Battery-powered torque vectoring.
SAN FRANCISCO, California -- Acura answers the age-old question of "Why?" with the age-old answer, "Because it can" with the launch of its new, all-wheel-drive hybrid version of the RLX flagship sedan. The name of the car says it all, in that the hybrid system is there to provide all-wheel drive and, thus, the sport. If you check "hybrid" on the order sheet, the RLX is no longer a front-wheel-drive car. That doesn't make it a sport sedan, a term Acura assiduously avoids in describing the car, although it makes liberal use of the words "sporty" and "dynamic" as adjectives. In this context, Sport Hybrid means that two of the RLX's three electric motors straighten out its handling, virtually eliminating the benign understeer you'll find in the base front-wheel-drive car. This is not an über-high-fuel-mileage competitor for the Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec or BMW 535d xDrive turbo-diesels, although the RLX Sport Hybrid will cost about as much as the latter.
Photo Gallery: 2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD Review - Automoblie Magazine
Photo Gallery: 2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD Review - Automoblie Magazine