mellonc

Please post your full tank of life time avg mpg here. I thought it'd be a good idea to gather real world mpg info on this new model.
If possible, please add city/highway mix, elevation change and your driving style in your daily commute.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Overall mpg for about 2,500 miles is 28.1 mpg. The best I can recall on a short trip of about 10 miles was 39.7 mpg. The worst was 26.7 mpg. It is easy to see a near constant 27 mpg when my wife drives the vehicle. When I drive it I generally average in the 30-32mpg range as I have more experience driving the hybrid drive system than my wife.

mellonc

any elevation change in your daily commute? mine is about 1800 ft from top to bottom. it kills any car's mpg figures by about 10%. What's your driving style?

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Most of the area near me has small elevation changes in the few hundred feet range at the most, more rolling hills. I tend to drive on the conservative side until an "opportunity" develops and giving it the beans is the "right" choice. I have been known to drive like a Hoonigan from time to time, but that gets expensive real quick. For the most part I almost never find the need to floor it and if needed it is only for a few seconds. In the RLX-Sport Hybrid, it is way faster from any speed and that requires serious respect of the "go peddle". Typically I drive like a limo driver would, thus the ability to produce mpg returns greater than the factory specs. It is easy to do and very repeatable in either hybrid vehicle. What I find amazing is that even cruising at 80+mph on the highway over long stretches, does not draw down the mpg by more than 1 mpg over driving at 70mph.

getakey

how do you get lifetime mpg?
I get 26+ on a 80/20 highway/city trip every week (130 miles). On freeway I am doing mostly 75 or more. Refreshingly odd to see mpg go UP when I exit freeway and go about 5 mile in city stop/go. MPG goes from 26.7 to 27.2
After I get home, it is mostly very short trips and mpg drops to ~25 without resetting trip computer.
That said I compared car computer to fillup and car computer seems to be a bit off
My manual calc was 23.5 for 400 miles and car computer said 24.1. That was the 130 mile trip (80/20) plus a number of very short trips.

mellonc

I don't own this model. My current car is Lexus RX 450h which is also a hybrid with a bigger battery (1.9kwh). I'm think of making the switch to an MDX Hybrid.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Travels today produced 30.9 mpg for 191 miles and 474 miles remaining on the range to empty. At one point on the way home for the first 18 miles, 11.3 miles were in EV mode and averaged 39.8 mpg until I got to the highway. That overall trip home produced 32.5 mpg. So I got better mpg coming back than going out.

getakey

with that mpg, you are NOT keeping with the reputation of the Blackbird
I need to give you this linkThe Most Hilarious Story You'll Ever Hear About The SR-71 Blackbird, America's Mach 3+ Spy Plane - Digg

getakey

dang - I thought you would like the blackbird story narrated by blackbird pilot!

TSX69

The vehicle tends to get around the advertised 27mpg. If there is more city driving it will dip down to ~26mpg. Only been 6 weeks and 1,000 miles so I hope that this will improve once the engine breaks in like it has on my other Acuras. No elevation changes or anything dramatically different about its regular use.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I just listened to it! That was freaking awesome! Great find! Very funny stuff.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I forgot to answer your question until now. What I do is only reset the "A" on the trip button when I fuel up, and every 10,000 miles the "B" resets automatically, so I add each 10,000 segment manually and average.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

At fill up today the average for the tank was 30.6 mpg having traveled 502 miles with 151 miles range to empty according to the trip meter. I'm very impressed with the mpg for a sport utility, but the smoothness of the driving experience is remarkable. Truly a completely different driving experience over the regular MDX.

getakey

I don't get near your mpg, but I suspect that my highway miles are 75 to 80. Not that I'm disappointed. I'm happy with ~27 overall. Very short trips on the weekend brings it down to the 25 range, but to be expected.

I totally agree with the driving experience. It is the smoothest car I have ever driven and it is an SUV! The DCT is amazing and ICE on/off is seamless.

getakey

RLX- forgot to ask you what mode you use on the highway - I assume either Normal or Comfort.
I was under the impressions that Comfort does not change any settings that would impact mpg. I'm almost always in Normal on the highway

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I agree totally. What a remarkable piece of engineering. It is hard to decide which sport hybrid to choose to drive. Don't cry for me. I'm very fortunate.

