2014 Acura RLX - Suddenly, The Big Honda Seems Prescient

Why was the old Acura RL so firmly nailed to dealer ship floors, with just 379 sold last year? That's easy: It was too small. Its back seat was so tight that rear riders could practically adjust the stereo, could possibly even drink from the front cup holders with a long-enough straw. Too in thrall to Honda's minor-key virtues of frugality and modesty, the RL couldn't compete with the chest-thumping, lane-filling champions of the mid-size luxury-car segment.

It was because it was almost Civic-sized in back, and not because it had a six-cylinder engine or was based on a front-drive chassis.

Repeat: It was because it was almost Civic-sized in back, and not because it had a six-cylinder engine or was based on a front-drive chassis. In fact, you could argue that the rest of the luxury-car fleet has finally caught up with the Acura flag-ship. Amid rising fuel- economy standards, a six-cylinder luxury sedan no longer seems like a tin Rolex. Furthermore, four-wheel drive is now the de rigueur luxury-car format, and Audi has even sold front-drive A6s and A8s with a straight face. All this might not get the new RLX the respect it deserves, but what Acura has produced here, for better or worse, is a car fully in sync with these comfort-, mpg-, and tech-obsessed times.

The RLX overcompensates for the old car's biggest failing. It's full-figured, with a 2.0-inch-longer wheelbase and 1.7-inch wider body than the outgoing RL's. The cabin is far airier and roomier than before, with lots of clearance for occupants' limbs. It's beautifully finished in muted tones, but its two-screen radio and nay interface is confusing; you never quite remember which of the screens and knobs will deliver the function you want. Also, the seat bottoms are too short for even the moderately lanky.

The RLX overcompensates for the old car's biggest failing. It's full-figured, with a 2.0-inch-longer wheelbase and 1.7-inch wider body than the outgoing RL's.

Engine-downsizing touches the RLX, but only by 0.2 liter. The naturally aspirated, direct-injected 3.5-liter V-6 feeds the front wheels 310 horsepower and 272 pound-feet of torque, up 10 and 1, respectively, from the old 3.7-liter. Its fuel economy will be very competitive in the class, at 20 city/3i highway, figures that should translate to the real world as they're derived from a naturally aspirated engine.

Interestingly, Acura's fuel-sipping strategy doesn't rely on a tiny engine or sluggish gear ratios to achieve its result. Its final drive is actually 14 percent shorter than the RL's, preserving the high-revving, coltish character of the powertrain primarily via careful management of its variable-valve- timing and cylinder-deactivation systems.

The car retains the high-rpm urgency and natural linearity-abetted by a telepathic transmission that's missing from the turbocharged set.

Engine-downsizing touches the RLX, but only by 0.2 liter.

But some of the fuel savings comes from, of all places, the rear suspension. Good news, lovers of high-tech Japanese cars from the '8os: Rear-wheel steering is back. Acura calls it Precision All-Wheel Steer, or, cutely, P-AWS, and it can toe the wheels independently. Under braking, for example, it pigeons the rears inward to keep the car stable. It also incorporates a yaw- inducing software program dubbed Agile Handling Assist-let's call it AHA-to rotate the car into corners with the brakes.

Beyond its handling benefits, the independent rear steering also helps fuel econ- omy by reducing tire scrub, especially in corners. It's an expensive and complicated way to eke out some fuel savings, but it spares drivers from having to suffer the braking and cornering compromises inherent in low-rolling-resistance tires.

P-AWS and AHA give the RLX vivid path accuracy and turn-in characteristics, as the car refuses to betray its front-wheel- drive layout and 61/39-percent front/rear weight distribution until pushed hard. The steering is as predictable and progressively weighted as we've experienced in a front- drive Honda product. Despite the flat and stable ride, though, we found wheel impacts to be a bit too harsh for a car that boasts fancy new Sachs dampers.

2014 ACURA RLX rear seats

Hold on:  we're not done with the acronyms and abbreviations yet. The Advance trim we drove had LKAS (Lane Keeping Assist System) and ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), as well as the FCW (Forward Collision Warning) and LDW (Lane Departure Warning) that are standard on the base car. Sadly, none of these letters conjure up images of fuzzy animals or contrived surprise, but the first two do create a force field around the car in stop-and-go traffic. The Acura folk call this the "405 feature," in reference to L.A.'s clogged carotid. ACC prevents the RLX from hitting a leading car by slowing to a full stop if necessary, and LKAS keeps the car in a lane, its camera- based intelligence actually steering the car away from a road line. So text away, idiots. These control-seizing functions aren't on by default, and the multi-button process to engage them isn't well guided, but at least you have to willingly deploy these systems. Acura's legal department thanks you.

The Advance trim we drove had LKAS (Lane Keeping Assist System) and ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), as well as the FCW (Forward Collision Warning) and LDW (Lane Departure Warning) that are standard on the base car.

Honda's upscale brand is not bashful about charging customers for all this, with the base car starting at $49,345 and rising to more than $60,000 with all the acronyms and the stellar Krell audio system. That's suddenly real money, even if it's about $5000 less across the board than the Ger- man competition. And a four-wheel-drive RLX hybrid with 370 horses from three motors and a V-6, a seven-speed dual-clutch auto, and expected 30/30/30 fuel economy is coming later this year. We'll see if it can command the $70,000 it's expected to cost, but you've got to admire Acura's chutzpah.