The 355-HP Japanese Sport Sedan About To Become A Used-Market Steal

9 minutes reading

Wednesday, 26 Aug 2026 12:00 0 15 autotech

Looking for a used sedan that truly ticks all the boxes for style, comfort, speed, performance, and up-to-date gear is getting harder now that more and more SUVs are taking over the used market. Of course, there are the likes of used BMW sports sedans, older sedans with a V8, and affordable Lexus sedans that have finally dropped a little in price, but getting everything you want is not the easiest task.

Why The Death Of The Sport Sedan Is Good News For Buyers In 2026

Front 3/4 shot of 2026 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

Cadillac

The sport sedan is becoming an endangered species. The current Subaru WRX still offers a rally-bred attitude for relatively sensible money, while the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing keeps an old-school recipe alive with a twin-turbo V6 and manual transmission. But beyond a few exceptions, the choices are getting thin. SUVs and crossovers have swallowed most of the market, and offer plenty of power, higher ride heights, four doors, and increasingly convincing luxury appointments.

We Are Running Out Of Affordable Alternatives To German Sport Sedans

This is leaving us in a slightly awkward position. The German options still set the standard, but models like the BMW M340i, Mercedes-AMG C43, Porsche Panamera, and Audi S6 are hardly cheap ways into performance. Go further down the price ladder and the choices look thinner, especially if you’re looking for a sedan that feels truly sporty rather than simply quick in a straight line. At the same time, the mainstream market is getting better at offering comfort and tech that once helped to justify a Mercedes badge.

This is where the used sedan market is getting interesting. A few years of depreciation can put models that were once expensive luxury purchases into the reach of those on a lower budget. Because performance sedans are disappearing (for the most part) instead of being replaced with cheaper versions of themselves, some of the best-value options are now hiding in the recent used market.

The Acura TLX Type S Is The Real Deal

Front 3/4 action view of 2025 Acura TLX Type S driving on road

With this in mind, the TLX Type S makes sense. As another victim of the growing SUV market in the U.S., the 2025 Acura TLX Type S, as part of the wider Acura TLX lineup, ceased production in 2025. After 10 model years of the TLX, Acura blamed poor sales near the end as the primary reason to drop its four-door sports sedan, and is now concentrating, for the most part (like most brands) on SUVs.

It is not all bad news, though — we can still find the TLX Type S on the used market. As the top-end trim of the TLX, it had a relatively pricey original MSRP of $59,245. Today, according to J.D. Power, the average used price is $53,207, with 80 percent of buyers paying between $47,798 and $58,751 for one.

A 355-HP V6 Gives The TLX Type S Serious Firepower

Acura may not have the biggest reputation for being über sporty, but they did something very different with the TLX Type S. Under the hood sits a 3.0-liter twin-scroll turbocharged 24-valve DOHC V6 that puts out 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque.

Power is routed through a ten-speed automatic transmission, controlled by paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel, to all four wheels for immense traction and sure-footedness in wet conditions. In the real world, this translates to 0–60 mph times between 4.5 and 4.9 seconds, and limited top speeds of 155 mph.

SH-AWD Makes This Acura A Legit BMW M340i Alternative

Rear 3/4 shot of 2025 Acura TLX Type S parked

A lot of us look toward the new M340i as the ideal mix between aggression, fun handling, and speed. But, if you don’t want to pay the $63,200 price tag and want something different to the predictable BMW badge, alongside the perky V6, large-diameter Brembo Brakes and SH-AWD (Super Handling AWD) puts the TLX Type S right in the spotlight.

It isn’t there just to keep all four tires busy when the road gets slippery; it actively helps the TLX Type S turn. By shuffling torque rearward and sending more of it to the outside rear wheel, the system can help rotate the car into a corner, cutting through understeer, while giving this four-door a surprisingly fun edge. So much so that owners who left a review on Kelley Blue Book rate it 4.4 out of 5 for performance, with 85 percent of reviewers recommending it.

