Which Acura Models Are AWD?

If you are searching for a car fitted with all-wheel drive (AWD), then there are various Acura models with AWD. In a lot of the models from Acura, there is a unique super handling AWD system which is mainly in the hybrid package model. Obviously, one significant advantage is traction, but it is evident from performance-only models such as the 2018 Acura NSX that control on snow-covered roads is not all about just traction. Mostly the AWD (all-wheel drive) becomes a favourite among the drivers because of the danger of slick streets. This system is also constantly monitoring the conditions of the driving elements to give the power to the wheels including great traction as well.

What does this mean for you when you are driving? Even around sharp corners you will experience an exciting but stable ride. You will find that the extra traction and power are often unnecessary when driving on a straight road, which is why only 90 percent of its power is sent by the system to the front end. In such situations, Acura models have a perfect combination of performance, traction and effectiveness.

Super Handling All Wheel drive

The ultimate choice for the TLX is the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). This sophisticated system boosts dry-road handling with a high-performance while offering the same all-weather benefits as conventional AWD. SH-AWD provides liberating agility and seamless power transitions by continuously directing engine power to match available traction, weight distribution, driver input and other conditions. Simply, rear, conventional and front all-wheel drive systems cannot match the sensation provided by excellent cornering with high-performance results.

• To improve fuel efficiency, 90% of the power is sent to the front wheel when cruising is done in the straight line.
• Based on a continuous analysis of wheel speed, lateral G-force, steering angle and yaw rate, it is continuously determined by the system what is the optimal level of power distribution between the rear wheels individually and between the rear and front wheels.
• The Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system transfers up to 45% of motor energy to the rear wheels as weight changes during difficult acceleration which enables a full benefit of extra accessible traction.
• The TLX feels firmly planted under hard acceleration on a curve, as 70% of the effective torque can be directed to the back wheels. All that torque can be applied solely to the outside wheel, improving the capacity of cornering by assigning authority where the weight has changed.
• On the TLX, SH-AWD further increases stability and also reduces under steer by rotating the outer rear wheel up to 2.7% faster than the other wheels, thus helping the vehicle to rotate through the turn.

Currently there are 4 models available of Acura with AWD (all wheel drive-train). These models have front wheel drive and the only model which does not have all wheel drive-train is Acura ILX.

Following are the Acura models with AWD

2019 Acura TLX

The 2019 Acura TLX is available with the V6 engine Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) at all levels. This engine provides an extra strength of 290 horsepower. Drivers may also choose warmed front sports seats with leatherettes and double-zone climate control as additions.

Since 2014, the Acura TLX is a compact luxury executive / entry-level sedan manufactured by Acura, Honda’s luxury vehicle division. The Acura TLX was being shown as the “TLX Prototype,” a sedan designed as a substitute for the TSX and TL sedans at Acura’s Los Angeles Design Studio. During the New York International Auto Show in 2014, the manufactured version was revealed in April. Sales started in August, when the TLX started manufacturing in Marysville, Ohio, USA in July.

1. First generation – A dual clutch transmission was designed by Honda and it is the first to use torque converter which is done for absorbing the transmission gear shift shock thus it reduces NVH. It is estimated by Honda that the six-cylinder model is 1.5 seconds quicker from 0 to 60 mph.

• The TLX four-cylinder began at $31,890 or $360 higher than the retired TSX. A 3.5-liter direct injected SOHC VTECV-6 with cylinder deactivation (VCM) is matched to Honda’s first use of an automatic 9-speed transmission (sourced from ZF), available with either a P-AWS or a full-wheel drive (SH-A).
• SH-AWD models will come standard with the “Technology Package” costing $1,860, (this is not exactly the past SH-AWD TL furnished with the “Technology Package”). TLX models fitted with the V6 motor will lose almost 150 lb (68 kg) in contrast to the FWD TL and more than 225 lb (102 kg) in contrast to the SH-AWD TL. The SH-AWD model will never again offer superior summer tires but may offer less sticky all-season tires.
• Like the MDX and RLX, the TLX comes standard with LED headlamps; additionally, golden LED signal indicators join into the side mirrors and back LED brake lights. By and large, the length of the vehicle contrasted with the past TL was decreased by 3.8 inches (97 mm) while the wheelbase keeps up a similar length. Likewise, with the ninth era Accord, the TLX loses the front twofold wishbone suspension of the TSX and TL supplanting it with a Macpherson strut arrangement.

2. Motorsports – A TLX-GT, a race vehicle version of the TLX SH-AWD with a twin turbo rendition of the immediate infusion V6 motor found in the creation TLX SH-AWD car has likewise been created by the Acura Motorsports Group at Honda Performance Development. This has an adjusted body and streamlined execution parts endorsed for Pirelli World Challenge rivalry. The TLX-GT was unveiled at the 2014 North American International Auto Show.

• Real-time Racing entered a production line upheld vehicle in the GT class at the Mid-Ohio and Sonoma rounds of the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge, with Peter Cunningham finishing at thirteenth place. In 2015 the group handled two full-time race commitments for Cunningham and Ryan Eversley. The last won the first St. Petersburg race and finished 6th in the GT class drivers grouping, while Cunningham finished 14th.

