For the Canadian Acurazine members still waiting for the RLX to arrive, I was told by a local dealer that the RLX will be arriving "early June". To back up this information, I was sent an invitation to an Acura sponsored track event on June 15th to test drive the new RLX and the new MDX. Those are the Edmonton dates and other areas of the country may vary a bit.

In addition, I inquired about the Canadian arrival of the AWD version of the RLX and I was told, "since we are always a few months behind the US launch, we are not expecting to get the AWD version until the new year(2014)".

Just FYI.

 

I will check my mailbox to see if I get any invitation here in Vancouver!

 

My invitation to the track event may be related to my visiting the dealership and talking to the sales manager. I had my wife's MDX in for new tires (Pirelli Scorpion Verde - great tires so far) and spent some time chatting and loading up on Acura golf balls (got some Taylormade Lethal's from them this time). Sales guys can smell my loyalty to Acura/Honda from a mile away and they know I'll be back for an RLX and MDX (and NSX???).

 

I guess we will see then. Last year I got an invitation to test out the then new ILX and RDX at a track event though.

 

Just got an email invite from Acura Canada for the Acura RLX & MDX Track Event Experience on Saturday June 8 at Pitt Meadows in Pitt Meadows, BC.

 

Cool, let me know how the event goes and if they let you drive both the MDX and RLX or just one. I assume the event is a traveling road show with Edmonton being next on their tour, June 15th.

 

I will be attending an RLX/MDX event on June 8 in Cayuga Ontario.

 

Are you going to the Edmonton one?

On the registration form, I ticked both cars so hopefully I can drive both.

Last year we were given opportunities to drive both ILX and RDX.

 

Look like the weather will be good for test driving this Saturday.

 

^ Same here. Can't wait!

 

So I went to the 9:30am session, hoping that people wouldn't wake up that early on a Saturday morning. I was wrong....there was quite a lot of people (probably 30?). Last year when I attended the ILX and RDX event, there were probably 15 people in my time slot just after lunch time.

The event was held on an airport runway. I feel that both RLX and MDX are decent looking cars in-person. The RLX particularly looks quite elegant. I especially like the white color.

The first test was to sample the ACC and LKAS. To test ACC, I stopped the RLX behind an MDX, activate the ACC and when the MDX started off from the stopped position I hit the resume button and the RLX followed suit and took of on it's on while I left my foot off the gas! The MDX in front came to a stop and the LDX followed suit and stopped on it's own!

Next to test the LKAS, I accelerated to 50+ MPH while keeping in the lane and slowly let the car drift out of the lane and the LKAS kicked in and flashed a warning on the dash and the steering pulls the car back on track. These systems worked perfectly during my test drive.

As we were in a group of 3, we had the chance to rotate where we sit. While trying out the ACC as a driver, I find the RLX to be extremely quiet and comfortable. The instrument cluster is very bright and clear. Everything (steering, pedals, buttons) all feel like they are at the right place. It was easy to find the perfect driving position. When testing the LKAS, I had the chance to accelerate the car from a dead stop to 50+mph. The car felt brisk and got up to speed in a very smooth manner. The engine note was very satisfying. As a passenger of this test, I found the rear seat room to be very spacious. I sat in a E60 5 series long wheelbase version in China a couple years ago, and I'd say the RLX has even more legroom than that 530Li. The materials used are plush and soft in general. After sitting in the RLX, it's easy to see why this thing starts at nearly $50k. The Accord touring feels very cheap comparing to this.

The second test was to drive the RLX in a small autoX layout which consisted an acceleration and deceleration area, a very tight figure 8, and a slalom part. Braking on the RLX felt really stable. The P-AWS was really useful for the figure 8. The system makes the car feels smaller than it is. P-AWS was also quite effective on the slalom course. I like the fact that I didn't have to step on the gas hard to feel the benefits of the system, which is quite unlike the original SH-AWD system.

The third test is driving the MDX on a different autoX layout. First impression when getting inside is that the interior is noticeably cheaper than the RLX by quite a margin. With that said, the MDX is not cheap at all inside. It's just that the RLX is on a totally different level. Before testing the car out, I got my fiance (5'4") to sit in the 3rd row. I'd say space is tight even for her. I tried sitting in the 2nd row with my fiance and my other friend together. My friend and I are around 200lb. We found the 2nd row to be quite comfortable. I like how flexible the seats are. My fiancee was the first to drive in our group while I was a passenger. She drove the car slowly in comfort mode as she was afraid of hitting the cones. The ride was smooth, comfy, and quiet as most would expect from a luxury SUV. While she was driving, I noticed that the center storage area is huge. I think it can swallow a laptop easily. My fiance has a Yaris so it's her first time driving such a large car. The last part of the MDX test was parking to see how the back up cam works. With the help of the multi-view cam, she had no issue parking at all. She's in love with that system.

