neuronbob

I test drove a SH-AWD Tech today. The dealer had just gotten it in today, and I was the first customer to drive it. It had 33 miles on it when I took the wheel, and I drove it about 15 miles.

tl;dr: Freaking awesome.

I had a chance to drive for about 30 minutes tonight. I drove both suburban streets, a nice stretch of freeway, and steeply curved on/off ramps. I was able to use both Sport mode and the regular mode during my test drive. A few scattered points:

Takeoff. In regular mode, the engine is off once the car is stopped. When you press the accelerator, the car is eerily quiet as you feel yourself accelerate, briskly. At about 20 mph, the engine turns on. You can just barely feel/hear the engine engage. It is so smooth.

In Sport mode, the engine is on and the acceleration is much brisker. With assertive acceleration, one can hear that classic J-series growl we all like.

In either mode, one can see which wheels are active on the HUD. Mostly on takeoff, it's the rear wheels.

Braking. I had no difficulty with braking, whatsoever, either in Sport or regular mode. The brake pedal is a bit firmer in the Sport mode but really doesn't feel any different from any other brake pedal I've used. I did not find any jerking when using the brake pedal. Maybe I was too nice in pressing it? Whatever issues were described in the pre-production cars, I can confirm have been resolved.

Handling In decreasing radius on/off ramps, I was able to keep my foot in the gas, and it was as if the car knew where I wanted it to go. Very neutral in feel. Nicely controlled body roll in the turns, though it is obvious in the turns that this is not my CTS-V or S2000 (i.e. sports cars). The torque vectoring is amazing! It was just like in my RL, but easier to use and because of the HUD, easier for me to see which wheels are active.

Suspension. Nice and smooth. Well-controlled on bumps. Then again, I drive a CTS-V and a S2000, so I am used to a sporty ride. I would LOVE to see something like the Magnetic Ride shocks I have on my CTS-V so the suspension can be changed for a more sporty ride.

Push button transmission. Have no fear, it is super-easy to use. It is so intuitive that I was expert at it by the end of the test drive. Push Park to park, pull back for reverse, round button for Drive. The Sport mode and Brake Hold buttons are immediately behind the other buttons and are in easy reach for me.

Tech. The Tech model comes with Lane Departure Warning and Blind Spot monitoring. Both are useful for those days when I'm tired. I wanted to try the ACC/CMBS and Lane Keep Assist, but those are only on the Advance. I'd love these latter features for road trips. The Brake Hold feature is freaking amazing. This should be activated when the car is turned on IMHO (with an option remaining to turn it off whenever, as is status quo).

The interior is pretty darned good. I know people think it's not up to Audi or Mercedes snuff, but it sure as hell is miles better than my Cadi, and people here know I love my V. Seats are comfy. I have long legs but had no difficulty with the seat cushion at least in my brief test drive. A longer test drive would be helpful.

I think the Sport Hybrid lives up to what little hype given it in the automotive media. The drive is simply fantastic.

It took every shred of self-control not to just settle and take a Tech which, having driven it, I could probably live with. However, I'd rather an Advance to get some of the other creature comforts (heated/ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, ACC/CMBS/LKA, rear shade).

I now have a deposit in, I am talking numbers with the dealer (they are wanting MSRP "because the Advance is so rare", but lease and financing incentives are available), and the dealer is finding an Advance for me at another dealer.

In the meantime, there's a black Tech at Motorcars Acura in the Cleveland area that's available for anyone who wants it!

Colin

Great writeup.

getakey

"It took every shred of self-control not to just settle and take a Tech which, having driven it, I could probably live with. However, I'd rather an Advance to get some of the other creature comforts (heated/ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, ACC/CMBS/LKA, rear shade)."

Don't give in, Wait for Advance

Malibu Flyer

Thanks for the great review. It was nice to read another persons thoughts and reactions.

holografique

wait for it....wait for it....

hondamore

These glowing reviews are NOT making things easier for those of us who are destined to wait until next year to buy a Sport Hybrid RLX. That said, keep the info coming in full envy-inducing detail.

Pens Fan

Awesome that you will be able to get the model you want. Also, what are the lease incentives?

CFoote

Great review Bob, thanks for sharing!

