Rocketsfan

Front looks decent, I guess. Rear looks horrible. And seriously, you now have "P-AWS" on your rear? Interior looks good. Will it be worth the price, though? Who knows. I'll reserve judgment until I can see it in person and we find out what the performance and early reviews are like.

Rocketsfan

Exterior styling is .... mutant. It looks they morphed a Lexus, a Chevy, a 4G TL, and a BMW into that shape. Mutant... I don't know what else to call it. The front looks like it has hope - I actually like the headlights, but then I get to the rear and don't know what to think. And then I have "PAW-S" on my ass now. I do like the interior.

The exterior makes me "PAW-S" and doubt wanting to buy it.

promethus78

I bet Acura will over price it right out of competition

phile

@ P-AWS

that interior is gorgeous in that greyish white color combo, although in think in that black from the China pics it looks pretty cheap.

Sad to say, it still looks very much like a bigger Accord, not even a bigger TL, which would've at least been better for the brand.

jwong77

That sort of sounds like how Hyundai used to do their styling, mimicking pieces of other competitors cars into a hodgepodge of different design ideas.

Domm

Enjoy!

csmeance

The RLX's styling is a tad bland but not as bad as the outgoing RL. If anything I'm waiting to see what Mugen does with the RLX, the last RL turned into a beauty with their work!

neuronbob

Those wheels totally ruin the car. Why can't Acura ever get wheels right?

Now this is what I'm talking about. Do it, Acura!

AZuser

More pics

Allen-

When the concept first debuted and everyone thought it would be competing against the LS, S Class, 7 Series, etc I thought the bland styling wouldn't be a bad thing since none of those cars are particularly wild in the looks department save for the Lexus.

But to know it will be in the same class as the A6, E, 5, GS, etc it may be wise for Acura to design some sportier bumpers for accessory options to please the 35 year old dads who want a little more flavor.

The basic design isn't bad. Nice roofline and everyone be thankful it has decently reigned in overhangs.

But where the hell is the panoramic sunroof? I wouldn't care if it ran .1 second slower if it could have a glass roof.

Inside is nice. Although models without navigation with look like an afterthought with that useless hump on the dash.

Allen-

And no mention but did it lose the AFS? Do any of those spider eyes swivel? No use in having 27 eyes if you can't atleast look around with a few.

Allen-

And tri-zone climate control? Where are the rear controls?

Ken1997TL

Middle armrest

MTEAZY

Anyone who doesn't appreciate the technology behind this car is either a brand whore or has a vagina. It is true the looks are generic but it's easily comparable to the E & GS at least. I would like to see some nicer wheels available as an option. The dumpy ones shown are from the current RL but contain Helmholz resonators to quell road noise.

Hapa DC5

^ The tech is great, but it just reminds me of a dolled up larger Accord.

Ken1997TL

You say it like it's a bad thing. Thats what the Legends have always been, 'dolled-up larger Accords'

phile

I think it might've been the other way around...the Accord aspired to look like the Legend, as Honda wanted Honda buyers to aspire to Acuras when fortune came their way. Aside from the jewel LED headlights, I think the Accord actually looks better than the RL, especially the taillights.

CarbonGray Earl

Man, I really want to like it. But that part of my brain that'll choose a sexy-looking girl with a little bit more maintenance over the normal-looking take-home-to-mom type takes over when I look at cars. Hopefully this take-home-to-mom type enjoys a little fun and has a little bit of a wild side, despite the looks....

Glashub

No exhaust tips? The ILX doesn't have exposed rear exhaust and I don't see them on this care either. New trend for Acura?

KillerG

those are some shit-tastic OEM wheels

Hapa DC5

The market is completely different now. Acura had what two models initially? Lexus was identical.

There's just nothing to really set this car apart from the plethora of other 50-60k luxury sedans. Maybe it'll sell, maybe it won't. From the looks of it Acura can push a nearly 50k SUV, but a sedan in that price range it can't move.

I liked the RL a lot when it first arrived. Seemed like a smart "Acura" take on the mid-size players of the time, but still not a true "flagship."

Once again, the RLX is not a true flagship as per their luxury peers. Hyundai can do it and move these cars with a non-luxury name plate.

