I did a quick compare of some common features that purchasers look for. These are nicety features and are not the basic engines or running of the vehicle. Many of these were non-existent 5 years ago. This list shows that Honda / Acura has been slow to adapt. I hope for the 2015 models they add some of these niceties if they want to compete. I did my analysis using Edmunds, visiting vehicle sites, and via google so there may be some minor errors.

The features I looked at are:

• LED DRLs
• BLIS / Lane Departure (combined the 2)
• Cross Traffic
• Collision sensor
• Backup cam
• Parking Assist / Sensors (some are just sensors while others can actually park for you)
• Rain Sensing Wipers
• Power Liftgate
• Panoramic Roof
• Remote Start (not available on German vehicles due to a German law)
• Heated Steering Wheel
• Heated rear seats
• Ventilated front seats

The vehicles I looked at are (# of above features in parenthesis):

• Lincoln MKC (13)
• Jeep Cherokee (11)
• Ford Escape (10)
• Lexus RX (9)
• Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (8)
• Audi Q5 (8)
• Nissan Rogue (8)
• Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (7)
• BMW X3 (7)
• Mercedes GLK (7)
• Subaru Forrester (7)
• Infiniti QX50 (5)
• Toyota Rav 4 (4)
• Honda CRV (3)
• Acura RDX (3)

 

You could also add:
- 360 degree view cameras
- active suspension (IDS)
- power/torque vectoring awd systems
- 7/8/9 speed transmissions
- Entertainment/media interface

I'm cool with any upgrades that are safety related like Blind Spot monitoring, CMBS, or Lane Keeping assist. Everything else are nice to have; but, not necessary. Acura usually rates near or at the top for crash protection for its line-up.

I would be curious of the % of cars sold actually have all the safety/luxury features compared to the stripped down base versions sold.

 

Don't forget bi-xenon headlamps. And I hate to bring it up again, but how about at least a manual height adjustment on the front passenger seat? Seriously ... how much can that cost?

 

I thought about this list based on a conversation I had with a friend and his wife. He is a car guy with an older M3 in his garage. He leases cars for his wife. They had a 3 series sedan and TSX in the past. This time they wanted an SUV and shopped around. For her she said she cared about features and didn't know about engines. She wanted the safety features and most important to her was a remote starter and backup camera. She settled on the 2013 Ford Escape Titanium with the bigger engine. My friend said the engine has great torque for passing ability (he knows as an M3 guy). She looked at the Q5 and X3 but because she couldn't get a remote starter she passed. On a lease you can't do it after market. My friend actually pushed for the parking and BLIS sensors because they had an incident a few years ago while parking a vehicle in the garage where they scratched the vehicle. The Power liftgate and Panoramic roof kind of closed the deal for her. They probably would have got the Lincoln MKC if it was out at that time but they have this vehicle for the next 2 1/2 years. They looked at the RDX but because it didn't have the features she wanted it was not really in consideration.

None of the items are really must haves since many of us have been driving vehicles for many years without these features. I guess the features that everyone needs now are: GPS and Blue Tooth which all vehicles pretty much have.

My friend's wife didn't care what name was on the car. She just wanted reliability. She didn't care if it was Kia, Ford, BMW, Acura, or Porsche. It was a combination of reliability, features, and price.

 

Sounds like my wife. She wanted a CRV because she thought it was "cute" back in 2009-2010. I took her down to Honda dealership and she loved the CRV and she would of purchased it if I wasn't there. The CRV was just a box with wheels; but, she liked it. I told her for the same $$, lets see what you can get from Acura. It just took 5 minutes behind the wheel with the turbo power and she forgot all about the CRV.

My wife treats a car like an appliance to get a job done of moving you from A to B.

She cared less about the tech on our MDX Adv/Ent at first. She would ask me "why do we need all that electronic stuff?" One road trip using the DVD player, BSI, ACC and we avoided a close call with the CBMS; she was hooked on the advance model ever since.