I have settled with a BMW X6 for now, but once the RLX gets a refresh in 2016 I will be anxiously waiting. BMWs are decent cars but Acura has the reliability/engineering factor nailed. I still have my RL, it isn't going anywhere until 2016

Chris

Zoommer

QUOTE=neuronbob;15218931]I test drove a SH-AWD Tech today. The dealer had just gotten it in today, and I was the first customer to drive it. It had 33 miles on it when I took the wheel, and I drove it about 15 miles.

tl;dr: Freaking awesome.

It is freakin' awesome!!! Have not driven it as much as George but I cannot wait to run errands! Fun drive.

I had a chance to drive for about 30 minutes tonight. I drove both suburban streets, a nice stretch of freeway, and steeply curved on/off ramps. I was able to use both Sport mode and the regular mode during my test drive. A few scattered points:

Takeoff. In regular mode, the engine is off once the car is stopped. When you press the accelerator, the car is eerily quiet as you feel yourself accelerate, briskly. At about 20 mph, the engine turns on. You can just barely feel/hear the engine engage. It is so smooth.

Totally Agree it is absolutely smooth. The car is so quiet that I want to conduct all my business from inside it.

In Sport mode, the engine is on and the acceleration is much brisker. With assertive acceleration, one can hear that classic J-series growl we all like.

Agreed. The growl is there and although less pronounced than in TL it is there. Incidentally, I had the car up and checked under it and it has 2 pipes per pot and two pots (mufflers)....so the setup is there for it to reflect the sports title. They are significant diameter pipes down there. Also, there are "sound proofing blankets" and aluminum/alloy tubes that act as cross braces under the car.

In either mode, one can see which wheels are active on the HUD. Mostly on takeoff, it's the rear wheels.

HUD IS WAY COOL and if you use the NAV it comes and goes as necessary....probably the most useful ergonomic safety aid that I have come across on this car

Braking. I had no difficulty with braking, whatsoever, either in Sport or regular mode. The brake pedal is a bit firmer in the Sport mode but really doesn't feel any different from any other brake pedal I've used. I did not find any jerking when using the brake pedal. Maybe I was too nice in pressing it? Whatever issues were described in the pre-production cars, I can confirm have been resolved.

Agree with your assessment. After three hybrids, two sports cars, one wagon, and two sedans...I like this feel the best yet.

Handling In decreasing radius on/off ramps, I was able to keep my foot in the gas, and it was as if the car knew where I wanted it to go. Very neutral in feel. Nicely controlled body roll in the turns, though it is obvious in the turns that this is not my CTS-V or S2000 (i.e. sports cars). The torque vectoring is amazing! It was just like in my RL, but easier to use and because of the HUD, easier for me to see which wheels are active.

In turns it is on rails=I agree with your feel for the car.

Suspension. Nice and smooth. Well-controlled on bumps. Then again, I drive a CTS-V and a S2000, so I am used to a sporty ride. I would LOVE to see something like the Magnetic Ride shocks I have on my CTS-V so the suspension can be changed for a more sporty ride.

Yes this would be nice. I found it firm enough for around town but a little soft when pushed hard but the AWD and TqV takes care of it really well

Push button transmission. Have no fear, it is super-easy to use. It is so intuitive that I was expert at it by the end of the test drive. Push Park to park, pull back for reverse, round button for Drive. The Sport mode and Brake Hold buttons are immediately behind the other buttons and are in easy reach for me.

It is fun to use and really easy.

Tech. The Tech model comes with Lane Departure Warning and Blind Spot monitoring. Both are useful for those days when I'm tired. I wanted to try the ACC/CMBS and Lane Keep Assist, but those are only on the Advance. I'd love these latter features for road trips. The Brake Hold feature is freaking amazing. This should be activated when the car is turned on IMHO (with an option remaining to turn it off whenever, as is status quo).

The interior is pretty darned good. I know people think it's not up to Audi or Mercedes snuff, but it sure as hell is miles better than my Cadi, and people here know I love my V. Seats are comfy. I have long legs but had no difficulty with the seat cushion at least in my brief test drive. A longer test drive would be helpful.

I think the Sport Hybrid lives up to what little hype given it in the automotive media. The drive is simply fantastic.

=how I fell so far

It took every shred of self-control not to just settle and take a Tech which, having driven it, I could probably live with. However, I'd rather an Advance to get some of the other creature comforts (heated/ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, ACC/CMBS/LKA, rear shade).

