thomask

Hi guys,
So I've seen a thread about what parts in our car are made of real/fake wood based on the model.
What about leather?
What's real and what's not? If something is real, what about quality (full grain, top grain etc.)? Center armrest is fake from what I understand. What about door leather? We've got perforated bit up top, then solid part going down to the bottom. Is it all fake as well?
Seats: real, fake?

oo7spy

Pretty sure it's all fake with the perforated stuff coated in a plastic protective barrier. Pretty much the MO on anything less than a Maserati.

shahram72

It's all real leather I thought. But hey, you can't beat that beautiful piece of curved real wood on the dash. I think it's among the most impressive wood on ANY car at ANY price.

thomask

What's MO?

On a side note. Hyundai gensis: real wood all-around and napa leather, lower price as well. No wonder acura's don't sell anymore. It's a shame tbh.
/rant

schen72

Depending on the year of RL, the wood may be fake. I know for sure the pre-MMC RLs had real wood. I believe the leather has always been real, and it's better quality than what you get on a Honda.

oo7spy

MO = modus operandi. It's Latin and roughly translates to "mode of operation", the way things are done on a regular basis.

The dash wood was real for all 2005 and 2006. 2007 & 2008 tech I and II models used real wood as well. 2009-2010 used all plastic. The 2011 and 2012 advance models got real wood back IIRC.

You should also be careful taking a sales pitch at face value. Many car companies will put SOME leather on the seats and use artificial leather in high impact areas, but they only are willing to say "premium leather seats".

I guess in the end, why do I really care if my car seats are covered in a dead cow or something man made, especially if I can't tell? The man made stuff doesn't stain or damage as easily. Isn't the biggest thing getting away from cloth?

thomask

You can tell the difference. Take a test drive in hyundai genesis. You can see and feel the difference. Seats are a league higher.
Now, a higher quality doesn't mean higher durability. You can have higher quality but less durable seats. Then, it's your choice. So I care about these things because they matter.

thomask

Yeah, that's why I have started this thread . To see where Acura stands in terms of which "premium leather seats" are of lowest quality in the market .

oo7spy

So if I told you that the RL had real leather, would you feel better, and how would you compare it to a Hyundai?

stevieray

RL > Genesis 24/7/365. You want apples to apples, compare the RL to the Equus. Sure seems to be a shit ton of them out there with low miles and they're sitting out there for a reason. Hyundai has most certainly improved their quality but to compare them to a made-in-Japan Honda (Sayama Plant) is crazy talk.

You want a Genesis, be my guest. I think I have the best automotive deal going. Only other cars I realistically want are a mint '94-95 Legend LS Coupe or another '97 NSX.

shahram72

Back in the 80's Mercedes had fake leatherette on their lower models, like the 300D turbodiesel my family bought. Those seats felt great and wore better than the real leather. I think some of the newer lower Acura's have this. If so, it's better than cloth! Unfortunately, the rest of the Mercedes did not wear as well. The damn engine quit at 100K miles.$10K to replace it. Can you believe that? And that generation engine was supposed to be among the best. Sorry, had to rant about the engine.

thomask

As discussed earlier, real good quality leather is of higher quality, softer to the touch so it's a clear step up to fake leather. As I said Genesis'es leather is much better quality, comfier to sit on and better looking. If RL had real good quality leather it would be a higher quality leather so of course it would be more comfortable to sit on and thus, I would feel better. Don't get me wrong. For it's price, it's still the best deal out there... until genesis'es prices come down to a similar level .

thomask

Genesis is the same class as Acura RL is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acura_RL
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Genesis


Quality wise, times change, show me statistics. I don't think hyundai is worse. Saying that, RL is still the best deal out there. Although, for not much longer.

oo7spy

My point is that you started a thread asking if the RL leather is real or fake. You then go on to say the Genesis has real good quality leather and the RL doesn't. How did you go from not knowing to knowing? What source are you using for applied material and how are you measuring quality?

stevieray

FYI, even NSX seats are not fully leather (pleather) as are most seat backs. MY ass is not that discerning as long as the material keeps its appearance and wears well, don't much care what it is. I grew up with Naugahyde & cloth interiors so leather/pleather is a luxury to me. It's a car, not a couch.

