2010 RL @ MotorAuthority
12-01-2010, 06:10 PM
#1
Safety Car
Thread Starter
2010 RL @ MotorAuthority
Currently, if you go to www.motorauthority.com, the 2010 RL is one of the cars on the top banner. this is the review it links to:
It wasn't in contention for the award this time around, but the 2010 Acura RL showed up in Hell a few weeks ago anyway, at the North American Car of the Year jury drives.
For frequent flyer miles? To make a point? To have some awkward public confrontation with the nominees, a.k.a., a Sean Young moment?
Nothing that dramatic brought it to Michigan. I did, and in more than 2000 miles round-trip in the RL's front seat, some of it spent eyes closed, I confirmed some of the reasons why the 2010 RL scores so well on TheCarConnection's scales, and why it blends so neatly into the background.
Over at TheCarConnection, we've given the 2010 RL an overall score of 8.4 out of 10, with its great safety features, techno-gadgets and sumptuous interior. But styling matters, and the first thing you notice--or don't--about the RL is its lack of presence. Bionic-beaver grille aside, the RL simply comports itself without much visual drama. None of the flair of an Infiniti M is evident, and though it's more a competitor against the likes of the Lexus GS, Audi A6 and Volvo S80, those are some of the lower hurdles to clear in the looks department of the luxury-sedan segment.
The 2010 Acura RL's dowdy sheetmetal is mostly forgotten once you're behind the controls. We've critiqued the interior as somewhat bland, but it's really a different flavor of luxury--less dependent on formality, more ingrained with woodgrain than you might expect. The waterfall of walnut on the dash is handsome, and the boomerangs of metallic trim do the best job of any Acura in convincing you that this roughly $50,000 version of the RL is worth the bones over the only slightly smaller, much less expensive Acura TL. (Base cars don't offer the wood trim, and spec out much closer to $42,000.)
It wasn't in contention for the award this time around, but the 2010 Acura RL showed up in Hell a few weeks ago anyway, at the North American Car of the Year jury drives.
For frequent flyer miles? To make a point? To have some awkward public confrontation with the nominees, a.k.a., a Sean Young moment?
Nothing that dramatic brought it to Michigan. I did, and in more than 2000 miles round-trip in the RL's front seat, some of it spent eyes closed, I confirmed some of the reasons why the 2010 RL scores so well on TheCarConnection's scales, and why it blends so neatly into the background.
Over at TheCarConnection, we've given the 2010 RL an overall score of 8.4 out of 10, with its great safety features, techno-gadgets and sumptuous interior. But styling matters, and the first thing you notice--or don't--about the RL is its lack of presence. Bionic-beaver grille aside, the RL simply comports itself without much visual drama. None of the flair of an Infiniti M is evident, and though it's more a competitor against the likes of the Lexus GS, Audi A6 and Volvo S80, those are some of the lower hurdles to clear in the looks department of the luxury-sedan segment.
The 2010 Acura RL's dowdy sheetmetal is mostly forgotten once you're behind the controls. We've critiqued the interior as somewhat bland, but it's really a different flavor of luxury--less dependent on formality, more ingrained with woodgrain than you might expect. The waterfall of walnut on the dash is handsome, and the boomerangs of metallic trim do the best job of any Acura in convincing you that this roughly $50,000 version of the RL is worth the bones over the only slightly smaller, much less expensive Acura TL. (Base cars don't offer the wood trim, and spec out much closer to $42,000.)
12-01-2010, 07:28 PM
#2
you forgot page 2
You'd be impressed by the RL's steadfast all-wheel-drive grip and well-sorted ride, particularly if the first frost of the fall in West Virginia gathered overnight on your car's mirrors and glass. The drone and groan of the 3.7-liter V-6 engine under full pressure? Not as engaging. The 300 horsepower never seem to materialize all at the same time, and delivery is peaky. That's fine for highway passes at 80 mph, unless Ohio troopers catch you in the act, but rolling off a stoplight in a meaningful, impressive way means mashing the gas more than you might in an EcoBoosted Lincoln MKS, for example. The somnabulent steering is a big trade-off for the RL's traction, its thin-rimmed steering wheel amplifying the inattentive feel.
