Hi,

I hope those of you with experience with the new RDX will lend me your thoughts on 2 things.

First, while I have sat in an RDX for a while at my dealer, I have not yet driven for a long time. I am a 6'3" tall male with a history of back problems so I'd welcome opinions on long trip seat comfort. I currently have a 2010 CRV and for more than an hour or so I find it increasingly uncomfortable. My wife is also tall and has similar views about our seats.

Second, as My wife and I age :-) I am increasingly concerned to get good headlights. I find the CRV to be only fair. Indeed, I changed the halogen bulbs to brighter ones, but they are not great. So, how do you like the HIDs? Is it weird that the low beams (HID) are different in color than the high beams (I presume halogens)? Are both on if the highs are selected? Audi and others have HIDs for both beams.

Thanks in advance. The RDX looks like the best deal to us but these are key issues.

Cheers,

Tom

 

Can't speak for HIDs (non-tech here), however I am 6'4" and work on my feet so lower back comfort is huge for me. The RDX lumbar support meets my needs and a 4 hour drive feels like 30 minutes. It's the most comfortable car I've driven. (I also am coming from a 2009 TSX, so I suppose any SUV would be an improvement.) Hope this helps. Happy shopping!

 

Drtmw - I can give you feedback on both questions you are asking.

I'm 5'9" and my husband is 6'4". We purchased my RDX in May and took the car on vacation in July for a 1,400 mile trip. At no time did neither of us feel uncomfortable for a 8 1/2 hour road trip. If anything, we kept on saying how comfortable we were and commented a few times that we didn't make many stops to get out and stretch.

When I was looking around at cars, I made sure to sit in the car longer during the negotiation process as I have back issues. 3 years ago I had my lower lumbar fused and possibly having another fusion surgery. Due to my back issues, sitting in a car is difficult for me to do for long periods or even less than 30 minutes. I'm able to switch the drive seats settings if my back starts to bother me. The RDX seats were the most comfortable seats I sat in on any of my test drives.

The HID's are bright enough for me at with or without the fog lights on. I haven't had to use my high beams much, but the color difference didn't bother me.

I hope this helps you with your decision.

 

Thanks! This was a great help. I had a double laminectemy a couple of yrs ago so I under stand your issues. I wish you the best re your back. Luckily, the surgery seemed to really help me, but sitting is still challenging.

Cheers,

Tom

 

I agree with Ryan. I'm 6'5" and find it pretty comfortable. My wife & I both have back problems but found the RDX to be fine on our Phoenix-San Diego-LA-Phoenix trip (the only trip we've taken in it since we bought it in July). We came from an '08 CR-V EX and one of the reasons we traded it (with only 28k miles) was that it seemed to get more uncomfortable as time went on. The seats were hard and not very supporting. The RDX is a huge improvement in that area (and most others, for that matter). Can't say much about the HIDs...they seem to work fine but we don't drive much at night and we've never had a car with them so don't have anything to compare to.

 

Thanks,

How do you like the red color. My wife is lobbying for it.

 

Old guy here...only 5'11" but all sorts of back concerns(got nicked by Polio as a youngster, then 30 years on a tennis court). Coming from a long line of Volvos with possibly the most consistently comfortable seats in the class, I find the RDX seats just fine. I need less and less side bolstering as I get older and the RDX provides just enough side support for my 'typical' style of driving. The finish on the perforated leather is pretty grabby, possibly making it trickier to 'micro-adjust' your position. In fact, I prefer to use a towel as a seat protector, allowing a little more ease of adjustment after I settle down(We can wear shorts 11 months of the year here, the main reason for some sort of seat protection).

I will say I drive with the seat fully rearward and would think the leg length would be the main concern for you. If you can find a comfy position, then no worries, I reckon.

As to the headlights, I've mentioned that they seem adequate, if not impressive. To me, the high beams are just that...an additional 'throw' at a higher, and thus longer, range...not so much a 'brighter' amount of light. No complaints about the lighting from me...just not 'awed' by the amount of light.

 

Sounds like you've already gotten a lot of good feedback from our taller forum members I'm 6'5" and although I'm only 30 years old I do have some back problems. My wife's 2010 Accord kills me after about 45 minutes but the RDX seems fine (in drivers seat or passanger). I do get some fatigue after a few hours but I think that's a guarantee if you sit in the same position non-stop. It's definitely a comfortable driving position, but I do think I essentially drive in the maxed out position so someone who is 6'6" or 6'7" might not be as happy.

