2014 Acura RLX review

Abusing the Acura RLX is a national pastime among the automotive press. Lawd knows it's an easy target: it still has a V6 when everything else has a V8; it has front-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive like the competition; it has a shared part or two with the (gasp!) Honda Accord … That is all true. And maybe Acura should be shellacked a little bit for keeping the RLX in the '80s for so long. But this new model does finally get some of the features that have been on competitors forever: direct injection, adaptive cruise control, LED head- and taillights, lane-keeping assist, forward collision warning, electric parking brake and even capless fueling. It's kind of embarrassing that Acura has only added these features in 2013 when competitors have had them for many a model year.

The RLX's SH-AWD is solid, especially when sport mode is engaged

Some of the features Acura is hoping will set itself apart might not even be noticed by owners: Precision all-wheel steer that increases stability, grip and speed through corners, more power for the V6 -- up to 310 now, “amplitude reactive dampers” and even an aluminum hood, doors and fenders. Can you really feel that from behind the wheel, unless you've just driven an RL without them? These are all good, logical points that buyers might consider.

However, once you get in the thing and drive it around you realize that it's perfectly fine as a transportation device for four or five people. Most owners of large luxury sedans do not autocross them. Short of a BMW M5 or a Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG sedan, most owners just drive them around at more or less normal speeds. Plus, since they sell only a relatively small handful of these things, having an RLX gives buyers even more of that exclusivity luxury owners crave. You are not going to see RLXs coming and going. I for one generally crave anonymity.

In regular traffic doing regular suburban driving things you will like the RLX. So will your passengers. Everyone who rode in the back seat commented positively, all unsolicited comments by the way. Indeed, it has 2 inches more room back there, which is a lot compared to the old car.

Our RLX stickered in at a price of $61,345

Most of the connectivity stuff worked, except that I couldn't get my iPhone 4 to ever connect. It might have been the phone's fault. I kept trying but no dice.

And if all the improvements aren't enough then just hold off on your purchase till later this year when the Sport Hybrid Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive version comes out with 370 horsepower and a dual-clutch transmission.

For now, bringing the car into the 21st century helps, as does price. As we noted when the car came out March 15, MSRP starts at $49,345 including destination. A loaded Advance model is $61,345. Go through the options lists of all these cars and see if it really does save you money. The Cadillac CTS -- rear-drive and a V6 -- starts at $43,340; the Lexus GS 350 -- also rear-drive and a V6 -- starts at $47,250. In between you can juggle a lot of options.

But, as I said, if you just get in the thing and drive it around like a normal car, you're likely to be pleasantly surprised at how nicely it functions as a roomy luxury sedan.

ASSOCIATE WEST COAST EDITOR BLAKE Z. RONG: Some people have harped on the RLX for not being as sporty and involving as other luxury limousines, as if they're going to win SSC Showroom Stock with it. But if Lexus has the Japanese Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti has the Japanese Mid-'80s Audi near-luxury that has terrible residual value and nobody is taking seriously, then what we have here is the Japanese Buick. It may be at odds with the Integras and lithe Legends that made the brand famous, but it's a fine car and a fine isolation chamber from the messy business of driving, one that's soundproof from the outside world, but has a fine surround-sound system to match.

The interior is superb, spacious and full of soft-touch materials

This RLX is about 90 percent of the way to driving itself. It has adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist so it will steer itself to keep between lanes, physically adjusting the steering wheel like a twitchy “Christine.” Its seatbelts tug gently like nervous parents. The 14-speaker sound system is designed by Krell, a company that lacks the brand-recognition (read: salivated at by audio nerds) of something as tawdry as Bose but quietly designs some of the highest-end and most expensive audio equipment on Earth. Infinity? Mark Levinson? JBL? Get that midlevel junk out of here. This is real luxury, people!

The lane-keeping assist system, resplendent with cryptic lettering between the gauges -- is activated at the press of a button on, naturally, the steering wheel. Push it and lift your hands off, but not too far! Every 10 seconds a bright orange “STEERING REQUIRED” message lights up on the dash, to remind you that steering is, alas, still a major component to this motoring activity. The system is a novelty around town. But where it would work best would be the I-5 corridor between Sacramento and Los Angeles, which I underwent the day before in about six hours, complete with a stop at kitschy retiree tourist-trap Pea Soup Andersen's. Given a straight, unerring highway with minimum traffic and some good music on the Krell sound system, this lane-departure system might be a boon to lazy and shiftless youth like me.

The sport button turns the RLX into the car it should have been: slightly firmer, slightly sharper, and less languid and with more usable city acceleration. I say “slightly” because it takes little away from comfort: the suspension is just as cushy, the engine just as quiet. The electronic steering gains slightly more feel, and it still has more feel than Hyundai's similarly firming systems. Also, the gear indicator glows red in sport mode. So, there's that.

The 3.5 V6 pumps out 310-hp and 272-lb-ft of torque

The interior is beautiful, big, light and airy, helped by the cream-colored leather that drapes everything underneath the black and spongy dashboard cover. If full leather is the true signifier of modern luxury, then Acura's luxury trappings have improved with gusto. The split-screen system is similar to Honda's, with the smaller lower screen a touch variant. It's responsive and reasonably high-resolution. And surprise! Its haptic feedback buzzes and vibrates under-finger, much like Cadillac's CUE, with the noticeable difference of not being a slow, defective, infuriating pile of electronic detritus.

But what a wonderful sound system the Krell is: beautifully nuanced, with true surround-sound effects. Crank up Florence + the Machine and it turns into a near-religious experience.

The real boon is the impressive turning radius: just three and a half lanes is all it takes to complete a frustrated U-turn like the ones my father performed in anger during my childhood, a proud legacy that has carried forth to this generation.

Although a little bland, it performs well as a solid luxury sedan

There have been gripes about the styling. It looks like so many feet of car, purchased as one would reams of fabric from Jo-Ann Fabrics. Sure. But after Acura's disastrous “beak” upon which it hoisted its own styling petard, it stands to reason that the company's designers might play it safe for a while. All the good stuff is there, they're saying; it's just that the majority can't see it. Like those amazing hideaway bungalows dotting the Malibu cliffs, all of the luxury is hidden from view.

Within a span of 20 years, BMW came from a purveyor of decently engineered compact and midsized sedans to setting the template for what the entire luxury-car industry is about. Every car needs to be sporty; every car needs to lap the Nürburgring and be capable of driving 10/10ths down Sunset Blvd and have a base sound system ensconced within a coal-black interior with plastic trim because that signifies “sportiness.” Acura is as guilty of this as everybody else. But for once, it is selling a luxury car that doesn't have to double as an H Production race car on the weekends because a brochure copywriter thought it would be exciting enough. That's rare for a Japanese company that has always tried -- like Infiniti, and now Lexus with its F-Sport line -- to over-inject sportiness into every facet of its lineup.

Don't call it a sports sedan. Frankie says RLX.

2014 Acura RLX with Advance Package

Base Price: $61,345

As-Tested Price: $61,345

Drivetrain: 3.5-liter V6; FWD, six-speed automatic

Output: 310 hp @ 6,500 rpm, 272 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm

Curb Weight: 3,997 lb

Fuel Economy (EPA City/Highway/Combined): 20/31/24 mpg