agree, the trunk is nice and the arrow-shaped tailights make it look fast. The chrome bar also makes it look wider. unfortunately the grille is here to stay, i think but it doesn't bother me anymore.

 

Chrome don't bring it home and it's an inelegant design cue IMO. RL is an understated car by definition and this reminds me of something Fritz Todt would have designed.

 

In my opinion the 05-08 RL looked a HELL OF A LOT BETTER than the 09 looks FRONT AND BACK. Nothing else looked like an 05-08 RL or CL for that matter. All the other manufacturers had been following ACURA'S design cues since the early nineties. Now Acura has gotten lazy and started following competition that had been following them all these years. Look at this shit:




The 2008 CL550 looks just like an older RL from the back or even a 01-03 CL-S. This is a 100+ thousand dollar car that copped the style Acura came up with years ago.

 

Looks like an 06' Maxima with a smile.

 

The current gen CL was based on the older one - 1999 model designed in 97 & 98 long before Acura had a design like that.

If anything, Acura made the 01 CL look like the MB CL. The current CL trunk line (like the RL) copies BMW's Bangle Butt.

 

I'm having trouble seeing the smiling 06 maxima in this pic..

 

[QUOTE=Sideswipe]




Stolen from the Neon.

 

Wait a minute. When did Mercedes have anything out back in 1997 that Acura stole from? That square box rear end deal was the signature look for Mercedes back in that day. Mercedes didn't start coming out with the sweeping lines until a couple of years ago--long after Acura had been using that design.

 

Looks a lot like the tail end of my 2001 CL Type-S

MB copies stuff from Acura. Of course Acura gave away the design of the CL to Honda for the next generation, (not current gen.) Accord coupe.

By the way, still waiting for a '09 RL to show up at Smithtown Acura on Long Island, NY.

 

We all know that a car that debuts today was designed 2 years before, minimum. When the MB CL came out in 1999 it was based on a design that was finalized probably by 1997. If you look at what Acura had for sale in 1997 they looked nothing like what the 1999 MB CL looked like. The current gen MB CL is just a refinement on the earlier 1999 model. So I don't know how the 2001 Acura CL could have had its design cues stolen by a car that came out in 1999.

As I said... I do know that the current gen MB CL and the current gen Acura RL both stole their trunklines from Chris Bangle at BMW.

And the car above is the SL... which has not changed for many, many years... its design was also set in the late-90s.

 

We took my wife's 06 MDX in for service this morning and I got the chance to check out the 09 RL. It was a tech package (No CMBS) in whatever the dark gray color is. The grille looked better in person but still not good - the color of the car had something to do with it as well. The grille looks better on the darker colored RL's. I liked the rear end less in person. The stock wheels actually looked pretty good - I may swap to these with some all-season Pirellis or Pilot Sport A/S when the time comes to replace the PAX tires. The only thing I wish I had on my car is the ventilated seats, especially during times like this when it 95* and humid with the NBP/Ebony combo. In the end I have the same reaction as most others - some nice upgrades, some questionable design choices, and not enough to get me to switch.

FWIW, the salesguy said that everyone who has looked at it has had a negative reaction to the grille.

 

FWIW, the salesguy said that everyone who has looked at it has had a negative reaction to the grille.[/QUOTE]


The silver lining is that insurance rates will likely be lower as the actuaries discover that nobody is stealing these 09's.

 

That's a great selling point! "The car is too fugly to steal, so the insurance is low!"

 

Grigio Metallic - Wow, what a color. Returned a 2005 RL on lease. Was able to roll unused miles into this lease. Great car and I drove a lot of models before going back to Acura. M35x was a close competitor but rolls too much in turns. Does not have the pickup of the 2009 RL. The 535Xi was very close but BMW sales people are arrogant and turned me off. Lease was very competitive as residuals are high. Wasn't enthralled with interior. Difficult iDrive that is not intuitive (no matter what the sales person says) and cup holders on the passenger side?

Taking a hit on mileage with the new RL but no too worried. It is quieter than the 2005 and the look has grown on me. Back looks great and the nose is different. Not sure if it's the look Acura should stick with but I think, as said elsewhere in the reviews, the RL's best assets are hidden.

Realtime weather is cool along with the alerts. Seats are changed and I think they improved on already outrageously comfortable seats in the 2005. There is a smidgen of more room in the back and it does seem that in a comfortable driving position, the rear is good to go. I am six feet and right behind he driver was fine. You're not going for a cross country road trip but for an hour or so it's good. Sit in a LS460L and then you'll see a real back seat.

