The 2016 Acura RLX luxury sedan, now on sale, boasts an abundance of standard premium attributes and features, including a 310 hp, direct-injected i-VTEC V6 engine. Available on all trims and standard on the Technology and Advance packages, the RLX now includes AcuraWatch, a comprehensive suite of safety and driver assistive technologies that help to improve the driver’s situational awareness and, in certain circumstances, intervene to help avoid a collision or mitigate its severity.
AcuraWatch
At the heart of AcuraWatch is the fusion of camera and radar technology that can sense the roadway and objects within it, including other vehicles and pedestrians. This technology underpins the systems that help provide the driver with superior vision around the vehicle, can alert the driver of potential issues and, if necessary, intervene to help keep the RLX from departing a lane, departing the road, or help to avoid or mitigate the severity of a collision. These systems include Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) and Cross Traffic Monitor, both of which are new to the RLX.
Surround View Camera3
For 2016, the Acura RLX with Advance Package includes the first U.S. application of Acura’s Surround View Camera system3 that provides a 360-degree image of the area around the vehicle. The surround view camera system is designed to assist drivers during critical and precise maneuvers in snug parking situations. Using four separate cameras, views from behind, directly in front of, and both left and right sides of the vehicle can be displayed on the navigation screen. The system can also use all four cameras to seamlessly create a composite bird’s eye image, to provide the driver with information about the surroundings. In addition, dynamic on-screen guidelines help the driver see their projected path relative to the lines demarking parking spaces or other objects, allowing them to maneuver with greater confidence.
Road Departure Mitigation (RDM)
New for the 2016 Acura RLX, Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) uses a Monocular Camera (mounted on the upper portion of the windshield) to identify solid or dashed painted lane lines, Botts’ Dots and Cat Eye markers. RDM uses both steering force, via EPS, and braking force, via VSA, to help the RLX stay a detected lane.
The monocular camera can recognize lane features and identify a lane or roadway edge. If the RDM system determines that the RLX is about to leave a detected lane or roadway defined by solid lines, it will provide steering assist (primary) and, in rare occasions when steering is not sufficient, braking assist to help the driver stay on the road. If a lane only identified by dashed lines, Bott’s Dots or Cat Eye markers and the system determines that there is an unintended departure, no braking assist will be provided. Instead, the RLX will use active steering force to return to the detected lane. RDM is integrated with the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system to provide moderate braking, and with the Electric Power Steering (EPS) system to provide steering input.
Multiple visual and audible warnings alert the driver when the RDM system is taking corrective action. These include a lane departure warning on the driver’s Multi Information Display (MID) along with an audible warning. RDM also has a customizable initial warning of either a steering wheel shake/vibration and/or an audible alert. This can be customized in the vehicle settings.
Cross Traffic Monitor
Another new driver assistive technology included with AcuraWatch™, the Cross Traffic Monitor works in conjunction with the RLX’s Blind Spot Information (BSI) radar sensors to enhance driver confidence when backing up. The system is especially useful when reversing in congested parking lots with an obstructed view from the driver’s seat.
The system utilizes a pair of blind-spot radar units located in the rear bumper corners. When Reverse is selected and an approaching vehicle is detected, arrows indicating the approaching vehicle’s direction are shown on the center display’s rear camera image. An audible warning is simultaneously emitted.2016 RLX Chassis Enhancements
To improve overall ride and handling quality and reduce noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), the chassis of the 2016 RLX has received multiple tuning refinements. Both the front and rear shock absorbers get an increase in piston rod diameter and the rear stabilizer bar’s stiffness is decreased. The front and rear spring rates and shock absorber damping force were all decreased to provide better shock absorption and road surface tracking. Furthermore, the front upper spring/shock mounts and rear bump stops were changed for improved action.
