fsmith

Okay, I have been reading this forum for at least two years, without posting, while waiting for the promised upgrade to my trusty '06 RL. I guess it's time to come out of the shadows and present my new car – 2014 RLX Sport Hybrid #339. And what a car it is!

Briefly about me: I have been buying Acuras since my first '88 Legend (also a great car), and when it was time to replace the RL in 2012, I - and my dealer's ace GM with me - began the strange and annoying journey that has been the RLXh. I passed on the RLX FD because I live in the Northeast, vacation in Maine, and am just too wedded to the SH-AWD of my RL. I was told that when (or if) an RLX SH-AWD ever arrived, I would get the first if I wanted it, and that the GM would do his best to get assigned the color and trim that I wanted. I have observed that many of you on this board have been in a position just like mine - an Acura loyalist waiting for a new AWD sedan at least as good as, or better than, the generation that produced my '06 RL.

So, finally, two weeks ago the single RLXh arrived at my dealer. I was skeptical, and assumed that I would test drive the car and, if it was good, I would continue to wait until the '16s were delivered in the spring, concerned about buying one of only 250 cars produced, sitting in a lot for almost a year, with production stopped for unknown reasons. My dealer gave me the car for the afternoon, with a request to keep the mileage down to 10 (!) in case I didn't buy it (we finally agreed on 50 miles). That incredible drive, and the fact that it was my desired graphite/ebony Advance model, was all it took. A (very) modest good-will discount from list-price later, I grabbed it. I now have 1100 miles on the car and have taken two 400 mile road trips. I am happy.

I don't know if I'll be a major contributor, but because I have learned much from reading this forum, I felt I had to jump in and join George Knighton, neuronbob, Zoomer, Malibu Flyer, and ptbarnett (did I miss anyone?), to make the club a gang of at least six. I especially appreciate George's insights, which generally always feel right on to me. If I can add to the discussion, I will. And if I find anything problematic with the car, I will post. For now, I'm going out for another ride!

(Initial driving impressions to come...)

_______________________
2014 RLX Sport Hybrid #339

Malibu Flyer

Welcome aboard. Hope you do find the time to share some of your experiences and thoughts. If you have 1100 miles already I'd be interested in your gas mileage.

neuronbob

First, welcome aboard. Finally.

Second, your experience with sales mirrors mine. I thought I was going to test-drive, then wait until 2016. Um, yeah, sure......

Third, so YOU were the one who got my first choice color combination!

All joking aside, congrats on the best car that no one else will ever know about. (I think I have the secret handshake down from Malibu Flyer, George and Zoomer now.)

miner

Congrats on joining an elite club. You have a fine automobile to proudly display. The day will come when I too will join the crew. As much as I enjoy my PAWS version I feel the need for AWD.

Pens Fan

Congrats on the acquisition of the RLXh. I find it very amusing that you had the same concerns I have. Looks like a credible test drive is all it takes to take the leap.

acuranj18

Congratulations on the new car! Thanks for the nice write-up on your purchase. Please keep us informed on your driving experience as well.

fsmith

Thanks for the help, bob!

fsmith

Overall review after 1100 miles:

The RLXh's incredible handling (for a 4350 pound car), its strong and smooth power, its rock-steadiness on the highway, and its amazingly quiet ride make this car totally first class. The terrific electronic features (ACC, blind-spot warnings, etc, etc.) are an added bonus to the quality of the ride.

I think Acura has totally nailed it, and it was, to me, well worth waiting for. I do have a slight fear about how new all the technology is (at least all put together in the same car), and a parallel worry about buying a first-year effort of this magnitude. But I bought an extended warranty and a spare tire kit, and I am good to go and not looking back.

I assume, as has been suggested here, that the delay in this car was in getting all the electric motors, gasoline engine, brakes, and assorted other bits and pieces all working together under every acceleration and deceleration situation. But it appears to me that they have solved those problems, as well as the few complaints aired in the Dec. ’13 car site reviews.

