RL: exterior has this demure aggressiveness; it's stately, not exotic, but if you don't pay attention it'll suddenly open it's hood and swallow you (the SH-AWD rear diff makes a great food processor! :P j/k); just look at close-ups of the grill and headlamps -- they are scary (good way). interior is very nice, looks big and friendly; and knowing a little about human-machine interaction, the dash/button layouts seem to follow some guise of respect for ergonomics; the seats however could be a little sportier -- they don't look very bolstered, but maybe that's just the pics

M45: exterior from front and sides is very attractive; shouts come get me, cuz you can't; the rear is scary (bad way), maybe they'll produce some rear bras to shield other drivers from the ugliness; interior has potential, but once again, infiniti disappoints; the controls are NOT laid out in a fashion that would make sense ergonomically; some of the controls are on TOP of the dash, which would make them harder to reach and read; the color contrasts are way too bold for something that should be rich and deep instead; not that i'm an advocate of wood trim, but is there any on this car?

Overall, the M45 will be a nice car, but as has been mentioned earlier, it gives up class for trendiness (or trashiness, depending on opinion). I'm sure it's driving dynamics will kick butt, though, if the G35 is a starting point in their minds and the 5 series is a target.

The RL, I think of sort of loosely in the light of a VW Phaeton: all the goods, packaged not to let anyone know. The car is clearly designed to be an understated, yet true md-lux sport offering. It blends everything neatly together, but doesn't shout anything at you (or anyone else, which could be a problem for some people).

Anyway, those were my thoughts, whether or not they are worth anything.

Kevin

 

Totally agree. I think a lot of people in this forum built up the RL in their heads and now are dissapointed that it didn't fulfill a fantasy. In my opinion, the car is impressive in its interior, powertrain, and even the exterior. Not sure what a lot of these people are so dissapointed about??

 

Because we were shown this first:

 

RL looks exactly like the new Pontiac G6 (Grand Am replacememnt)

 

I find it very amusing how everyone has a different opinion that the RL looks like ________. The Pontiac G6? Do you even know what that looks like? You must have a dartboard set up with a bunch of car names on it. Let's see, (throw). The RL looks like an F-150! Hmmm, (throw). The RL looks like a Prius! Ok one more, (throw). The RL looks like an xB!

Something like that right?

 

judging by the exterior, the new RL just doesn't look like a $45,000 car...nothing special but considering how well the tsx and tL is received, it could have been better

 

http://www.cardesignnews.com/autosho...ontiac-g6.html

http://www.edmunds.com/future/2005/p...to..0.Pontiac*

http://www.supercars.net/cars/2003@$Pontiac@$G6%20Conceptg.html

 

You're right, my bad. The interiors do look very similar. Where do you come up with these comparisons?

 

Interior? Oh hell no. The RL interior is tight. We are talking about a Ponitiac interior (except the GTO, which ain't really a Pontiac, that has a great interior)

 

I was being sarcastic. Dude, the G6 looks NOTHING like the RL.