2015 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid: TEST DRIVE

Relatively speaking, there is a disproportionate imbalance in the luxury car market of available hybrids to non-hybrids when compared to mainline brands.

Unlike most new automotive technologies which seem to work their way from the top on down, hybrids were introduced to North America through mainline brands first.  Perhaps the presumption was that if you could afford a luxury vehicle, then you weren’t as concerned about reducing the amount of fuel you used.

However, the imbalance is shrinking rapidly as both the economic and environmental attributes of hybrid vehicles begin to draw interest across all income levels.  It’s now to the point where the majority of luxury brands offer either hybrid variants or singular designed hybrid models, and those who don’t likely soon will.

Acura had been somewhat late to the game when it came to hybrids.  Its first hybrid offering was the ILX hybrid which debuted in the 2012 model year and met with mediocre success.  Acura announced a refresh of the ILX for 2016 just last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show and perhaps some of the enhanced styling will give a boost to its first compact sedan since the departure of the Integra back in 2001.

With the launch of the 2015 Acura RLX sport hybrid, Acura shows that it’s committed to hybrids and at the same time, is ready to put out a beefy eco-luxury cruiser that is capable of running with the other heavyweights in its class.  In fact, the new RLX sport hybrid is being positioned as the new flagship vehicle for Acura and is indicative of a strategic direction that aims to blend refinement, performance and eco-responsibility.

The RLX replaces the RL in the Acura line-up, and in so doing has taken an oft-forgotten model and replaced it with one that has the potential to leave competitors running back to their R&D labs.

From the exterior though one might not get that impression.  Aside from the now standard jewel-eye headlights appearing throughout the Acura line-up, there isn’t much ‘Wow’ to the overall exterior design of the RLX sport hybrid.  Hybrid badging is kept to the front quarter, but no other design elements distinguish it from it’s non-hybrid stable-mate.

Go beyond the somewhat pedestrian exterior design and things improve dramatically.  As the idiom goes – it’s what’s inside that counts.

Sit inside the new RLX sport hybrid and its clear that from a comfort-perspective, this car is all luxury.  Premium Milano leather seating surfaces offer a soft and opulent feel.  Instrumentation offers a blend of touch screen with tactile buttons that is generally well-positioned.  There is also plenty of interior room, almost surprisingly so.  Adults would have little difficulty sitting in the second row as both headroom and legroom are plentiful.

The RLX sport hybrid also features Acura’s new fully electronic push-button gear selector, eliminating the conventional shift-lever and allowing the driver to select drive mode (Drive, Neutral, Park) at the push of a button.  In addition, the system will automatically engage the Electronic Parking Brake when the driver selects park and unbuckles his/her seatbelt.  We are seeing an increasing variety of automatic gear selectors, and with that we have varying degrees of appeal.  Lincoln has decided to place it’s electronic selector high on the centre console such as we saw with the MKZ hybrid which makes shifting a bit awkward.  By contrast though, I actually quite liked the form and functionality of what Acura has introduced.

Things become even more enjoyable when you put the RLX sport hybrid into Drive.

The RLX sport hybrid is powered by a unique 3 motor system, that provides solid power with great fuel efficiency along with along with the performance-enhancing capabilities of torque-vectoring all-wheel drive.  The system is actually quite complex, but in the end provides something completely unique amongst all its competitors.

Essentially how it works is that driving the front wheels is a 3.5-Litre, 24-valve V6 engine with Variable Cylinder Management, which puts out 310 hp.  The rear wheels are exclusively powered by a pair of electric motors that have the ability to operate in tandem with the gas engine, as a pair or even independently.  The ability to operate independently provides what in essence is a form of rear-wheel steering.

In Acura’s press material they describe the system this way: “Acura’s SH-AWD was the first system to distribute power side-to-side between the left and right rear wheels, using “torque vectoring” to create a yaw moment to help the vehicle turn by sending more power to the outside rear wheel during cornering, providing for crisper turn-in, more responsive steering and improved line traceability.”

During my week I experienced some of what they were talking about, although on a couple of occasions the back end tended to drift a bit more than it should while making sharper turns.  Road conditions weren’t ideal but in this case I perhaps expected better handling than what I did.

Driving in a straight line though, you get plenty of oomph.  Peak output for the RLX sport hybrid is 377 hp and when you put the accelerator down, you’ll feel those horses galloping.  Fortunately, thanks to the hybrid system, the equivalent V8 power is matched to 4 cylinder fuel economy.  With the new 3-motor hybrid powertrain, idle-stop feature and 7-speed Dual-Clutch Transmission, fuel economy for the RLX sport hybrid is 8.0/ 7.5/ 7.7 L/100km (city/highway/combined).  There will be times when you run on electric power alone, but it’s determined largely by how heavy your foot is and when the computer system feels its appropriate to do so.

During my week of driving it, I managed to only achieve 9.1 L/100km combined after driving it 531 km’s.  I factor some of the variance though to a spell of cold weather we experienced which impacted the numbers while driving with a cold engine.  I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to achieve the posted mark, but I think somewhere around 8.5 L/100km combined is achievable.

Based on posted fuel economy ratings, the RLX sport hybrid matches up very well with both the Lexus GS450h and the Infiniti Q70 hybrid (formerly M35h).

Aside from the complex technology associated with the hybrid AWD system, there is still plenty of technological punch offered with the RLX sport hybrid.  A broad spectrum of driver-assistive technologies is also offered on the RLX Sport Hybrid. Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Blind Spot Information system are standard. Also included are Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, Lane Keeping Assist System, and front and rear parking sensors.

The RLX sport hybrid also offers a Heads up Display system which I actually found to be far less annoying than previous H.U.D. systems I’ve experienced with various automakers over the years.  You can select the information that is projected upwards, and while some options are highly distracting, I found the combination of compass and speed indicator to be quite helpful.

Summary

On the surface, there is an awful lot to be impressed about when it comes to the new 2015 Acura RLX sport hybrid.  Acura has put out a sophisticated and luxurious eco-cruiser packed with enough innovation and technology to keep any engineer buzzing with glee.

As a luxury hybrid, it matches exceptionally well against what I feel are its two most direct competitors from Lexus and Infiniti. I think the possibility exists for even better fuel economy if they were to drop the overall weight (did somebody say aluminum?) but at this point any fuel economy variances between it and it’s main competitors are negligible.

If one can look beyond the rather pedestrian exterior, there is plenty inside to justify the listed MSRP of $69,990, but a huge question exists for me as to whether it will be a commercial success in the way Acura hopes it to be.  Sales over the past few years of the RL have been poor – averaging less than 200 units in Canada per year, so clearly there is work to be done.

The potential for this to invigorate the brand once again is definitely there, but for that to happen I think that Acura needs to more than just build it and assume that people will come.  They’ll likely need some massive road signs directing customers to the dealerships plus a few enticements to get people to give the RLX sport hybrid a try.

I’ll be watching for the road signs.

BY THE NUMBERS (OUT OF 10):

LOOK/DESIGN:                             7.0

DRIVE:                                                8.5

GREEN FACTOR:                           8.5

FAMILY FACTOR:                        8.5

TECH FACTOR:                              9.0

VALUE:                                               9.0

 

OVERALL SCORE:                        8.5

 

Photos courtesy of Honda Canada

 

 

Eric Novak

About Eric Novak

Eric Novak is a father of 4 who also thinks that environmental stewardship is a requisite of parenting. He's not a professional Dad nor is he an environmental scientist, but he's someone who gives a damn and is trying to make the right decisions as he lives his life as a father, environmentalist, part time professor and business owner. Eric has 4 children and resides in Ajax, Ontario.