Hi,

I've never posted on the forum but have been lurking around for a while... I am almost ready to buy a 2005 RL but I'm a bit disappointed Acura did not fit this car with an adaptive cruise control. I'm sure a lot of people don't care about this but I use the cruise control in my current car a lot for my commute, which is quite long and 90% freeway. Being fascinated by recent car technology (GPS nav, XM radio, SH-AWD, etc.) I would have loved to drive a RL with this feature... With all the technology Acura put in the new RL, I wonder why they "forgot" the AAC? Does anyone know if maybe the next RL will have it? Maybe there are rumors I have not heard. The Honda Accord in Japan ("Inspire" I believe) has this... And a lot of Toyota/Lexus cars sold in the US have it too. So do some Infiniti models.

Also if someone has an explanation as to why the RLs sold in Canada have ventilated front seats, but not the US models... This is the most stupid thing I've ever heard of. I live in California so I could do without the heated seats... But the ventilated ones would be pretty cool ;o) This difference between the two cars is really a strange thing. Since when is Canada a warmer country than the US, generally speaking I mean?

Thanks for any input you might have...

nicolasj

 

Welcome to the forum


Yes, JDM Inspire (since 04) has equipped with HiDS (Honda Intelligent Driver Support System), which works with IHCC (to control speed and distance between you and the car in front of you) and LKAS (to maintain your car in the center of driving lane). JDM 05 Legend has HiDS plus CMS.


IMO, not all Americans would appreciate this feature, but definitely this feature would be added in once the expectation is built in the market. 05RL has something other cars don't have, no car is perfect.


Yes, Canadian 05RL does have "Ventilated front seats, heating and cooling" vs US 05RL heated front seats.

 

Rets already answer your question. I think the only reason Nightvision, HiDS. IHCC, LKAS, CMS didn't make it to the states is because $$$$ cost. Acura does not like to offer options except navi system which they don't do on the RL, because it already has it. The only option you could get with the RL are dealer installed options. Since they don't offer factory options, they won't added to the standard RL because it will raise the price to $60k plus. I think Acura should change their minds and start offering options or packages other than the navi system( other models)

 

Definitely a cost issue, but also a matter of the competition not offering this as well. I'm sure Acura did extensive research to see which features people would want more and offered those as the standard features.

In response to Bitium, I have the opposite opinion and think that Acura does the right thing by not offering factory options. This means the pricing structure is much more upfront, unlike many of the competitors that reel people in with a lower base price, only to have the customer option out the car with $10k-$15k worth of options just to get the car to the same level of equipment as the RL.

 

One thing to note that even though the CDN version of the RL has ventilated seats and the US version doesn't.; the CDN version doesn't get XM radio and the benefits of traffic control. We also don't get the 3 interior color options either, plus we usually get screwed on exterior colors. "DO YA HEAR ME HONDA CANADA!!!"

Mark

BTW: Have you ever seen a BMW or a Benz with Silver exterior and Tan interior? It looks positively rich.

 

You are right, I didn't say it wasn't the right thing, just what the actually do. I like it because they keep the base price down, while giving you the most for your money, but in the other hand if I had the money, I would like to have some of the other options.

 

Point noted.

 

If we talk about JDM 05Legend price and info of accessories... here we go... https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...?p=759#post759

 

Thanks for your replies. Rets, I see your point... But I'm not sure what you mean with "all Americans would not appreciate this feature [adapative cruise control]. Better to have it than not have it, right? You don't have to use it if you don't want to. I'm sure all Americans don't like GPS navi either... Some people find it dangerous to use while driving, hard to fully master, etc.
Also the US is a country with tons and tons of freeways/highways... Some of these highways are sometimes straight for hundreds of miles (I5 in California for example) and AAC would be nice to have there along with LKAS/HiDS...
I guess these features will show up in the Acura line in the next couple of years.

Nicolasj

 

For me, I love to have those features and would buy 05RL for sure, I sold two of my 3 cars (94 Legend and 99 GS300) a month earlier prior to 05RL hit the market. I was ready to get one, but still cannot make the final decision. I think I need more stuff in that car, IMHO.


As we know Acura used to sell one model of vehicle with full of standard features, meanwhile Acura doesn't wanna provide too many options. Acura obviously made the conservative decision and decided to keep 05RL with this price and these features only. (Btw, GPS is much more popular than other features we're talking about here)


As the price shown on that thread, JDM 05Legend with all those features is much expensive than 05RL, this could be one of the reasons.