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YOU are right, Acura is very clear...That's why they titled it as a PROTOTYPE
(1) noun: a first, typical or preliminary model of something, especially a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied.
I'm willing to bet $20 US that the 3G RDX will look very similar, if not entirely to what we see in this thread, as far as exterior is concerned. I can't speak for the interior. Put your money where you mouth is at, if you're that sure the RDX will be different!
Agree on the touch pad. To much reaching to get to it. Prefer steering wheel buttons & rotary dial. Looks like the two screen is gone for the German style pad look.
If you want to see what the new RDX interior will look like, just look at the current CDX interior. I've been saying for month now, the CDX interior is a perfect glimpse of what's to come for Acura NA vehicles.
I like it. Seeing as the CDX is the cheapest Acura you can buy, I'd imagine the RDX will just have a more upscale look and feel to what is shown above. Way nicer than the current two screen layout.
If you want to see what the new RDX interior will look like, just look at the current CDX interior. I've been saying for month now, the CDX interior is a perfect glimpse of what's to come for Acura NA vehicles.
Hey! That looks really nice! I would take some of the circles out of the steering wheel but otherwise it looks great.
Hey! That looks really nice! I would take some of the circles out of the steering wheel but otherwise it looks great.
Needs a shifter too. But looks pretty clean. Of course the devil is in the details, but other than touchscreens and button shifters Acura's interiors usually work pretty well.
The button shifter is far better than the stick. It doesn't take long to get used to it. Sort of like changing from a rotary phone to a push button phone was back in the day. It frees up more space in the center console and once you learn the position of the buttons (maybe takes a week) you can shift faster. The stick is nothing more than a stick that pushes buttons. There is no mechanical connection. It takes longer to move the stick than to push the buttons.
The button shifter is far better than the stick. It doesn't take long to get used to it. Sort of like changing from a rotary phone to a push button phone was back in the day. It frees up more space in the center console and once you learn the position of the buttons (maybe takes a week) you can shift faster. The stick is nothing more than a stick that pushes buttons. There is no mechanical connection. It takes longer to move the stick than to push the buttons.
I am well aware of what the stick is. I find it much easier to use than buttons or a rotary and better looking. An implementation like the yacht-style shifter in my A4 has drive mode change a simple flick of the wrist away without having to look for buttons.
The button shifter is far better than the stick. It doesn't take long to get used to it. Sort of like changing from a rotary phone to a push button phone was back in the day. It frees up more space in the center console and once you learn the position of the buttons (maybe takes a week) you can shift faster. The stick is nothing more than a stick that pushes buttons. There is no mechanical connection. It takes longer to move the stick than to push the buttons.
Might be missing something but what space does it free up. You can't put anything there. On speed of shifting if you want fast use the paddles. On console buttons vs stick. Stick is easier to find without looking & expect you can move the stick as quick as you can push the button. Pulling the stick back is a more natural movement.
BTW the sticks are all electronic no physical connection to the transmission. Shift up pull back, shift down push forward, change mode pull left, no need to look. Actual shifter movement is very small up & down like the paddles. Mode change left has a bit more physical movement.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; 01-01-2018 at 11:39 AM.
^ personally I love BMW's implementation of the electronic stick shifter. IMO it's the perfect blend of natural ergonomics with the advantage of modern technology.
Maybe I'm being too nostalgic, but there's something to that feeling of your left hand on the wheel, and your right hand on the stick...even if it's not a real manual transmission
Having owned both the 3.5 with push button and now the 2.4 with stick, while I thought the push button shifter had a cool factorand relatively simple to operate, I do prefer the stick. I found that in pressure situations where you need to go from R to D quickly in traffic, I feel more at home with the stick. However, no doubt if I was a young lad starting driving now, the button shifter would become equally intuitive.
Might be missing something but what space does it free up. You can't put anything there. On speed of shifting if you want fast use the paddles. On console buttons vs stick. Stick is easier to find without looking & expect you can move the stick as quick as you can push the button. Pulling the stick back is a more natural movement.
BTW the sticks are all electronic no physical connection to the transmission. Shift up pull back, shift down push forward, change mode pull left, no need to look. Actual shifter movement is very small up & down like the paddles. Mode change left has a bit more physical movement.
It frees up the space where a vertical shifter and display would have been and gives easier access to the storage area near the button shifter. The BMW implementation is rather good but that was not the way Acura does shifters. What I meant by shifting is going from park to reverse, drive etc, not gears. On the TLX that would be done by the paddle shifters. When I get in the car I can very easily and quickly shift into reverse with my finger and hit the parking brake with my thumb. Takes less than a second to do both. I don't need to see since the reverse is the 'sunken pull back' button and the parking brake is right where my thumb is when my finger is on the reverse. I find it quite natural. To each his own on this one, but I like it and find it better than the stick.