For me, that’s all the review that matters. The car drives like a champ.
_______________________
2014 RLX Sport Hybrid #339

fsmith

More random thoughts about the RLXh:

It is very hard for me to come up with anything but praise for this car. Obviously, I am as annoyed as everyone else with the marketing. Two page spreads in national magazines with no cars to sell? Splashy national TV ads? Really? They completely blew it. But the car itself is great. If I am pressed to come up with something I do not like, it would be the reactive force gas pedal, which, even at the low setting, seems to take away some of the sensitivity I used to feel between foot and road. Also, the user interface of the electronics seems unnecessarily slow. And a few glitches in the NAV system that will likely be solved (I once had the cursor flying off the screen when moved manually during navigation, but a restart made that go away, at least for now). Pretty small complaints for a new car of this complexity.

I averaged 29.5 mpg on a 400 mile round trip to NYC. Around town it seems to be more like 25-26 mpg, but I am not a gentle driver, I guess caring more about acceleration than gas mileage.

I, too, was worried about the early reports of limited trunk space, but indeed the depth does allow three side by side maximum length roll-aboards to be stowed. And the back seat is, as in the PAWS, amazingly large.

I was also concerned about the lack of a spare tire, and had been told, erroneously, that there would be no room for one in the Hybrid. Which means, of course, that a side-wall blowout would end a long road trip on a flat-bed tow. Since we do a lot of highway driving, I spent the ridiculous money on a branded spare tire kit. So now I have both a tire repair kit for a DIY tread puncture repair, and an actual spare tire for AcuraCare to put on for a side-wall puncture. And I will then get to where I am going without a tow!

The Krell system is also amazing, and a great place for an old, out of use iPhone filled with 500 CDs of music, which display all their info handily on the audio screen for selection. Seems like a better idea than ripping music to the HDD, which would have to be repeated on the next car! I did find that music on a USB drive is not as useful as on an iPod/iPhone because the artist, album and track info is not displayed as well.

Did I mention that the car is incredibly quiet? And incredibly fast? And handles incredibly well? And SH-AWD while off-throttle! I really liked the handling of my ’06 RL, but this car – while bigger and heavier (even with its aluminum door panels) – drives better and sportier. As I said before, well worth waiting for.
_______________________
2014 RLX Sport Hybrid #339

fsmith

Rereading what I just wrote, I think I may sound a bit like a shill for Acura's marketing department (and they could certainly use some help), but I waited skeptically for this car for more than two years, almost going over to a Lexus GS or a BMW535xi, yet holding on so I could stay with Acura, and I am really blown away by how impressive this car is on the highway and how much fun it is to drive.

_______________________
2014 RLX Sport Hybrid #339

neuronbob

I agree that Acura nailed the driving dynamics in this heavy car. It was definitely worth the wait.

George Knighton

All of us old men sounding like teenagers.

:-)

miner

Have any of the early adopters of the RLXh bought the AcuraCare extended warranty? Courious if there is a difference between PAWS and SHawd prices. For my 8/100/$0 deductible I paid $1850.

George Knighton

In my case, we just rolled over the previously purchased AcuraCare warranty, and there was a little refund that went onto the down payment.

So I suppose it was a little cheaper for the Sport Hybrid.

The 250 volt batteries, the three electric motors, the Power Drive unit, and something called the Intelligent Drive Unit, together with a lot of other little parts, are all covered to 100,000 miles from OEM.

The main thing that is covered is the J Motor, from the expiration of the regular Acura warranty to 120,000 miles.

George Knighton

Now you've got me wondering whether the DCT 7 is covered as a part of the electronic drive units, or as a part of the regular warranty.

0_o

The 47 HP front motor is directly connected to the DCT 7. It is used to smooth out the shifting, and when it is used for propulsion it looks like it works through the transmission.

woropallo

Congrats on your new car! But I am curious, if they only built 250 like I keep reading on this forum why is your car number #339? Does this mean they built more than 250?

