Acura RLX Leads the Way

The 2014 Acura RLX is Honda's premium brand's new flagship. It is the largest Acura sedan ever made, the better to compete with all those other cars hoping for your luxury car dollar. It succeeds the RL, which has sold somewhat slowly.

Does a midsize luxury sedan have to have a V8? Acura doesn't think so. This new sedan has a slightly smaller 3.5-liter V6 instead of the RL's 3.7-liter, but horsepower is up by 10 to an impressive 310. Torque bumps up by 1 to 272. And more than 90 percent of the engine's peak torque is available between 2,000 and 6,600 rpm, so there's never a slow or hesitant moment behind the wheel. A six-speed automatic is the only transmission offered.

The new car addresses concerns the RL's problem of being slightly smaller than the competition, and therefore falling off many shopping lists. A two-inch-longer wheelbase provides cavernous rear legroom, and the extra 1.7 inches of width gives those happy rear passengers a little more private space.

No one can argue that the car isn't attractive, although it is not the kind of vehicle that jumps out at you. Staying subtle, the sharp-edged beak of recent Acuras is banished. In the now more subtle and rounded nose you'll see the Jewel-Eye headlamps, which look a lot like a large anniversary band, flattened into a plane. The sparkling row of lamps illuminates the roadway with a crisp brightness. At the other end, the taillights use periphery LED illumination, which produces a much more defined light than a traditional incandescent bulb.

Inside, there's all the soft and subtle touches that promote relaxation. I noted leather on the dash, something rarely found in anything short of a Rolls. It's all sweeping and energetic, with black surfaces and brushed-look trim. The leather continues on the seats, armrests, and shift knob. On the steering wheel, the adjustments at 3 and 9 for volume and digital information are little wheels--easy to roll with your thumb to make your selection.

There's a friendly four-note tone when you start the car and then--silence. The direct-injection engine (Acura's first) sends the car along the freeway like a magic carpet. It's rated at 20 City, 31 Highway, 24 Combined by the EPA, which also bestows a 5 for Smog and a 6 for Greenhouse gas--midpack.

Acura has promoted its wares as being filled with high-tech, and this remains true. On the trunk is the acronym P-AWS, which sounds like little cat feet but is actually Precision All-Wheel Steer. This system monitors and calculates the correct amount of independent rear-wheel steering (toe angle) necessary for driving conditions. So, you won't see the rear wheels move, but they do help you around corners.

Another happy acronym is the Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), which scans the road ahead and actively helps you stays in the middle of the lane.

An upscale and handy feature is Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), which lets you set a desired speed and a distance interval behind the vehicle ahead. This makes it safer to use cruise control in light traffic as well as on the open highway. This system comes with a new Low-Speed Follow capability, so it still works even when traffic slows below the speed you set. It will even stop your car if the vehicle ahead is in range of the system. The next step? Self-driving cars.

There are five models--all sedans--and all made in Japan. The "base" car is loaded already, and the remaining four levels add something each time. The second level is RLX with navigation, which also gives you a seven-inch color display and AcuraLink. The latter connects your car to a world of communication and entertainment. Level three is the one I tested--RLX with Technology. My Crystal Black Pearl tester added nine items to the second level, including nicer interior leather, great-looking 19-inch alloy wheels, and nifty self-folding outside mirrors. It also gave me the accident-preventing Blind Spot Warning System.

The last two levels, RLX with Krell Audio and RLX with Advance, pour on the electronics. Krell, a big name in electronics that I've never heard of, puts 14 speakers in its namesake model along with manual and electric sunshades. The Advance, at the top, ventilates the already heated seats and gives you the Collision Mitigating Braking System (CMBS). CMBS helps prevent your hitting someone, working with Forward Collision Warning, which flashes lights if it thinks you're in danger of having an accident.

It's all very technological, but the driving experience is laid back and effortless. You do get to feel the car when you take it on curving roads, and there's some road feel mixed in. It's not like the land yachts of yore, and I'm grateful for it.

Prices start at $48,450 for the RLX and move up to $60,450 for the Advance. Add in $895 for delivery. My tester came to $55,345.

If you're a fan of Honda products and want the nicest, biggest sedan they make, you'll gladly forgo Lexus, Infiniti, and various German and American sedans for this new model. Still hewing to the balanced, restrained look of generations of Honda Accords and the original Acura Legend, it's bigger and better, and will not disappoint.

