Day 3:
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As the weather warms up, I am getting a chance to push the RL a bit in the corners, even though my tester is fitted with winter tires. The RL has a readout on the dash display that shows how the SH-AWD system is working: yet another novelty, as it is pretty much impossible to read while driving.
The SH-AWD system does seem to keep the vehicle easily on the intended path, and if you manage somehow to read the SH-AWD readout while in a corner, you’ll see that torque is distributed to the outside rear wheel as you accelerate through it, which reduces understeer in a corner for better handling.
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Too bad this system is not used on a sports car, and that no RLs will go around a corner fast enough to ever need such a system. One can only assume it works well in low-traction situations such as snow and ice.
Since the weather has finally warmed up, I had a chance to test the driver’s seat cooling function: a wonderful feature on a warm day to keep your posterior at room temperature. The one-touch sunroof and auto-up down windows all around make for a pleasant spring drive at the touch of a few buttons.
Other notable buttons include the one for the rear sunshade, which I think would be great to use as a bulletin board for those tailgaters. By the way, tailgating is something you don’t want to be do in the RL unless you turn off the collision mitigation braking system. If you approach a vehicle to within about five feet, while moving and not touching the brakes, the vehicle will beep and a huge orange “BRAKE” message comes on the screen.
At that point if you were not paying attention, it is a little too late to brake. Nevertheless I’m all for safety devices that could save lives or prevent damage to a vehicle.
