Acura RLX: Add Another Grave to the Sedan Cemetery

Yes, it’s true. The news that marred your sunny and/or drenching weekend cannot be ignored: the slow-selling, highly complex Acura RLX flagship will not stage a return for 2021.

If it did, would anyone have noticed?

That’s doubtful, given the model’s shrinking sales volumes.

In a statement reported by Car and Driver late Friday, Acura said, “Today, we informed Acura dealers of our plan to discontinue sales of the RLX sedan in North America at the conclusion of the 2020 model year, as we make significant investments in the core models that represent Acura’s future.”

Acura’s sedan future now lies in the compact ILX and midsize TLX, the latter of which gains a new generation for 2021. Honda’s premium division previewed the car with its Type S concept vehicle last year, heralding the return of the Type S designation to the brand.

But back to the RLX, which split from its predecessor, the RL for the 2014 model year. Front-drive in base models and boasting all-wheel steering, the RLX offered a 3.5-liter V6 and 10-speed automatic. Any benefit to handling realized by its steering system failed to catch the attention of consumers, who stayed away in droves. The same can be said for the uplevel RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD, which combined the same 310-horse V6 with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and a triple-motor all-wheel drive hybrid powertrain.

This complex affair doled out one electric motor up front, with two more independently powering the rear wheels. Shades of NSX, only in a forgettable, largish midsize sedan. Acura used a fleet of these to shuttle us to an MDX first drive event a few years back — an event that included a toe-dip in the supposedly DNA-sharing NSX.

While Acura’s powertrain tech should have set it apart from some rivals, it didn’t. The brand sold just 205 of these sedans in the first four months of 2020; even factoring in the pandemic, that’s a tiny amount. Last year saw Acura unload just 1,019 of them. In its first full year of production, some 3,413 RLXs made it out of showrooms.

[Images: Acura]