Acura MDX - Luxuriously Above it All

Acura was the first Japanese car company to offer a luxury line in the U.S. That's right--Honda's upscale division arrived before Toyota's Lexus and Nissan's Infiniti. However, they haven't tended to be the sales leader in the segment. The Acura MDX, now in its 2nd generation, is an attempt to remedy that, by competing feature-for-feature with its Japanese and German rivals for the upscale family SUV market.

Maybe it is a little nervy to declare your intentions versus, say, BMW or Mercedes-Benz, but that's what the MDX does. Although it shares some structural elements with the more plebeian Honda Pilot, it boasts potent V6 power--300 horsepower from 3.7 liters. Power flows through a sequential-shift automatic six-speed. It comes standard with numerous high tech and pampering features, too.

Being a high-tech Honda at heart, the MDX offers variable valve timing and electronic lift control (VTEC), computerized fuel injection and a high-flow, sports tuned exhaust system to get V8 power from six cylinders. Fuel economy, for the 4,627-pound unit, is rated at 16 City, 21 Highway (18 average), but I only got 16.0 mpg during my test.

Standing 5'10" tall, even with me, the MDX welcomes driver and passengers with a broad, spacious interior for five (and room for two more with the disappearing third-row seat). The Acura interior design template calls for a bold expression of motion flowing up the center console onto the dash and extending strong like a giant Aries symbol into the doors. The wood trim looks like it's a solid two inches thick. The three-dimensional contouring makes the car feel energized yet as secure as a bank vault. A neat, silvery rolltop cover conceals the cupholders when you're not using them.

I was surprised that this luxury vehicle still used a regular key. Although it did flip out from its case, switchblade style, it still needed to be inserted into a lock, unlike most medium to high level cars, which all use keyless entry. Also, the audio system doesn't display the entire name of the artist and song, unless it's short--an old looking technology. But the steering wheel does electrically contract towards the dash for easy entry and exit, and the dash bristles with features.

The MDX is essentially one model with one engine and transmission combination. Where you can go to town is in adding packages. The Tech Package brings in fancier leather--perhaps it takes high technology to process it. The real attraction is the upgraded audio system and navigation, which uses an eight-inch,  high-resolution full VGA color display. The car's rear-view camera provides three different views. The three-zone automatic climate control uses solar sensing and has air filtration and humidity control.

The Advance Package brings even more high-quality leather--perforated this time, with ventilation as well as the standard heating. There's a blind spot information system that illuminates if someone's occupying the area next to the car that's outside your mirror view. Put on your turn signal and it'll warn you visually and noisily not to turn.

Even better, the Collision Mitigating Brake System will try to keep you from smashing into anyone. One day, while driving along, I was passing someone who was waiting to turn, and because the road curved, the system attempted to stop me, thinking a crash was imminent. It not only threw on the binders but flashed "BRAKE" in red letters at the top of the dash. I drove meek as a lamb after that.

With either package, you can order up the Entertainment Package, which supplies a drop-down video screen for rear-seat passengers, along with two sets of headphones, which tuck neatly into pockets on the backs of the front seats. The headsets felt uncomfortable when I tried one on, with hard pads against my ears.The package also gives you a 115-volt power outlet on the dash and heats the outward-facing rear seats.

All this adds up to a pretty enjoyable driving and riding environment. The V6 pulls along nicely, but the only downside was the 16-miles-per-gallon fuel economy. The EPA's Air Pollution score is a decent 6 but the Greenhouse Gas number is a more modest 4. But this is not the car for environmentalists. Acura and Honda sell many smaller, lighter, and more efficient models. This is about a grand driving experience.

Prices start at $44,175 for the MDX. Add packages, and you will end up where my Palladium Mettallic top-of-the-line tester did, at $55,700.

The MDX, assembled in Alliston, Ontario, contains 25 percent Japanese materials, including the transmission. But it is quintessentially American, stressing size, comfort and choice. While not the darling of the Sierra Club, it provides, in the second decade of the 21st century, a level of pampering that makes luxury wagons of a generation ago seem, well, like cars.

Acura ILX - Return of the Integra

The Acura Integra was introduced in 1986 as the smaller of the two models from Honda’s brand new upscale division. It was popular through three generations until 2001, when it became the RSX (sold in coupe form only) as part of Acura’s change to boring alphabetical names. The RSX disappeared after 2006, when Acura changed its marketing strategy.

However, with fuel mileage and sales concerns, a compact Acura with a new name (starting with “I”) is once again on sale, slotting in under the slightly larger and more powerful TSX.