I like the rims and the 18" wheels. Sits a little higher or feels that way. Tighter in turns with no ride quality issues. It is a very quiet but powerful car. The increase in HP and Torque might not seem like a lot but the rear drive bias is clearly different in this model. It just goes quick.

Stops great too. Steering wheel of wood and leather fits nicely and is very comfortable. I like the addition of wood around the shifter though I miss the ability to manual shift at the shifter. Only on the steering wheel paddles. Interesting that you can use the paddles in Drive but it will automatically upshift in that mode. Put the shifter in S-Mode and it is all manual with the paddles.

USB and Ipod interface work great though DRM tunes on the flash drive came up as "unplayable." That's it for now. Great car. Enjoy.

 

Thanks for your input and welcome to AZ! Don't forget to post your purchase details in the "RL owner sign in" thread at the top of the forum. Post pics in the Photograph Gallery area.

We knock the grille of the 2009 but otherwise realize how great the RL is....after all, most of us here own one.

I am assuming from your post that you leased. What residual did you get, if we may ask?

 

Well, there you go the 09 TL was finally caught unmasked inteh wild and The Grille is way bigger than the RL's, not only beyond the hood line but folded on top!! The RL grille doesn't look that bad in person however this one is really huge..looks like Gonzo!
Now I'm convinced The Grille is here to stay and the 2011 RL will also have it, and probably bigger than ever.

 

cool - I am hopeful to get one in a while. Grill is different, but was not that bothered by it.
I saw one at the dealer yesterday when I dropped by 05 for service. It was sitting just outside the service garage. I mentioned to the Service Agent - "is that the new RL?" He said - no its the TSX. I looked at it again and said "Sure looks like the RL!" He said no. I did not want to get into it at that point.
He called me later in the day to apologize. He didn't even know they got one in yet.

It was sitting next to come 08's. Clearly the hood is higher.

 

Could of sworn I saw a 09 RL in West Chester but it could have been a 2009 TSX. I'll check out to see if the acura place has any new RLs when I pick up my car from service next week and take pics.

 

Our local dealer has an '09 RL in black, and I was waiting on seeing it person before I passed judgment. But holy mother of God it is UGLY!!! The back I can handle, the side is gorgeous but the front looks Rocky Dennis.

 

Honestly - I just saw one yesterday for the first time (in person), and as a 2005 RL owner, it's really not that different (from where you'll spend 90% of the time looking at it - behind the wheel).

The one thing I do *not* like about the 2009 is the updated gauges. I really liked how the center of the markers / needles on the 2005-2008 blended in to the background, but some dimwit at Honda decided to put a small silver "ring" on the 2009. It looks cheap and makes the center stand out, which was unnecessary.

Wood steering wheel is nice, but damn does it get hot.

 

Brought my MDX in for oil change and FINALLY was able to eye the new RL in person this week. Sat in it and tinkered a bit, but didn't ask to drive it. it all looked about how I expected from the photos. The front is no better (or worse) than the pictures. The back looks pretty good. Don't understand the complaints I've heard about that. The center console plood looks much better in person than the photos. I was expecting it to look very cheap but it was ok. I already have the plood steering wheel so I'm used to that look. Glad they provide that standard now.

Now we wait for the redesign. I still have my eyes on the replacement NSX. I love that cars shape and would like to get back into a sports car just in time for my mid-life crisis. All depends on whether I can justify spending the money (that's code for "can I convince my wife to let me have it")

 

Yes SRK85, West Chester (Piazza) does have the new RL on the lot (there's even a silver one with the nose facing the road for all to see!)

And BTW, there's also a black Genesis sitting at Carousel Hyundai two doors down.

 

Lol that would make sense. But then gain I was not paying attention to the new cars. As for the Genesis I saw one a few days ago driving around on the backroads around West Chester I didn't even realize the Genesis came out.

 

Just got back from servicing the TL.. Took the opportunity to look at the beast.. Over All impression in youth speak "it's whatevers"

I like the extra wood touch on the shifter area and the rear of the car. The rear definitely looks great..

Also IMO the best color

OH WOW JUST NOW WE HAD ONE OF THOSE CRAZY CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKES.. WAITING FOR THE AFTER SHOCK WHOA..

okay best color for 09 is white IMO

 

I saw an 09 RL ad on BBC America last night during Top Gear. Good time to buy an ad but why is 95% of the emphasis on finding a good steak and ski slope? Seemed a bit uninspiring to me like is this really a hot button for a person looking to buy a $55,000.00 car?