neuronbob

Some of you may be aware that I have criticized the lack of rear seat power or USB outlets. With that in mind, I visited the Cleveland Auto Show on Friday last. I sat in each of the RLX's competitors (E-Class, A6, Genesis). Guess what? None of them had rear seat power, either.

So I guess the RLX fits into its class well in that regard. Even so.....I sat in the rear of a Ford Fiesta ST, such as the back seat is, LOL! Guess what? It had a 12V port on the floor between the rear seats!

So Acura, take pity upon those of us who have kids who use the back seats, or have to cart business partners around in the RLX, and give us some rear seat power next time....but I'm not mad about it now that I know that this feature is missed in other luxury makes.

PS: Of all the interiors I sat in, the only one I could really say was better than the RLX was the Mercedes E-class. All I can say is, WOW that is a perfect interior. You definitely know you are in a luxury car. The Genesis, though.....WOW, did they go cheap on the interior compared to the RLX.

holografique

^ was that a 2016 or the new upcoming 2017 E-class? The 2014-2016 interior is nice, but still has the older gen "stiff" design flow. The upcoming 2017 is supposed to have more of the sexier curves based off the S-class. Similar to what's in the C-class now.

TampaRLX-SH

I think the RLX is focused more as an executive sedan and not a family sedan. The leather alone would be scarred by child seats and booster, never mind the urchins themselves. Family haulers are overwhelmingly CUVs and Minivans and they are equipped as mobile living rooms. As far as the Fiesta, it is a car targeting millenials who cannot communicate with people sitting across the room unless it is via a device.

If Acura wanted to offer rear seat connectivity, they need to offer the console / armrest of the LEGEND which has wireless charging and infotainment connectivity. Several cars have offered these type trims, even reclining rear seats with footrests. The Equus, BMW 7, Audi A8L, Mercedes S class come to mind. But from what I read, they are better sellers where these cars are more limo than personal sedan and do not sell much at all in the USA & Canada. They are mostly ordered in Asia, where rear seat riders are the 'luxury' passengers.

TampaRLX-SH

This is the LEGEND rear seat control panel.

neuronbob

If I'm carrying my colleagues for a dinner or lunch, and one needs to charge his phone, there's no place to do it in the RLX other than for him to hand his phone forward and have me plug it in up front or in the center console. It'd be nice to have a pair of USB plugs at least. Shouldn't be expensive to deploy in the next RLX.

TampaRLX-SH

I agree. A car intended to be an executive luxury sedan carries....executive types. And executive types have phones, tablets and tech devices (not just the urchins). It would be wise to offer ports for them. But since they already have it with the LEGEND armrest / controls, just put the damn thing in the RL.

TampaRLX-SH

Keep a pair of these in the car for those power hogging colleagues....

http://www.jcpenney.com/tzumi-pocket-juice-2200-mah-portable-power-bank-charger/prod.jump?ppId=pp5006120857&selectedSKUId=68302250 018&selectedLotId=6830225&fromBag=true&quantity=1& cm_mmc=ShoppingFeed-_-GooglePLA-_-Portable%20Chargers-_-68302250018&utm_medium=cse&utm_source=google&utm_c ampaign=portable%20chargers&utm_content=6830225001 8&gclid=CJ-JkLbmoMsCFUk6gQod1woBtw&kwid=productads-adid^45810122738-device^c-plaid^81646191698-sku^68302250018-adType^PLA

holografique

Exactly the type of stuff that just irks me. They already have the damn thing created, it's a part, that fits the vehicle. This could have been an easy way for them to add even more value to help fix the gap in high MSRP.

But nope...

TampaRLX-SH

I agree, but to be fair, I do not believe a rear control panel to the extent the LEGEND has was offered in any of the RLX direct competitors at the time of launch. The cars that came to mind where higher end samples and typically with some uber trim package. An example was the Audi A8. You could not get this type of feature on the normal wheel base model. You would have to get the extended wheel base plus some sort of Executive Package. No need to discuss the variance in pricepoint compared to the RLX.

The have to manage costs somewhere, and personally I think the amount of engineering in the SH models would warrant a higher price just for the sophistication of the drive train. The PAWS RLX acceptance (or lack thereof) will constrain Acura from chasing any higher pricepoint for the SH.

