2015 Acura TLX Crash Test Results

Since IIHS introduced the small overlap crash test, most Honda/Acura cars perform extremely well, therefore giving people the impression that their vehicles had paid attention to structural rigidity and safety.

This is also true for the completely-new 2015 Acura TLX, which is the successor to the previous Acura TL.

How Acura Enhanced the TLX

From test results published by IIHS today, we have a rough idea of how Acura has enhanced the TLX’s car body rigidity.  Here is a brief analysis:

1. B-pillar strength has been improved significantly...

Review Index

2014 Acura RLX – Part 1 (Exterior)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 2 (Interior)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 3 (Electronic Features, Controls)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 4 (Powertrain)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 5 (Chassis)

Our test car is assembled in Japan in May, 2013, see the label on the chassis.

The RLX comes with double-wishbone type design for both the front and rear suspension.

But please do not be fooled by the “double-wishbone” name. On the RLX, it is not the traditional double-wishbone suspension which has both upper and lower A-arms.

For the front suspension, it has an upper A-arm, but there is no lower A-arm...

Review Index

2014 Acura RLX – Part 1 (Exterior)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 2 (Interior)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 3 (Electronic Features, Controls)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 4 (Powertrain)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 5 (Chassis)

The RLX is equipped with a naturally aspirated, direct injection 3.5L V6 engine, pumps out a maxium of 310hp at 6,500rpm, and 272 lb-ft of torque at 4,500rpm. The power is transmitted to the front wheels through Honda’s self-developed 6-speed automatic transmission.

Maybe unknown to some people, automatic transmissions developed by Honda has a completely different architecture...

Review Index

2014 Acura RLX – Part 1 (Exterior)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 2 (Interior)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 3 (Electronic Features, Controls)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 4 (Powertrain)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 5 (Chassis)

Even though the RLX has two LCDs to accept control command and display information, there are still a dozen of physical buttons and knobs on the center console.

It gave me some sense of complication during the first few minutes when I was sitting on the driver’s seat, but after playing with the system for a while, I found it to be easy to use – at least it is not hard to learn to use the major features that it provides.

The AC control part is easy and intu...

Review Index

2014 Acura RLX – Part 1 (Exterior)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 2 (Interior)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 3 (Electronic Features, Controls)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 4 (Powertrain)
2014 Acura RLX – Part 5 (Chassis)

Starts from the interior, the Acura RLX starts to show its value.

There are two things catches your eyes the first time you entering RLX’s cabin:

1. the 2 LCD screens on the dashboard
2. large percentage of the interior panels (door, dashboard, center console, armrests etc.) are wrapped in genuine leather, with fine stitching

I would like to expand the discussion on the above two points, because they represents the current trend of how automobile industry...