ASP

Go WOT in the turn/curve. You'll understand what I'm referring to.

ASP

LOL.

The RL's wood trim is genuine cherry.

I'm doubting that you have even been inside one.

Stop trolling.

first99TL

Not that I want to nit pick, but the wood in the RL is curly maple, not "genuine" cherry. It is not only genuine, but it is of a very high quality compared with other wood trim in competing cars. Go look at the 5 series which has a rather ugly alder wood trim, or the rather thin veneer of the Infiniti. Not to mention the sculpted wood on the dash as compared to flat trim in other cars.

I like it.

ASP

Ahh, you are correct sir. Maple, not cherry. Real wood indeed.

ASP

JackieO, here is a video you should check out. . . -> http://www.renowe.com/spoontestrl.mov
(Right Click, Save As)

catsailr

This discussion sounds like the old Ford vs. Chevy when I was in high school. I dont' see any use arguing about which car is the best. There are several good cars in the RL's price range. The competitive market is what makes all cars better. Wouldn't this be a boring world if we all liked the same think. For me I preferred the RL, but that doesnt mean everyone should or will.

picus

Hi - no offense, but I've got WOT in turns in an M35/45 more times than I can count. One of the nice benefits of owning a G35 is I get M35/45 loaners when I take the car in for oil/maintenance, or I just take one out with a sales guy for fun. I stand by what I originally said - neither the RL or M series seems significantly better to me in terms of handling, but right now I think the M is slightly better, in my humble opinion. The RL's streeing just felt a little too electronically over-compensated to me, a little sterile, if you will. Perhaps it's because I'm used to "Infiniti" handling, which seems more natural, with a little more road feedback.

I'm not sure why you folks are trying to convince me the RL handles well. That video is cool - thanks, it doesn't change my opinion on the way the cars handle. It would be just as easy for me to link a C&D article that says the M is better. I am basing this on my test drives, not articles or videos. I am going to test an RL in 1.5 hours. I will let you guys know how it goes.

Cheers.

ASP

Sorry for not being clear. I was referring to going WOT in the RL through corners/curves.

picus

OK, I will try that today. I am looking forward to it! I got off the phone with the salesman earlier and I've got a full hour in the RL. I'm pretty psyched, I love car shopping.

Fatalvenom

I only went about trashing the GS and the M because some of their owners have been notorious for being, shall I say, arrogant. There have been many occasions where I have seen GS and M, hell even E-Class and 5-Series owners become very offended when I suggested that the RL did something better than their cars did. Call it jealousy, call it ignorance, you can even call it envy at some points in time. I never refered to the GS or the M as crappy cars. All I said is that they look very similar to their stablemates.....GS=IS, M=G. Owners of those cars have accused the RL of looking like an Accord. Mostly when they say that, they describe the lights and other little insignificant things, but when I see the similarity between the GS and the Maxima, or the M and the G, it is not because of light design, it is purely body design. Both the GS and the M have an almost carbon copy of their stablemates on their belt-line. I'm not trying to put-down the M or the GS, all I'm saying is that if I'm gonna pay 50,000 for a car, I dont want it to look like the same car that some kid is driving who just pulled out of the community college parking lot.

Fatalvenom

Not to rip on you man, but you might need to drive a few actual race cars before you come up with your definition of "good or bad handling". Acura has perfected the art of making a 4,000LBS car handle like a a car that weighs 3,000LBS. My point is the RL wasnt launched to impress 1/4 mile junkies or dyno-heads, it was made to prove to people how good their AWD system is. If it wasnt as great as it was they could easily mask its imperfections by introducing it in the lightweight S2000 or something smiliar. The reason Honda decided to introduce this AWD system on this car was to prove just how good it is. Any 4-door mid-size luxury sedan without a harsh racing suspension that can get within .1g in the skidpad of the NSX is a feat of technology, or just a badass car. Take my word for it, I've driven alot of cars that most people would sacrifice body parts to drive, and the RL isnt far off compared to them, when you understand its actual intended use and the laws of physics

psteng19

Ironic that you say that, since the RL looks more like a $20k Accord than any of your other comparisons.
See Motor Trend's Accord Hybrid/RL reference

And the M looking like the G wouldn't be much of an insult since the G has been regarded as one of the better looking cars on the road.

hothonda

Were you a figure skating judge in a past life?

picus

Well, not to nitpick - but I don't know many community college kids with G's, either.