I do not typically have rear seat occupants other than Miss Daisy (mom) who appreciates sun shades and heated seats, but has no use for control panels. The only feature I personally feel needs to be on the RLX (and Advance Package at minimum) is a power trunk. I expect either of these features to be introduced in a new MY.

This leaves opportunities for model upgrades and MMC packaging. I cannot imagine Honda / Acura is making any money on these cars and they are write offs as mules of company engineering and technology. But I see your point. It is a bit of a rub to see HotSpots in a Chevy Malibu, or Voice Texting capability in a Passat and to Bob's point, a couple USB power ports seem to be a trivial expectation to support the plugged in culture we have become.

holografique

The Lexus GS350 has had this option since as far back as the 2012-2013 models. Which by far is the biggest competitor against the RLX. That's why I brought it up several times before during the start of my ownership.

I see it as a missed opportunity and a misstep in product design. For the MSRP of the PAWS, it should have had this option from the very onset.

holografique

Meant to state that for the MSRP of the Advanced trim...it should have that option from the onset.

holografique

I get what you're saying, but Im not sure I understand.

1. They already have a vehicle with the option in it. The Japanese RLX SH, the Legend. So I dont see where any higher pricepoint or investment from Honda/Acura is required.

2. I could see your point about not wanting to invest more into a product that isnt making them money if they had to completely engineer this option from scratch. But they did exactly the opposite of what you're saying. They went ahead and chose to invest the money and R&D to engineer the product option into the SH models only (late), but then turnaround and only offer it in Asia/PAC markets, and its only offered on a Honda badged product?!

Bullet #2 is the part that leaves me scratching my head the most...and feels like a kick in the gut for us owners in the US who paid extra money for what is supposed to be a prestigious brand above the Honda brand...

George Knighton

I just keep an extra long Lightning cable for that one time in 24 months somebody needs to plug in.

:-)

I confess nevertheless that when I look at the controls in the rear armrest of the ROW Legend, I do not know why they didn't spend the few extra pennies to give us the wireless charging, HVAC and Krell controls, and plug-in ports.

It seems to me they have to go out of the way to give the car the North American wiring harness in the first place, and that's the biggest difference. I'd have just done it.

The only thing I can think is that those North American cars that were sitting outside in storage for so long were put together before they had fully designed that rear seat interface, and then they just kept it the same without considering the popularity of such an interface.

It's not make or break, but I wouldn't have minded if we had it and I'd have viewed it as an advantage considering the MSRP.

George Knighton

Speaking of MSRP, I also don't understand why they're being stubborn about the MSRP considering the yen/dollar ratio.

They could get the price down to something close to the sticker of a fully loaded AWD TLX.

At that point, the P-AWS cars would start selling.

The only logical conclusion is that they don't really want to sell them because of the way they're put together in Saiyama; and by that I mean there is a capacity problem.

holografique

I think it's beyond trying to understand at this point. Nothing about the RLX has made sense since it's release, except for a really well designed 2012 product catalog that suckered in foolish early adopters like me.

All we can do is hope that their public acceptance of the RLX product failure and their desire to fix it comes to bear new fruit...hopefully this time around it's not late...or rotten

TampaRLX-SH

.....at 1:47 there are some close ups of the rear arm rest control panel.

Just put the heavy metal music on mute. And what is it that EVERY car program or documentary HAS to have heavy metal head banging music? I have been watching "How It's Made: Dream Cars" and was so irritated with an hour of ingratiating music (just because the topic is a car?) I now watch the series on MUTE.

honda_nut

You guys think this is bad, the 3G MDX has only ONE usb port in the entire vehicle stuffed down in the center console. Its a car designed to carry your entire family with all their phones, tablets, and whatever else they have. The new Pilot has fixed this, but the MDX isn't really that much older. I can't imagine that in 2 years time it took to develop the Pilot, the need for USB has changed that much. Seems like Acura product planners are just incompetent.

neuronbob

^^^^^
Wow. Glad we opted for an Enclave. Two USB ports up front, two for the rear seats, a standard 120v outlet for each of the two rear rows, and a round 12v outlet in the rear and up front. GM put all kinda connections in that SUV. In our 2016, we also have a 4G hotspot. Here's hoping Acura beats that in the new MDX.