As the luxury sedan market has shrunk in recent years, competition among the remaining sedans has intensified. Acura’s previous offering, the RLX, was refreshed in 2018, but it wasn’t enough to increase sales, and it was upgraded after 2020. Instead, fewer features appeared.
The exterior of the car, while interesting enough, wasn’t all that different, and the interior wasn’t memorable either. The 2018 update saw some new technology being added, but the car has also trailed its competitors in this regard, missing industry standard features such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Up to 377 horsepower was available with a hybrid powertrain, again a respectable image but not unusual for the segment.
Although its reliability was not exceptional – iSeeCars gave the hybrid 7.4, hitting the mid-range but finishing short of the best in the class.