Honda Reliability Under The Hood Makes The TLX Type S A Long-Term Bet

Front 3/4 shot of 2025 Acura TLX Type S parked

As the luxury arm of Honda, Acura is one of the marques that balance luxury fittings and reliability very well. The sporty Type S is no different from what you’d expect: it is rated 81 out of 100 for reliability by J.D. Power, and 4.6 out of 5 by owners on Kelley Blue Book.

iSeeCars also rates it 8.4 out of 10 for reliability and estimates that it has a lifespan of 13.2 years, or 154,580 miles. They also report that it has an impressive 18.5 percent chance of reaching 200,000 miles. Something like the M3 has an estimated lifespan of 120,850 miles.

Then there is the cabin. The centerpiece is a 10.2-inch infotainment display, paired with a seven-inch information display, while the console-mounted touchpad keeps the dash relatively uncluttered. It is not overloaded with tech to distract you.

Acura mixes leather, aluminum, open-pore wood, and soft-touch materials nicely, creating a refined place to sit without the cold, screen-heavy look of many luxury sedans today. You can find used models with Milano leather-trimmed seats, while contrast stitching, Type S branding, and aluminum pedals add some classy drama.

Sport Sedan That Fits Five Adults And Still Does 0–60 In 4.5 Seconds

Profile action shot of 2025 Acura TLX Type S being driven

Despite its sporty breeding, the TLX Type S is still a usable beast. FuelEconomy.gov says that you can only get 21 combined mpg, which will cost you approximately $3,600 a year for gas, but it is spacious and something that can be driven every day. There are four doors, five seats, and a decent 13.5 cubic feet of trunk capacity.

Up front, you get 42.5 inches of legroom and 37.2 inches of headroom; in the back, there are 34.9 inches of legroom and 36.3 inches of headroom; and there is a maximum passenger volume of 93.4 cubic feet inside. That means you have something relatively spacious when you want to take road trips instead of just exploiting the turbo V6 and AWD for fun.

2027 Could Be The Sweet Spot To Pick One Up

2024 Acura TLX Type S front-end close-up

While prices have dropped over the past year, the real opportunity with the TLX Type S could come a little later. Acura sold 47,080 TLX models in 2015, but that figure dropped to just 7,378 in 2024, with only 3,634 sold in the first half of 2025. That is a massive fall in demand, and if the usual luxury/sports sedan depreciation curve holds, 2027 could be when the Type S will look particularly interesting.

This is especially the case when you consider that iSeeCars predicts that an average of 10,599 miles is driven a year in TLX Type S models, and with the average 2026 used price of $53,207, it has already lost just over $6,000 in value, or 10.19 percent of its value.

Front 3/4 action shot of 2025 Acura TLX Type S driving on road

Of course, there is no guarantee it will become dirt cheap. The Type S could eventually gain a following because Acura isn’t replacing it with another performance sedan. That’s what makes 2027 interesting for the Type S.

With the Infiniti Q50, Volvo S60, and Lexus IS also disappearing from the market, affordable alternatives to German sport sedans are getting harder to find. If depreciation does its usual thing, a low-mileage, 355-hp SH-AWD TLX Type S could be one of those performance cars that looks like a bargain before everyone else catches on.

The Last Type S Could Be A Used-Car Bargain Worth Hunting Down

The final model year of the TLX Type S deserves attention because it is the last. That doesn’t automatically make it collectible, and there is no guarantee prices will suddenly collapse, but it does give you a useful target. A well-looked-after example with reasonable mileage, a full service history, and no questionable mods is likely to make more sense than simply going for the lowest price. With the Type S’s V6, SH-AWD, and luxury equipment all included, there isn’t much sense in compromising on condition to save a bit of money.

CarEdge says the TLX will depreciate 45 percent over five years, and by 35.2 percent over two years, so if it does follow the same depreciation path, 2027 could bring the 2025 Type S into genuinely tempting territory. Acura’s current lineup still includes the Integra Type S, but the TLX itself has no direct sedan replacement. That makes the final Type S an unusually easy used car to keep on your watchlist: fast enough to be interesting, stylish enough to look good on modern roads, practical enough to live with, and potentially cheap enough to make it look rather hard to ignore.