AZuser

Where's the fun in that?


But like I said before, I think it looks good.

pttl

Ahhhh...it't good to see he's back to being the H/A fanboy that we've all come to know.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Im surprised he hasnt yet mentioned the side view mirror design or the aerodynamic HVAC vents

KillerG

making tsx owners look bad... sigh

can anyone make a gif of the acura logo startup in the gauge cluster? that was sexy

Will Y.

Then you miss gems like this :


Given the history of the RL, I'm betting it will have a governor at 120 mph to keep 4300 lbs of overweight luxo-barge from overwhelming H-rated touring tires after launching a 15-second quarter mile as the slowest car in its class.
The RL will be even slower than the POS super-slow BMW M5.

KillerG

Fuck it, I made my own gif:

Type34

Given current TSX/TL owners are probably high on the "prospects" list for this car, I guess we can say "looks great" all day long, but the most important question is:
(Pending real world inspection and test drives of course).

Did Acura put enough in this vehicle for your serious consideration?

Ken1997TL

If I were in the market for a more practical car, absolutely.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

^^ To answer your question - No, I wouldnt buy it. Its not my type of car.

My father has an '07 530I and Id be hard pressed to even suggest the RL to him.

Costco

I'm gonna read the past two pages of comments in a bit, but c'mon guys, it's a concept.

Most of you know how I feel about Honda's designs as of late. Being a concept, I think the RLX looks quite good. They could literally go anywhere with this...

About the whole vanilla thing, lets compare it with potential competitors... 5-series, E-Class, A6, even the Genesis.... all of these cars look woefully vanilla. The only exception (surprisingly) is the GS.

oh, and finally, a DCT that's one thing that definitely better make it to production. Coupled with SH-AWD it will definitely help with the feel of sportiness.

Costco

Also, the video reminded of a U2 music video

and the wheels look like a flushing toilet.

krio

In US only awd... In EU you have the 2.0 TFSI and the 2.0 TDI FWD.

Legend2TL

The bottom two USA A6's models (Premium and Premium Plus) are FWD.

http://models.audiusa.com/a6-sedan/c...tor?section=A6

Legend2TL

Incorrect, the 2L Turbo is FWD

http://models.audiusa.com/a6-sedan/d...ions?engine=43

JnC

iTrader: (12)

Not to sound like a fanboi but its sad to see everyone, including me, getting so excited about a half decent product from Acura. Imagine the MFing joy it would be if Acura actually came out with something eternally classic such as the 90s Legend.

TSX69

Nice touch there by Acura. I do wish that they would put the 0 @ 6 o'clock like on the 1st generation TSXs.

phile

I think it looks really good. Yeah there's Lexus/BMW in there, I see it too, but there's also Acura. You can't just write it off as a copycat design - I don't know how many times I have to point it out, BMW-Bangle didn't invent that trunk design, and that Hoffmeister kink certainly isn't a BMW creation. That's like saying any car with a crease down the middle of its hood is suddenly infringing on Acura territory.

The taillights could use some cleaning up though, in fact, the whole back area is where it's the weakest. the LEDs in the lights could be better - right now it seems very rice. How is it that BMW/Lexus even Hyundai can manage to make better looking LED rear lights? even the rear light design on the ILX is better integrated into that car's sheetmetal than this.

The interior is beautiful, I love the rich look of the wood and I'm glad there is a lot of it, but not to the point where it's overpowering. the stitched leather dash is a good sign, I hope it makes it to production. I'm so glad that shitty painted metal isn't a focal point anymore and is relegated to only trimming the wood on the bottom.

But why it has to share a design with the lowly ILX's interior is a bad play, IMO. And why you have to go all the way up into an RL to sit inside a truly luxurious Acura is ridiculous, all of their interiors should have this type of luxe feel. It doesn't have to be leather-lined and trimmed in wood like this, but there's got to be some kind of trickle down effect. I get that they're aiming for the sporty look with the fake metal stuff, but once you see how an Acura can really look when it's done up, the fake metal starts to look really cheap.

phile

If i had the financial means, the RL(X) or whatever it's going to be called, would be the car I want.

krio

yes, you are right. I didn't know.

LiQiCE

This might be a consideration for TSX/TL owners, but price would be the issue. A TSX owner who spent ~$30K on their previous car might not be able to afford going up to $50k - or even $45K if we expect the RLX to sell poorly and have deep discounts

Price played a factor in my recent purchase. I would have loved to have bought a new 5-series, or M37 - I just couldn't afford it (maybe if I leased instead of purchased). The RLX would similarly be in this category - probably would buy one, if I could afford it!

And in hindsight with the recent gas price hikes - maybe I should have opted for a Camry hybrid instead

ThermonMermon

looks like a lexus, esp the front and rear....that said, i would take the GS over this for sure. i think many others would as well. unless the size of the RL is closer to the LS, with the price tag of a GS.

ttribe

Interesting, when I went to "Build & Price" on the AudiUSA website, the base model came up with Quattro as standard.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

While I personally agree with you, I think our society has become way too focused on flash and attention-whoring rather than actual substance. Over time, this gets reflected in our taste for cars, collectively, as well. This is why cars that are perfectly good cars, but less flashy and attention grabbing have not exactly done amazingly well in recent years.

