Middleburg, VA – A sense of hope and accomplishment was in the air, the morning of the 2015 Acura TLX launch. If there was any doubt towards the importance of this vehicle for Honda's luxury brand, it was confirmed by the second sentence of the presentation, “This is one of the most important roll outs in Acura's history,” announced Dave Gardner, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Acura Canada.

The new mid-size luxury sedan, the TLX, will take over for the sports-minded, but smaller TSX and the large and (used to be) in charge TL. This will create a more straight forward hierarchy for customers, as the TLX slots in between the entry-level ILX and the more extreme RLX.

The TLX gets a trim at the top with its height being reduced by 12mm and its length by 98mm from the outgoing TL. The wheelbase stays the same without any sacrifice to the passengers room and comfort. The TLX is a typical-new Acura vehicle with it's polished chrome grille and Jewel Eye LED headlights. The rear is sloped back for a sportier stance geared towards better aerodynamics.

Inside, it's more of a reflection of the RLX and high-selling SUV, the MDX. It's conservative in nature, but seems to not have any pop and sizzle that other competitors in this segment have. It reminds me of a Tupperware party, where the people going are very excited (loyal Acura customers and employees), but if you're an outsider looking in, this interior is just plain bland and boring.

Acura has added luxury touches including wood trim that surround the soft leather, as well as a dual-screen centre console, also found in the RLX and MDX. It helps the interior out, but you just feel Acura could have paid more attention to this. Perhaps, this will come in the refresh.

What they did focus on, however, is the ride quality and handling, and they got this dead on. After driving the TLX back-to-back with the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, it might not win awards in styling, but it sure beat it in terms of handling.

The 2015 TLX comes with two engine choices, as well as an additional all-wheel drive system. The base is a 2.4-litre direct-injected four-cylinder that produces 206 hp and 182 lb-ft of torque, mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Jump up to the 3.5-litre direct-injected V6 and you're treated to 290 hp and 267 lb-ft of torque mated to a all-new for Acura, ZF nine-speed automatic transmission. All of those numbers top the outgoing TSX and TL vehicles. In addition, the V6 version can be purchased with Acura's Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD); while the base and front-wheel V6 TLXs come with Precision All-Wheel Steer (P-AWS).

In the four-cylinder, power is sent to the front wheels through a torque converter. There was a lot of talk and excitement about this, as it balances out the ride without the feel of gear changes. This torque converter created a smooth and comfortable drive and you wouldn't even know, the TLX was shifting through eight gears. The gear shifts are 25 per cent faster and can be adjusted to your liking through Acura's Integrated Dynamics System (IDS) that can adjust between four modes (Normal, Eco, Sport and Sport-plus).

The steering in the 2.4-litre was exceptional through the windy roads of Virginia and into West Virginia. The amount of power seemed to work well with P-AWS leading to a smooth and quiet ride. You didn't need much steering motion to zigzag around those curves.

In the V6 versions, Acura has set-up a cool electronic gear shift that has push buttons, instead of your typical shift lever.

For the front-wheel V6, things got a little different in terms of power, but the steering stayed with it. It comes with a different steering feel, but you still feel one with the car and are able to manage those tight corners with even less steering motion. For a V6, the TLX seems a little too weak at times. It's responsive at higher speeds, but lacks some initial acceleration at early gears.

The V6 with SH-AWD brings it altogether delivering exquisite handling and tons of grip. It creates a fun, yet safe drive with a feeling of control throughout your journey. Torque vectoring is working overtime here, providing the driver and its passengers a calm and enjoyable ride.

If you're wondering about the brakes, they work just fine after a deer decided to test them out at speeds of 80 km/h. Thankfully, I was able to stop on a dime and the deer found its way safely to the other side of the road.

Overall, the 2015 Acura TLX is one to watch in the next five years. It's early to think that the TLX will catch on fire in a segment that has some big hitters including the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A4, BMW 3-series and the Infiniti Q50.

Acura needs to be applauded for replacing two fading away sedans for one super-handling and reasonably priced luxury hauler. The TLX 2.4-litre starts at $34,990, while the top-of-the-line 3.5-litre V6 SH-AWD goes for $47,490. The two P-AWS vehicles are expected to go on sale in late August and the SH-AWD will follow later in the fall.