RLX: the right car at the right time?
AFTER AN UNSUCCESSFUL DEBUT IN 2005, Acura hopes it has better timing with its tech-heavy sedan
Timing is everything. Standup comedians know it. Counterpunching boxers know it. And, I suspect, Acura’s chief engineers now also have a better appreciation of the perfectly timed punch. Or punchline.
The specification list for Acura’s current RL reads like the perfect Canadian luxury sedan. It’s powered by a high-tech V6 that boasts its frugality as much as its performance, just like the rest of the luxury market where six- and even four-cylinder engines now reign supreme. It also features an incredibly sophisticated all-wheel-drive system, important since well more than 80 per cent of the upper luxury sedan segments leave Canadian dealerships driving all four wheels.
The only problem is that Acura launched its hightech marvel in 2005 and, in those pre-Great Recession days, fuel economy didn’t matter a whit, at least not to those shopping luxury automobiles. Eight cylinders were what was needed to impress the fashionably wellto-do back then. All-wheeldrive was just something quirky little Audi was trying to foist on the market as its differentiator from BMW and Mercedes. Real luxury cars drove the rear wheels because sporty performance was more important than allwheel-drive safety.
So, in 2005, the RL, which today would have been greeted with significant interest, landed with a thud. RLs are a rarity on the road (the carmaker didn’t help by insisting on pricing it at $70,000, about the same as an eight-cylinder 2005 BMW 545i) with Acura selling fewer than 200 units per year. So, this year sees a new, equally high-tech RL being launched, and Acura hoping the new version has better timing.
The first bit of good news is that Acura isn’t making the same pricing mistake. Jerry Chenkin, Honda Canada’s executive vice-president, promises a base model that will start at “under $50,000.”
The second bit of good news is that the new RL is festooned with neat trinkets. Acura introduced something called Lane Keeping Assist system, which gently guides the RL back into a lane should you drift across the painted lines. Acura is also proud of its Adaptive Cruise Control system, which, it says, can navigate traffic jams by itself.
Other interior detail touches impress, my favourite being the steering wheel-mounted rotary knob that controls the audio system’s volume but also the radio’s scanning function by sliding sideways.
It’s also worth noting the interior is huge. Acura boasts that while its exterior dimensions mimic a BMW 5 Series, the RL’s rear-seat legroom is akin to the larger 750i.
The company is most proud, however, of its new AcuraLink cloud-based con- nected car system, which uses an embedded cellphone to allow owners to activate certain functions — door closings, sound the horn and flash the lights when you’ve lost your car in a parking lot and even create a virtual dashboard so you can check your fuel range remotely. AcuraLink also offers thousands of news and entertainment feeds as well as airbag deployment notification to emergency services and a 24-hour personalized concierge service.
The RL’s engine gains direct fuel injection. Maximum power is up to 310 hp, yet the overall fuel economy is increased to what Acura says is a class-leading 8.6 L/100 km. The result is a smooth, quiet engine with exemplary manners if not quite class-leading speed. The powertrain is the one aspect of the RL that doesn’t stand out.
The RL’s driving dynamics, with the one not quite easily dismissed caveat that the RL is only currently available with front-wheel-drive, is exemplary. The firmish suspension greatly enhances handling. The company has revamped its four-wheel-steering system to allow independent control of the rear wheels.
The 2014 RL almost completely disguises its FWD. roots — especially in Sport mode — and rails through California switchbacks like a much smaller car. If one is a fan of front-wheel-drive sedans, the new Acura is among the best.
This brings us back to the one caveat mentioned earlier. Currently, the RL will be sold in three guises, all front-wheel-drive: Base, Technology and Elite. And while the base version will start at below $50,000, the Elite is likely to command upward of $70,000. While I think the base model may have legs, Acura might have trouble moving the topof-the-line trims; $70,000 is a lot of money for a Japanese front-wheel-drive sedan.
Salvation is at hand, however. Later in the year, Acura will offer the awkwardly named but technically enticing Sport Hybrid Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive RL. Two electric motors in the rear wheels (along with another, centrally mounted unit) add AWD to the RL’s portfolio as well as more power (370 hp in all) and better fuel economy (as yet unstated). I suspect that, if priced competitively with other AWD models in the segment, the Sport Hybrid may be the technology that gives the RL lasting credibility; priced wrong, however, and this RL may be relegated to the backwaters of the luxury market, just like its predecessor.