Sounds good. My TL was a 6MT so I don't know how the AT stick functioned.
To start my car & back up I push the start button. Grab the stick, press a thumb button & push the stick forward to reverse. I release it & it returns to straight up. In the run down the driveway the stick is in its normal vertical position. Once out of the driveway I just pull the stick back. It never really moves more then a 1/4" or so. From that point on all up/down shifts are made by just moving the stick forward & back for down & upshifts. It does not follow the normal PRNDL pattern of the AT & I don't have one of those displays to show it. What gear I am in shows up as a single digital number or letter below the tach. If I am in sport or sport+ that will display after the number.
If the car is in forward & I want to back up I press the thumb button & push the stick forward. If I shut the car off it automatically engages park. If its in the performance left slot it automatically moves into the D slot then engages park when I shut it off. Also has a second P button that will engage park when the car is running.
Has to be the most intuitive AT I have driven. I don't know if the shifter is common to all cars with the ZF8 but its a sweet device. Paddles are right up, left down.
Have an old fashioned sports car pull handle for the parking brake.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; 01-01-2018 at 09:12 PM.
Having owned both the 3.5 with push button and now the 2.4 with stick, while I thought the push button shifter had a cool factorand relatively simple to operate, I do prefer the stick. I found that in pressure situations where you need to go from R to D quickly in traffic, I feel more at home with the stick. However, no doubt if I was a young lad starting driving now, the button shifter would become equally intuitive.
I also prefer the stick way more. The buttons are slow. If you start the car and don't wait a few seconds it ignores your button action to shift into reverse.Instead you expect to be backing up and its still in park. Drives me nuts. Also there is no way the buttons are faster than the stick.If you had to make a fast K turn the buttons would get you broadsided. The fact that you don't need to look down for the shift lever is just a plus in general. Also open the door any little bit when stopped the car shifts into park. All these may seem minor but things like the reverse not engaging first try are regular reminders of its shortfalls. Then there is the auto-shut (shawd) engine off that you have to manually turn off every time you drive the car. No default setting to turn it off. I remember about half the time to turn it off when I first start out then the other half its shutting off the car for 2 seconds when I hit a stop sign or stop for a few seconds to wait for the garage door to open. Anyway just my 2 cents.
Unfortunately I think it's not the speed of shifting or the intuitiveness of stick vs button on why they went to the buttons. They can just program all kinds of automatic Park setting that they do now that they can't do with a traditional stick. Like putting it in Park when the door opens or putting it in Park when the engine is turned off . I don't like the buttons as much either, still not as intuitive as the stick to me. And the delay drives me nuts sometimes. Like when trying to do a 3 point u-turn in front of opposing traffic in my neighborhood. Even a couple seconds feels too long.
I also prefer the stick way more. The buttons are slow. If you start the car and don't wait a few seconds it ignores your button action to shift into reverse.Instead you expect to be backing up and its still in park. Drives me nuts. Also there is no way the buttons are faster than the stick.If you had to make a fast K turn the buttons would get you broadsided. The fact that you don't need to look down for the shift lever is just a plus in general. Also open the door any little bit when stopped the car shifts into park. All these may seem minor but things like the reverse not engaging first try are regular reminders of its shortfalls. Then there is the auto-shut (shawd) engine off that you have to manually turn off every time you drive the car. No default setting to turn it off. I remember about half the time to turn it off when I first start out then the other half its shutting off the car for 2 seconds when I hit a stop sign or stop for a few seconds to wait for the garage door to open. Anyway just my 2 cents.
Originally Posted by Speed_Racer
Unfortunately I think it's not the speed of shifting or the intuitiveness of stick vs button on why they went to the buttons. They can just program all kinds of automatic Park setting that they do now that they can't do with a traditional stick. Like putting it in Park when the door opens or putting it in Park when the engine is turned off . I don't like the buttons as much either, still not as intuitive as the stick to me. And the delay drives me nuts sometimes. Like when trying to do a 3 point u-turn in front of opposing traffic in my neighborhood. Even a couple seconds feels too long.