So I'll leave it at that. Where I want Acura to be and where their management thinks they should be are polar opposites. That's why I left the brand, but I've been such a fan for almost two decades I find myself taking ownership and being highly critical because I know they can do better, they have in the past. I'd hope to return to them some day, but I won't hold my breath.

I'm Lt. Dan and Acura is my Forrest Gump.

VTEC Racer

I think your definition of flagship is misunderstood. Each brand has their own unique and individual flagship. For Acura, it's the RLX, for BMW, it's the 7-series. Just because two different brands have a flagship, their products don't necessarily have to align with one another. The RLX is the flagship of the Acura brand, and it's as true of a flagship for the brand than anything else it has. I think what you might actually be referring to is that the RLX is not a true F-segment car, which it isn't, and never were we made to believe it was.

Edward'TLS

Remember that the RLX is the flagship sedan for a Tier-2 luxury brand - Acura.

Therefore, don't expect it to be comparable with those flagship sedans from the Tier-1 true-luxury auto makers.

F23A4

....neither does the 2G RDX. So,

F23A4

The 1G Legend looked nearly identical to the 3G Accord, which debuted at about the same time.

The 5G Accord emulated the styling of the 2G Legend, the latter having already been in production for a couple of years.

Then of course the 3G RL held contours similar to the 7G Accord, which debuted a couple of model years prior.

ALL that said, styling on the RLX is not a particular issue IMHO.

TSX69

This Thing Has 16 Freaking Headlights

Acura just unveiled their new flagship sedan, the RLX, and there's 2 things you'll notice right away: it's kind of boring looking, but, damn, does it have a lot of headlights. Like 8 per side. Sure, they're small LED units and not the colossal sealed-beams of yore, but still, it's some pretty aggressive face-jewelry for what is otherwise a fairly elegant if restrained car. It sort of like if Helen Mirren smiled to reveal a massive, diamond-studded grille.

Aside from the looks, the RLX is packed with some very cutting-edge tech, and its clear that Honda is looking to reposition itself as a technological leader after a period of some indifference. For example, this car will be the 1st of theirs to feature direct-injection, which is becoming almost common among their competitors.

The RLX also has such advanced goodies as a hybrid version with 3 electric motors, 1 on the tranny (about 30 HP or so) and 1 for each rear wheel (about 27 HP per motor), making it an AWD car. Each of the rear wheel motors is independently controllable, which allows the hybrid RLX to use torque vectoring on the rear wheels to dramatically (the film promised me) improve handling and braking. The combo of the 3 motors and the 3.5 L V6 should come to about 370 HP and 30 combined MPG. Not bad!

There's a FWD, non hybrid version as well that just uses the V6 for about 310 HP, and gets 20 city/ 31 HWY/ 24 combined MPG. The FWD version also gets some rear-wheel wobble love as well, thanks to Acura's Precision All Wheel Steer system, which they name (and badge the car) as P-AWS.

P-AWS as a name sounds like some lost Disney movie from the early 80s about a cybernetic sheepdog that helps some kids save their grandma's house or some shit. I can almost picture the scene where the kids look deeply into the blinky LED eyes of an injured P-AWS and cry "P-AWS! Please don't die! We love you!" Spolier alert: P-AWS is okay!

Oh, right, back to the real P-AWS. Honda is leveraging their decades of playing with 4-wheel steering systems in Preludes and whatnot and now has what seems to be an effective system that controls toe-in and toe-out for each rear wheel. Also, under heavy braking, both rear wheels toe-in like a skier slowing down. Again, this seems like a very welcome bit of tech that could have real handling benefits.

The overall weight is down from the RL by about 275 lbs, thanks in part to aluminum fenders, hood, and door skins. So, if you're a locksmith with a magnetic door sign, I think we've just ruled out the RLX for you. Sorry.

The interior is quite nice on the RLX, as a flagship executive sedan should be, with very nice feeling materials all over the damn place. Even the inside door handles have a pleasing rubbery grip. There's 3 full-color LCD screens on the dash, 2 huge stacked ones and a small one in the cluster. It sort of looks silly, and makes me think less, bigger screens may not be a bad idea, like the Tesla Model S or something. 1 nice thing is that while the lower screen handles all sorts of climate and infotainment duties, most commonly-used controls are repeated in a nice, compact, physical cluster below.

