It’s a tough market for anyone looking to buy a new car in 2022. Right now, car prices are being hit by sky-high markups, and dealer inventories have been cut thanks to the ongoing chip shortage. Maybe that’s why one plucky car buyer decided February 2022 was the right time to buy a brand new Acura RLX.
Now, buying an Acura RLX might not sound like a strange call to make. After all, it’s a pretty nice sedan — and there aren’t too many of those in production any more.
But that’s exactly the issue here: the RLX isn’t in production anymore. And it hasn’t been in production or listed for sale here in the US for almost two years.
This V6-powered hybrid was sadly killed off in 2020, when Acura reported that sales of the sporty sedan had began to dwindle. In the 12 months prior to its death, Acura reported selling just over 1,000 units. In 2020, the firm sold 1,054 RLXs, and just 214 units were sold last year.
The one Acura RLX shifted in February is the first to be sold this year. So yay for Acura, I guess.
But if you’re the person that managed to track down one of the few remaining RLXs on these fair lands, should you be pumped that you managed to uncover a nice sedan to park on your driveway? Or should we feel sorry for you, as you’ve been forced into a two-year old car?
Well, the RLX was a pretty exciting concept when it first premiered. The latest generation was launched in 2018 and boasted a V6 engine and three electric motors. That gave it a very tidy 377 horsepower. Albeit, four-year-old horsepower now.
There was also all-wheel-drive and some pretty sleek styling. When it went on sale, all that could be yours for upwards of $50,000.
Now, we can’t speculate what this lucky RLX owner could have spent on their new car, and Acura hasn’t responded for comment on the matter.
But, $50,000 is a lot to spend on a car. For that money, this new RLX buyer could have definitely picked up something actually new and not just a two-year-old car disguised as a gleaming set of fresh wheels.
Maybe something like the Genesis G80, Audi A5 or even a Volvo S60. And given the choice between a place on a waiting list for one of those cars or an RLX ready to drive that day, which would you go for?
But are you the one person who ordered an Acura RLX last month, and if you are, what drove you to finally buy an RLX?