Rocket_man

All,

These are some pics of the RLX I took at the Houston Autoshow today. The car looked like a production car. PAWS with Navigation. But there wasn't a sticker or a sign that gave details. There were a lot of nice cars at the show today. I really really really wanted the RLX to stand out in the crowd but unfortunately it didn't. Don't get me wrong, it is a very nice competent car but it just didn't jump out at you. But at that price point and lower there is a lot of competition. It looks very nice in person but pretty conservative at the same time. The interior is quite nice but not outstanding. More vinyl than I had thought there would be. Most Acura's have leather only on the parts that touch your body, and vinyl elsewhere. The RLX is the same way, but both leather and vinyl materials are nice though but on par with most other cars there. The jewel eyes are very nice and have a very sharp cutoff. The seat was very comfortable. You will have no problem finding a good driving position. The trunk size was a little disappointing. Trunk size and pass-throughs are a pet peeve of mine. I actually notice quite a few cars in high price ranges with large trunks and folding rear seats. The RLX trunk is narrow and there is only a small pass through, maybe 8" x 8". Decent size for luggage and probably some golf bags, but limited utility for those occasional larger items I would need to carry.

Overall I like the car but I don't love it. It is not the car we came away from the show talking about. The car we most talked about was the Accord. Yeah I know not in this class at all, but a very nice car with great features at a nice price point. We also drove the Accord and it is very very quiet and had acceptable handling. When I realize I could get ~2 Accords for one RLX it kind of puts it in perspective. Sure people are not going to cross shop an Accord and RLX, but would the value of one RLX be equal to 2 Accords to most people who see both cars? No I don't think so. Certainly the RLX is a few classes above Accord but is it worth twice as much? That is only a decision the shopper can make.

The cars I most liked were the pre-release 2014 IS 250 and the 3-series. The new IS 250 has very nice exterior lines. The new Lexus grill is a little harsh but in person it is acceptable. The early IS 250 pics I saw were more obnoxious than the car on display today. A little larger than the current car and the rear seats fold down. I've always liked the BMW 3 series and the one they had on hand also had split folding seats. Very large hauling area. Larger than Accord. For me, a nicely appointed 3-series would cost less than an RLX and be more desirable to me. I wouldn't compare the RLX to the 5-series on feel or impression. The 5-series is hands down a nicer car in my opinion.

The RLX makes me wonder what Acura has in mind for the TLX. They can't really de-content it much from the RLX because the TLX will need to be competitive. So what room is there to slot in the TLX at a competitive price point yet keep the RLX value where it is? Is PAWS going to be that much of a deal-maker? PAWS aside, I don't anticipate the RLX can command much of a premium over the TLX, if it does the TLX will be too dumbed down to be competitive.





The Jewel eye cut off on my pants leg....

Rocket_man

5 Miles on the odometer





Someone put a lot of thought into making the volume knob sit flush, but to me it is just fine staying in the UP position.

Rocket_man

Driver's side door.





As far as I could tell this car had the standard audio system.





You have to look closely but this glass is laminated. Two thinner sheets with a rubber membrane in between.



Rear trunk pass through. It is covered by door with leather (or vinyl, can't remember)

Rocket_man

The trunk....



Below the trunk cover... no spare tire, some cubby holes and spots for tools. Maybe this will be a tire repair kit.



And what is below that??? Almost looks like a spot to put a spare tire...



Wheels looked nice to me. Nothing special to remember, but nice. Kind of the same impression the car left with me.

Rocket_man

This looked like someone may have bumped pretty hard into this trim piece. There was an obvious gap where some of the trim tabs were not connected. I could move this with my hand but couldn't get it back in. Maybe if I hit it hard, but I wasn't going to do that. I think you'd have to hit this pretty hard to make this happen. I doubt it was a workmanship issue.





Oh, we also drove the new Avalon. It might be as large or bigger than the RLX. Had cooled seats. Very nice. And lower cost than the RLX on display by at least $5K if not more. Why doesn't the RLX have cooled seats on this trim package? I'm hoping the TLX will have these and not at the Advanced trim. I'm pretty sure I can get these on the new IS 250.

GoHawks

Nice write-up. I know I have been critical of the RLX, but I think the interior is very nice. At least from what I could tell in the pictures. My feelings on the exterior are unchanged; a pleasant enough car, but nothing that makes me want to go trade in my car to go get one. I wasn't able to make it to the Detroit Auto Show this year so I never got a chance to see it live.

I think you're spot on in describing Acura's challenge in differentiating the RLX from the new TLX. That was the problem with the 2nd gen RL, especially in the later years.

I will say one thing, most of us were fans of the 2nd gen RL because it offered tremendous value. You got "near" 5 series performance with much more content at a better price. With a loaded RLX going well north of $60K, it will not be able to compete on value alone. It will have to go toe to toe with the big boys, and I am far from convinced it can.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

more from the Houston Auto Show

JM2010 SH-AWD

Thanks for the observations. I saw one yesterday at the STL car show. Acura was just down the hall from Audi, so I used the opportunity to go straight from an A6 to the RLX. I won't waste a lot of time here, but in my opinion, the RLX will more than compete with the A6 on features, styling (in and out) fit and finish, etc. I suspect the A6 is the car Acura really targets with the RLX.

The RLX on display had the Krell audio but unfortunately (and stupidly) the car's electrics were not hooked up so I couldn't sample the audio or other displays. But the car is very nice looking, albeit admittedly conservative, and well executed. The interior is huge, laid out well, and had very nice leather. The model here was a FWD with P-AWS.

Funny side story - I was sitting in a new Caddy ATS (nice looking car, BTW). A woman was also sitting in it. She said they were considering "the Acura." I told her to buy it. She asked whether upkeep and maintenance would be expensive and I assured her they were not. She said her hubby had a Benz and every time he took it in, which evidently was often, it cost $1,000. I told her the Acura would treat her no such way.

jhr3uva90

The RLX is starting to grow on me. I hope they offer a rust brown interior similar to what was offered on the ZDX.

beach109

Interesting on the dash issue. People at auto shows obliterate and tear apart the cars, and by end of an auto show it's not abnormal to see things missing or broken.

The RLX is a great looking car in person, and the interior especially. Black doesn't highlight any of the lines very well, though. When I was showing the one we had at the Philadelphia auto show this Sunday, lots of interest from current RL drivers and also 5-series/E-class/Audi people looking for same price point but a higher quality vehicle with performance and not $1xxx repair bills. Those questions kept coming up. The interior was well received as well "look, 2 screens..." included.

DiabloSVRacer

i love those wheels. drools. i want it for my 2g RL