Laostuh

I don't mean to highjack the thread... But I am seriously looking into getting a Hybrid come this December.. Curious to see did you guys lease or finance? There are no good lease deals on the Hybrids at all right now...

mellonc

I thought Comfort setting was just for the suspension? Does it also dial back throttle response?

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I keep it in Comfort mode most of the time. I don't know if that changes the throttle mapping, but I am finding that it is very easy for me to see 30mpg+ in my mixed driving travels. Because of traffic I rarely drive above 75mph in the MDX-SH. However!!!! Last Sunday when my family and I were heading to the airport for a trip to Turks and Caicos (freaking awesome place if you ever have a chance to go), and we were 20 minutes from home, my wife says "did you get the back suit case?" Oh crap followed and we turned around and flew back home to get it. That was the first time I stepped it up for an extended period of driving. So as not to make it obvious to my kids and with my wife's encouragement so that we might not miss our flight, I touched triple digits for a couple of miles by sneaking up to that speed. My kids were none the wiser as they were tuned in to their electronics, but since we were in a hurry and the traffic was nearly zero, it was a calculated risk. My wife and I privately did a fist bump once we made it to the airport about 45 minutes behind schedule, flew through security as it was nearly empty (rare at JFK), and made it to our gate in time. I say this for two reasons in answer to your question. Even at that velocity in Comfort mode, it was smooth as silk and I think that tach stayed below 2,500 rpm during that elevated speed outing (I was not really looking to be honest). The traditional MDX would never had been able to do that in the same way. It is in the effortless power delivery that is a hallmark of this unique power train. Also in that travel stint, the total trip south, then back north to the house and then back south to the airport still delivered 27.1 mpg. The second reason for sharing this is on certain roads that can create a bouncing effect, I typically put it in Normal or even Sport dynamic mode but don't change my driving techniques. It tightens up the suspension for those sections and that is exactly what I want from it.

I thought of one other thing, I hope Acura can have the speed limit for the road we are on at any given time posted on the MID screen like Audi does. That would be helpful.

Oh and lastly, while in Turks, I noticed about every 10th car was an Acura TSX, except it was not an Acura, it was Honda branded as an Accord. Never saw that before. It must be the European model.

getakey

I had trip back from wine country today. Got a stretch of highway where I was always in the 60 to 65 mph range and hit 30+ mpg for the first time ever. I think 2K rpm and ~70 mph is the magic change point. After road opened up more and I was able to speed up to 75 mph, mpg eased down below 30 mpg and kept going down to settle at 27.5 mpg. I also changed from normal to comfort, but doubt that had anything to do with the mpg. The biggest issue at highway speed is wind drag and that increases with the square of your speed. Thus, going from 65 to 75 can have a significant change.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I agree with you on the speed vs mpg calc. I am taking two more trips in the MDX-SH over the next two weekends to end the summer so I will add an additional 1,000 miles on the odometer and it will be entirely highway. This will be a good test of its mpg performance.

Nurseman74

I was looking at the MDX. This is the reason why I really want this SUV later on. Such good gas mileage and power delivery and from what I hear the transmission and the ride is so much better. It seems like a better value compared to other brands. And I think it would make a good complement to my Acura ILX. When I say later on, I am thinking about getting it in 2019 before I leave for Europe in Germany for work.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

