Which one is the Altima?
Which one is the RLX?
I love my RLX. And of course driving the RLX Sport Hybrid is a completely different experience. But I travel a lot for work and usually rent Altima's and couldn't help but notice the resemblance

 

That's the biggest problem IMHO is that it looks so plain and also looks so much like the average car. You know how the 7-series and LS and S-class have that presence when you look at them/stand beside them? That is what is absent with the RLX IMHO. Hell even the Hyundai-Genesis (G80 now) has a presence when you stand beside it/sit in it whereas the RLX does not. I do like the RLX though and I do find it at least attractive, but SUPER boring.

 

Choice in wheels helps some.....but I generally agree...and I'm one of those who liked driving an incognito-mobile to complement my instant party-starting NSX.

My RLX with decent 20's.

 

Most won't dispute that the styling is understated and/or somewhat bland. Which is why, like NeuronBob, I put after-market wheels on mine too to spice it up a bit.

Any way you slice it, it's not a jaw dropping design but I like it and it certainly has more road presence than an Altima!

 

Re: understated; yes, agreee that's is part of the attraction. As much as I loved the Panamera, I wouldn't be as comfortable pulling up in a Porsche in the blue collar manufacturing environment that I work in. (And it was fifty grand more.....). But there are style elements in the Panamera, especially in the interior, that are awesome.

Re: wheels; yep, agree. The dealer agreed to swap out the bright polished raw aluminum hoops that came standard on the Sport Hybrid for the smoke grey painted hoops on the P-AWS. I wish I could get the chrome-look window trim treated or painted the same smoke grey chrome color. Is that a thing? Swapping wheels wasn't an instant decision for me (had to sleep on it), as there were some factors to consider but I'm glad I did it now. It sure makes me think that a tricked-out A-spec RLX SH with high-end effects like painted wheels, block colors, subtle aero kit and spoiler, additional Transmission mode, and super-Premium interior would be an attractive option. There are some good ideas listed in the MMC update thread.....

Smoke grey hoops ....

 

Those wheels look good on the rig! I unfortunately am still (still...) shopping for wheels since all the good forged wheels are special order with 6-8 week production time. So I basically missed the season for them up here in CT... but now I have plenty of time to shop for next year. Agreed that a good set of wheels makes the rlx pop a bit more than the stock setup.

 

Yes. Any detailer or body shop worth their salt can Plasti-dip or wrap those chrome-look bits, and for not much money. I've seen in the low hundreds at the very most around here, if even that much.

That would look good on the RLX. I wish I'd thought to do that while I had mine!

 

I agree wheels make a HUGE difference in appearance LOL the shop that put my coils on teased me about getting "that boring grandma's car" until all the goodies were put on. It will be cheaper to plasti dip the chrome trims than wrapping, the trick is to find the perfect shade of plasti dip or mix colors together if you went that route. I plasti dipped the window trim on my '11 accord and the hardest part was taping everything off. wrapping would be harder because you would have to take the pieces off in order to make them look seamless. I would guess if you got any of those methods done professionally would be $$

 

that doesn't fix the car's biggest issues. Now it looks like an Altima on different wheels. It's still the same car with similar lines to the Altima.

 

It's not ugly by any stretch, but I agree with all of you that bland would be a good word to describe the looks.

But as many of us are always saying: You can't see what it looks like when you're driving it.

:-)

 

I would call the lines more.....generic Japanese large sedan. It probably works better in Japan.

 

Sadly the RLX has been portrayed in the media by some pretty unflattering pictures, yet I continue to get a lot of exclusively POSITIVE feedback on the looks of my RLX when viewed IN PERSON. Walk around an Altima and walk around an RLX and you will see for yourself that the RLX is a quantum leap ahead in class, in size, in finishing. It is a bit myopic to judge a car based on a 2 dimensional stock profile picture anyway.

CAFE regulations have made high fuel economy numbers and the necessary aerodynamic profile required to achieve that fuel economy number a priority and so many sedans from many different manufacturers have begun to look very similar in profile because they all have the same standard to meet. It is simply a case of the engineers looking to achieve a gas mileage goal having more input (as dictated by the law of the land) than the designers tasked to make it look "sexy". You can make a sexy car with great gas mileage (the latest Acura design study for example), but good luck getting five adults to comfortably sit in there for a long trip. The RLX isn't a sexy two seat sports car that you need a shoe horn to get into and out of. It is an executive luxury sedan meant to impress the driver AND his/her passengers with its roominess and quiet, smooth ride. The fact that it offers a sporty side for when the driver is alone and wants to have some fun, is just a nice bonus.

Just my two cents.

 

I went to dealership show room to look at the MDX. While i was there i decided to look at other models. I spent 10 minutes inside a RLX thinking it was a TLX. I even thought to myself that this TLX has pretty nice interior. I didnt know it wasnt a TLX until is saw the sticker price at $55k. I suppose there was third fundamental problems. One is that i totally forgot there is a RLX model. IAnother is that the interior does not stand out as a flagship model. Third is that it looks like a TLX.

 

Ya, I completely agree, I really don't like how all manufacturers now feel obligated to put the same front end on all their cars. To me, all Lexus now look horrible. Every Acura has the same nose and other than the tail lights they look fairly similar. The RDX and MDX look very similar too. I honestly have that problem with the Mercedes C, E and S class, if you just see it quick and don't get a proper reference of the car's dimensions, it's hard to tell them apart unless you're very familiar with them. I miss the days when each car in the Acura line had it's unique look.

 

You're never going to sell but so many LS 500, so it doesn't do much damage to the LS 500 if the ES 350 looks a lot like the LS 500.

And, on the other hand, it probably does some good for the ES 350 that it looks a lot like the LS 500.

That's why they do it. :-)

 

It does do some damage if the LS500 buyer doesn't want his car to look like a bigger Camry with an ugly front grill, let see what BMW or Mercedes offers...
But you're right, it most definitely helps the ES sales.

With that said though, the LS500 managed to maintain some presence. I just personally don't like the front grill. I prefer the looks of the rounder and more understated LS460.

Anyways, I'm just happy that no car is calling out to me, helps my finances a lot

 

You sound like me talking about how awful I find the 2018 RLX MMC. :-)

 

^ I agree with GK on the MMC - the reason I decided for a closeout 2017 hybrid.