RLX-Sport Hybrid

I picked up the MDX Sport Hybrid this afternoon! Very exciting! Details to follow after I get more drive time. The deal was not as good as I planned, but it did not matter. I'm happy.

holografique

Nice color combo sir. Gonna be a helluva lot easier to keep clean than the Blackbird. I've been loving the silver on my ILX. I can't even begin to count how many hours I've saved alone compared to washing my damn black RLX all the time

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I will be taking just as good care of this new addition as any other vehicle I have owned. I'm a total nut job about it! When I turned in the "old" MDX, another customer there thought I was test driving a new MDX, not realizing that was how I was giving it back to the dealer. I asked them not to wax the new vehicle as I have my own process to take care of the paint and I don't want to have to fix swirls most car prep dudes put into the paint. I will work on it over the weekend and then it will be perfect! Pictures will follow once I am done.

MegaAutoBit

WOW!! Congrats on the purchase. You are a lucky man!

Since you are now officially a poster child for Acura, you should make your own Sports Hybrid commercial. We all know Acura needs all the help they can get in that department.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Now if I could just convince my wife that we "have to" get an NSX.... Not bloody likely in this lifetime. Thank you sir! Acura corporate! You need people like me to be a voice for future product development!

neuronbob

Congrats!

Jakes_tl

Congrats!

Pens Fan

Congrats as well and looking forward to your driving impressions and comments.

miner

Enjoy your newest SH. Acura should listen to the owners if they want to improve their rankings.

pgeorg

Congrats my friend! I wish you many healthy, safe, and happy miles with it!

Limelight

Congrats. Looking forward to seeing pics of the mirror finish on that silver paint!

hondamore

Congratulations on the new addition to the family RLX-Sport Hybrid!! I'm looking forward to additional driving impressions once you get a chance to drive it for a while.

So far, it seems like the MDX Sport Hybrid is just like a regular MDX only faster, smoother, quieter and with much better gas mileage. Waiting to get one for my wife is going to be very difficult. I've made the initial call to my Acura sales manager to give him the heads up that I'm looking to buy, but he said it will be a while until any discounts are available because the MDX is a very popular vehicle around these parts.

sri_gondi

Congrats. Looking forward to see the pics of the new one and both together..

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Thank you all! Now if it can just stop raining around here... I feel very fortunate to be able to enjoy such luxuries. Having two of these are definitely not on the "need" side of life. But it is fun to enjoy them. Of course feedback will be on the way as I spent more time with it. There are real differences to report, but I fear that if someone just gets into it, having not enjoyed an RLX SPort Hybrid before, they might miss some of the subtle nuances.

JonFo

Congrats, look forward to more comparison reports. I love your writing.

AP8ESQ

Congrats! If I may ask - are we talking lunar silver metallic? I saw that color last time my SH was at my dealer for the wonky parking brake issue and must say it is a nice combo with the ebony interior (then again I may be biased...). Health and many happy miles for all!

getakey

Congrats - look out for bats

fsmith

Use it in good health, RLX! I almost wish we had a need for an SUV. Maybe there will soon be another smaller Sport Hybrid model to replace my wife's '14 TL.

i do worry about you, however. Keeping the surfaces of two Sport Hybrids in perfect condition may eat up a lot of your weekends!

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Yes sir!

RLX-Sport Hybrid

So here are some additional impressions:

In the last MDX my wife typically saw 19.5 to 20 mpg in typical driving to work. Today in her first day with it she produced 26.9 mpg and she does not know how to maximize the mpg yet. I drove the same route tonight to see what I could do for the same trip and I produced 33.8 mpg round trip with about 50% in EV mode (about 18 miles each way with about 7 miles on the highway each way). I am very impressed with the overall smoothness of the throttle and braking inputs relative to the RLX Sport Hybrid. The best way to try to describe the input differences are to say that the MDX SH feels analog, while the RLX SH feels digital. Sport mode, brake hold and S1 in the MDX SH is way more brisk off the line than just plain sport mode or what we might call eco mode in the RLX SH. However, the wonderful torque we all love in the RLX SH and the immediacy it produces, is muted in the MDX SH. Clearly it is less in volume, but it seems that the programming is slanted towards smoothness of delivery, rather than performance. Thus my recommendation that people look at it as a luxury hybrid, not a sport hybrid by name. The brakes are strong relative to the traditional MDX, but definitely less firm than in the RLX SH. An interesting item to note is the EV power delivery. It is different in the same turns at the same speeds, steering and throttle inputs between the MDX and RLX hybrids. For example, in a turn where I would typically drive at 40 mph, the RLX SH would immediately display 1-2 blue bars of discharge on the outside real wheel, and 1-2 green bars of regenerative charge on the inside rear wheel. In the MDX SH at the same speed, steering and throttle input, it showed 1-2 bars of discharge to both rear wheels at the same time. If I was traveling at 45 mph in the same turn, then the 2-3 bars of blue discharge and reciprocal green regenerative charging was displayed on the rear wheels.The EV mode is easier to trigger and run longer in the MDX SH, and the battery seems to charge faster than in the RLX SH.Back to the dampers. OMG they are awesome! I think they are as close to an air ride suspension or the magna-ride shocks in the Cadillac models with them as you can get. Now I would not say the MDX SH rides like an S-Class MB, but it is absolutely superb over the bumps and is just a joy to drive. You feel the bumps faintly, but do not hear the suspension unless it is a significant object or bump you are dealing with. The higher sidewalls and lower speed rating (softer more compliant sidewalls) of the tires may also play a part in this ride experience.The AC in the seats are great and can be linked to the auto AC system, but because the motor system is so quiet, even on the lowest setting, the seat and vent AC noise is noticeable. I doubt most would notice it in a non-hybrid system because that is inherently more noisy by comparison.I have not found that there is setting to adjust the brake force like in the RLX SH. If it an option, I have not found it yet.The steering is spot on in the MDX SH from my perspective. Less “boosted” than in the RLX SH, not that I am complaining. The transmission is identical in operation to the RLX SH…..awesome!