So here is something interesting: My wife is consistently averaging 26.9mpg in mixed highway/local driving with her driving style (not as smooth). When I drive the MDX-SH, I see 30+ mpg easily on the same roads and speeds. Thus driving style and experience utilizing the hybrid system provides better overall mpg performance on a given set of conditions. I maintain the transmission, suspension, air management and overall noise suppression are exceptional over the non-hybrid MDX, but I do wish the power delivery was more quirky. What I mean is the engineers have programmed out the unique driving feel the RLX-SH has in spades. It is still miles better than the non-hybrid variant of the MDX, but by comparison the RLX-SH feels alive with the throttle, and the MDX-SH feels more digital. Some might say that it is more refined with the new programing and I am sure the revised RLX-SH will have the same "new program", but I think that is a mistake. The very unique and varied throttle mapping one can enjoy with the RLX-SH is almost completely missing in the MDX-SH. It is still there, but suppressed. Here is an example: When at speed 30-50mph in the RLX-SH, you can apply the throttle lightly where you are getting immediate and more progressive EV thrust(very little ICE rpm change), or you can apply deeper throttle and get a combination of ICE/EV thrust, or apply even more throttle and get a single step down of the transmission, or even more than that and get a multiple transmission step down/slight pause and you take flight (exaggeration). I'm missing better descriptors to explain what I mean. All of what I just described is there with the MDX-SH but it is muted relative to the RLX-SH. Yes there is less overall hp/tq with the same weight, but the driving experience is clearly different between the two applications of the hybrid systems, both awesome.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

501 miles driven this past weekend, averaged 30.2 mpg with 152 miles range to empty when I filled up. Planning on another 600+ miles next weekend.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Update:

This weekend with at least 90% highway driving in the 70mph range, mostly on cruise control and on generally level roads, loaded with 4 people and luggage, I saw 31.6 mpg overall for 665 miles driven and as of now I have 42 miles to empty on the tank as it sits in my driveway. 700+ miles potential range on one tank! WOW! Yes I did top the tank before departing. For a while it was averaging over 32 mpg until I hit some traffic.

getakey

have you validated that against tank fill ups?

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Yes sir. The math is correct. I believe that road conditions, traffic flows and experience with the hybrid system is the key to these repeatable mpg experiences. If it was a one off, that would be different.

getakey

Did my usual 130 mile trip on Tuesday. Went very light on the pedal, slow acceleration if I needed to.
Can not get close to your results, but I'm always 70+
Between 70 and 75, I can get 29, maybe 30
Above 75 to 78, I'm at 27 to 28

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I think the magic speed is 70mph or less. I drove it about 60 miles today at 75+ mph and it averaged about 29.6mpg. So I bet if you drop your speed a little you can have the same mpg performance too. Give it a try next time and see what happens.

getakey

Nah - I believe you. I don't want to make my trip longer
mpg goes down at roughly the square of the speed increase, so it can drop very fast

mellonc

is that your full tank average or "momentary" mpg shown on the dash computer?

getakey

^This is the average displayed in dash computer. It shows instantaneous as well as average for the Trip.

Had interesting drive today which correlates what Blackbird is seeing. I was on my return 130 mile trip which I go different route which starts out on some County back roads.
Normally traffic is light and I can go 70+. Today got behind some slower cars and for first 15 miles I could only go 50 to 60. Trip computer showed 37/38 mpg!!! Total level, no downhill, but power monitor showed about 30% all EV. This included 4 full stops at stop signs/stop lights. I light footed the acceleration from stop.
Then I got to speed up to 70+ for the next 45 miles. So after 60 miles, average was down to 32 mpg.
Rest of trip was mostly 75 - 78 and average came down to 28 mpg.

That said, when I do manual calc at fill-up, trip computer is about 5% higher.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

It seems that the sweet spot for the MDX Sport Hybrid is driving at about 45-55mph at that is where I see the best overall mpg. Prolonged stop and go isn't so hot but still better than a traditional MDX mpg, but if the traffic patterns only allow 45-55mph speeds, I can see mid 30's for mpg easily. My lifetime mpg is now at 28.9mpg and we are passing 5,000 miles on it. An interesting note is the oil register on the MID says that we are at 70%. I will not wait for it to say 0%, but I'll likely get the first oil changes at about 7,500 miles, unless anyone thinks that is a stupid thing to do.

mellonc

a lifetime average of almost 29 mpg is incredible. and this comes from a battery size that is relatively small (lexus RX has 1.9 kwh whereas MDX has 1.2kwh).

