We present and analyze the performance of a nonlinear, upwind flux split method for approximating solutions of hyperbolic conservation laws. The method is based on a new version of the single-state-approximate Riemann solver devised by Harten, Lax, and van Leer (HLL) and implemented by Einfeldt. It makes use of two-sided local characteristic variables to reduce the dissipation of HLL by introducing the flavor of HLL into the Steger-Warming flux vector splitting scheme. We use the characteristic decomposition and the method-of-lines approach to construct high-order versions of the first-order scheme and demonstrate their efficiency and robustness in several numerical tests.