JasonCRX

Hi there, I've been lurking for a few months now trying to get a feel for how RL owners like their cars. I'm going to be buying a new car here shortly and have narrowed my selection down to either an 06 A6 with premium, nav, quattro, 3.2L or 4.2L. Or an 06 RL. I've owned a 2000 S4, and currently a 2007 A4 (the wife's). I've owned a few honda's in the past (over 10 years ago) but never an Acura. For those who have cross shopped the two, why did you choose the Acura?

I completely realize that this is an Acura forum, and that everyone is going to say that the Acura is the way to go, I just want to know why.

I will be mainly using the car to go back and forth to work (about 30 miles each day), a few road trips here and there, and some errands. I'm not looking to race the car, I had an M5 before, and I decided I didn't need everything it had to offer. Don't get me wrong, I loved the car, and would have another one, just doesn't make sense right now.

The wife and I are looking at having kids in the next year or two, so that is a consideration.

Thanks for your help, yes, I have searched. No, I didn't find anything I was looking for.

RL Chi-town

well as you can see on my avatar pic. i have an 06 Rl white.

and i want to let you know that i drive at least 15 miles to work my self and the ride is very smooth. even with the rims i have. i love the car. it rides very nice. the technology inside the car is awesome. they have improved on that over the years. but 06 model i like. i drove a 740 bmw and i didn't like it. i drove a mercedes and i didn't like. i drove this car and i fell in love with it.

ofcourse it helped that i have had only honda model's in my life. and i had a cl prior. so i couldn't pass this car up. i have always wanted one.


well i know my comment might not help. but you can see where i stand with my decision. i love this car. very nice ride.

b0n3

I think the RL will be more comfortable than the A6. It's also a big car with plenty of backseat room for the kids.

Have you driven one yet? If that doesn't sell you, then go with the Audi.

I've said this before .. but when you're on the road in an RL, you feel like you are the only one out there .. I've seen maybe one or two in my travels to and from work. I like the feeling of have an exclusive ride that many people can't quite figure out.

Other reasons why I bought one:
plenty of tech toys, great design, SH-AWD, reliability and price

jfarabaugh

I am a fan of both... I happen to like the interior of the Acura much better then the A6.

Here is a good comparison video
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpconta...y?control=true

The acura came in first

JasonCRX

Fantastic video, thanks for the link I enjoyed it.

Now on to the back seat of the RL. There have been numerous complaints that it is tight back there, T or F? My wife has some strange opinion that the kids in baby seats need leg room and they shouldn't be cramped. I don't think their legs can reach, but hey, as we all know, happy wife happy life.

On the Audi forums, I have noticed that people have complained about the interior materials used in the Acura, the back seat space, and also the lack of power. Instead of listening to those guys about the Acura, I'd rather listen to you. Thank you for the quick repsonses, I thought this would take days looking at the few posts made in this forum.

jfarabaugh

i am going to go out and speak before I verify but...
I believe the RL has more horse power then the A6.
Depending on the year and package the RL had real wood trim ;-) REAL WOOD! I think the interior is better in the acura then the audi....keep in mind i like both cars so not trying to favor the RL.
I am 6 ft tall and I can sit behind the drivers sit (when it is in my position) and have a have plenty of room between my knees and the back of the seat. This is one of the reasons I choose the RL because of the back seat room. I think most people confuse it with the TL which has a tight back seats.
One more thing....go sit in a drivers seat of the RL and put your head back on the head rest

you should go out and take both for a long test drive if you havent already to really compare them. At the end of the day it is your opinion that counts

go here http://owners.acura.com/ and select the year and package level of the RL you are looking at and it will explain all the cool stuff that model does. It is a very nice site.

RL Chi-town

The RL has enough room in the back for leg room. am a big guy and i hate sitting in the back seat. but in this car the back seat is comfy. and for your baby. he/or she will have a good time back there.

danmm7

iTrader: (1)

I am an old time Audi fan. Back in the days I used to drive 2 different Audi 100s(daily drivers to school/work) and i used to maintain them as well. I've also had the chance to drive a lot of newer Audis, including RS6, TT, S4, A6, A4, etc. I know what Quattro means.

Now i am driving my 2006 RL. I bought the RL only 3 weeks ago after i spent 4-5 months looking at many other cars in its class, including 2006 Audi A6 3.2Q.

Bottom line - i liked the RL more than the Audi A6. This is why i spend my money on the RL.

I took a fully loaded 2006 Audi A6 for a 35mile (yes 35miles , it was friend's car) long test drive. The car had every option under the sun and it was equipped with the 3.2 (3.1L) V6 engine. /I know the 4.2 V8 is very very nice, but i also tried to consider the cost at the pump. V8 is too gas hungry for my taste and my needs/

The A6 ride on the freeway was amazing, very quiet and "German-solid". The cockpit was very nice, i liked most of the materials and the colors, yet some of the touches seemed kind of dry/boring/cheap. The wood color was not impressive, IMO. The front seats seemed very supportive/sporty, yet a little too hard for a car that costs $50k+. Overall, i liked the interior and could easily live with it every day.
Oh... the back seat was not tight, but it was not very roomy either. My previous car was a '03 Nissan Maxima and the Maxima, IMO, is roomier.

What i did not like about the A6 was mostly the engine/transmission behavior. Just like the RL, the A6Q is a heavy car. For some reason, off the line, the A6 had this "delayed" response even when i floored it. It may be an "issue" with the throttle-by-wire system, it could be a software bug, it could be traction control being too aggressive ...but i did NOT like it!! It made the car feel very underpowered. In addition, i was not impressed by the highway performance. Compared to my 3.5L Maxima, the A6 felt slow!
I decided to drive another A6 3.2Q. I got the same exact behavior off the line and the car was not any faster on the HW. I was disappointed.