3. Facelift – Acura presented the re-formatted 2018 TLX in April 2017. Remarkable changes incorporated amended front fenders, fascia and grille; restyled wheels; and new info-tainment system which included Apple Car Play and Android Auto support. Also, another ‘A-Spec’ execution trim had been included. US deals commenced during June 2017.

In April 2017 a long-wheelbase form explicitly created for the Chinese market was also announced. It appeared in August 2017, at the Chengdu Motor Show, and is known as the Acura TLX-L. The TLX-L is just offered with the 2.4-liter four, creating 153 kW.

2019 Acura RLX

Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) is available in the Advanced Package for the 2019 Acura RLX. This sedan has a fuel efficiency engine that is accessible for maintenance. The Acura RLX also has the ELS/Acura Studio with the 3D Premium Audio System for the driver and the passengers to appreciate the music they want. A full-size luxury sedan, the Acura RLX was sold by the Acura division and it was manufactured by Honda which released the model in 2013.

After the Acura RL, there are two versions offered by RLX – a hybrid variant with the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive which serves as the ‘Acura Flagship’ and the front wheel drive base model which is equipped with the P-AWS (Acura’s Precision All-wheel Steer).

• Development –An October 2009 blog referred to a dinner with Acura officials who recognized that the presentation of the new, bigger, and in certain arenas, all the more dominant, fourth era Acura TL made it hard to showcase the current RL. In November 2009, an Auto week article detailed that Takanobu Ito, the new Honda CEO revealed to Automotive News that Acura will be changing its course.

An “Auto week article” revealed that new Honda CEO Takanobu Ito disclosed to Automotive News that Acura is going to change its course

• RLX concept – the RLX concept was unveiled on 4^th April 2012 and this concept was the replacement of the RL Sedan at the New York international auto show in 2012. The production model also changed from the presented concept and was unveiled globally later that year at the Los Angeles Auto show. On 15^th March 2015 RLX went on sale and RL production ended on 16^th June 2012 at the Saitama facility
• RLX sport Hybrid – At the Los Angeles International Auto show in 2013, the RLX sport Hybrid was launched and the vehicle overall weight was 357 lbs with the (front: rear) weight distribution being improved from non-hybrid models 61:39 to hybrid models 57:43. In Japan, however, it is offered as the Honda Legend. It was during the September 2014 that the US sales had begun with the total 250 models which were produced for the model year 2014. Moreover, there were additional 250 models produced for the model year 2016.
• Power train – The Hybrid models feature the start -stop system as well as VCM capability for boosting the fuel economy and the ability for the operating the entire electric power system up to 58 miles/hour with the throttle use. A 7-speed dual clutch system is also used by the Hybrid with an integrated 35kW electric motor along with the rear wheel powered by a 27-kilowatt electric motor for the 2 rear electric motors. It is this setup which provides the hybrid a torque vectoring AWD system for the rear wheels which are electrically powered.
• Chassis – the front sub-frame is made up of the aluminium. A double wishbone layout is used by the Front suspension whereas the rear is a multi-link P-AWS (precision all wheel steer) system. The ‘amplitude reactive dampers’ are supplied by ZF Sachs with the 2 piston valves/ damper. Some options are also optional for non-hybrid like 19-inch wheels with the noise which also reduces the feature of harmonic construction and it is standard for the hybrid to have 18 inch wheels.
• Interior – The rear legroom is very similar to the luxury flagship sedans which have the non-extended versions of wheelbase. A 7-inch touch screen display along with the navigation screen of 8 inch.  The Bose system which was earlier used on the RL previous model is replaced by 14 speaker Krell audio system. Note that 10 speakers are used by the ELS premium system.

2019 Acura RDX

The 2019 Acura RDX has Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) which is a 5 seat SUV and also has a maximum cargo volume of about 79.8 cubic feet. The Acura RDX also has the 9 speakers as well as apple car play integration for the entertainment system. The first compact luxury crossover SUV is the 2019 Acura RDX which took over from the MDX as an entry level crossover SUV as the MDX grew in price and size. The RDX was built on the same platform as used by Honda for their CR-V and civic passenger cars. From the third generation, Acura RDX is built on the platform owned by Acura.

• First generation – The RDX production, Acura RD-X concept car had its debut at the New York Auto Show in 2006 and it was on sale from 11^th August, 2006. In August 2009, a revised and face-lifted 2010 model was on sale embracing Acura’s capacity plenum grille which is seen on its more modern vehicle models.  Additionally the front-wheel drive was included.
• The original RDX is controlled by turbocharged gas motors; at the time, this was exceptional among Honda vehicles. The 2.3-liter straight-4 K23A1 motor has all-aluminium development, an I-VTEC head, and double balance shafts.
• It was also among the top luxury four cylinders SUV of its generation. The turbo lag is reduced by the variable flow turbocharger of Honda with the usage of the valve so as to narrow the passage at the low rpm which increases the velocity of the exhaust flow and also keeps the turbine spinning.

