RLX Sport Hybrid 30,000 mile review
 

Having completed 30,000 miles as of today with the Blackbird as I call it, I am still thoroughly impressed after more than 15 months of gleeful ownership. While there are faster cars, and better looking ones depending on your opinion or taste, the overall feel and driving experience is one that I believe is very special. Comments from passengers include “turbine smooth”, “technological extravaganza”, and “supreme luxury value”. While some might disagree with those comments, I don’t. My overall mpg including two winters is 28.9. My best is 33.8 mpg for a trip, as well as more than 49 mpg in a local trip of about 10 miles where about half of that trip was in EV mode. I don’t spend much time in sport mode except for demonstrations of the technology to a new passenger or a few intended jack rabbit starts out of a toll plaza. Other than that, eco mode is where I spend 99% of my time. Over the time of ownership I have learned how to finesse the use of EV mode in places I didn’t at first. Watching the power distribution screen either in the dash or the HUD is something that I intuitively see without staring at it. I think it is interesting that sometimes under very light throttle input only one side of the rear EV motors are producing thrust, and then other times it is both sides. The torque vectoring is astonishing, and makes the car feel much more planted into a fast sweeper than one would expect for a vehicle of this mass and overall size. Somehow the engineers have made the car drive smaller while also feeling the heft of mass it has. I don’t think I am describing this feeling very well, but SH owners all know what I am attempting to describe. Maybe someone will do it better.

Without repeating what other car reviewers have said about the short list of complaints, the very few issues I have had were all covered under warranty and not objectionable overall. Comparing my ownership experience to my business partner’s with his MB S550 and the technical issues he had that ultimately forced them to replace his car under the lemon law, I have nothing to crow about. I have test driven an Audi A8, the BMW 750, and my business partner’s 2nd S550, and none of those much more expensive automobiles seemed to be worth paying double of the MSRP of the RLX Sport Hybrid. Yes they all have much more exotic interiors, more do-dads, etc, but the driving experience was not 2X of the Sport Hybrid. I can’t even say they were substantially better, just different. It is too bad Acura has completely forgotten how to market this fantastic car and I’m sure over time when reviewers look back at this vehicle years from now, they will be far more complimentary than they are today. Sure there are cars with sexier sheet metal and more power, but if I had to do it again and I were standing in a dealership with all four of these cars in one place, after driving them back to back, I would still choose the RLX Sport Hybrid. If reliability were not an issue with the threat of technical gremlins, I think the Audi would be my first pick if it had the new virtual screen that are showing up in certain models for Audi. That by itself is the most attractive option I have seen on any car lately. Maybe Acura can do something like that moving forward. Overall I am very pleased and look forward to many more effortless miles to come. Now about that next fun car purchase to ponder… :thumbsup:

good summary
not to get this thread off track, but I read this morning that the winning cars in the 24 hr Le Mans race were Hybrids with brake regen leading to extra HP added through EVs.

Very applicable review and summary to what we all are experiencing.Whenever I hear carping that the RLX SH is not enough luxury, I pivot to: what car in the $55-$65K range has a drivetrain this sophisticated and a refined hybrid implementation?

I mostly agree with your evaluation. I too love the way the car handles and its performance. The initial flurry of TSBs I expected since especially the 2014 owners were really beta testers. While the way the Sports Hybrid drives made me fall in love with it, I do feel that the infotainment system is at best adequate. It is slow, somewhat complicated and at best adequate. I have accepted its limitations but feel it is the one part of the car that disappoints. I have had 18 months and 18,0000 miles in the drivers seat. My overall mileage is 29 mpg.

Malibu, I agree with you on the infotainment system ssssllllloooowwwwnnnnneeeessss in operation. Just like in any relationship there are always things we wish we could change but won't. I just accept this short coming of the car. Other than it testing my New York impatience, I can deal with it. I do wish it had the option of showing the weather radar like my last TL.

Great review. I'm at 16k miles and have much the same review other than that mileage is still disappointing. I'm trying to work with Acura on that.

My lease is up in 16 months and I've already started the decision process for the next car. Not sure what I'll do yet.

You know it's possible to turn OFF Sport Mode, right?

:-)

Working on the next car
 

Nice dig ^

I am optimistic that Acura will negotiate some fair offer, either a (very cheap) buy out (if they find a repair for the odd under- mileage in your car) , or a sweet deal on a replacement. Despite the cold weather of Cleveland, I don't think it's colder than Canada and we're not hearing of relatively miserable mileage numbers from there. Your numbers really don't match anyone else's. Acura needs to convey that they are still an upmarket luxury brand that takes care of it's customers. You have been more than gracious with them, and your only threat to date is to consider another brand, which is very fair.