The RL ...
It is not a "fast" sports car, yet it has almost 300hp and enough torque to keep me happy 98% of the time. Off the line it is not a rocket, but it does not have the "delayed" response i felt in the A6. I get more than enough pull at any speed. Average gas mileage so far is at 22+MPG.
On the highway, the RL is very very quiet, very stable (not a German feel, but still) and safe, gentle ride, it accelerates very nicely at high speed, the engine is happy to rev to high rpm. Brakes are excellent. SH-AWD was already tested in the Sierra mountains and i was amazed how well it works.

RL seats are great!!! Soft but very supportive. Headrests are adjustable and some of the best i've seen/felt. Interior materials, in my opinion, feel and look BETTER than what i saw in the A6. There are no "cheap" /hard/dry looking touches anywhere around the cockpit. The car is fully loaded and i have every toy i ever wanted. Navi with traffic is really useful and well designed. IMO, better than Lexus and Audi's GPS system. I love RL's stereo/DTS system. Back seat, in my opinion is as big as the Audi's, if not roomier.
Trunk space in the RL is smaller than the A6. Also, i hate the OEM RL 17" wheels and i think that the overall RL exterior could be a little bit more attractive.

At the end, the way the RL felt on the road, the quiet and high quality interior, all the toys, the nice VTEC engine, SH-AWD, and the RELIABILITY of the Acura brand made me pick my current ride.

Also, We have another Acura (TSX) in the family and i really like how the dealer treats us EVERY time we take the car for any service. They are very polite, very prompt and friendly. I ALWAYS get a loaner car, even if i go for regular maintenance work. I am not sure if an Audi dealer will treat you the same way. Where i live (SF Bay Area) i've heard some really bad things about the local Audi dealers.

Go test drive BOTH cars, more than once.

Good luck!

ishanb

I sold my '05 RL with 96K and bought an Audi A8L with the 4.2 L V8. Both are great cars, but the stretched version of the A8 really gives you the leg room that the RL didn't have. Gas mileage with the V8 so far (after 3K miles) is about 4 mpg better with a 110 mile RT daily commute. The quality of the interior, IMHO is better on the A8...should be, for the price. Anyway, my two cents. If Acura had a comparable luxury sedan to the A8, would have bought it in a second, but you know Acura...

vladfrenkel

+1 on V8.
German V8s are not that thirsty compared to RL. My average MPG's are also 4-5 better on 4.8L V8 engine than RL was. RL interior is very much comparable with big german 3, although I must say, BMW Sport Seats are more comfortable for my taste
Suspension is much more comfortable for the kids in RL, though, have it in mind. Even A-spec was not as firm.

myronf

Reliability!!!!!! Just got rid of an A4 Cabriolet. Very nice car but the reliabilty was horrible. Among many other things, I was afraid that the engine life was limited due to sludge problems and an oil pressure light that came on twice while driving. Replace it wit an 06 Rl

Can't beat the reliability of an Acura,

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

+1 the audi will become a huge money pit! its amazing when you have warranty but once that runs out you are screwed. they just don't hold up as well as an acura. my relatives had audis in the past and i've seen how many times they had them in the shop.

robarsan

I can attest to the reliability issues with the Audi. I owned an A4 (4 years) followed by an S4 (4 years). The S4 was in the shop numerous times and the shop fees were the same as the porsches they serviced $$$$$$. I loved the car but the last year I owned it I dreaded the check engine light coming on.

Before buying the RL, I test drove some S5's, but the 14mpg city was a deal breaker. I wasn't about to pay a gas guzzler's tax either.

The RL was my first Acura and I have had two years problem free, less a few minor issues. My best car purchase to date.

The RL and the A6 both get good consumer reviews. What your personal tastes are should ultimately dictate which one you purchase.

JasonCRX

Danmm7 - Thank you very much for your first hand experience. I to am a hardcore Audi/German car guy. The feel at highway speeds is so solid it's hard for me to consider anything else. I am happy to hear about the back seat room. Now I know this next question is completely personal taste, but the big knob on the RL... does it work well? I've used the old i-drive, and I've used the new Mercedes system in the S-class. The i-drive would take some getting used to, but it wasn't awful. The S-class knob, I felt, was fantastic.

I know I can get this answer by searching, but I figure I'll keep this all in the same thread. A lot of people are reporting mpg on the Audi 3.2 to be around 23-24 combined. Thats very acceptable to me. From memory I believe I've heard people with the RL getting around 20... is that correct?

Sounds like its time to go find an RL to drive. Just wanted to make sure from peoples experiences that I wasn't wasting my time.

Thank you everyone for all your help, it's been great.

vladfrenkel

Pure City driving was more like 14-15 for me, and on average (city/highway) - more like 17/18

nore03

i love the new Audi. In fact if the new RL isnt as nice as the 05-08 version then i am probably going to go with an Audias my next car. I think those LED lights on the front are sooooo sick.

PortlandRL

Having driven both for an extended period of time (worked at an Audi dealer) I can say the A6 is a nice machine and is fairly well matched with the RL. They're both AWD, both very comfortable and well-built, and so on. I would have to take the RL due to the electrical gremlins I've seen with some of the A6's convenience features, etc. Nothing major and obviously nothing the RL isn't susceptible to.

The RL is certainly not as common as the A6 which has its own appeal, especially around here where Audi's are a dime a dozen. Drive both and see which one you like.

JPSMAN

A couple quick hitter comparison notes from my experiences:

AWD system RL > A6

Navigation/Tech RL > A6 (RL is the clear winner here)

Engine/trans A6 > RL (RL lacks low end torque which some, including me, dislike)

Road noise A6 > RL (the RL can get a little loud at highway speeds)

Interior space RL = A6