Any delay between pushing a button and the transmission changing modes is due to the transmission and the way it is programmed. Having a stick won't make it shift faster. I get in the car.... press the brake.. hit the start/stop button and the engine starts. I put on my seat belt and close the door. I shift into Reverse and hit the Parking Brake Off and there is no delay that I recall. If there is a delay built in it must 'expire' while I'm putting on my seat belt and I've never noticed. Once I back out of where I am, I hit the brakes with my foot and press the D button and I'm off. The transmission does take a second or so to change into Drive but moving a stick instead of pressing a button isn't going to change that. When I stop the car is does shift automatically into Park and I pull on the parking brake. Actually the parking brake disengages automatically if I don't take it off myself. I'm just in the habit of disengaging it. I always use the parking brake, not everyone does.
If Acura has made a 'stick' like the BMW that just moves forward and backward and returns to a center position it might have been a better combination. But moving the stick 'forward' to shift into 'reverse' would be counter intuitive to me. I never have to look at any display to confirm if I'm in reverse going to drive or vice versa. The reverse button is a different button from Drive and physically shaped differently and manipulated differently. No chance to confuse the two. I've completely gotten used to it.
I see a major faux pas with that interior shot of the CDX- The no physical buttons on the stereo. I hope the RDX has some buttons for the stereo. I too otherwise love that interior though. The no button stereo looks sharp- I just wonder how it is using those buttons.
I see a major faux pas with that interior shot of the CDX- The no physical buttons on the stereo. I hope the RDX has some buttons for the stereo. I too otherwise love that interior though. The no button stereo looks sharp- I just wonder how it is using those buttons.
The A4 has almost no buttons for the stereo. Works fine. Imsee that as an improvement over the Honda Accord... as long as they didn't go touch screen.
The A4 has almost no buttons for the stereo. Works fine. Imsee that as an improvement over the Honda Accord... as long as they didn't go touch screen.
I mostly to agree, except I'd prefer a nice sized touchscreen with a solid user interface and with one button to turn it off and on again when the software appears to be misbehaving...
Any delay between pushing a button and the transmission changing modes is due to the transmission and the way it is programmed. Having a stick won't make it shift faster. I get in the car.... press the brake.. hit the start/stop button and the engine starts. I put on my seat belt and close the door. I shift into Reverse and hit the Parking Brake Off and there is no delay that I recall. If there is a delay built in it must 'expire' while I'm putting on my seat belt and I've never noticed. Once I back out of where I am, I hit the brakes with my foot and press the D button and I'm off. The transmission does take a second or so to change into Drive but moving a stick instead of pressing a button isn't going to change that. When I stop the car is does shift automatically into Park and I pull on the parking brake. Actually the parking brake disengages automatically if I don't take it off myself. I'm just in the habit of disengaging it. I always use the parking brake, not everyone does.
If Acura has made a 'stick' like the BMW that just moves forward and backward and returns to a center position it might have been a better combination. But moving the stick 'forward' to shift into 'reverse' would be counter intuitive to me. I never have to look at any display to confirm if I'm in reverse going to drive or vice versa. The reverse button is a different button from Drive and physically shaped differently and manipulated differently. No chance to confuse the two. I've completely gotten used to it.
I don't know what drives the delay but I do know its there. I experience the "fail to reverse to engage" issue just about every day at least once or twice. I do tend to start the car and be ready to back up and don't do a lot of post start up operations before going into reverse, generally just check that there is nobody behind me to run over. Currently its start the car, toggle reverse then push the gas and its still in park and I repeat,. Sometimes I even pull up the reverse toggle twice hoping to make an preemptive strike on the "fail for reverse to engage" issue. I have never had a stick shifter moved to reverse and the car still be in park. Anyway if the "stick" shifter was an option I would have paid extra for it to get away from the button gimmick. Maybe this is just a design "feature" with the ZF9 trans. Then there is that bit of lag engaging drive, its definitely more that my 3rd gen acura and my 17 RDX.
Perhaps the expectation that once the car is running you should then be able to engage reverse without a waiting period is too high. There is no delay with the start button once the brake pedal is pushed. All I know is that I wish it didn't happen.
Acura needs to bring back performance in their cars. I doubt they'll get rid of the V6 though. They might make the 2.0T an option. I was looking at Cadillac, Audi, BMW, and even Infiniti and they ALL have Brembo brakes for different packages. Acura just seems to be just throwing in little nick knacks for different trims. The A-Spec just adds like it did before. Exterior accessories. But they need to bring back Brembo brakes and suspension. If they want to stay above the water, they need to get on the ball. A Type S model would be great. They have the SH-AWD which is nice but doesn't add any extra power. Especially to compensate for the extra weight from the AWD system. 290hp on the SH-AWD? It's like they took a step back in performance. Kind of the wrong way to go when you're trying to compete in the luxury market.
And that dual screen thing. Honda got rid of it. Acura needs to follow suit. I've had so many complaints on those...
