Honda was the first Japanese car company to bring its luxury division to North America with its Acura brand back in 1986 with the debut of the Legend sedan and the Integra coupes. Both cars garnered a lot of praise and attention.
Today, Acura faces many competitors in the luxury market and therefore has a more difficult time differentiating its cars.
This is especially true of the mid to higher end luxury market where Acura sells the RL model; a model that has become outdated and no longer relevant.
The RL’s biggest competition was actually its stable mate: the smaller and more affordable TL. As long as you were willing to sacrifice a little rear seat legroom, you could get a TL equipped with many of the same luxuries as the RL, such as Acura’s SH-AWD and an even more powerful V6 engine.
Acura seeks to change that for 2014. Renamed the RLX, the flagship model has a new look, a new name, a lot more interior room and some impressive new technology.
This new mid-size luxury sedan is certainly worth a closer look.
Design
The 2014 RLX is the most luxurious performance oriented sedan Acura has ever offered. It appears a lot more modern than the old RL. Also, it looks larger as well, which is deceiving as it is actually not any longer.
Overall, it is an attractive — if somewhat bland — looking car that looks updated but not necessarily leading edge. The new jewel-eye headlights are beautiful, but they alone are unlikely to draw too many customers into dealerships.
The cabin is a major improvement over the RL. The fit and finish is excellent with expansive use of leather and soft-touch materials. It’s very modern, very luxurious and you feel very pampered inside a RLX.
Under the hood, the RL’s 3.7-litre V6 has been replaced by a smaller 3.5-litre six cylinder. However, horsepower has gone up to 310-hp from 300, thanks to direct injection and numerous other changes.
The RLX is also the first Acura to use Variable Cylinder Management, meaning it can run on just three cylinders to conserve fuel.
As a result, fuel economy is good with a combined rating of 8.6L/100km.
On the safety front, the RLX is built using the brand’s ACE body structure and comes standard with a forward collision warning system, a lane departure system and seven airbags. Blind spot information, collision mitigation braking, and lane keep assist systems are available on the higher trim levels.
Performance
Behind the wheel, the ride is smooth and quiet — perhaps not all that different from cars costing twice its price tag. However, something to keep in mind is that all of the cars in this segment have become softer over the years, and the Acura is no exception. The RLX is not a high-performance sedan by any means and feels different from, say an Audi A6 or BMW 5-series.
The electric power-assisted steering is very light and you could easily control the car with one finger if you wanted.
Even in sport mode, steering response doesn’t feel dramatically different. I wish Acura built-in a bit more sporting feel in the sport mode, especially if it wants to capture audiences from the likes of Audi and BMW owners.
In terms of corning though, the car remains very flat and composed even when driving aggressively through mountainous corners. This is thanks to Acura’s revolutionary P-AWS system. No, this doesn’t mean it’s pet-friendly — it stands for Precision All Wheel Steering.
This system helps eliminate one of the major drawbacks of front-wheel drive cars, understeer, by turning the rear wheels independently. This is an amazing system and it makes driving an RLX especially unique.
The new engine is very smooth and u feels like a larger V8. In manual transmission mode, the paddle shifters change gears remarkably quick and can provide that extra sense of sportiness that is in contrast to its light steering feel.
Environment
Acura designers created a welcoming environment by focusing on little things that add up to larger themes. Minor surprises like the door handles lighting up at night as you approach the vehicle make you smile and feel comfortable.
One of the most important features of a luxury car is the infotainment system, and the RLX has a brilliant one. Gone is the old, cluttered dash with far too many buttons. In its place is a very clean-looking centre consol.
On top is an eight-inch colour display screen which displays the multi-angle rearview camera and optional navigation system.
Below is a seven-inch display unit for the radio and climate controls. This unit features haptic feel, which provides comforting feedback when you touch the screen.
While the RLX is a mid-size car, Acura designed the cabin to feel more like a full-size sedan. It is a comfortable five-passenger car and leads the class in rear legroom and shoulder space. Cargo space is also very generous and will easily carry your entire travel luggages.
For audiophiles, the optional Krell audio system is quite possibly one of the best stereo systems available in the automotive industry.
Features
The RLX is available in three trim levels. The base has a starting price of $49,990, the RLX Tech starts at $55,990, and the RLX Elite has a sticker price of $62,190.
Standard equipment includes power tilt and telescopic steering wheel, keyless entry with push-button start, automatic climate control, heated front seats, auto-dimming rearview mirror, heads-up warning, power moonroof, HomeLink, and Bluetooth.
Additional features, available as options or on higher trims, include navigation system with voice recognition, heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, and heated rear seats.
Fuel efficiency numbers for the RLX are 10.5 city and 6.4 highway (L/100km).
The Bottom Line
The RLX is substantially improved over the RL. It boasts an amazing amount of technology and comfort features for a reasonable price. The big challenge for the RLX is convincing buyers of BMW and Audi to give the Acura a test drive as it doesn’t look overly luxurious from the outside and its overall feel is on the softer side.