This is perhaps the most condescending post I've ever been the intended target of in all my years on automotive forums. Sure I've been flamed worse, but it's been 25 years since someone spoke to me like I was 13, thanks for that. I can only hope you didn't intend to sound as arrogant as you did, but by starting with "Not to rip on you man", I fear that you knew exactly what you were doing. I'm not even sure how to respond to this. I've said three times in this thread alone that I like the handling of the RL, and you guys try to convince me it's better. I said that I feel it's not significantly worse than the M, a cars whose handling I prefer, and you patronize me by talking to me as if I was a teenager regurgitating magazine test results. Do you just want me to say the RL is the best handling car I've ever had the pleasure to drive? It seems you'll stop at nothing until I do. If it will end this condescension then fine. You win, it's the best.

Now, if we can stop making baseless assumptions about eachother, let's continue. I understand the RL's "intended" use and the laws of physics. I intend on using the car I buy for my wife almost never. She intends on using it to drive to work and occasionally to her parents house. Are we ever going to take it to the track? No. I have my car for that, and I certainly understand how 4000lbs of metal effects handling, which is why I didn't compare the RL to an NSX or Elise or S2000, I was comparing it to the M, another 3,880 pound car and all I did was comment that in my experience in those two cars (not comparing them to racecars), I felt the RL's steering was a tad light, and that the M's handling was slightly better. Instead of saying things like "you might need to drive a few actual race cars before you can [form opinions on the handling merits of a 4000lb luxury sedan]", I will just say that for all you know, I race cars for a living.

And, if I'm not mistaken doesn't the RL pull 0.85-0.87ish on the skidpad? Certainly that's a respectable, even appluadable result for a ~4,000lb car, I never said, or even inferred that it wasn't... but doesn't the M pull similar results at almost the same weight? Not that I want to fall into the same trap you did with your "I've driven cars people would sacrifice body parts to drive" comment (whatever that means), but I have two cars in my garage right now that pull ~0.87-0.90 and weigh 3,450 and 3,512lbs respectively. Let's try to have a little more respect for eachother in the future, ok?

Man, shame this thread had to go this route - I thought we could all agree the RL and M are similar in many ways, and choosing one comes down to (mostly) subjective decisions on styling, options, and yes, even handling. I guess not.

Fatalvenom

[QUOTE=JackieO]Well, not to nitpick - but I don't know many community college kids with G's, either.



Well live where I live and you would see it alot. Most girls who turn 16 gets 3 series BMW's or C-Class Benz. Those are equal if not more than a 3 or E.

As for your comment as to "I race for a living" who do you race for ??

Fatalvenom

I ment they were equal to a G

picus

I said for all you know I race cars, the point being don't make baseless assumptions.

You seem pretty hung up on status. You'll grow out of that.

Fatalvenom

Well, if I was hung up on status, I would have bought a BMW or a Mercedes right ??

Tunerman

Maybe true but the new Accord looks damn like a RL to me. Especially the rear end. The M35/M45 maybe on the same platform but it doesn't even look like a G35. The GS/IS do look the same.

vp911

In person I think all these cars look much different and MUCH better in person rather than in the pictures.

jhr3uva90

Funny, I've heard a G35 owner say the M looks too much like the G. I guess it is in the eye of the beholder.

Nocturnal

I thought the RL looked too much like an Accord (or vice versa). Then I saw one in person. They look nothing alike. Well, it's got 4 wheels and 4 doors but that's about it. The RL looks S O L I D. The Accord flimsy. There's really no comparison at all. I've never confused an M for a G either I must say. Then again when I was a kid I made a game out of recognizing cars just by their headlights in the rear-view mirror and was very good at it. Guess I pay attention to detail

jhr3uva90

From a distance the RL and the Accord resemble. However, I've parked next to an Accord Hybrid, which has the same rear spoiler as the RL's optional one. The resemblance was slight (to me). However, I'm not really concerned if the RL looks like its Accord cousin. I just hope the RL can use some of the same parts, like windshield wiper blades.

catsailr

My dad tells me when I was about 6 years old I could tell the make and year of most of the cars we met on the road. Of course that was about 1951 and there were a lot fewer models of each make.

I don't see how anybody could mistake at RL for an Accord, but then most people don't know much about cars. I know more about cars than any salesman I have ever met, but that's not saying much.

picus

Ya we have to remember that we're all enthusiats who can probably tell the difference between different trim levels of individual models. Most people can't even tell you Acura is related to Honda.

mrdeeno

Dudes, I've been seeing a lot of RL's lately (3-4 a week) and they look sharp especially from the front (i've usually seen them going the other way). From profile, they look similar to an accord, but then again every midsized car looks like something or other nowadays.