The only thing I would point out is to be aware the passanger seat is only 4 way adjustable (front-back and recline). I'm not thrilled with the amount of room for me when I sit there - something to consider if you and your co-pilot take turns at the wheel.

 

Hello OP, potential buyer here as well. I'm coming from an X5d and I want to downsize to something smaller. I am ~6'4" with long legs. lol I sat in a friends RDX and I noticed that I had to slide the seat all the way back to be comfortable leg wise. I don't know if this makes the back seat too cramped for potential passengers. Other than that, the seats seemed pretty comfortable.
One of my main concerns is the quality of ride. I need something smoother. The X5 was built like a tank and the ride was harsh to me.

 

We like it. It's almost the same color as the CR-V we traded in. If we were to do it again tho, we might go for the Kona Coffee.

The color selection for the RDX seems to be a bit limited. And the only interior colors are black and tan ('parchment'). Black is to too dark for here (AZ desert) but the parchment looks like it'll show dirt pretty easily. A gray (like the CR-V had) might be a nice compromise. Oh well.

 

I'm 6'5" but long waisted, about a 33" inseam. I'm comfortable with the seat a little short of all the may back. But with the seat anywhere close to all the way back there won't be much leg room in the rear seats unless the person sitting there is pretty short.

On the subject of front seats, one thing we really like about the car is the automatic adjustment of the seat to the driver (based on whose key unlocked it). My wife is only about 5'6" so has to have the seat a lot closer & higher when she drives. The CR-V had to be manually adjusted each time we changed drivers and got to be a bit of a PITA. So, the auto adjust is a great feature for us. I know a lot of other cars have it too (hell, our F-250 pickup has it) but it's something we haven't had in a car before. I guess it's all relative...the RDX is the nicest (and most expensive) car we've owned so it's the height of luxury to us.

 

Are you sure? I actually try the "can I sit behind myself" test whenever I walk into a car showroom and was amazed that I could put the drivers seat into a comfortable driving position and then jump into the back seat behind it - and it actually was managable. Considering I'm probably the tallest person who will ever be in my RDX, I think it passes the back seat test.

 

I just went out & tried ours. I wouldn't want to sit behind me for any distance. I think it would be tight for anyone over 5'6" or so. It looks like the angle of the front seat back might make a difference. I tend to recline it maybe more than others...I don't like to sit too close to the wheel. Even so, there's not much distance between the back of the front seat and the front of the back seat. I'd say it's tighter than many airline seats and I can just barely fit in them (unless I can get an exit aisle seat, it's usually pretty tortuous for me to fly, esp. if it's longer than an hour or so).

 

I'll agree about the limited room for back seat customers when I'm up front. Their feet have to nestle under the seat and pretty much stay stationary. Fortunately, our C70 convertible makes the RDX feel cavernous in the back seat

 

Hi Mark AZ,

We have a red CRV, too. My wife would love another red car - easier to spot in parking lot! The kona looks nice but might be too hot, we live in CO so we have lots of sun if not the temps you have. Thanks,

Tom

 

memory seating is amazing. I'm 5'11" and the better half 5'1. When I drive the accord I always have to adjust the seat in all directions. I'd have preferred manual seats in lieu of non-memory seats on the accord for this reason. In my RDX, I find the seats very comfortable. 6,300 miles since mid June, Thats pretty good I think.

 

Red is the way to go, I agree colors are far to limited. Blue metallics in the MDX and TSX, zip for RDX. Honda also does green in some lines, light blues, etc. All other options were light gray, dark gray, white, black, brown. Not anything that we remotely liked. No offense to others, but that is admittedly a conservative group of colors. Red and kona were also some of the lowest production numbers early on. I see few RDXs in general and I've never seen another red on the road, which is nice in a way! Waxed up, it really pops.

HiIDs are great in my opinion, nice range, fill in the sides well, high beams on an empty road are also pretty amazing. Came from an older car with regular halogens, the HIDs are so much better. No other experience, beyond some rentals. Xenons in a C63 were good, not really better and that's a 70k car. Definitely help my eyes that are getting older.