 

I reckon every person's list would be different...my thoughts on yours:

• LED DRLs
• Seem reasonable, but not a biggie to me as long as there are auto-on headlights
• BLIS / Lane Departure (combined the 2)
• Had it for 3.4 years in the XC60...don't miss it a bit
• Cross Traffic
• Not sure what that is...camera?...in front?...kinda cool
• Collision sensor
• Had it for 3.4 years...see above
• Backup cam
• Definite plus
• Parking Assist / Sensors (some are just sensors while others can actually park for you)
• Cam works...don't need anyone to park my car
• Rain Sensing Wipers
• Don't need anyone to turn on my wipers
  
• Power Liftgate
• Quite handy; but I used manual just as often as auto
  
• Panoramic Roof
• What's with the need for a 'pano' roof? Whatcha lookin at?
• Remote Start (not available on German vehicles due to a German law)
• No interest at all in this...might be handy when it's super hot
• Heated Steering Wheel
• Nope...not interested
• Heated rear seats
• Nope...use my rear seats about once a month, if that
• Ventilated front seats
• Possibly interesting; but not sure how effective they would be

So, I reckon the folks in more temperate climes would have a different list. I'd go for a cargo area 12v outlet, rear seat vents(for the pup), maybe outo up and away steering wheel...Y'all can keep all that cold-weather stuff.

 

My list is basically blind spot detectors, reverse sensors, rear AC vents and more passenger seat adjustability. A decent remote starter and VASTLY improved nav would be bonuses.

I'm very much looking forward to checking out the MKC, which I'm not sure I ever thought I would say about a Lincoln.

 

I agree with CoachRick, line for line. Where you live probably has some influence but I think a lot of it is age. Many of us olde phartes don't see a lot of value in many of the doo-dads on cars these days. Hell, I remember when heaters were optional. And white sidewall tires. That was back when we had to walk to school in snow storms and it was uphill both ways.

 

Me too. While I'm hopeful the TLX will work for me, if I go with a CUV I would definitely check out the MKC. I drove the MKZ and it was not bad, just didn't want the current version of My Lincoln Touch. The MKC is supposed to be the first to bring back buttons for some features.

How about seat belts? An air bag was that thing my Dad sat on when his 'roids acted up. And '4-60' air conditioning was all we had. I grew up on that. Had better muscle tone in my arms from cranking the windows up and down. Those were the days.

But I'm glad they are no longer the days! I like the modern features that make cars safer and now hopefully even reduce the occurrences of collisions. But there are some dumb @$$ drivers with cell phones on their ears that are conspiring to crash into me. I've never been a more defensive driver in my life. If I can see these people driving all day, why don't cops start handing out tickets?

 

But I'm glad they are no longer the days! I like the modern features that make cars safer and now hopefully even reduce the occurrences of collisions. But there are some dumb @$$ drivers with cell phones on their ears that are conspiring to crash into me. I've never been a more defensive driver in my life. If I can see these people driving all day, why don't cops start handing out tickets?[/QUOTE]

You are so right, if there's something that sends me into a rage is watching these idiots driving with their cell phones in their hand or hanging from the side of their heads! The sad part is, here in upstate NY I have even spotted State Troopers doing it!!!

 

Just give me front sensors, I'd like to know when I'm close to stuff. I remember my dad adding seat belts and hazard flashers to his '62 Pontiac GP for "safety". He was always amazed at the dash of our Acura compared to what he drove back in the day.

 

Interesting comparison, but all purchasers don't look for these things as evidenced by several replies here. The RDX and CRV has been selling well, and to me the lack of features you've listed doesn't mean Honda is lagging behind the market. I think Honda takes a more focused approach to feature implementation.

I may get roasted for this analogy but look at Apple vs Samsung. Samsung throws as many features into its phones as possible in the hopes that customers will be impressed. Apple takes a more patient approach and focuses on the user experience rather than keeping up with latest tech trends. Both companies are successful in their own ways. I see parallels with Honda here - sure a few people will complain that Hondas don't have rain sensing wipers, but many other customers overlook silly things like that & make purchase decisions based on intangible qualities like feel and emotional response.

