sedan looked so good. Inside it’s the same story overall: great materials, superbly supportive leather/suede-like seats, trim picked out by red tube lighting around the dash and door pulls. Controls are a mixed bag; the buttons that replace a conventional shifter look silly and are harder to use than a stick, while taking up the same space in the center console. And, the twin screens the company seems to see as necessary for infotainment are confusing, look dated graphically and aren’t as easy to use as those in many other company’s cars. Making up for these lapses in some ways are tactile roller controllers on the grippy steering wheel, which also rock sideways for selecting tracks in audio, adjusting volume and tasking many other functions.

The TLX is quiet and refined (it employs Active Noise Control), and cossets with a generally superb ride, which is even more impressive when you realize that this model has stiffer dampers, springs and lower profile tires than other TLXs. Cornering prowess benefits from these changes as well; the A-Spec is gifted in this regard, with an accurate, well-weighted helm and superb damping. It is also interactive, thanks to the SH-AWD system’s penchant for helping the Acura carve a tighter and tighter line the harder you push it in corners, as up to 100 percent of the 3.5-liter’s 290hp and 267lb-ft of torque can be sent rearwards. This refined powerplant is (like the Lexus GS F’s V8), normally aspirated. While its power output is down in Colorado’s thin air, its linear throttle response and burgeoning power are intoxicating. The nine-speed gearbox is decent but not of the standout expected; while the small ratio steps are appreciated in keeping the engine on the boil, it doesn’t respond to manual control as well as others. Taken as a whole, the TLX is an excellent return to form, and in A-Spec an excellent alternative to sports sedans from more obvious companies like Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

EPA ratings: 20/29mpg; 23mpg combined

0-60mph: 5.7sec

Price as tested: $45,750

Here is what Acura has to say.

2018 Infiniti Q50 3.0t Sport AWD

The updates Infiniti performed on the Q50 sedan last year, highlighted when I drove one for a day in Tennessee, helped make it into one of the more desirable sports sedans in its class. Most of the drive time on that trip was in the top dog, Red Sport 400 model. Closer to home, a week with a more mainstream version gives additional insight into this compelling machine. Optioning the Q50 is critical. While the basic 3.0t Sport is fast, looks good and is excellent value, some upgrades are important to enhance its appeal, such as the Performance Package, which gives you adjustable, adaptive Dynamic Digital Suspension. What you don’t want is the ProACTIVE package’s artificial-feeling, fly-by-wire Direct Adaptive Steering. If you skip this, you can’t get all the active safety systems, but they don’t work as well as the best anyway. Going with the ProASSIST option—yes, there are way too many similar sounding names here—gets you the essentials like blind spot monitors and warnings to help mitigate rear-ending the car in front, while keeping the steering intuitively natural.

The Q50 helm controls a chassis that is firmly buttoned-down yet never succumbs to the kind of reverberating crashes that plague machine’s with less stout structures. The Sport turns in adroitly, and handles in an entertaining fashion up to about 9/10ths pace, at which point it washes into resolute understeer. This is disappointing on those rare occasions when you can really thrash a sports sedan, but not all that relevant in the real world of congested roadways and overzealous law enforcement. The Infiniti’s 300hp V6 is cultured and responsive, and its 350lb-ft from low rpm’s mean that its charms are accessible in most all conditions. The nine speed automatic is an able companion, with excellently judged gear changes in most every mode. The Performance Package’s upgraded Brembo brakes match this powertrain well, with great feel and excellent power.

To these eyes, the Q50 has aged well; its proportions are still pleasing and detail changes to lights, grill and fascias for 2018 keep it looking contemporary without trying to hard, like the (Lexus IS series); perhaps it is too conservative for some in such a shouty age, however. Inside, the Infiniti cockpit remains a fine place to be, with excellent quality, highlighted by substantial-feeling materials (and, in the test car’s case, a groovy diamond-pattern trim for the dash and doors that refracts and reflects light in compelling ways). The twin-screen infotainment arrangement, like the Acura’s, doesn’t work as well as the best from competitors, however. In this regard, the German companies seem to be a full generation ahead, especially the setup in the Audi A4. Both the Q50 3.0t Sport and the TLX A-Spec undercut comparably-equipped machines from Europe by roughly $10,000, making them both excellent value propositions.

EPA ratings: 19/27mpg; 22mpg combined

0-60mph: 5.2sec (est)

Price as tested: $52,410

Here is what Infiniti has to say.

2017 Lexus GS F

Thank you Akio! As in Mr. Toyoda himself, grandson of parent company Toyota’s founder. Car nut and superb track driver, his spirit infuses the GS F in all the right ways. Outside, clock the slotted brake rotors; this is serious race car stuff, in that the slots help keep the discs cooler and cut down on pad transfer, yet don’t crack like more common, cross-drilled rotors. The rigid, multi-piston calibers clamping them, barely cleared by the intricately sexy, hand-polished gray wheels, infuse the Lexus with superb stopping power and great interactivity through the brake pedal. That’s something that can also be said of most other controls, including the feelsome steering, and the gas pedal, which helps summon just the right amount of horsepower to balance the GS F on throttle.

The configurable, electronically-controlled TSD limited slip diff does its part here, metering out urge to the rear wheel that can use it most, for all types of conditions. Too bad you cant save the perfect combination of its setting, along with those for the new Adaptive Variable Suspension’s chassis control, the throttle sensitivity and shift speed, in a single control. BMW does this in real M cars, and while a couple “F” buttons might be considered mimicry, they would alleviate the need for a “preflight” of twists and pushes on multiple buttons before each serious drive. But what nothing can do, apparently, is summon the kind of lighting transmission shifts a twinclutch—or some competitors’ automatics—serve up, especially when using the paddles in manual mode. The epic-sounding induction honk from the 5-liter, 467hp engine is somewhat overmatched at lower revs by the GS F’s size and heft. But once this compelling powerplant is punching past 3500rpm, proceedings take on appropriate urgency, and the Lexus surges ahead in a gloriously old school fashion, hitting 4.7 seconds—at least at sea level.

What really sets it apart is the kind of nuanced ride and handling balance, steering alacrity and superb body control that used to be the sole domain of cars from the Continent and England. In these areas, the GS F surpasses recent Bavarian machines and most anything coming from Audi and Mercedes. Only the very best Jaguars and Cadillacs (yup) can compare. And the Lexus leaves ‘em for dead in terms of solidity and depth of interior quality. Only its mousy infotainment interface detracts; compensation in the form of the 12.3in display and standard Mark Levinson sound system help ease the pain. While the GS F will never be a big seller, it is a wonderful statement of intent and superb sports sedan.

EPA ratings: 16/24mpg; 19mpg

0-60mph: 4.7sec

Price as tested: $87,490

Here is what Lexus has to say.

Contact Isaac Bouchard for help saving time, money and hassle when buying or leasing one at [email protected]

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