The Audi A8 being a perfect example. Extremely competent car, but gets little attention because it is not flashy enough.

TSX-Tuner

I think the design looks quite sharp. Perfect for a VIP styled car. I never cared about the current gen design, it was always dull and boring to me. MMC made it worse as we all know. This vehicle screams Honda design to me, and that's not a bad thing. It looks like a well tailored suit.

Back in the early 1990's. You had the Integra, Legend, NSX and CR-X. In a sense, they're all coming back . . . as hybrids (ILX, RLX, NSX, CR-Z). Like it or not, this is Honda now.

krio

Same thing for me... But today I checked out and it's true... there is the 2.0T FWD..))

ttribe

Weird. Oh well...sorry I gave out bad information.

KillerG

Never noticed that. Makes it look likes its revving more when the needle starts lower Maybe we will get a VTEC light in the RLX



FWIW, my father likes Acuras, and when he was new car shopping recently, he hated the looks of the pre-MMC TL and I was hard pressed to even show him where the RL was in the showroom.

If this car was available when we were car shopping, I am positive he would like liked it alot, and for that matter Im still sure hell be interested when it hits dealers next year

AZuser

+1 based on what we know of it and the GS right now. The GS seems much more luxurious and sporty, inside and out. The GS interior is much nicer too IMO.

RLX:




vs GS:


Even then, I think I'd take the GS. But let's see what the reviews say about the GS and RLX, so they can be compared.

savage

The GS interior may look a bit sharper, but I've heard some horrible reviews on their new nav interface. It's supposed to be impossible to use smoothly while driving.

Ken1997TL

Just from pictures alone, the RL wins on electronic ergonomics. The GS and Lexus systems in general tend to be a pain in the ass to use.

TSXy Luster

I love that the RLX electronic interior system now gives a choice to every preference: touch screen, knob, both, and a regular display screen.

Moog-Type-S

Not to knock the RL anymore than it already has been knocked.....and I do think it's finally one of Acura's best interiors....but.....the GS is a much better looking, more elegant and refined interior.

Not saying the RL is not a great interior, but if comparing it to the GS, Lexus wins.
Lexus finally got their interior design right!

...but kudos to Honda for at least stepping it up and getting rid of the cheap looking grey plastic and the massive amount of buttons.

TSXy Luster

GS reminds me of BMW.

Ken1997TL

Some BMW, more Audi to me.

krio

agree... same impression.

phile

I think the GS interior is good, but I like the RL's better.

Loving the wood panels even for the rear passengers, who often get ignored.


more interior pics:
http://blogs.insideline.com/straight...-interior.html

TSX69

Acura RLX Concept: Up Close

Acura's parent company, Honda, will debut a production RLX in early 2013, but American Honda President Tetsuo Iwamura said the RLX Concept is a "strong indication" of the automaker's next flagship. The concept packs a lot of technology and a mouthful of an all-wheel-drive acronym, but its styling feels derivative.

The nose is an amalgamation of the existing RL and TL, and the tail recalls the current Toyota Avalon. The only radical shift is in the garish chrome wheels, which probably won't see the light of production. That's probably for the better.

Inside, stitched upholstery ensconces the dash and doors — a trend Honda and Acura long resisted even as competitors all the way down to the Dodge Dart have embraced it. Honda's AcuraLink system will provide feeds to internet radio applications Aha and Pandora, along with Twitter, Facebook and search engine Bing. The concept car at the auto show was closed, but spokesman Gary Robinson said interior volume is far bigger than the smallish RL. It's on par with Lexus' flagship LS, in fact.

The backseat looks large, but there's a big floor hump crowding foot space. It's odd, given the RLX lacks a driveshaft that commonly requires large floor humps. The hybrid drivetrain's 3.5-liter V-6 with direct injection and 30-kilowatt motor drive the front wheels, while optional all-wheel drive assigns a 20-kW motor to each rear wheel, sitting under the floor where a rear differential would have gone. Combined system output will be around 310 horsepower in front-drive cars, while the all-wheel-drive RLX will make north of 370 hp. With the latter setup, Acura expects 30 mpg in combined city/highway EPA ratings. Front-drive cars will get a bit less.

The all-wheel-drive system sounds cool: During corners, it powers the outside rear wheel and slows the inner one, using the friction to recharge a lithium-ion battery. Robinson says that while Acura's existing system, dubbed Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive, routes more power to the outer wheels as you accelerate through a turn, the new system works in all cornering situations.

Of course, Acura had to give it a new name: Sport-Hybrid, Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive. As in SH-SH-AWD – an acronym that will have people thinking you're stuttering or they're talking too loud. It's as obtuse as Infiniti's ATTESA E-TS, which incidentally stands for its all-wheel-drive system.

TSXy Luster

looking at the new XTS interior, the RL's interior setup is similar except that there is that 2nd screen vs. touch plastic dash

phile

is this correct? I know the current RL has a driveshaft (carbon fiber, in fact) for the SH-AWD, so why wouldn't the new one have a driveshaft? And that is a terribly high tunnel hump.

ttribe

No drive shaft. The gas engine connects to the front wheels only, as I understand it. The rear wheels each have a dedicated electric motor.