^^^^
We'll see how it goes with Acura.

Neuronbob, I feel compelled to remind you that you leased your Sport Hybrid and that lease must be approaching completion...is investing that much valuable time into those mods justified?? Have you decided to be like me and keep your RLX for 10 years?? Not judging, just wondering aloud.

^^^OOppps, the above post was intended for the RLX Trunk Tray thread.

i got to drive and be driven in a RLX hybrid around the Merrysville test tracks. it was surprisingly great track car. very pleasantly suprised. if i could do it all over again id go sport hybrid over my paws model in a heart beat.

I would have liked to see a "Normal" mode that is between the "Eco" and "Sport" mode. Sometimes the "Eco" mode is a little to sluggish for me, when I'm feeling a little heavy footed. The "Sport" mode makes the car go nuts.....not a bad thing, but you definitely need to be in the right mindset for that:-). "Sport" mode is great for merging onto highways, quick passes, etc......

Sport mode is, indeed, nuts. :drag:

It is surprising, especially for such a big car, but I don't want to act like it's God's gift. For example, although the pedal never gets awful, the car would be quicker around the typical track if the brakes were better.

Not "feel" better so much as "be" better. To some extent just changing the brake fluid, and installing competition oriented brake pads helps a lot. But you're going to be limited by the size of the wheels and what rubber you can get on them, and by the size of the rotors, which maybe is a little small for a car with this much weight and HP.

If you're doing this, don't guess about the brake pads. Speak with Carbotech or Cobalt Friction directly...don't order out of a catalogue.

And don't change the brake fluid without help. It's not easy. This isn't your father's TR-5. :-) It takes skill, talent and equipment to change the brake fluid all the way in these cars. Don't do it if you're not doing it right.

Something that really surprised me is that I now have to contradict something that I said earlier on after having only driven on track with the preproduction car and an early Honda-owned car. The Legend will oversteer sometimes. It felt "neutral" and it is controllable in a high speed sweep, but people watching from the outside will tell you...you're oversteering, slightly.

The poster said Marysville. I was at Mid-Ohio, but we're probably talking about the same people.

:-)

As a follow up I thought it might be helpful to provide a little more clarity on the exemplary performance and mpg that can be accessed by our very special automobile. As a means to document the potential mpg one can enjoy, there are a few benchmarks I think are worth noting. Providing you are driving like an adult and not as if you just robbed a bank, and are in "eco" mode, I have found that my highway mileage has been around 31-33 mpg, bumper to bumper traffic with the AC on in the high 20's, and local side roads in the 45 mph range or less to be anywhere from 37--42 mpg. In those side road environments I typically notice about 40-50% of that travel is in EV mode, which explains for the extreme high numbers. All of this is repeatable time and time again. In the winter with the heat on, mid 20's are more the expectation with around 27 mpg being the highest for an average tank. I hope this is helpful to someone.

Happy motoring everyone!

Actually, I am pretty sure you meant to say that you have a lot to crow about. You like the car, and compared to the nightmare your business partner had, you have had relatively a trouble free ownership.

I KNOW that other people noticed it, and knew what you meant, but they were able to "just let it go". I just didn't want anyone who didn't know you to think you disliked your car (as if the rest of your post didn't make that clear enough).

RLX-Sport Hybrid definitely loves that car! (As do I, of course!). :thumbsup:

Thank you for the benefit of the doubt. I was thinking about the term "crow" as a negative descriptor, not as a positive one. Oh well.

Very satisfied.

Welcome aboard wmaldridge.

If you do some searching on previous threads, there are a few dedicated to discussing the mileage of the Sport Hybrid RLX. That said, some have seen lifetime averages in the 31 mpg range while others are happy to be getting closer to 28mpg for a lifetime average. Factors influencing your potential mileage are: driving style (how fast you like to accelerate and how late you like to brake), where you live (colder weather means the engine has to be operating for cabin heating duties which leads to less EV time and lower mileage), length of your average trip (short trips also don't see as frequent EV time as the engine must reach operative temperature before it will enter EV mode), your local fuel choices (winter gas tends to hurt mileage as does higher ethanol blends).

As far as the best mileage achievable in EV mode in the right conditions, I have driven across town 30 miles in the summer with 3 passengers and the air conditioner blasting and gotten better than 40 mpg average in the right balance of cruising at 40 mpg or crawling along in slow traffic both of which allow for plenty of EV time. My best ever short trip mileage is over 60 mpg for a mostly downhill 10 mile trip with a warmed up engine and full battery charge to start which meant plenty of EV time and the engine only being used to accelerate from traffic lights.

