TSXy Luster

I still think THIS layout


>

THIS layout

Moog-Type-S

GS is interior gorgeous!

phile

ok so list of improvements prior to production:

clean up rear taillights
eliminate huge tunnel hump

Moog-Type-S

That's a good start.

HAWAII-TSX

I don't know if i'd buy the RLX but if the powertrain with the double clutch trans is good Id seriously consider buying it in a ZDX or MDX. 360hp SH-AWD lighter, better trans and 30mpg. What's not to want. This powertrain will kick ass.

If I were considering a 7 series LS or S class definately would consider the RLX. Handling and MPG should be a lot better.

oonowindoo

If you were rich enough to purchase a brand new 7 series or S class, you would give a rats ass about MPG.

Legend2TL

+1, the RLX interior is so much better layout and design than the GS and LS

Allen-

ok so list of improvements prior to production:

clean up rear taillights
eliminate huge tunnel hump
Make front end more distinctive and elegant.
Remove FWD V6 as an option.
Give it exhaust tips, its not a totally electric vehicle, let's not fool ourselves.
At least 19" wheels stock, but nothing crazy. Something like the ZDX alloys maybe? The 20" ZDX accessory wheels are hot and would spice it up.

Would you rather have your non-hybrid RLX have the mechanical SH-AWD or FWD? I dont really see FWD acceptable in this class. Is the four wheel steering system enough?

HAWAII-TSX

Haha. Funny how people read things. I never once said it was cause of the money. I live in beautiful Hawaii and want to keep it that way so I like to reduce my carbon foot print. That's all. Plus im into new tech and over kill on engine size to produce horse power doesn't seem very advanced or 2012

I think having a lot of money also means you should have some class and spend it responsibly for the future. I want to make sure I leave this place as nice as possible for my nephews.

I don't want anyone thinking im an ass damaging the earth and not caring. This new power train lets you have power should be better handling and save the earth. Win Win Win.

My zdx gets 16-18 mpg which is much better than my 14-15 mpg bmw 550 and x5 did but honestly still feel bad to what im doing to this place. I give credit to all the movie stars and wealthy people driving a prius to show they care about others with the sacrifice on driving experience. I couldn't go that far. This hybrid will give me both. That's all im saying. It's not about the money. plus most 7 series or S class owners are leasing.

Legend2TL

Scroll down the page, there are five A6 model/packages for the US market. You probably only sw the row with the three models which are AWD, the row with two (at the bottom of the web page) are FWD.

HAWAII-TSX

A6 Premium 3.0 TFSI®
$49,900
Standard Feature Highlights
•17" 10-spoke alloy wheels with 225/55 all-season tires
•quattro® all-wheel drive
•Audi drive select
•Eight-way power front seats, and four-way power lumbar adjustment for driver
•Four-spoke multifunction steering wheel
•Keyless start
•Driver seat memory
•Audi music interface with iPod®/iPhone® integration
•HomeLink® remote transmitter
•LED taillights


A6 Premium Plus 3.0 TFSI®
$54,120
Standard Feature Highlights
•18" 5-spoke alloy wheels with 245/45 all-season tires
•quattro® all-wheel drive
•Audi xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights
•Audi MMI® Navigation plus with voice control system
•Audi MMI® touch handwriting recognition
•Keyless start
•Audi connect®
•Parking system plus with front and rear sensors


A6 Prestige 3.0 TFSI®
$56,780
Standard Feature Highlights
•18" 5-V-spoke alloy wheels with 245/45 all-season tires
•quattro® all-wheel drive
•S line® exterior
•Adaptive xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights
•Ventilated eight-way power front seats and four-way lumbar adjustment for driver
•BOSE® sound system
•Power tilt and telescoping steering column with memory
•Audi advanced key


A6 Premium 2.0 TFSI®
$41,700
Standard Feature Highlights
•17" 10-spoke alloy wheels with 225/55 all-season tires
•Eight-way power front seats, and four-way power lumbar adjustment for driver
•Four-spoke multifunction steering wheel
•Audi drive select
•Keyless start
•Driver seat memory
•Audi music interface with iPod®/iPhone® integration
•HomeLink® remote transmitter
•LED taillights


A6 Premium Plus 2.0 TFSI®
$45,920
Standard Feature Highlights
•18" 5-spoke alloy wheels with 245/45 all-season tires
•Audi xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights
•Audi MMI® Navigation plus with voice control system
•Audi MMI® touch handwriting recognition
•Keyless start
•Audi connect®
•Parking system plus with front and rear sensors

Yup looks like premium and premium plus models are FWD. Pretty affordable though. Then again considering a 200 hp 4 cyl

ttribe

Oops.

Edward'TLS

No drive shaft to the rear wheels, but why the huge hump at the floor of the rear seat ?

Even the Civic has rear floor almost dead flat.

ttribe

It's probably where they are running the exhaust plumbing.

Rocketsfan

So AWD setup will get damn good mileage and probably haul ass, but the FWD gets less mileage? Interesting.

Legend2TL

The hump adds a curved structure that makes the chassis stiffer in the longitudinal axis. Even Civics have a slight hump, and most FWD cars run the exhaust pipe down the channel.

HAWAII-TSX

I wonder if they put the batteries there.