The valve opens at a higher rpm to allow more exhaust flow to boost. The engine also has a top-mounted intercooler that gets air from the grill, channelled under the hood by ducting.  Terrain and driving style play an important role in the fuel economy of this vehicle. Uphill driving, frequent lane shifts, and sudden accelerations will boost turbo usage which in turn will boost the torque output of the SH-AWD system, resulting in significantly greater fuel consumption.

• Drivetrain – The Acura RDX comes standard with an automatic five-speed transmission with the manual sequential shift capacity of Acura’s SportShift, enabled by paddles installed on the steering wheel. In Drive, the paddles can be used to alter the current gear mode with the transmission returning to automatic mode as soon as the car resumes a steady-cruise condition.
•  The Sport setting has greater shift points and faster downshifts and instantly places the transmission in complete manual mode using a paddle in “Sport.” The RDX also has a Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) version from an Acura, first seen on the RL sedan flagship.
• The system may vary the distribution of front / rear torque from 90/10 to 30/70, depending on whether the car is curving, cruising, accelerating, climbing, or facing poor road conditions. A couple of magnetic flux clutches in the back tire can transfer up to 100% of the available rear torque to the outer wheel when taking a curve.
• Interior – The RDX seats five and comes with a moon-roof, leather seats, automatic climate control, and all the power features expected. The RDX 7-speaker audio system has a 6-CD in-dash changer capable of playing standard Data CDs, and audio CDs burned with either WMA files or MP3, and DVD-A type CDs can be played. Also included in the RDX sound system is XM Satellite Radio with an additional 3-month subscription.
• The optional “Technology Package” contains much of the interior technology which was introduced in the RL sedan. This package involves the recent version of Acura’s navigation system, which included a rear-view camera and real-time traffic tracking of XM Nav-Traffic
• The package also features an ELS Surround 10-speaker audio system with surround sound from Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS. The DVD-Audio disk can be played by the audio system. Both stereos are equipped with a 1/8 “(3.5 mm) auxiliary input jack that can be used to plug in external sources like iPods.
• Safety – The Acura RDX is the 2^nd Acura car to feature the body structure of Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) to absorb energy from a collision. The RDX comes with six airbags as per normal, including front side airbags, dual front airbags and dual side curtain airbags. The front airbags use dual-stage technology, dual-threshold to change the timing and velocity of each airbag deployment based on the degree of effect and the use of the seat belt by the front passenger or driver. If the front passenger is deemed too small by sensors (less than 65 lb (29 kg), the front airbag will not be inflate upon collision.

• In the case of a roll-over or enough side impact, the side curtain airbag deploys from the door frames above the affected side, covering both the front and rear occupants on that side and remains inflated longer than when a collision occurs.

2019 Acura MDX

The 2019 Acura MDX offers Super Handling All-Wheel Drive and it is a 3-row luxury SUV with the 3.6 liter V6 engine. There is a horsepower of 290 in this SUV and it has the towing capacity of 5,000 pounds with the all-wheel drive and V6 engine. The Honda MDX or Acura MDX as known in Australia and Japan is a luxury crossover (a mid size 3 rows). It is produced by the Honda under the Acura luxury nameplate from 2000. The alphanumeric moniker is “Multi-Dimensional Luxury.”

• As per Honda statements, the best-selling three-row luxury crossover is the MDX of all time, with cumulative U.S. sales expected to exceed 700,000 units by the end of 2014. It ranked second-best after the Lexus RX which was offering only two rows of seats.
• It filled a gap in Japan when the Honda Horizon in 1999 was discontinued The Honda MDX was sold in Australia and Japan in 2003. The MDX was the costliest crossover in Acura’s range, except for the 2009-13 model years when Acura added a crossover to the range called the ZDX which was priced above the MDX.

• First generation – The car is equipped with an automatic four-wheel drive scheme that works in both off-line acceleration and wheel slippage detection. The system also offers a locking mode that can be operated and activated at low speeds, which provides a permanent 4wd and the equivalent locked rear differential which is also designed to climb steep hills and get out of a bogged/muddy situation.

• The system also runs as a front wheel drive at the time of normal cruising to increase fuel efficiency and reduce drivetrain noise. The MDX VTM-4 AWD system has the same architecture as the Honda Ridgeline VTM-4 systems and Honda Pilot.
• It is different from the Honda CR-V’s real-time AWD system as it can lock, and it can predict when the traction gets lost and then applies power to the four wheels before slippage occurs. The Honda CR-V system is waiting till slippage occurs and then sends back power.
• In the 2002 model, the navigation scheme and choices for the DVD entertainment system were the same. Since the 2003 model, both could be ordered simultaneously.

1. 2014- Present – At North American International Auto Show in 2013, the 2014 MDX Prototype was introduced, and the production version was unveiled at the New York Auto Show. Production started on May 2, 2013; assembly of vehicles moved from Ontario to Lincoln, Canada, Alabama, and the sales of the US started on June 20.

The MDX is now powered by a Variable Cylinder Management directly injected 3.5-liter Earth Dreams V6. For the first time in the U.S. a front-wheel drive (FWD) system is accessible, but not in Canada, where AWD is the only configuration accessible.