Good luck in your new car search. I love my Sport Hybrid and seems that anyone who drives one seems to love it too.

Welcome to AZ.

I was on the lower end of the fuel economy spectrum when I had my RLX-SH. My lifetime FE was 23 or so. I think that was largely because I have a heavy throttle foot. The big advantage of the electric motors is not fuel economy, it's a torque filler just like in the NC1 NSX. This car is pretty fast off the line. If you feather the throttle under about 57 mph, you can engage EV mode pretty readily, and doing that will reward you with decent fuel economy.

Go get one and drive the heck out of it. I did!

The car won't stay in EV mode for long. It's just not built that way.

However, those of us whose INFO screens show that we're able to stay in EV mode about ⅓ of the time are getting 30-31.5 mpg over long periods.

The roads that I travel tend to be in a range of 35 mph - 65 mph most of the time, and the combination of that and the car's ability to automatically radar-match the traffic speed gives me that ⅓ EV mode that maximizes fuel economy.

But the funny thing is that I don't consider myself especially light footed. A couple times/week I'll have the pedal down to get around slow traffic, or I'll have to use Sport Mode to dart into the HOV-3 lane on Route 66. :-)

Because you own 4G TL right now, let me also warn you that the overall build quality of the 5G Legend is not as good as the all-American cars you own. :-)

I was surprised to read your opinion of build quality of the RLX vs the 4th gen TL. While I do agree that the material choices (better vendor?) and design were better with the 4th gen TL and TSX, I find my '16 Sport Hybrid right up there with Honda/Acura's finest -- as with most products from Sayama (comparable in my mind to Toyota's premium Tahara plant that builds the Land Cruiser). I can compare direct with my wife's '11 TSX Wagon, and I haven't discovered many flaws with my RLX.

I do prefer the overall design concept of the previous generation -- give me more buttons! But items like the vertical interior door handles disappeared which I definitely prefer in the TSX, the center console storage inlets, the rear door cup holders, and general layout of controls...

For me the 4G TL seemed to be both a high water mark for Honda altogether, and a concession to the idea that we should have an all-American car, a car designed by Americans, built by Americans and for Americans.

The fit of body panels was better. The quality of materials was better. The leather sure as hell was better. Somebody 6'3" could sit up in the back seat. For its day and age, the infotainment system was better. (Why can't I have satellite weather anymore?)

For the 4G TL, Honda boasted about recycled and all-natural material. That metal trim was really metal, it wasn't coated plastic. They were proud of and mentioned that there were no urea-formaldehyde gasses being produced by the materials in the interior.

It was hard to find plastic in the 4G TL. It was leather and metal in places where the 5G Legend is plastic.

The suspension was fully double wishbone and fully tested on American roads with American driving styles. :-) I don't know where the double wishbone suspension of the KC1 and KC2 was tested but it requires an experienced hand to drive quickly, especially on switchbacks and carousels.

I don't mean to sound too critical. I've had a KC2 for quite a while, now, and even to this day I get the feeling the car was designed specifically for me.

But if we're talking quality of design and construction, the Knighton Award is going to the UA9 (TL 6-6 SH-AWD).

And I'm probably going to steal your avatar. :-)

Feel free to steal my avatar! I actually “borrowed” it myself… I can certainly relate to your feelings regarding the TL and American designed Acuras. I never drove a 4th gen TL for anymore than a few days as a loaner, and I did experience a 6MT for a test drive prior to deciding on my RLX. I loved nearly everything about the TL (even the much maligned “beak”), but I ultimately decided on the RLX for the better gas mileage, newer suspension design, more everyday-friendly four-wheel drive which works whilst accelerating AND braking… very cool. I still owned an ’03 CL Type S 6MT at the time, so my needs for having a manual transmission car where still satisfied. That was my experience with an American designed Acura which I do agreed had better seats and luxury appointments (for the time). It felt like a car designed for 6 ft + European-descended adults vs “a-hem” slightly shorter-legged Asians – forgive my stereotyping. Unfortunately, I was driving this car less and less and sold it this year leaving us just the TSX Wagon and RLX. Despite the controversial exterior design language of the 4th gen TL, those cars, the TSX, TL, and RL seemed to have built with pre-2008 mentalities… by that, I mean real tier 1 aspirations by means of material choices and style. Even the drivetrains being tested were nearly ready for Acura to step-up to real luxury and performance. The RLX was to me, the last vestige of those design themes and materials – especially as compared to the TLX.