This is Honda's best shot. To all of those that have criticized the automotive giant for being slow to launch its own EV, the Acura RSX is your answer. Honda insists it has been patient and calculated in its timing, and that the first home-grown, long-range EV from its luxury arm will catapult it to the forefront of the EV revolution.
Should you believe it?
It's tough to know outright, as details are scarce. Acura says the RSX is the first vehicle to ride on Honda's new software-defined EV architecture, which will also underpin the upcoming Honda 0 Series. All of these vehicles get a brand new software experience, with a new driver assistance suite, a new digital assistant, new personalization features and true over-the-air-updates. It will have AI-powered features, too, of course.
As the premium Acura-branded version of the 0 Series, the RSX will come standard with dual-motor all-wheel-drive, Brembo front brakes and double-wishbone front suspension. Those are all certainly good things to have, but without figures for weight, power, acceleration times, battery size or range, I'll have to withhold judgment on whether Acura is serious about making the RSX feel like a performance product.
The good news, regardless, is that the RSX will be build in Ohio on lines that use gas cars. That keeps Honda flexible to satisfy rapidly evolving demand, which the company has learned about the hard way.
Acura spent an average of $21,000 per sale on incentives for the ZDX last quarter, its only all-electric nameplate so far, per Motor Intelligence data cited by Automotive News. But while the ZDX is built by General Motors, the RSX will use a wholly new pure Honda platform.
Gallery: Acura RSX EV Prototype: First Look
The new platform will support vehicle-to-load power exporting and offer Tesla-style North American Charging System (NACS) plugs from the factory, enabling native support for Superchargers. There's no word yet on what sort of voltage Honda is using, nor any quoted charge times or range figures. Battery makeup remains a mystery as well.
All of this will be sorted over the next year, as Honda plans to deliver the Acura RSX to customers in the second half of 2026. Ultimately, that moment will be the test of Honda's strategy. By waiting things out, did Honda dodge the awkward EV middle years and launch a mature product from the get-go? Or did the company merely put off its electric teething years into the second half of the decade, risking having an immature product at a time when competitors have already ironed theirs out?
It's too early to say. But if Honda wants to be a leader in the electric era, it can't afford to get the RSX wrong.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.