 

One feature I would like to see is an "AFFORDABLE" hybrid system option or just make it standard across the Acura line to bring down cost. They can charge more $$$ on the size of Kilowatt battery installed in the vehicle; kinda like Tesla's 60 kWh, 85 kWh, or 85 kWh performance battery options. If Acura became 100% (affordable) hybrid luxury brand, I could see them increasing sales on this feature exclusively compared to all other options combined.

I like luxury features I can use everyday or safety features that will save me and my family when needed. Getting 27-30 mpg combined plus more power when needed in a full size SUV is a feature I could use everyday.

 

Gave up caring about the features they didn't offer since i already bought it BUUUUUUT I do wish they'd offer a

White w/ black interior (they always do that to me after i buy)
a Red w/ Black interior or even a nice "sporty" Blue color....

The CRV has way better color options than the RDX... very very bland, and EVERY color i WOULD have bought.. only came with parchment

 

Absolutely! Cars are so much safe and more reliable these days. When I look at some of those 50' and 60's cars now, It's scary. No seat belts, padded dashboards, lots of knobs protruding from the dash, etc, etc. Not to mention better tires, better brakes, electronic ignitions, fuel injection, better headlights, better glass, etc, etc, etc. OTOH, I think there are lots of doo-dads on new cars that just drive up the price and lower the overall reliability without adding much value. As always, YMMV (anyone remember the origin of that?)...

 

interesting perspectives from people. I remember my 1st vehicle with air bags. On my current vehicle I have an after market radio because XM and GPS was not offered by the specific manufacturer in 2005 when I bought it. I don't have blue tooth and use an ear piece when I talk and drive. There are no USB ports and I have a cd player.

Just mentioning these things because while some of these features are not important now, they will be in 5+ years. This can potentially affect the resale of the vehicle or just the driving convenience.

If you try to sell a car now with no usb, blue tooth, or xm you are limiting your market since the 20 somethings will not be as attracted to it.

Here are the Edmunds Pros / Cons on the 2014 model:
-Pros
Strong yet fuel-efficient V6 engine; generous rear legroom; lengthy standard features list; competitive price.
-Cons
Some rivals are sportier or have a few more available features.

 

Not to take this thread too far off track. Lately there has been an explosion of tech in cars. Systems like My Ford Touch is a perfect example of taking things too far. Ford is now making an adjustment back to a (hopefully) more driver friendly, less distracting way. One thing about those old cars... they rarely distracted you from the act of driving. No phone calls, no navigation system, no computer screen to adjust the car temp. Your hand knew where the window crank was and it was second nature.

Some of the feature the OP listed I'm not personally interested in, but when I shop for a car it is on balance of other factors like reliability, safety, cost of course.

As for safety.. that is one place where new tech has had a huge impact in a good way. I distinctly remember when I was very young my riding position in the car was in the back seat row, standing on the 'transmission hump' between my parents front seats... one hand on the back of each seat... watching the road ahead through the windshield... sort of surfing on the transmission hump. My parents never had a second thought about it. I must have been very young to be able to stand there, but it was so much fun I can still remember it. If I were a kid today I'd be lashed in a child seat, safe, but completely bored out of my mind.

 

IMHO for what they are asking, the RDX should come standard with

LED or HID headlamps
splash guards
power lift gate
cargo cover
a better designed rear camera

Things that all cars should have

security system
abs/ traction control
stability program
auto dimming mirrors
occupant safety (airbags/ seatbelts, anchor points, etc)
a full gauge set (tach, water temp, volts, fuel, speedo)

 

While I generally agree with you, I have to say I've hated every auto dimming mirror I've ever come across. I find they dim way too much for my taste. In my old CL, I turned it off and never dealt with it again -- perfect! The RDX, however, requires me to turn it off every single time. It takes like half a second to do it, but I still find it annoying.