I just test drove the 2018 Accord and even the 1.5T isn't bad. The seat was definitely better than the previous accord -just not quite as nice as my TL's. I really wish TLX could move forward but other than the A spec to excite those here who need more sports like behavior from their TLX, they haven't done anything me for me since the 3G was killed. I'd love the luxury of an Acura with the tech of an Accord if wishes were fishes.
Acura needs to bring back performance in their cars. I doubt they'll get rid of the V6 though. They might make the 2.0T an option. I was looking at Cadillac, Audi, BMW, and even Infiniti and they ALL have Brembo brakes for different packages. Acura just seems to be just throwing in little nick knacks for different trims. The A-Spec just adds like it did before. Exterior accessories. But they need to bring back Brembo brakes and suspension. If they want to stay above the water, they need to get on the ball. A Type S model would be great. They have the SH-AWD which is nice but doesn't add any extra power. Especially to compensate for the extra weight from the AWD system. 290hp on the SH-AWD? It's like they took a step back in performance. Kind of the wrong way to go when you're trying to compete in the luxury market.
And that dual screen thing. Honda got rid of it. Acura needs to follow suit. I've had so many complaints on those...
Infiniti doesn't have brembos. They use Akebono big brake calipers. They're much better than plain old brakes, but not as good as Brembos (from what I've read, anyway). The brembos are much lighter and smaller in comparison. Also, I doubt they will have both the V6 and the 2.0T. They both more or less put out the same max power. Also, the A-Spec had a slightly revised suspension, over the base model. It's not huge changes, but I've heard good things about the suspension set up.
Not a touch screen on the center stack fan. Don't like to have to reach to make changes to anything. BMW has introduced it for 2018 but kept the rotary dial on the console which is easy to use without stretching. The radio buttons are already multifunction based on the mode choice & I don't use those. So now we have including voice 4 ways to tell the car to do the same thing. DUH
Anything I can't do through the steering wheel or stalk I can do through the dial & a few buttons that surround it all without specifically looking down. The HUD gives Nav data, music choices & driving info.
I don't know what drives the delay but I do know its there. I experience the "fail to reverse to engage" issue just about every day at least once or twice. I do tend to start the car and be ready to back up and don't do a lot of post start up operations before going into reverse, generally just check that there is nobody behind me to run over. Currently its start the car, toggle reverse then push the gas and its still in park and I repeat,. Sometimes I even pull up the reverse toggle twice hoping to make an preemptive strike on the "fail for reverse to engage" issue. I have never had a stick shifter moved to reverse and the car still be in park. Anyway if the "stick" shifter was an option I would have paid extra for it to get away from the button gimmick. Maybe this is just a design "feature" with the ZF9 trans. Then there is that bit of lag engaging drive, its definitely more that my 3rd gen acura and my 17 RDX.
Perhaps the expectation that once the car is running you should then be able to engage reverse without a waiting period is too high. There is no delay with the start button once the brake pedal is pushed. All I know is that I wish it didn't happen.
That might be an issue with your car. I seem to recall in the giant TLX Transmission Issue thread that some users experienced this delayed shift into Reverse. Do you have a 2015? Older or newer 2015? I have one of the newer 2015's and while there are other transmission issues, going into reverse is not one of them. If your car has this issue it is 9ZF related and not related to buttons vice stick. I'd visit the service department and at least get it documented. Maybe it just needs a flush.
And that dual screen thing. Honda got rid of it. Acura needs to follow suit. I've had so many complaints on those...
What do they complain about? Maybe I'm missing something, but the dual stack is about as clear as day to use and more functional than 1 screen especially with CarPlay/Android Auto. I hope they don't get rid of it, but based on what the Precision Concept cockpit will look like it might still be dual screen, just 1 of them moved to the dash like Audi's virtual cockpit.
That might be an issue with your car. I seem to recall in the giant TLX Transmission Issue thread that some users experienced this delayed shift into Reverse. Do you have a 2015? Older or newer 2015? I have one of the newer 2015's and while there are other transmission issues, going into reverse is not one of them. If your car has this issue it is 9ZF related and not related to buttons vice stick. I'd visit the service department and at least get it documented. Maybe it just needs a flush.
The DCT had a delay when shifting from R to D - but the first TSB update for the DCT resolved it.
What do they complain about? Maybe I'm missing something, but the dual stack is about as clear as day to use and more functional than 1 screen especially with CarPlay/Android Auto. I hope they don't get rid of it, but based on what the Precision Concept cockpit will look like it might still be dual screen, just 1 of them moved to the dash like Audi's virtual cockpit.