Acura drops drivers into a cocoon of leather inside the RL. The lower seating position and taller cowl buck the trends to higher chairs and commanding views, though the rear-quarter view and the rearview camera render any blind spots obsolete. The RL has exceptionally comfortable front seats, too--but also wears the hardest door caps your elbows can imagine. Twelve-hour driving days seem even longer, when they're measured by the red pressure patch near your funny bone.
Ride in back and you'll feel the shortcomings of the RL's accommodations more easily: headroom is scant, and overall there are just a few cubic feet more inside than in the TL. The trunk's on the teensy side, too, though a week's worth of cameras, laptops, notebooks, and emergency sleep gear left plenty of room for a Zingerman's bag loaded down with chocolate-cherry sourdough bread.
The RL's beeline to Hell and back did little to turn back the digits on its circadian clock. Driven back to back with the COTY nominee Infiniti M, or even the Volvo S60, the RL feels like a half-stab at luxury, with packaging, styling and performance that are very clearly mid-pack.
Jam it full of USB ports, XM, a brilliant navigation system, real-time traffic and DVD playback, and the slight fault lines of age get spackled over a little better. And there's always room for more Zingerman's in the front-seat footwell if you're flying solo.
You'd be impressed by the RL's steadfast all-wheel-drive grip and well-sorted ride, particularly if the first frost of the fall in West Virginia gathered overnight on your car's mirrors and glass. The drone and groan of the 3.7-liter V-6 engine under full pressure? Not as engaging. The 300 horsepower never seem to materialize all at the same time, and delivery is peaky. That's fine for highway passes at 80 mph, unless Ohio troopers catch you in the act, but rolling off a stoplight in a meaningful, impressive way means mashing the gas more than you might in an EcoBoosted Lincoln MKS, for example. The somnabulent steering is a big trade-off for the RL's traction, its thin-rimmed steering wheel amplifying the inattentive feel.
Acura drops drivers into a cocoon of leather inside the RL. The lower seating position and taller cowl buck the trends to higher chairs and commanding views, though the rear-quarter view and the rearview camera render any blind spots obsolete. The RL has exceptionally comfortable front seats, too--but also wears the hardest door caps your elbows can imagine. Twelve-hour driving days seem even longer, when they're measured by the red pressure patch near your funny bone.
Ride in back and you'll feel the shortcomings of the RL's accommodations more easily: headroom is scant, and overall there are just a few cubic feet more inside than in the TL. The trunk's on the teensy side, too, though a week's worth of cameras, laptops, notebooks, and emergency sleep gear left plenty of room for a Zingerman's bag loaded down with chocolate-cherry sourdough bread.
The RL's beeline to Hell and back did little to turn back the digits on its circadian clock. Driven back to back with the COTY nominee Infiniti M, or even the Volvo S60, the RL feels like a half-stab at luxury, with packaging, styling and performance that are very clearly mid-pack.
Jam it full of USB ports, XM, a brilliant navigation system, real-time traffic and DVD playback, and the slight fault lines of age get spackled over a little better. And there's always room for more Zingerman's in the front-seat footwell if you're flying solo.
12-01-2010, 07:45 PM
#3
Senior Moderator
Nice review. The RL is the world's best-kept luxury secret.
12-02-2010, 10:50 AM
#5
The RL has exceptionally comfortable front seats, too--but also wears the hardest door caps your elbows can imagine. Twelve-hour driving days seem even longer, when they're measured by the red pressure patch near your funny bone.
Driven back to back with the COTY nominee Infiniti M, or even the Volvo S60, the RL feels like a half-stab at luxury, with packaging, styling and performance that are very clearly mid-pack.
Driven back to back with the COTY nominee Infiniti M, or even the Volvo S60, the RL feels like a half-stab at luxury, with packaging, styling and performance that are very clearly mid-pack.
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