Contenders

MOTORTREND PERFORMANCE VEHICLE OF THE YEAR 2022

- Scott Evans, Alexander Stoklosa, Mike Floyd, Jonny Lieberman, Edward Loh, Mac Morrison, Christian Seabaugh,

2021 Acura TLX Type S

PROS Looks the business. Good on a back road at reasonable speeds. Neat screen animations

CONS Sloppy, inconsistent on-limit handling. Light-switch brakes Underwhelming engine

We were as excited as anyone to see Acura's venerable Type S performance subbrand make its triumphant return after a 13-year absence. But in our closed-course Performance Vehicle of the Year testing, the TLX Type S was a resounding disappointment.

Based on our previous reporting, this verdict surprised me. Past street drives had convinced us the new TLX Type S was a legitimate sports sedan that could just use a little more power. In our PVOTY testing, though, we discovered its street moves don't at all translate to near- or on-limit handling. What works at quick but reasonable speeds on a back road falls apart when you push the car hard on a track.

Far and away our biggest source of frustration was the inconsistent Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system. Despite knowing the Type S carries 59 percent of its hefty 4,100 or so pounds on its front wheels-and as such needs to be driven like an FWD car-and despite knowing the torque-vectoring AWD system won't kick in until power is applied, judges couldn't provoke consistent responses from the car.

"If smooth is fast, then this is the opposite," senior features editor Jonny Lieberman said.