I now have a deposit in, I am talking numbers with the dealer (they are wanting MSRP "because the Advance is so rare", but lease and financing incentives are available), and the dealer is finding an Advance for me at another dealer.

IF YOU CAN GET THE ADVANCE=the CMBS and the LKAS is really useful. Twice the car steered itself to the center lane and braked gently when someone did a "novice maneuver" entering the lane in front of me.

In the meantime, there's a black Tech at Motorcars Acura in the Cleveland area that's available for anyone who wants it![/QUOTE]

miner

Bob,
Glad you were able to finally get behind hte wheel to test for yourself. The extra features of the Advanced are worth the wait. Now, be patient (as if we all haven't been) for the right model.

George Knighton

If you have a good battery charge and you're very gentle on the accelerator, you can stay in EV mode for quite a while.

The trouble is, this only works around parking lots and such because in commuter traffic nobody puts up with this and they're basically crawling into your trunk as you try to stay in EV mode.

They don't know that there's no room for them in your trunk.

:-)

Steady state cruising, it's interesting to watch what the car thinks is the most efficient thing to be doing. Sometimes it'll go EV with just the rears, but sometimes (and this fascinates me and I'm going to try to keep my eyes open) it'll go EV including the front motor and I can't figure out when it decides that is the right thing to do.

I never thought of it before, but of course the reason it's not "rated" the full combined HP is because the front electric motor can't be used in Sports Mode for anything except helping keep the DCT smooth.

George Knighton

The car does a good job of this, except that it waits a bit to be sure that the car that is suddenly in front of you is at the same speed or slower.

I suppose that the logic is that if somebody's pulled in front of you to go fast, it isn't going to matter.

The bottom line sometimes is that you have ½ s to 1 s of being closer to the new car than you've set with the distance control, and then the car brakes slightly too aggressively when it realizes the new car is not pulling away from you.

You get used to this, and it stops bothering you. But sometimes you're not in the car alone, and passengers will tense up, not know that the car will do what it is supposed to do.

I almost started a thread about my next question but since all three (soon to be four) of us are in here....

How are we going to drive in the snow? Are we going to let the car make its own decisions, or are we going to tend to drive in Sports Mode in order to have power at all four wheels?

:-)

neuronbob

Looks like I'll be the winter beta tester, since in my neighborhood we get up to 120-130 inches of snow a season. This will be an outside car (the deal is that the wife gets one of the two bays in our 2-car garage all winter) and will be driven in snowstorms. If this deal goes through, my first mod will be Blizzak LM-60s.

getakey

Bob -please don't tell us that you are going to leave it outside in the snow!

stagefoursurvivor

Bob,

I, too, am curious about lease and finance incentives?
Do you plan to stick with the OEM wheels with snows?
I also find it interesting that some are reporting their dealer expect to receive another RLXh, out of the supposed 200. Are these in some Acura USA holding lot awaiting distribution to the "favored" dealers?
I honestly don't recall ever having a car pique my interest like the RLXh!
I'm no "tree hugger" but, the MPG reported here just blows me away for this type of car.

neuronbob

Still working on numbers, deed not yet done. Now, NO lease incentives...at least on the Advance. On the Tech, yes. I realize that as an early adopter, not much room for negotiation.

hondamore

I, for one, am very interested in the Sport Hybrids performance in the snow. We have snow on the ground 6 months a year and I have been incredibly impressed with my RL's SHAWD traction, balance and handling in the snow. My hope is that the electric SHAWD will be an improvement on that lofty standard.

Zoommer

Excellent question on the wheels=did you mean rims as well? I will have to think about that even though we do not get much snow here in NOVA but we did get socked in last year. The issue is not the snow as much as the drivers.

neuronbob

Plan is just tires for now. I've got enough spare wheel sets from other cars lying around the house, so no more for now.

George Knighton

I think the deal was that the 200 best dealers got a car, and the 20 highest volume of all would get a second car even though this leaves some dealers with none.

I am sure that Radley in Falls Church will get a second car. That probably means that Pohanka in Chantilly will get a second car.

So that means we will end up with quite a few Sports Hybrids running around DC area.