As before, the new car is based on the current Honda Civic, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. Every line inside and out is different—only the basic platform is shared. Here’s how the new ILX stacks up against the last of the Integras and its current TSX sibling:

Car	Length	Width	Height	Wheelbase	Weight	Engine	Horsepower
2013 Acura ILX	179.1”	70.6”	55.6”	105.1”	2,959 lb	2.0 liter	150*
2001 Acura Integra**	172.4”	67.3”	53.9”	103.1”	2,643 lb	1.8 liter	142
2013 Acura TSX	185.6”	72.4”	56.7”	106.4”	3,470 lb	2.4 liter	201

*Base model.

**Sedan. Coupe had a slightly shorter length and wheelbase.

The numbers show that the ILX is slightly larger and heavier than the Integra of a decade ago, but is still significantly smaller and lighter than the TSX.

The current Civic, while hailed for its spaciousness, design and efficiency, has been criticized for the perceived down-market look and feel of its interior. The ILX, however, has the nicely finished dash, doors and seats of its larger brethren. That includes the gleaming gray sweep on the dash trim and the finely detailed instrument panel. The leather seats are comfy, too, and the overall feel of the controls is solid and precise. The leather-wrapped steering wheel bristles with audio and cruise control buttons, silvery accents and a nice chrome logo in the center.

The 2.0-liter engine provides enough pep for this car, and I never felt it lag. Of course, the automatic took care of business for me—and that’s the only gearbox you can get with this engine. In the olden days, a manual transmission was standard with an Integra, but today, you need to buy the 2.4-liter model to shift for yourself. 

To be fair, this likely reflects the market. For example, my older son, who chose an RSX as his first new car, opted for the automatic. Today in the U.S., manual shifting is reserved for true enthusiasts, such as my wife, who proudly flaunts a manual six-speed in her car.

The ILX’s 2.0-liter engine earns laudable EPA scores for mileage – 24 City, 35 Highway and 28 Average. I got 24.7 mpg, driving mostly in town. 

The ILX’s styling is well proportioned and uses Acura’s revised grille design, but it isn’t groundbreaking. There’s an interesting meeting of lines below the rear side window that borrows from the oddball ZDX hatchback. The front and rear light units are carefully chiseled, and the undulating concave and convex side surfaces give tribute to BMWs of the recent past. My Polished Metal Metallic (gray) tester looked well dressed wherever we went, but no-one asked me what it was.

There are two ways to dress up the ILX: the Premium and Technology packages. The Premium Package adds leather seats, a powerful and fully-featured audio system, and other goodies, such as power and heated seats and a rear view camera. The Technology package gives you navigation along with the premium audio, including high-tech benefits such as real-time traffic and weather information.

The quality is higher than a Civic, but so is the price. Honda Civic sedan prices, with automatic transmission, begin at $17,645 while the entry ILX is $26,795. Even the Sporty Civic Si runs just $24,845. There is definitely a price jump to go for the Acura. When you add the Premium or Technology package to the ILX it crosses the $30,000 mark in a hurry. My ILX with both packages came to $32,295.

What’s the competition for the ILX? Lexus and Infiniti don’t offer anything to match it. The Infiniti G20 from the 1990s might compare, but it’s gone. The Audi A3, perhaps? It’s a five-door wagon, but a sedan is supposed to be on the way. It’s slightly smaller than the ILX, but hits the $30,000 price point and has nearly identical engine power. Cadillac has its new ATS sedan, but it’s more expensive—and its 2.0-liter engine is turbocharged. Lincoln has nothing. The Volvo S40 is gone. So, Acura now appears to have the compact entry luxury segment to itself!

This upscale compact, assembled in Greensburg, Indiana with a Japanese engine and transmission, is a nice car, if a bit pricey, and offers exclusivity.

Acura RDX - Redux

Photo: Victor Llana (www.boundlesscaptures.com)

I just stepped out of the new **2013** Acura RDX. And what a fine test week it was. All-new but familiar at the same time, it's a compact luxury crossover, combining the practicality of a wagon configuration with the tall proportions of an SUV with all the comforts of an upscale sedan. Lots of folks buy these vehicles now, because they seem to provide for every need. It's the baby brother/sister to Acura's midsize MDX.

This is Acura's latest salvo in the battle for moderate sized families with larger than moderate incomes who might be liking the Lexus RX, BMW X3 or Infiniti EX. Yes, there is a battle in that segment--as there seems to be in every auto segment these days.

Getting nearly 21 miles per gallon is OK, but I'd just stepped out of a hybrid and it seemed like I spent more time at the gas pump than I should. But the little hybrid, just over half the price of the Acura, didn't supply the comforts or the styling of the RDX.