I think the M looks moore like a maxima from a profile view than a G-sedan. the G-sedan looks weird in my opinion but the M's size proportions everything right (except the tailights).

Like I said before, if I didn't want a v8 or rwd, I'd have gotten the RL rather than the M. But in the end it's what you want and what you need, and I don't think you would be unhappy with either car...unless you're like that dude that went form an RL to a M45 to an RL and now to some other expensive car. That dude clearly has issues.

picus

If I had a dollar for every time I heard this I think I'd be driving an f430!

I agree, the RL looks nothing like the Accord if you spend any time around cars.

And on the G35 sedan - I swear it a lot of folks who think it's ugly only do because the coupe is so darn sexy. I remember when they were first announced and released (sedan only) people were all "oooo" over it, then the coupe came out and all of a sudden the sedan was this hideous monstrosity.

TonyCD

Your profile says you're 26. Hell, if people spoke to me like a 13-year-old when I was 1, I'd be flattered (except I wouldn't understand a word they were saying anyway).

And by the way, what' s wrong with drivers who go to a community college? Talk about elitism. Do they deserve crappier cars than same-age people who go to Hah-vard?

neuronbob

Back on topic:

I have owned my 2004 TL for two years and while I love it, I'm thinking of upgrading simply to have a different car. My choices are the RL and M35x. There are still a few 2005 RLs at my two local dealerships and if I go with one, I should be able to talk the dealer down enough in price to make it worth my effort. I have decided that I like the looks and the features sound pretty good.

So what I want to know is how the M35x's driving dynamics differ from the RL. I've tried the RL already and like it, and in the process of setting one up with an Infiniti dealer. Comments?

vp911

From what people have said - the RL is a little smoother of a ride. Of course, you already know this - but the best opinion you are going to get is to drive both back to back and decide which one you like. (get the RL, you will love it)

Steve C

Yes, VP911 is correct,
The M has a more sport/luxury ride & feel. The RL has a more Luxury ride/feel.
The M ride is a bit firmer than the RL. The RL is also quieter on moderate to heavy acceleration.
When you push down on the M throttle, you can hear the engine doing its thing! By no means is it intrusive, it just adds to the feel & ride of it all.
That could be a good thing or bad...You must drive & decide!

neuronbob

Thanks for the comments! I'll make a decision as to whether to even upgrade after my test drive cycle is complete. I like the TL, but have been going through an "upgrade every two years" stage in my life lately.....just a need for something new every now and again....

msu79gt82

Either would be a nice upgrade from the TL (not a cut on the TL, by the way). I recommend several test drives in each and on different types of roads. In my opinion the M35 is a car that grows on you; however at current '05 RL prices it is a heck of a deal.

neuronbob

Your statement that the M35x is a heck of a deal is only partially true. I'd buy the M35x with XM (which requires the Journey package--navi and XM are required in a car purchase nowadays to me) and that would cost $47k. I'm pretty sure I can get a 2005 RL for that or less. The battle is more even than you might think for either of these lovely cars when similarlly equipped.

msu79gt82

I said the RL was a heck of a deal at current closeout prices.

neuronbob

My bad. You're 100% correct.

SodaLuvr

In addition bob, IIRC, you have an early build 3G TL. Did you get the transmission "fix" for it? If yours was indeed affected, that may be a deciding factor as well, as the "fixed" transmissions seem to have a shortened life.

neuronbob

I have a VERY early-build 3G TL. I've had a few issues, but nothing showstopping. I still love to drive the car. It was involved in the recall and fixed. So far I don't see anything to indicate a shortened lifespan for the tranny, but if that happens (and it would likely happen suddenly), I'm definitely bailing. I know that was an issue even with "fixed" 2G TLs.

stingerbtry

The M35 was also on my list of cars and to be completely honest I was unimpressed with just about everything about the car but the worst part was that I felt it was waay underpowered. I also drove the GS300 and liked the car but it wasn't quite the way I wanted to go. For the price, performance, standard options etc etc, I couldn't turn down the RL. It wasn't a hard decision at all for me and I'm loving it.

picus

When I registered this account it was on my wifes computer. All her login info auto filled in and I was too stupid to change it. She's 26, I'm 38. It also explains the username.

Cheers.