STYLING | 7 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
The overall design is more elegant than flashy, in line with Acura's current sedan styling directive.
Motor Trend
The RLX isn't the most striking sedan to ever come out of Japan. Or from anywhere.
Edmunds
Even with all those features, Acura has cleaned up the RL's busy center stack. The supple interior's fit and finish is nearly perfect, with generous padding for every leather and plastic surface that could conceivably come into contact with the driver's hands.
Automobile
The cabin is far airier and roomier than before, with lots of clearance for occupants’ extremities. It’s also beautifully finished in muted tones
Car and Driver
RLX isn't ugly, but it isn't distinctive. Strikes us as a lost opportunity.
USA Today
Good-looking but not at all daring, the Acura RLX would get called "catalog" on any of the cutthroat fashion-model reality shows.
The challenge for any luxury sedan today is to hit some benchmarks that would have been coachbuilt in a bygone era. The Audi A7 and Jaguar XF are in the RLX's periphery, and they faintly reek of sophistication and substance--nevermind the Cadillac XTS and its flair-filled, jewel-blinged bod.
The RLX? It's less apt to leap off a runway. The stance is right, and the proportions are good, and even the BMW-esque turn to the roofline has enough distance between it and the original to claim its own birthright. The rest is subtle but graceful, from the LED headlights to the curve stamped over the front wheels to the LED taillights. As rolling stock, the RLX's smoothly arched roofline and somewhat aggressive stance are attractive--but they're not groundbreaking.
The cabin is a pretty functional, handsome place to check off driving tasks, but it's more of the same. It falls in the gap between the opposing ways drivers tend to define luxury: it doesn't wrap itself in the precisely modern design cues that define most Audi cockpits, or in the pervasive sense of old (and new) money that fills every Jaguar cabin. Cadillac is doing fantastic interiors in this class, too, and the choice of materials and grains and glosses are as point-perfect in the Acura RLX. It has the sense of refinement down pat, but lacks the sense of drama that's almost a basic requirement in an age of A7, XF, and XTS.
Conclusion
The Acura RLX leaves the bold statements to other brands, and settles for a graceful, more universal appeal.
