So, I've only driven this thing back from David's at the point, but boy do I have some thoughts.
First, it seems way more extreme than I was expecting. The steering is sharp, quick and has lots of feedback. The suspension, even in non-Sport modes, is firm, with Sport and Sport+ mode bordering on harsh even on our smooth Florida roads. Chassis-wise it honestly feels more like a (well) modified car than something released by a major OEM for normies.
The engine, though, is a bit more sedate. It's powerful, torquey and linear, but maybe even a bit too linear. I love a broad torque curve but the flatness of the TLX's curve kind of takes away the specialness that you get from the rest of the package. And throttle response doesn't do much to help here, either. In Sport+ mode, the throttle response is decent and fairly linear. In all other modes it feels artificially dulled and hurt ever further by a long throttle pedal throw. If they made Sport+ the default setting and went more aggressive from there they may have something. Instead they made the tolerable one the sportiest setting and just nerfed from there.
The 10-speed automatic is okay I guess. Luckily it's hooked to one of the best set of OEM paddle shifters you're likely to find in a non-exotic. The wheel paddles are beefy, well placed and operate with a firm, positive *CLACK*... then the transmission kind of goes "oh did you want to shift okay bro one sec I'm on the phone with my girlfriend she locked herself out of the apartment again and I'm talking her through finding the hide-a-key because we recently moved it from the potted plant to the stone turtle and sheUPSHIFTis looking in the wrong turtle I think." I dunno. Maybe it's better on track at full throttle instead of the half throttle street shifts I was giving it.
Inside is a heaping helping of "be careful what you wish for" because the TLX is just chock full of actual buttons and physical knobs. Unfortunately, they's hard to use, frequently control functions that must first be accessed via the truly awful touch controller, and just haphazardly scattered around the interior. The inside is saved by good ergonomics and great seats, so owners will at least be comfortable while they're struggling with the learning curve of the rest of the interior controls.
Overall, there's some amazing bits here. But they're all assembled in such a way that I can't quite figure out who this car is for. It seems to want to compete with M, V and AMG, but it's not powerful or premium enough to play in that sandbox. So it just sort of end up as the "I wanted a CTR but I wear socks with sandals and play pickleball so this is my guy here" alternative.