After lots of research, looks like I'll be getting the RDX.

I'm going to get a white exterior and in Canada, we get to choose two different interior colors - Ebony or Parchment. I've always had a black interior in the past, and I'd like to take some break from this but not at a cost of high maintenance...

So, my question is, is this color hard to maintain? I do wear jeans a lot, so I was told a creamy white is a big no no. How about this Parchment color?

 

Yes, you will get some blue dye on the interior if you are wearing new-fangled jeans with all the fancy dyes these days. Old style Levi's that faded out were not an issue. I've left blue stains on my dad's parchment interior in his Mercedes, especially from my Gap jeans. But it cleaned up OK. And yes, in my experience light colored interior leather does show more wear & tear over time.

But at the end of the day, I wouldn't worry and just get the color you prefer. They both look great in the RDX (even though I am an ebony interior guy).

 

What about grey interior, is that less prone to stains? I like that color too, especially with that silver trim...

 

After about a week of use I find its not the seats but more the parchment color floor panels that show the wear.

 

Just keep your car clean and your seats conditioned and you'll be fine with any color. The longer you let it get dirty, the harder to get it cleaned. I have both colors and no wear on either. I'm a retailer though so they stay fresh.

Most people will tell you to go with the WDP w/ebony because it's not an option for us in the states. It's the best color combo. However, I have grown to love the parchment. It's a love hate relationship lol.

 

Generally speaking the lighter color interiors are jut going to show wear & tear more than ebony. If you search this forum you will find many people describing evidence of early wear on the parchment interiors.

Have you seen the grey interior first hand? Has a cheap look to it IMO. I may be biased because my Toyota Tacoma did have a cheap grey interior, and I drove it for 15 years. But it didn't get hot in the sun though.

Again, the lighter interiors will require more upkeep to stay looking their best. But it would not discourage me from choosing one if it was the color of my choice. Unless maybe I had kids and pets in the car - in that case you are fighting a losing battle in any color.

 

Darker color interior looks classy when clean, but rough when dirty. Lighter interior looks airy and spacious when clean, and airy & spacious when dirty (most of the dirt/food is parchment color anyway ). Pick what you want. Don't let others decide what color works best for you. It's YOUR personal preference. Lighter colors are useful if you have toddlers in your car frequently.

 

Here's another point of view. All of the vehicles we've owned over the years that have leather interior have been light in color. Was our personal preference. The only ones that started looking shabby after several years were the ones in the Ford products we owned. Their leather was terrible (and I'm not sure how much real leather it really was). But for our Acuras and Hondas especially, the interior has looked as good after 3-4 years as it did when new.

andy

 

In fact, the parchment leather interior in my mom's 1999 Accord coupe still looks new. Albeit she only drives it to mall on Sunday's and has probably never eaten in the car either.

 

The black interior looks quite bland in my opinion; however, it is much easier to maintain and like many said it is much more forgiving if you wear jeans.

The parchment leather interior looks stunning at the dealership especially with the 2 tone interior design, however, it is quite easily to get dirty and it will probably drive you crazy if you like to sit in a clean car.

Grey color!? Nah.. Not my cup of tea.

At the end of the day, pick the color you like. It is your car.

 

We like our parchment color in our RDX. Have the same color in our 2010 accord and still,looks great. No way could I have a black interior car. Way to hot for me

 

re: cleanliness of light interiors

My data points show that after 3 years there is almost no real "dirt" on the seats (unless your dog has walked across with muddy paws...). They look really clean. The wife's '12 TL is nearly 3 years - and that has the taupe interior (off white is the best way to describe it) and even on the driver's seat that she uses every day - sometimes with bluejeans - it's as clean as the other seats, and is showing zero wear. The Parchment in my MDX when I traded it at like 28 months was like new as well.....

andy

 

Only ever had problems with turing seats blue when wearing overpriced new-fangled skinny-ish hipster jeans that use dyes prone to rubbing off. They usually have a warning right on the tag. Old school Levis and such were never an issue.

 

Interiors are a personal thing. To me I am not partial to the parchment interiors. Ebony to me is the classiest of them all.

That's why they have both. I recall with my TL they had umber interior. To me another colour I don' care for.

Good thing we have our own choices.

 

I respect anyone's preference of color. If parchment works for you, great, if ebony works for you, great. To echo what others have said, color schemes are a personal preference.

For me, and Mrs. CG_RDX, we were both in agreement with ebony. I have been to many Acura dealerships, and all of them had dirty parchment on the leather...very, very noticeable. I was instantly turned off (and so was she.) Black leather does get hot, but I'm hoping tints will help mitigate that. That's one of my first projects that I will perform on my new RDX.

 

Having parchment upholstery, I can attest to a major defect in the material. The welting on the driver's seat has worn away all color where you get in and out of the seat (outer edge). I do like the lighter interiors, but black would be a better choice if you had to touch up the color with a black dye or marker.

 

I have parchment in the black RDX, black in the white TSX. Black wins. rosen39 is spot on, no pun intended.

 

Well.......it "Depends"

 

I am wondering if there is any public sales data that would say how well parchment sells compared to ebony. Since I it more of a quasi-interest, I am not going to bother with a search, but I am sure someone will answer it all the same. Especially since colors are more personal than not. There are even folks who won't care about color one way or the other and will take Kona Coffee with Parchment be case they got $8k+ off MSRP but the car is fully loaded. Sorry, but if I am paying cash, I am going to want what I want.

 

I have noticed over the last year or so that the majority (all?) of the complaints about early RDX seat wear, color transfer and staining seem to be with Parchment. I wonder if it is really a defect, or it just shows wear and tear more easily?

Probably everyone would agree that people differ in how hard they are on a car's interior. Face it, some folks can beat the crap out of any interior in a very short time. I am amazed at how fast some folks can destroy driver seat bolsters. Others have interiors that look minty after 100k, regardless of interior color. YMMV.

 

It could also be a company wide problem from the supplier of the leathers. My neighbor's 2008 MDX has the Taupe interior, and the passenger's seat cushion has lost all of the color in it. It is not cracked or worn, the color is out of the hide. The dealer says somebody must have put a warm pizza box on the seat to have to dye come out of it. That is a real stretch. The seat has factory electric seat heaters built in. The most durable leather we ever had was in a Volvo 740 sedan.

 

grey makes me fall asleep, cream parchment is too bright for my eyes, black is just right , classy and easy to clean , but thats just me.

 

I really wanted to lease a white RDX but the only interior color they had was the parchment which forced my hand to the Metallic with ebony. To me the parchment just isn't worth it since I wear a lot of indigo dyed jeans and seeing how my parents Odyssey with parchment leather held up just go with the ebony. Plus I am not a fan of the lighter soft touch materials or plastics.