A ot of my customers say its confusing. Some operations are used on the bottom screen. Others you have to look at the top screen to see whats going on. Honda has moved to the single screen where everything happens on that one screen. Makes it more...convenient in my eyes. With the Android Auto/Apply CarPlay, it's all on one screen closer to eye level instead of having to look down and find out what's going on or what you're trying to do.
The only scenario where I see the two screen setup basically sucking is for anyone who has neither the built in Navigation or Android Auto/Car play - in that case, I would find the setup simply annoying.
However, since I have both Navigation and Android Auto, I find the dual screens to be a pleasant feature to use with either.
I think the dual screens were more annoying prior to android auto and carplay coming out. I'm assuming now that the TLX does have that tech, people are cool with it now.
I just had a rental car with one screen for everything with apple carplay, and I must say it made me appreciate the dual screen set up so much more. I love being able to have the maps app up and still be able to change the radio etc. I've even gotten used to carplay using the scroll wheel and imo find it easier to use than using a touchscreen while driving.
Personally, I love the dual screen as I can leave the nav screen on the majority of the time. Perhaps what Acura should have done was leave the top screen exclusively for the map, clock and the various icons. Enlarge the lower screen for everything else. Or do what Mercedes and Lexus has on certain models and have a gigantic screen where you can display everything all at once.
Then again, I can assemble computers with my eyes closed so the learning curve when it comes to tech is very short.
It seems far-fetched to me (especially on the heels of the refresh this year), but an Acura person 'in the know' recently told me there are going to be "big changes" coming to the TLX next year. The only change he would identify, though, was they were scrapping current transmission. Has anyone else heard similar rumors?
I work at an Acura dealership and I haven't heard or read anything official but I don't see them making any changes since it was just redesigned. The only thing I think will be in the near future for the TLX is the TLX-S. That will compete with the performance of cars like the IS-F, M3 and other sport sedans.
These are just my views and opinions not based on anything official.
Not a touch screen on the center stack fan. Don't like to have to reach to make changes to anything. BMW has introduced it for 2018 but kept the rotary dial on the console which is easy to use without stretching. The radio buttons are already multifunction based on the mode choice & I don't use those. So now we have including voice 4 ways to tell the car to do the same thing. DUH
Anything I can't do through the steering wheel or stalk I can do through the dial & a few buttons that surround it all without specifically looking down. The HUD gives Nav data, music choices & driving info.
You should check out the precision cockpit that's going to be launching with the 2019 RDX. It's going to be the first with the newly redesigned screen and control system.
Have seen some mockups but not a finished product. BMW went with a glass cockpit similar to Audi's as an option this year along with the touch screen. Was part of an option package I did not want so I skipped it. Think Huyndai or Kia has had one for a few years before Audi along with a truck I can't remember.
To me they are nice & expect will become main stream quickly but the most important development is the HUD. With the HUD you don't really have to look inside the car.
2.0L turbo from the Type R with Honda's 10 speed auto and 300 + HP/TQ to keep up with the 330i, A4 and Genesis G70
Heads up display (The 2018 Accord offers it and all of the TLX's competition offers it)
Adaptive Suspension (Again the Accord and all of the TLX's competition offers it.)
Digital Cockpit
None of these things are really groundbreaking or something Honda/Acura don't already offer. A loaded TLX A-spec with SH-AWD is a $46,000 car while a loaded 330i with M-Sport package is $51,000. Granted the TLX is cheaper but it's also slower and not as well equip.
C'mon Acura bring the goods so I can be an Acura owner again!
2.0L turbo from the Type R with Honda's 10 speed auto and 300 + HP/TQ to keep up with the 330i, A4 and Genesis G70
Heads up display (The 2018 Accord offers it and all of the TLX's competition offers it)
Adaptive Suspension (Again the Accord and all of the TLX's competition offers it.)
Digital Cockpit
None of these things are really groundbreaking or something Honda/Acura don't already offer. A loaded TLX A-spec with SH-AWD is a $46,000 car while a loaded 330i with M-Sport package is $51,000. Granted the TLX is cheaper but it's also slower and not as well equip.
C'mon Acura bring the goods so I can be an Acura owner again!
If Acura doesn't include those things that are found on the Accord, then Acura deserves to go belly up. Absolutely no excuses to not include items found on the mainstream brand.
If Acura doesn't include those things that are found on the Accord, then Acura deserves to go belly up. Absolutely no excuses to not include items found on the mainstream brand.
I completely agree, the new RDX better not be missing features from the 18 Accord. Some may say HUD and adaptive suspension is overkill ... may I remind you it's called luxury for a reason lol. People pay for these little things.
12-21-2017, 05:05 PM