The transition from EV to ICE motor engagement is way smoother and more quiet in the MDX SH.Overall the power delivery is tuned to be more linear, while the RLX SH has way more throttle input options in regards to the experience it produces. The seats are great front and rear. The leather is a slight step up from the RLX SH, and it is very good in that car so that is saying something.The gas cap is not as easy to insert the gas nozzle as it took a little finagling to get it to work. It is a little difficult, but maybe that will be different over time. I know that sounds stupid, but it wasn't easy to use it the first time when I topped off the tank from the dealer. The lighting package is superb……period.

The interior lights are also excellent, especially in the foot wells.The glove box has more room in it than in the last MDX we had. Spare tire is optional.

Power ports are everywhere. I counted at least 7 USB ports and 3 plug ports. if there are more, I have not discovered them.The center console in the 2nd row is a winner. The heated seats for the 2nd row will keep Ms. Daisy happy back there. The heated steering wheel will help my wife in the winter with her near constant cold hands. I have not tried the cruise control options yet.

That is all for now.

pcloadletter

Sounds like Honda did their homework. Not sure if the RLX can command a premium price. Impressive MPG with the MDX, I only see above 30+ if hypermiling with the RLX. I wish the RLX had adjustable dampers like the NSX and MDX, hopefully in the MMC.

AP8ESQ

Beautiful choice! My mother has the 17 RDX in lunar silver on black. It's just a shade darker than my SH (silver moon 2014 color) and hopefully just a bit easier for you to keep sparklin' like the blackbird!

HDNBenjamin

Congrats! I wish I could get the RLX SH as my daily, MDX SH for family, and new NSX for the weekend. You've got 2 out of 3 so that's pretty good.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Friday afternoon and evening I will dig into my paint prep process on the new vehicle. Once I have that done, pictures will follow.

wstr75

Your review above said: "the programming is slanted towards smoothness of delivery, rather than performance."

Honda/Acura apparently learned from the field experience with a small population of RLX hybrids in the field and made adjustments to the MDX hybrid power management/powertrain. The next iteration of the RLX hybrid (model refresh?) surely will have those improvements. I like everything about my RLX hybrid except the hesitation in transitioning into reverse, the hesitation from stop on a hill and the time interval needed for the camera to come on from pushing the power button and backing up. I have to remind myself to push the button, push reverse and and wait a few seconds until the camera becomes active. I chalk it up to software programming and needing a bit faster processor loading sequence.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

You are absolutely right on the money. The reverse issue is resolved in the MDX SH. As soon as I click on the reverse button, even if it is in EV mode at the time, the ICE kicks in immediately as well as the camera function. Problem solved. The infotainment system does seem to be faster to respond thus far from what I can report. As a foot note, last night when I came home from the grocery store, for the 3.4 miles, 3.1 of those miles were in EV mode. I think the mpg it registered for that trip was like 50.2 mpg. I have seen over 60 mpg in the RLX SH on the same route driven in the same manner. As long as the engine is pre-warmed, starts out in EV mode, and since that particular ride is more down hill than up, I can repeatedly reproduce that mpg performance. So far we are seeing for this first tank about 27.3mpg for the first 150 miles. The needle just moved off of the full mark. It says it range to empty is 425 miles. I don't hold a lot of stock in that figure, but it does give an idea to how the system is operating. I'm still very impressed.

This evening I will begin my paint treatment process so once I get my hands on the sheet metal I will report if there is anything that the eye misses that tactile touch discovers in the design updates on the vehicle.

bazoulay

Congratulation on the new MDX Sport's Hybrid!!!! Will definitely consider changing my wife's 2016 MDX for this New Sport Hybrid. She fell in love with the White and brown interior. Will be pricey because hybrid MDX comes only in Elite trim in Canada which is the most expensive one..

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Wow, I enjoy reading your reviews in a major way.
I'm curious to go test drive one of these.

Enjoy it!

neuronbob

Nice job on the review. Go repost your additional comments in the MDX section, they will be appreciated there as well.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzp...ew?usp=sharing

Of course I finished the detail, and then it rained again!

AP8ESQ

Lookin' good!

pgeorg

They look GREAT, as expected

miner

Test drove a SH this weekend after getting a regular MDX as a loaner while RLX is being maintained. My wife is not a SUV person but she loved it. Would probably consider trading in the '15 TLX Adv since we want to keep the RLX. Her choice of color is the Black Copper Pearl with Espresso interior.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Miner, we looked at that color combo and were leaning towards it originally, but when my wife saw it outside in the natural light, she felt it was too brown in color for her liking. I really wanted the interior color that comes with the white outside paint. I hope my descriptions have been helpful to you and others considering the MDX SH as a replacement for another car they already have.

miner

Thank you . Enjoy your other Hybrid - cousins in the stable together.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

It is a tough decision to figure out what Hybrid to take when heading out for the day. High class problem. I'm blessed to have that luxury.

As cool as that decision is, it was not long ago that my injuries from being rear ended in our 2014 MDX were such that the act of just getting out of bed was too much to deal with. My spirits were dashed and I was feeling hopeless that I might not ever feel good again, so in hind sight and keeping perspective, I'm glad to be well and have a simplistic choice of enjoying these automobiles with my family. May we all have uneventful driving experiences with no close calls, no animal/car interactions, or careless people who damage our personal property we work very hard to acquire and pay for.

Safe driving everyone!