Just returning from a 7,261 mile vacation trip in the RLX...What a great touring vehicle! Cruising at 75-80 on the interstates was so quiet and the steering was very light and enjoyable.

During the trip we went out to Glacier Park in Northwestern Montana and the use of the P-AWS really showed it's value, very precise handling especially in the "Road To The Sun".

Gas mileage was pretty good and it hovered around 29-32 and probably would have been better had I not been pushing 1,041 miles between Victor MT and Sioux Falls, SD for bedding. I'm very glad my wife enjoyed driving the RLX so much.
Some of the technologies in the RLX (A) proved their worth during the trip:
1. The Crash Mitigation system worked even in fog and kept me out of trouble with a vehicle not seen visually. and the braking system were exceptional.

2. The LKAS can really make a fool out of you, when you think you know what your doing?? Yes, you can turn it off, but looking back on the trip I am very happy I let it do it's thing.
Just realize when your on a narrow mountain 2 lane road with no edge guards or lines it will drive you nuts...

3. Lets talk about the RLX's available power...with two bags weighing 40lbs apiece and a large camera pack weighing about 20lbs and an assortment of other junk and a full tank, when you demand power...the RLX will deliver! I proved that when passing a 18 wheeler on a two lane road and a the top of the hill was a WY State Patrolman, HELLO! Yes sir...87mph sounds about right....Thank you for the "Warning..Sir!

4. Let talk about the Krell Studio Sound System, Totally Outstanding, even if you almost totally deaf , like me but love the tunes!

5. When you make the initial setup make sure to set the wipers and external lights to the Auto position...when the rain starts to fall, the wipers and lights will come on automatically!!

Now for some anomalies with the technologies:
A. With the RLX your given 2 Key Fobs, for me one is for my wife and the other, All Mine, When you pre program almost 150 addresses and their under driver #1 and she activates the door locks with her #2, it will make all those 150 addresses disappear Finding them will be a chore, even if you look at her address book!
No fear, REBOOT the system with your #1 first and all will be restored...

B. The most annoying thing in the RLX is the fact that you must be at a stop to program something, unless you've read and memorized multipage listing od voice commands. That's a lot different than my 09TL Tech, where my wife could program while we were on the fly.
The voice commands functions are great when at a fairly moderate speed, but when your attempting to break the sound barrier and your command is not understood by whoever she is, and you just want to strangle her.....frustrating!

All in All, the RLX is without a doubt the most comfortable and easy driving vehicle I have ever owned. The RLX will provide the owner with a confident feeling regardless of the circumstance, be it weather or road related.

 

at testing the available power in the RLX and getting hit by the state patrolman!


glad you're enjoying her

 

Oh how I wish I had my RL when I drove Going to the Sun Road in Glacier!

 

7000+ miles!? Wow what a trip. I could only dream of such a journey! Thanks for the RLX pros and cons you experienced.

 

...be sure and turn your Auto wiperss to Intermitant before going through a car wash. You don't want your wipers coming on while the chamois is wetting your car - could damage the blades. I have yet to take my new RLX through one though. Hand washes for now.

 

Nice write up. Thanks for sharing!!

 

Sounds like you had a great trip. We love ours also, we only went 600 miles round trip but in fairly flat Florida we got 34MPG.

 

Excellent write-up. Thank you for sharing your trip takeaways with us. Good to hear the MPG held up over the length of the trip.

 

That is an epic road trip! Thanks for sharing. Can't believe the state trooper noticed an under the radar car like the RLX. 87 mph? You sure you didn't make the trip in a CTS-V?

 

The RLX might not win many beauty contests or many drag races, but it is probably the PERFECT car for driving across country in. Thanks.

I am now officially craving some information on the hybrid version.

 

Thank you for the right up, I was wondering what the car would do on a long trip.

 

My step-dad got to drive my RLX for the first time a couple weeks ago while visiting and the very first thing that came out of his mouth after opening it up on the high-way was "wow....I would love to take this thing on a road-trip"

I responded with a resounding "yup!"

 

Thanks for sharing this! Great to see some "real world" experiences with the RLX.

 

Reliability and build quality aren't issues here, just a safe, comfy trip. Coming home safe without having to worry about the car falling apart, getting a tow truck or having to stop by a repair shop (typical of the Euros), you can't put a price tag on that. Stories like this are worth telling your friends, not the crap you hear from the car critics. You hear me, BMW/Audi fanboys?

 

Thanks to all for their responses, we enjoyed the trip so much that were going to take a longer one in the spring...Look out Vegas, Long Beach Yellowstone, and Vancouver...