as for the oil life, I don't change my oil until 10k miles have elapsed on my RX hybrid. Even then, the oil comes out rather clean. I think I know which vehicle i'm moving to when I'm done with my RX.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I'm very impressed by the mpg but that is not the best part of the vehicle, just a nice plus! Thanks for the feedback on the oil change interval. The mpg is still trending upward the more I drive it over my wife. She is averaging around 27.3 in her local travels, and when I drive it, on the same roads I see low 30's so driver experience matters with this vehicle. Highway miles I'm seeing low 30's too in the 70 mph range. When she drives she only sees 28-28.5mpg. Thus the more I drive it, the higher the overall mpg will be. On the RLX Sport Hybrid, my lifetime for 52,000 miles is 30.8 mpg. I can see mid to upper 30's easily on short trips locally as long as I don't leg into it. I can't do that for more than a few seconds anyway.

Here is an interesting tid-bit. If the new Lincoln Continental twin turbo is rated at 400hp and 400 ft/lbs tq, and its 0-60 and quarter mile times and speeds are the same or slower than the RLX-Sport Hybrid, that furthers the argument that the RLX-Sport Hybrid is significantly under-rated for power.

Continental
0-60 5.0 seconds (rated at 400hp/400tq)
13.5 seconds @ qtr mile @ 106mph

RLX Sport Hybrid (rated at 377hp/341tq)
0-60 4.88 seconds
13.6 seconds @ qtr mile @ 106mph

getakey

Do you know what the 0-60 is in the MDX hybrid?
The ones I saw were higher than I thought it would be. I think they were just over 6 seconds

mellonc

C&D clocked it at 5.7 sec. the rolling start, which, I think, is more important was 6.1 sec. this compares to 2016 Land Rover Range Rover SV Autobiography's rolling start time of 5.8 seconds...... very very close to a car that costs 2 times the price. Also 2016 Lincoln Navigator L 4x4 did that in 7.2 sec's and 2017 Cadillac Escalade did it in 6.3 sec's. Infiniti QX 80 was also slower clocking in at 6.4 seconds. Audi Q7 = 6.4; BMW X5 = 6.8 (turbo lag); Rang Rover HSE= 6.5 sec's even with a supercharger. Finally, the mighty 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS450 4MATIC had similar results at 6.3 seconds to 60 mph with a rolling start.

Rolling start is a much better measure. It accounts for things like turbo lag (if there is any), throttle response, and won't let you brake torque. it's just mashing the pedal like in a real emergency situation. As you can see, except for the cars costing twice the amount and guzzling almost twice the gas, the MDX hybrid doesn't have a competition. Shamefully, my own 2013 RX 450h is awfully behind at 7.1 seconds. If you are looking for the maximum amount of torque at the earliest part of your pedal travel (most torque figures are understated from Japanese makers) MDX is your car.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

In my test drive thread I noted I recorded a 5.4 second run to 60mph.

HotRodW

50-70 passing times are another critical measure of an engine's responsiveness, and at 4.0 seconds flat, the MDX delivers here, too. The Europeans have become notoriously laggy. It's not just the turbo, the throttle-by-wire contributes, too. Our last five vehicles have been German, and they've all provided frustrating levels of throttle lag. My BMW was the worst. Ultimate driving machine my ass!

Not all modern turbos have the problem, however. The Edge Sport logged the following times in C/D testing: 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, 5-60 in 6.1 seconds, and 50-70 in 4.1 seconds. The 2.7L turbo is an impressive piece of engineering. And it runs just fine on regular unleaded.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I drove a lot of local stuff today with many short 5-7 mile segments, all under 50mph. I filled up last night so today was all fresh miles on the gas tank. So far I am averaging 34.6mpg after 66 miles today on this tank. That is fantastic for an SUV. My best one way trip was 48.2 mpg but that was only about a 4 mile trip before I stopped. So far the lifetime average after 6,000 miles is 29.4 mpg. When I drive it I consistently get over 30 mpg in all forms of driving. When my wife is behind the wheel she gets 26-27 mpg.