Comfort is a big, big deal to Acura right now. They're using, for the 1st time in a car, real acoustic glass for the side windows, they have the biggest interior cabin room in the segment, and I heard a rumor that if you lick the headliner it tastes like butterscotch.

1 weird thing about the interior I can't really explain is this funny little trapdoor to view the frame number. It's even labeled "FRAME NUMBER." Is easy frame number access a big selling point in this segment? It looks pretty handy to stash just a little bit of drugs or a couple vials of illegal tiger urine as well.

There's also a very high-end sound system sourced by Krell, whom I should have heard of if I knew anything about high-end audio, which I don't. At least that's what Acura VP Jeff Conrad said, but I'm not so sure if I trust him because he kept pronouncing "concierge" with a strange "shhh" sound in the middle that was really grating.

All told, the RLX seems like a lot of impressive technology in a clean but anonymous package. However, if your car-buying criteria demands over a dozen headlights, lots of interior room, and rapid, no-fuss frame number access, boy are you in luck.

pttl

TSX69

thunderbt3

I lol'ed

http://jalopnik.com/5964081/the-acur...-its-dashboard

thunderbt3

I blame the bean counters. One less part to source/quality check/assemble. One less part to buy/stock/manage at the parts warehouse/dealer. One less part to fail, one less part for the warranty to cover. Engineers don't have to design for exhaust tip bumper cover clearance or dual/single exhaust cutouts.

ttribe

"P-AWS"? Seriously?

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

03tLsNBP

iTrader: (9)

maybe it's just me...but i would love to see a longer wheelbase version with more amenities for rear passengers (trays, TVs, footrest, fridge, etc). same powertrain but would compete size wise with A8L, S-class, 750Li.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

And with a 7-series price tag to boot? It would never sell. Acura is not in that market and probably never will be. And with no V8 option it will die the same slow death the CL did.

Look at the Equus. Similar amenities described above but it's a very very low volume car and caters to a very small market (rich people who are stingy with their money and have no desire to flash it with the car they drive). Do those people really exist?

Moog-Type-S

And this is where Acura fails...once again.

Put all this stuff in a exterior design, that looks similar to one of your lower end products.......WHY?

Why cut yourself off at the knees right out of the gate, Honda?

The first thing that catches the buyer's eye for any car is what it looks like on the outside....and Honda is trying to sell the buyer's of $50k automobiles an Accord?!?!?

At $50k, the buyer wants presence and prestige......from the outside first, then work towards the inside.

Ken1997TL

The 1st gen RL/3rd gen Legend had a few of those features available (including reclining rear seats) in the Asian markets. It didn't sell.

Hapa DC5

I think Acura's definition of a flagship is misunderstood

Audi = A8
BMW = 7 Series
Cadillac (not on price, but size wise) = XTS
Hyundai (not even a tier 2 luxury marque) = Equus
Jaguar = XJ
Lexus = LS
MB = S-Class

200 inches in length or more. Infiniti doesn't have a true flagship in the states either.
Like I said my expectations are different. I guess.

Hapa DC5

Oh like a real luxury flagship

Legend2TL

http://www.hondanews.com/channels/co...eles-auto-show

Extensive use of lightweight materials includes the application of high-strength steel to 55 percent of the body, and the intensive use of aluminum—for the front fenders, hood, steering hangar beam, front and rear bumper beams, front subframe, and front and rear door outer panels (mated to steel inner panels). The RLX weighs in at 3,933 pounds. Static bending and torsional body rigidity are up 52 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/...s-new-rlx.html

Pretty impressive Honda/Acura dropped the weight 275lb from the previous RL. Although it looks good on paper and the styling is right for the market (it's bland but has anyone see a current 5 or 7 series lately?).

The big issues I foresee are a FWD/transverse platform (with the the hybrid electric motors) and the prestige factor. The MDX was able to overcome that with the SHAWD drivetrain, remains to be seen how the RLX will do.

SSFTSX

I am more impressed by fuel economic 20/31. I am sure it is going to beat all its competitors in real driving. This 31mpg at 80+ mph is achievable.
There is no mention of irritating stop start technology.
You get 19inch rims in all trim except base.