2014 Acura RLX Pricing Announced

Acura’s flagship 2014 RLX will start at $49,345, including an $895 destination charge, when the luxury automaker’s largest sedan goes on sale March 15. The almost $50,000 entry fee includes numerous standard features like a 310-horsepower V-6 with direct injection, wild “jewel-eye” LED headlights, Acura’s first use of all-wheel steering, lane departure and forward collision warning systems, and a 10-speaker stereo with USB connectivity and Pandora internet radio.
 
The RLX improves on the outgoing Acura RL with more interior room from a similar outside package and a significantly redesigned inside, outside and chassis. The RLX competes against luxury sedans like the BMW 535i, Lexus GS 350 and Audi A6.

2014 Acura RLX: Up Close

As is usually the case with Acura, the actual 2014 RLX sedan here in L.A. doesn't stray far from the RLX concept we reported on from the 2012 New York Auto Show. It's a handsome enough car that's distinguished mainly by its headlights: two stacked rows of four separate LEDs on either side. Sixteen in total.

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I questioned what that would mean for the car's styling when the lights are off, but Acura said they're always on when the car is running. In daylight they serve as daytime running lights. The separate lights inboard of the LEDs are the high-beams. Between them is the Acura-signature shield grille, which thankfully isn't outrageously large. It doesn't look bad, even on the black cars here at the show. Black always exaggerated the shiny - and always controversial -- shields on earlier Acuras.

2014 Acura RLX: Photo Gallery

Acura's RLX replaces the brand's flagship RL sedan for 2014. It's both wider and sleeker looking than the car it replaces. The RLX's full-LED headlamps stand out, as does its grille, which is a softer interpretation of Acura's much-maligned shield grille.

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Inside, there's a dual-screen center instrument panel and Milano leather seats. Check out more pictures below.

2014 Acura RLX at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show

• Competes with: Lexus LS, Hyundai Equus, Infiniti M, Lincoln MKS, Jaguar XF
• Looks like: The return of a big luxury sedan for Acura
• Drivetrain: 310-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 with direct injection and a six-speed automatic transmission
• Hits dealerships: Spring 2013

Acura plans to replace its current RL model with a new luxury flagship, the RLX, for 2014. It debuted as a hybrid concept at this year's New York Auto Show, but the RLX's architecture inside and out changes for the initial production model. It’s set to hit showroom floors in spring 2013.

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The new RLX gets a fair share of high-tech safety and entertainment features like cloud-based AcuraLink connectivity system and Precision All-Wheel Steer, which allows for independent, continuous control of both rear wheels for improved handling during high- and low-speed driving. Parent-company Honda first used this steering system on its Prelude sports cars in the late 1980s.

Acura RLX Concept: Photo Gallery

The Acura RLX Concept is a good indication of the luxury brand's direction for its next-generation flagship, which will replace the RL.

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Underneath the RLX's skin is a high-tech hybrid powertrain that makes 370 horsepower and gets an estimated 30 mpg for both the city and highway.

Acura RLX Concept Video

While the Acura RLX Concept's exterior may have underwhelmed, Cars.com Industry Analyst Kelsey Mays was impressed by the interior when he hopped in the car at the 2012 New York auto show. The RLX is about the same size as the former RL, says Mays, but it has tons of interior space unlike the cramped RL. The RLX's two-tiered LCD center console is a unique setup, and there's now stitching along the dash, which is something that Honda, Acura's parent company, had been reluctant to do with its designs. With 370 horsepower and an all-wheel-drive system that supposedly will achieve 30 mpg in the city and on the highway, you’re looking at a promising vehicle beneath the rather banal sheet metal.

Acura RLX Concept: Up Close

Acura's parent company, Honda, will debut a production RLX in early 2013, but American Honda President Tetsuo Iwamura said the RLX Concept is a "strong indication" of the automaker's next flagship. The concept packs a lot of technology and a mouthful of an all-wheel-drive acronym, but its styling feels derivative.

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The nose is an amalgamation of the existing RL and TL, and the tail recalls the current Toyota Avalon. The only radical shift is in the garish chrome wheels, which probably won’t see the light of production. That's probably for the better.

Acura RLX Concept at the 2012 New York Auto Show

• Looks like: A very sensible sedan, boring but sensible
• Defining characteristics: Big power and mileage
• Ridiculous features: Does the generic design count?
• Chances of being mass-produced: This is what the real thing will look like

Acura has been beaten up — oftentimes unfairly — for its last generation of car designs. What started as a shield on the MDX became a beak on the TL and so on and so on. Acura is trying to tone done the aggressively odd looks with its most recent releases, the RDX and ILX. They work well in a conservative way.

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The RLX Concept is the company's flagship sedan and should make a statement about the brand's direction, but instead it simply looks like it's stuck in Neutral.