Colin

We sold ours last night. No idea if we are going to get another.

neuronbob

Update: I guess I will have another dark car to spend a lot of time polishing in addition to my CTS-V. (My only objection to black is that it's hard to keep clean, not that I don't like the color.) I decided I liked the RLX enough in black to get one. Dealer located an Advance in a nearby state and is going to transport it to me at no cost to me. I independently located the car, so now I have the VIN.

Still discussing numbers but we are pretty much "go" at this point. Even better, I had wife sit in back seat (she likes "big" cars) and I have official spouse buy-in.

Not the best deal in the world, but I expected that going in. Besides, the lease is a tax deduction for my business, and so I am getting something out of it financially. Also, free to me transport is nothing to sneeze at.

George Knighton

I don't know what to make of this, yet, and it really doesn't make any sense to me, but something that was waiting for me in the post was a $97.53 refund from State Farm.

For some reason, the Sports Hybrid is going to be a cheaper car to insure.

George Knighton

Very glad you found a Sports Hybrid that you like, and look forward to comparing notes.

Zoommer

Have to get a review from my insurance agent. My rates went up. Of course I was coming from a 8 year old car

Zoommer

Yes. My dealer getting another one. Put my name back on top of list. Who wants it? Will gladly make the link to him

woropallo

Agree, don't settle the Advanve features are awesome!

neuronbob

Business tax deduction is good.

I wonder if pent-up demand for this car will result in the majority of the 250 being sold? From what it appears, the Advance model will go fairly quickly, the Tech less so.

Didn't settle. Awaiting word on when the car will be delivered. It's at a dealership 250 miles from here and will be transported to my dealer. I should know more on Monday.

cyler

Congrats Bob on your new (almost) arrival. I'm also awaiting the arrival of an Advanced (Silver Moon/Ebony). Mine is coming to my dealer directly from Acura with delivery scheduled for this week . I've had a deposit on this car since February.

Your first drive comments did a lot to relieve my anxiety over the pre-production braking issue.

To you and other recent purchasers: Are you planning on/already purchased any dealer ad-ons? I've adding the following to my order:

* Remote Start II
* Body Molding
* Spare Tire Kit
* Splash Guard Set
* Cargo Net
* Trunk Tray

neuronbob

I am planning on adding the same. The body moulding is particularly important for me since this is a leased car and people in parking lots don't GAF about others' property.

George Knighton

Rear spoiler, body side moldings, splash guards, warranty add on, ResistAll.

I was not liking the way Remote Start worked, the way it was explained. It still shuts off when you open the door, and requires a second transmitter, right?

Zoommer

Rear spoiler, wheel locks, all season mats, trunk tray, cargo net, first aid kit, splash guards, remote start II, have but did not add body side molding and may do later (I liked the lines of the car w/o it). The spoiler really adds to the looks of the car.

Zoommer

Also=several cycles of wash, lather, rinse and repeat as well as inside detailing. The car was quite dusty and had to be cleaned carefully inside and out. I do believe they were stored someplace and you have to make sure the dealer does a thorough job of cleaning and prepping properly. I also did the glaze, gloss, seal, and wax part independently. Looks beautiful and will post pics later.

Pens Fan

With the success (on this board) of selling the cars-hopefully tis will encourage Acura to build 2,500-not 250 for the 2016 MY !!!

woropallo

What is ResistAll ?

George Knighton

Cal-tex Protective Coatings

Synthetic protective treatments offered by Acura dealers.

sleepinxlionhart

Congrats! Monday is almost here!

I still don't understand the body molding protecting the car from door dings. Usually car doors are the longest, and has an angle around 1/3 down from the window (the area that sticks out most), which is still considerably higher up than where the body moldings are placed. So I can't see how body moldings are used to protect the car from door dings.

weather

Neuronbob....Congrats on your new RLX!! That should be exciting time up ahead thats for sure. Just curious, how has been the reliability of your Cadillac?

miner

Happy for you Bob, George and MF for your early adoption of the RLXh. Still have not found one in Houston area.

jmoser1134

Sterling McCall had one delivered last week but sold already. Vandergriff in Arlington has a black/black advanced on their site (and cars.com) for $5,490 off sticker. Specifically states "MSRP - $66,845 and Vandergriff Price - $61,355.

Best deal I have heard of. Not that far from Houston for a 5K+ discount

But I do agree that a market (Houston area) with so many 2015 RLX's on the lots you would expect a few Hybrids to show up.