When it was my turn to drive, I switched over to sport mode right away. Acceleration was noticeably slower than the RLX as expected but still plenty quick. There's also noticeably more understeer than the RLX which again, was expected. Still, I found that there was plenty of grip and the car felt composed for the most part. It's not too hard to find the limit of the car. Unfortuately I didn't have the chance to see how the SH-AWD works in this car as my fiance was screaming crazily at this time.

 

After reading all of these Canadian Acura reviews, I realized that the RLX tech gets a heated steering wheel & the MDX Elite (advance?) gets matte real wood trim. Wonder why they are not options in the US.

 

I took part in the local RLX/MDX track day this past Saturday to get my first look at the new RLX...My observations and comments:

- The RLX exterior does look better in person than in pictures, but still lacks any "Wow Factor".
- I absolutely love everything about the RLX interior - the roominess, the build quality, the technology are all exactly what I am looking for in a car. I am now certain that Acura designers built an ideal interior and then designed the exterior around it which led to some compromises in the exterior design.
- The ride of the RLX is silky smooth, probably the quietest cabin I've experienced and feels composed even when pushed.
- I was able to induce a bit of understeer by pounding the throttle a bit early in the corners, but for a 4000 pound sedan with 4 passengers, the handling was impressive - I can't wait to try the AWD version for comparison.
- The Krell sound system was the best I've heard. I'll admit that I am not an audiophile, but the fullness, richness and detail of the sound was impressive.
- We discovered that the Lane Keeping Assist System doesn't work when the windshield wipers are working constantly (it was raining steadily during my drive)- the sensors looking for the lane markings are by the center rear view mirror and they get blocked by the motion of the wipers. Acura recommends not relying on driver aids (cruise control etc.) when the weather is that poor.
- Regarding the LKAS, it was mentioned that the Acura system is different than other systems...most systems sense when the vehicle is close to crossing a line and then "bumps" you back to the lane center. The Acura system senses where the center of the lane is and then works to keep you in the center of the lane -that is, it doesn't wait until you are getting close to a line to act, but begins to act as soon as you deviate from the center of the lane. Apparently this avoids the swerving from line to line that is seen with some other systems.
- The ACC with Low speed follow was impressive but it does require the driver to click the "resume" button to re-engage from a full stop. I was impressed at how easy it was to change the follow distance and all in all, I think it is a very useful feature.

The test made me even more anxious to try the AWD version and made it even more likely that the RLX will be my next vehicle purchase.

 

I have the exact same thoughts after the event. I didn't get to test the audio though. The interior is very nice and the ride is very comfortable. As I mentioned before, it's so nice to the point that when I hopped in to the MDX, I almost uttered out "wtf" as the interior was significantly cheaper than the RLX.

 

I agree and I had a similar reaction to the MDX when compared to the RLX. The event certainly made me appreciate the value of the RLX especially when I realized that the loaded up MDX I was comparing it to will top out close to $70,000 in price.

 

Did you ask about pricing for the new MDX (for Canada)?

NVM found it on Acura.ca:

MDX: $49,990
MDX Navi: $54,690
MDX Tech: $59,990
MDX Elite: $65,990

*All Canadian models have SH-AWD

For comparison, US MDX SH-AWD starts at $44k and ends at $56.5k. We have to pay so much more for the MDX. In fact, the MDX is in general more expensive than RLX in Canada.

 

To answer your question, I did not inquire about MDX pricing. I won't be buying my wife a new MDX for a few years, so I was primarily focused on the RLX.

For what it is worth, the 2 gentlemen that I did the RLX driving circuit with were both attending the event primarily interested in the MDX and they both said that it was not unusual to get $6000 off the price of an MDX in the past few years.

 

Indeed, Acura has been offering $10k off for the MDX this year. But I have a feeling that's mainly because the new MDX is on its way. The 2G MDX also has a higher starting price at around $53k. I don't think Acura will offer that much discount on the new model until a few years later. I can see $3k off at most for the new MDX at this moment.