After many weeks of negotiation and harassing a number of dealers in the LA area, my parents have parted with their 05 RL. They traded it in a month before lease end for a new WDP TL-S (interestingly enough, just about one month after I traded my TSX in for a ASM TL-S).

They really rather enjoyed the car, but they barely made use of most of the more advanced features and they were getting killed on gas. Living in SoCal, there was really no need for the AWD and my mom, who is the primary driver, hardly drives in a spirited enough manner to make use of the SH portion of the system. Nonetheless, it was good enough that my dad, who has an 05 MDX, is considering trading his MDX in for a 2008 RL base model. I should begin my next round of negotiations on that deal shortly...

 

Well, at least they stayed in the Acura fam, the TL-S is as good as FWD can get!

 

I actually had my parents looking at all kinds of cars including the Lexus IS, Infiniti G35, Mercedes C-class, BMW 3-series, Cadillac CTS, etc. Even after looking at all these cars, they decided on the TL-S because they felt that the TL-S was the best balanced car of them all. Still have to give Acura credit for developing the best balance of features, driving dynamics, and cost.

 

Confused - 'getting killed on gas' listed as a reason for trading the 05 RL, but yet your Dad now wants an 08 RL and has an MDX.
the TLS mpg is not much different that the RL. hmm. must be a lease end?
for me, the TLS would be a step down from the RL refinement.

 

and I have a 02 TL-S and I really like to have an 08 RL. Even though the RL has worse gas mileage and the trunk is smaller, but the interior and refinement are far superior...

 

Mom cares about gas, Dad couldn't care less. Since the RL was my mom's daily driver, she was the one who made that call.

Surprisingly enough, I find that my mom actually has a tendency to pick the sportier cars while my dad prefers the smoother ride. She chose the TL-S over the regular TL and the RL.

As for the refinement, the difference is negligible since it's not one of her top characteristics when looking for a car, oddly enough.

 

She sure gets to drive 2 nice Acuras. If I were her, I would have waited for the new TL just to see what all the mystery is about, but the current one is getting cleared out.

 

I loved my TL manual. If I lived in California I would most definitely still have it. However I guess the trade off was OK, an RL for winter and an s2k for summer The S is definitely more fun than the TL, and though the TL was a beautiful car, the S turns more heads than Penelope Cruz walking naked on the street The RL fills the snow and long drive duties beautifuly. There is no doubt that the TL is an amazing performance, luxury and looks package, probably the best to come out of the acura garage ever, along with the MDX sport. No wonder they are by far the best Acura sellers. I trully hope that the new TL is evolutionary because there really isn't anything wrong with the outgoing model. A few mild styling tweaks and the making of the present S model into the new base model should do.

 

Well, they needed to get something now and could not wait until later in the year. Plus, my mom thinks the new grille is hideous on both the RL and the new TSX so I doubt she would have gone with the new TL, given that it's likely to receive the same grille treatment.

 

Um, yeah, agree with everything you said here.

While the TL may rattle more than the RL, it is fun to drive even in automatic trim. The S is 10E48 times more fun, though.

 

What a geek!!!!

 

Hey, I resemble that remark!

 

Its your typical happy, american, TL-S family!