SSFTSX

RL is not just best interior in Acura but the best design interior in the market. Its central stack near gear knob is not cluttered with buttons.
from pix. the car does not look that wide from inside. slightly wider than ILX. If it has TSX size width i will definitely consider it.

Legend2TL

My guess is under the rear seat, a great location for the hybrid batteries in most vehicles.

Legend2TL

, stuff happens. A old friend of mine used to be part of the web design team for Audi's website (I think they do it inside now instead of a external firm). I'll send him a email telling him of the layout issue.

Colin

I'm guessing the gas tank is under the seat, the batteries will be behind a 'non-folding' rear seatback or where the spare is. Maybe this will do away with the spare and put the battery pack there? The hump is probably for exhaust as noted and maybe the high voltage lines to the front electric motor.

Ken1997TL

I was wondering if that would be the case as well. Better center of gravity AND a proper trunk. For this class of car it NEEDS at least 15 cubic feet.

Edward'TLS

There must be a hell of an exhaust pipe in there, likely 10 inches in diameter.

Legend2TL

FWIW, some uni-body vehicles have flat floors and don't have a hump (Honda Pilot or Odyssey) so they have to add structure to make the floor area stronger. There are four box section structures in both vehicles. Two toward the outside and two toward the center of the vehicle. If you get on the ground and look under you can easily see them on the Pilot/MDX. They also have the ground clearance to run the exhaust without the hump.

dom

I wonder what this means for mechanical SH-AWD. Will we continue to see it in the next TL and MDX or is it being phased out and replaced with the electric setup? Anyone have an idea of the cost difference between the two?

ttribe

High-flow exhaust straight from the factory. There are even optional fart cans; didn't you know?

I'm guessing there are other things running there, but the exhaust is likely the most substantial.

Legend2TL

I was wondering the same thing as that must have been alot of money and time to design, develop, setup manufacturing,... all to be a rather short lived technology.

As for cost, I'm guessing it's more than the current mechanical SH-AWD. The cost of the motors, batteries, electronics, ... can be alot in initial production.

There's a lot of potential using the electric motors as the Acura video illustrates with in a turn by using the rear inner motor to regenerate and rear outer motor to drive causing a yaw effect to help steer the car like SH-AWD but allows a variable control as to speed versus the more stepped control of mechanical SH-AWD.

It will be really interesting to see how it performs when it comes out.

Moog-Type-S

I highly doubt they will eliminate the spare tire.

ttribe

I would hope they don't follow BMW's example in that respect...all my car came with is a plug-in electric pump and a can of official BMW goo. BRING BACK THE SPARE TIRE!

Legend2TL

My brother has a 911 and Cayenne Turbo and both have the same pump and sealant kit.

I doubt Acura would do away with the spare as well.

CarbonGray Earl

The question is, for the demographic buying this car is aimed at, will they even get their hands dirty doing any method of fixing a flat, or are they calling Acura care or AAA?

rightly or wrongly, I'm thinking this car is going to bought by people that don't like changing spare tires. People like my parents (well-off retirees) are more likely to have some roadside service do things like this.

biker

I would think that the volume of those two will justify keeping SHAWD. The complexity and cost of the new NSX and RL AWD drivetrains will keep them a very niche item for a while. I have feeling there will be a huge gap (like $10K) between the FWD RL and the AWD hybrid model. The typical hybrid "premium" is about 5K and this is much more complex than just a hybrid add on.

KillerG

They already dropped it in some of the newer TSX's

Allen-

I read that a while back. Got dropped for the 2011s. Wouldn't be surprised if the spare gets canned from the RLX.

I am eager to know what will happen with the mechanical SH-AWD system. Thats the biggest thing giving Acura vehicles an edge over comparable Honda models. I hope Acura does not plan to offer a FWD version of each vehicle and have the SH-SH-AWD be the higher model. The fact that there is a FWD RLX already looks silly.

Right along with that, how would everyone feel about owning a FWD 2014 MDX?

Colin

I don't think the center tunnel is a good place for the batteries. First off it would be 'outside' the car vs. inside, something they've never done before. Of course they could create a 'capsule' of some sort, but the bigger issue is that it would be next to the (assumed) path of the exhaust. Currently, they're most concerned with keeping battery temperature low, and I don't think they could adequately insulate it.

IMO, since this wouldn't have a fold down seat anyway, the seatback is the best location. However, since the TSX Wagon (only) has already done away with the spare in favor of a HUGE underfloor storage area, I could see the RLX utilizing this technique if trunk space were to get too tight with the battery pack behind the seats. On the plus side the pack would be much lower in the chassis for better weight distribution, the down side is it would place all the mass of the car at the ends, creating a (relatively) high polar moment of inertia.

Legend2TL

http://owners.acura.com/Model/Featur...delid=CW2H5CJW

Wow, didn't know that.

honda_nut

Having both an awd and fwd option will actually improve sales. Just look at the RDX for example. And lets face it, Acura/Honda is NEVER going to make a rwd platform (NSX aside) nor a V8. Most luxury buyers (not including the enthusiasts) probably can't even tell you what wheels power their vehicle.

Now having the awd come out on a later date is a bad idea.

Edward'TLS

Don't forget there's such thing as Run Flat Tires.

ttribe

Not for M cars. They don't meet the performance standards.

AZuser

Aside from the NSX you mentioned, there was the S2000... and then going way way back in time, the S500, S600, and S800. So it has happened. Hopefully they'll do it again.