jhr3uva90

A certain dealership scratched up my car's roof and trunk when they were washing it after servicing it a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, they offered to re-paint those scratches. However, I was surprised with the Courtesy Car they gave me for the next 4 days: a 2014 Acura RLX w/P-AWS!

I must say, there is a lot to like with this car. I don't think the RLX (P-AWS) was ever meant to be a sport sedan like the 5-Series BMW. Instead, I think it is meant to be very comfortable luxury car. I think the RLX succeeds in that regard.

George Knighton

It is a very nice car indeed.

P-AWS serves to help flatten the car in hard cornering, and it removes the tendency toward terminal oversteer. The RLX is a fairly big car and I wouldn't want to be driving it as a FWD car without P-AWS, I don't think. It feels wonderful when it comes to basic handling.

I still don't understand why Honda imports the RLX. It doesn't seem to be set up to compete directly with Mercedes and BMW. It's more like the logical man's alternative to a Cadillac XTS or Volvo or something like that.

The bottom line, though, is that it's a very nice car, especially for the money.

:-)

kurtatx

I absolutely loved the loaner RLX I had. Problem is the equivalent model in other brands are just better.

George Knighton

You really think that the front drive Cadillac XTS is a better car?

Would you pay twenty grand more to get the other cars (Audi, Mercedes)?

Even if we accept for the sake of the discussion that they are better, are they that much better to be worth that much more money even after the discounts?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

That's part of the problem, but there is also the problem of the new Honda Accord being that good. Acura needs to do something to widen the spread between the Acura cars and the Honda cars.

It is probably in part why VWs got a little bit worse when they moved away from the shared platforms with Audi in the mid-2000s. They needed to create a greater gap to separate Audi's identity from VW's.

That said, I agree that the RLX is a fantastic car if you set aside any pretense of sportiness. It is able to accomplish everything I could possibly want in a comfortable executive car without the badge snobbery.

jhr3uva90

I haven't driven an XTS, but I did ride in the back seat of one when a livery service picked me up from an airport. I liked it, but not as much as the RLX.

As far as comparing the RLX to other cars, I test-drove the 5-Series, Infiniti M (or whatever they are calling it now) and the Lexus GS. I think they are all sportier cars and the RLX, but the RLX is VERY comfortable. I guess it depend on whether you intend to drive a car that is as large as an RLX (which is larger than the other cars I mentioned) like you would a sport sedan. If you don't intend to drive it that way, I think the RLX is a good deal. I look forward to having this courtesy car for 3 more days.

TeamAcura

Nice loaner but the moral of the story here: Don't Let the Dealer Wash Your Car!!!

jhr3uva90

True.

By the way, has anyone noticed any torque steer with this car? I think I did.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

FWD car with 270+ lb-ft. of torque is bound to generate a little torque steer.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

the RLX is underestimated in it's ability. i loved driving the two loaners i had for a total of 7 days. unfortunately the sad thing was that Acura STILL hasn't fixed the mirror actuator problems on these cars (the whole line up). 7 month old RLX with 8k miles...binding mirror.

my SA kept telling i shouldn't feel so bad about the issues with my MDX since a relatively new RLX had some little issues wrong with it.

miner

TLtrigirl,
What problems are you encountering with the mirror actuators?

jhr3uva90

Hopefully, the new SH-AWD system will mitigate torque steer just like the old system did.

What's the problem with the mirrors?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Supposedly, the new SH-AWD system will use the rear electric motors to get the car moving before engaging the gasoline engine and the front electric motor, which should theoretically minimize the torque steer. Guess we'll see how well it works in a few months.

George Knighton

No...although I have noticed how very easy it is to overpower the front wheels from a standstill if you're not thinking about it. :-)

Another thing I've noticed is that this thing has startlingly quick midrange acceleration for something that's only supposed to have 310 HP. If something happens that causes you to have to haul quickly from, say 45 mph to 80 mph, you'll see what I mean.

jhr3uva90

I see what you mean on both counts. I've dealt with both situations in the 2 days I've had the courtesy car.

This leads me to wonder which is the sportier Acura: RLX/P-AWS or ZDX/SH-AWD?

George Knighton

What does sporty mean? :-)

I think the J35 with 310 HP direct injection is a generally nicer motor than the J37 with 300 HP.

There are some curvy situations where the ZDX might have an advantage...but then you have that insurmountable problem of having to let up with SH-AWD at some point, or you'll over drive the car, ending up at 12/10ths and going off the last of a five corner carousel.

If you get what I mean.

P-AWS, on the other hand, although the slight delay to neutral is perceivable, it is consistent all the way through and you wouldn't have to let up.

And our observations are likely tainted by the fact that neither vehicle is supposed to be all that sporty!

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

If any of you had the honor of owning a 3G TL or a 2G MDX in your past or currently....the mirror actuators have a potential to fail which can cause the memory seating functions to go wonky.

now the thing i found with the RLX loaner i had....the passenger side mirror was starting to bind when i went into reverse...it would stutter and get stuck, but return to it's place after putting the car back into drive. i was shocked. you figure after 10 yrs they (Acura) would have fixed the issue. it was intermittent in the loaner. i told my SA about it when i gave the car back. there was also a speaker/door tick from the tweeter/driver's side mirror area i noticed with bassy music. again told my SA about it so they could address it before putting the car back into the fleet. my dealer trusts me with these little things and my SA didnt' question me about it.

i had 3 mirror actuators replaced in the MDX so far. both mirrors on my TL bind in reverse (i just choose not to use them when backing up).

Fabvsix

I had the mirror actuator replaced under warranty on my 2007 Acura MDX !!! I guess they don't care about this...money maker for them....

jhr3uva90

Back to the car, I was pretty impressed with P-AWS. Not too crazy about the torque steer, the wide turning radius, or the super-light steering, though.

Overall, I like the car and wish I could keep it for longer.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

What mode did you drive the car in?

I always went into sport mode every time I got in the car. It took the numb steering away and gave the shift points a lot more pep and responsiveness.

The car defaults to normal mode.

holografique

Yup, know exactly what you mean. I do it every time when getting onto an interstate and I'm sitting behind some slow-pokes who don't understand that the on-ramp is for acceleration, not cruising at 40mph.

Once I get enough clearance, I down shift, and bam....she takes off like a rocket. Love it. And what I love about it most is that it has this very solid, aggressive, yet silky smooth acceleration. Hard to explain until you actually drive the car yourself. Yet another aspect of the car that is simply underestimated.

George Knighton

It's just...a very nice car.

Not awesome at any one thing, not the best at any one thing.

Just a nice overall package that nobody views correctly, and which isn't marketed well.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^i'd agree with both of the above statements.

jhr3uva90

Sport mode did the trick! Thanks!

Yes, the RLX/P-AWS is a very nice car. Not necessarily the best you can get for that MSRP, but very nice. However, if you can get it for $7K - $10K below MSRP, the RLX becomes an impressive deal of a car. I'm sorry I had to turn it back in this morning and get my 2005 RL back.