BTW, you & Wikipedia may consider the Genesis a competitor to the RL. I don't. Yeah, it's a full-size, 4 door, 5 passenger sedan but so is an Accord V6. That's what I consider a Genesis competitor.

oo7spy

The 2014 Genesis is stacked with more features than the RL or RLX. If there is anything that would give the RL a step up over the Genesis it could only be build quality. I'm not particularly impressed with the RL material quality.

thomask

I test drove genesis and leather caught my attention since it was so much comfier. Since test drive I've been researching "leather" topic a little bit and wanted to find out how much worse RL's is. My sources are marketing materials and google research, best what I have at hand. I've learned that "premium" leather is always fake leather nowadays because if it's something better, they tell you. I just hoped that maybe in 2005 this kind of cheating wasn't practiced in Japan...
FWIW RL has got top fake leather anyway and it's pretty good. I sat in 2011 BMW 5 fake leather and didn't like it. So there you go - there are different quality fake leathers as well! I have also sat in high end cars including Rolls Royce so I've got quite range of leathers tested as of today .

Regarding quality - quality in leather depends on what kind of animal is used, what is it's age and how thick it is. That's why higher quality leather is less durable, because they use young animals for their softer skin. Saying that, real leather if it's full grain it's more durable then if it's from a split. Much more durable. Imagine how many times cheaper and less durable is leather if they split one layer into multiple layers... 4 layers? 4 times cheaper and 4 times less durable (approximately)! God knows how many layers they can get though!

I'd say another worth upgrade to RL fake leather starts from Napa leather (on at least the part you sit on - like in hyundai ). I wouldn't want real leather from split which is 1 micron thick probably and not a single bit comfier.

oo7spy

Can you provide sources for your info? I guess I'm confused why you made a thread asking a question, found the answer, and didn't share it. Is this a test?

thomask

For RL I didn't find an answer. Just "premium leather" from marketing stuff. Since there are different gradations of fake leather as well I wasn't sure that's why I created a thread. After you said it's fake I assumed it's fake :P. TBH, it's better than BMW's lowest grade real leather IMO, which is coarser. If I get a rip hole, I'll investigate further maybe . Yeah, I can't tell difference between something lower than Napa+ and good fake leather. That's why Napa is noticeable step up for me.

jime

I have had 6 Acura’s and am familiar with how Acura uses leather with vinyl trim for the seats.
My wife’s 09 RL Advance has “leather inserts” which means that the center of each seat is leather and the sides are vinyl. It was the same for my 2004 TL and our 2014 RDX.

In 2009 & 2010 the interior wood trim on the RL was “simulated” for the “Base” and “Tech” levels, and real wood for the “Advance”.

That being said the leather seating and wood trim in my wife’s 2009 RL is very inferior to the plush, soft leather seats and extremely attractive wood trim in my 2015 Genesis Ultimate. And as to value, the current RLX Advance is not competitive with the 2015 Genesis Ultimate in looks, ride, handling or features – which is why I am driving a Genesis and not an RLX.

oo7spy

I'm assuming you mean RLX PAW-S Advance. The looks are subjective, but the handling and ride of the RLX-h is a whole 'nother beast. The features would admittedly be the same though.

thomask

Re handling: I would say it depends. You can't beat RWD for the ultimate driving pleasure. AWD on the other hand must be better in Acura.

jime

The SH AWD on my wife’s 09 RL handles really great – if you are trying to drive the car like a race car. I pushed the car a couple times when we first purchased it so that I could try out the SH AWD. But it is more like a FWD car if you are driving like a rational person. I am sure it is the same with the RLX PAW-S Advance. I much prefer the handling of my RWD Genesis for normal driving.

oo7spy

Actually, you can beat conventional RWD if you have RWD with independent motors. When the RLX-h goes around a corner, the ouside motor accelerates in the same fashion as the RL. However, the inside motor reverses. This causes a more significant yaw moment and provides a tighter corner than RWD can provide. It also allows for more control of oversteer.

In addition, the motors are electric, so their max torque is at 0 rpm. Because of this, the RLX-h is just as fast as the Genesis R-spec but with 14 MPGs more.

thomask

That's theory, I want to see it in action now. Also, can you drift with rlx?

oo7spy

So go drive one. The people who have are much more convincing than those who have R-specs.

Does anyone who buys a Genesis sedan ever drift? Your point is either biased and pedantic or moot.

thomask

I can't. We don't have the RLX in Europe . I hope Chas2 (https://acurazine.com/forums/second-...-track-500102/) will buy one and take it to the track, though . Drift question was a bit .

oo7spy

So the Legend didn't make it out of Japan? That sucks.

thomask

It does suck .