Pens Fan

My guess is others were built that were used in last years dealer caravan, magazine reviews etc.

George Knighton

I've started to wonder about that myself.

fsmith

I'm pretty sure that there are not 339 or more Hybrids actually built and on the road, but I can't account for the discrepancy. Mine was built in March of 2014. We know that some were on the road and reviewed in 2013, which of course makes the discrepancy even larger. Anyone know how serial numbers are actually assigned? Are there more Hybrids on a boat somewhere?

Malibu Flyer

The other option is that the first one they produced was #100. Is it written anywhere that they have to start with 001?

hondamore

We also have to factor in the Canadian Acura RLX Sport Hybrid models which are likely done on the same production run. They've started arriving in Canada this month and one of the local dealers here got two of them. This suggests that 100 units across Canada would not be out of the question (AWD is a must have feature in much of Canada, so a larger allocation of AWD RLX's vs FWD RLX's would not be surprising north of the 49th parallel).

woropallo

I wonder if the Canadian RLX SH AWD also has additional features that are not on the American sold RLX SH, like the American vs Canadian RLX PAWS. Just curious?

hondamore

The only features that I can think of that are in the Canadian RLX Sport Hybrid but not the US version are:
- Headlight washers
- Heated steering wheel
- Free maintenance for 3 years (I think this program is still in place)

With destination/delivery cost, the list price for the 2014 Sport Hybrid RLX in Canada is $72,111 plus tax.

woropallo

The Heated steering wheel is on the 2015 RLX Advance PAWS not sure about the RLX SH AWD.

HDNBenjamin

Congrats on your RlX hybrid!

proudMDX

Don't forget the surround view camera system! Pah! I'd love to see the logic behind the decision to limit the system to only Canadian MDX and RLX models. Anyways, congratulations on the purchase!!!

George Knighton

No, not so far it's not, because there's no such thing as a 2015 RLX Sport Hybrid in the USDM. :-(

lumpulus

What dealer in the Boston area did you go with? I plan on going back to an RLX-h when I trade in my '13 ZDX(previous car was an '06 RL like yours) and it sounds like you experience was good where you went.

fsmith

Acura of Boston. Been buying cars there for 26 years since my first Legend. (We also have a 2014 TL that my wife drives.) They - and especially their service department - are first rate and always reliable.

lumpulus

Interesting, thanks...last time I went there, they held my car keys hostage when I was negotiating a trade for a new RSX...they had taken out my Integra and "lost" them when I decided to walk. It took a threat to call the police to finally get them back.

Nonetheless, congrats on the new car, please keep us posted as it ages.

fsmith

Whoa. Sounds like a rogue salesperson run amuck. That is definitely not my experience or the experience of friends I have sent there. The GM (and there have been only a few over the years I have done musiness with them) is always VERY desirous of hearing stories like that, as you might imagine. I'd report your experience (if it was recent) to the top guy; he'll thank you. I have never felt pressured, and I am a pain-in-the-ass multi-test-drive buyer. Except, of course, in the case of the Hybrid, which I bought after one 50 mile ride (and, of course, two years of rumors and waiting!)

dwboston

When I was living in the city I bought a new 2003 TL Type S from them and had it serviced there, and wasn't impressed with either the sales or service experience. I had a horrible experience there on a service visit for a recall campaign and witnessed another utterly ridiculous situation, where they mixed up the cars of two Asian women and never got permission from the correct owner to replace all four of her tires, and then tried to strong-arm her into paying for it under the guise of safety. I'd never buy or have a car serviced from them ever again.

lumpulus

It was NOT the salesman...it was the people in the reception area, AND the sales manager....the GM was the individual I mentioned the police to, which caused my keys to miraculously reappear.

It was in 2002.

fsmith

I guess all I can say is that there have been two new GMs since then, and the sales manager and staff has all turned over. I'm really sorry that happened to you; it just doesn't sound like the same dealership I know. But I do understand how a seriously bad experience like that can sour you on the dealership for life!