The RDX's face shows the evolving concepts from Honda's upscale division. The sharp beak that appeared a few years ago is softening throughout the line, and this new car has a softly formed crossbar that might not be out of place in a 1950's vehicle (real chrome in that case, not faux brushed nickel. The overall body shape is edgy--the Acura look for today--and fits into the corporate family portrait just fine.

Inside, more edges, and in places like the doors, the styling is overt and even a little overheated. So many aggressive shapes all over the door panels, for example. To keep this from becoming a distraction, they've made them all the same matte "Ebony," which would feel a little sober if not for the energy of the shapes themselves.

There's plenty of pep when you step on the gas. There's a 3.5-liter V6 that churns out 273 horsepower under the multi-angled hood. The six-speed automatic provides smooth shifting by itself and allows you to select the gears--a common arrangement today.

You can get the RWD in front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive configurations. Mine was the latter, and it was inconspicuous. It would be nice to avoid putting on chains on the roads to the ski resorts, I guess.

My car also had the Tech Package, which added things Acura seekers covet, such as a navigation system with voice recognition, Real-Time Traffic and Weather, and a 10-speaker Surround-Sound audio system. I got spoiled with all that, and actually used the Real-Time Traffic when things clogged up on my morning commute. It told me where the problems were and described the issue. A small comfort, but at least it left no mystery. I dug deeper into the sound system to calm myself as traffic slowly inched along.

My Crystal Black Pearl test car came to $40,315, which seems like a lot. I guess when you add in all the goodies it totals up fast. There's really nothing I can think of that was lacking. The least you can pay for one of these is $35,215; just drop the all-wheel drive and the Tech package.

Despite it's intense design, the car is very comfortable, and I got more and more happy with it as the week went by. There are some things you just don't get in a $25,000 car that a $40,000 one is more than happy to supply.

Acura ZDX is Certainly... Different

The Acura ZDX stands out. I especially noticed this last weekend, when I parked my test car next to another ZDX. The two together (facing different directions thanks to the other driver's backing in) emphasized the car's unusual proportions and edgy shape.

The ZDX is an upscale crossover vehicle. That means it rides high like an SUV but doesn't have the boxy profile or the great headroom. With its swept back windshield and low windows, I actually bumped my head getting in one time--and was much more careful after that.

But what an interior. Sumptious leather heat/cool seats, a generous, stitched leather swatch of golden brown leather across the dash and doors, handsomely turned out metallic (looking) console and dash trim, and the kind of overt, in-your-face styling that remains interesting to the eye.

The fittings feel very firm and solid--carved from one piece--and the performance from whats under the pointed hood is impressive too. You get 300 horsepower from a 3.7-liter V6 and it's right there and ready to rock with a touch of your right foot. Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SHAWD) keeps you in place even in inclement weather.

Fuel economy is 16 City, 23 Highway--average 19. I got 17.4 mpg over a week of driving, much of it freeway. Premium fuel is specified.

You'll pay for fuel and you'll pay to buy this luxury ride. Base price is $46,020, but if you want the Advance Package, which came on my tester, expect to pay $56,520.

But with that package, you've got a high tech marvel at your fingertips. The Advance Package includes Navigation, a super premium 10-speaker audio system, and special goodies like an adjustable suspension (comfort or sport--I left it in the latter), adaptable cruise control (keep a set distance from the guy in front), and the great safety of a blind spot warning system. With the limited visibility of this hunkered-down ride, that last feature will pay for itself every day.

A Quarter Century of Acura

Hard to believe that it's been 25 years since Honda's upscale Acura division debuted. I remember the surprisingly substantial Legend and delightfully sporty Integra (Legend is pictured, left). It was a new idea--one that Toyota followed up with a few years later with the hugely successful Lexus division.

Why was Lexus more successful? Maybe because they tried to copy Mercedes-Benz more closely? Maybe they spent more on marketing. Was it the V8 engines?

Acura decided to drop their interesting and memorable model names for alphanumerics some years ago. Which do you prefer--Legend and Integra or RL and RSX? I write about cars and I sometimes can't remember which is which.

In an attempt to differentiate itself in buyers' minds, Acura has been adding a chrome beak to its various models over the last few years. The TL sedan was the most extreme iteration of this treatment. Good news! For 2012 it's been cut back and integrated more nicely (see below).

These are still fine cars, but sadly, their identity is still short on definition. Happy 25th Anniversary, though, to Acura.