I agree with Vic. I have had my RL for 6 months and have become very bored with it. It really has no life... no personality. It is fine for a cruise but besides that it is really just starting to feel like an "old man's" car to me. I really was captured with my initial impression, all the bells and whistles, but I hardly use half the stuff e.g. the voice recognition aint worth the effort. Anyway it is BORING me to death. I quess I am stuck with it for a while

 

Didn't you do any research before you bougt the car? It's not a race car. You should have gotten a 545 or m45

 

*gasp* Sorry to hear this. Did you pay sticker price for it? If so, then yes you are probably stuck with it. Even if you didn't it will probably be a heafty loss to unload it (as I am finding out right now). The TL and TSX held their values MUCH better than the RL.

 

I don't want a race car. I think my choice now would be the 5 series.

 

I didn't want the 5 series because of the cheap looking interior. Things like no indash CD changer also turned me away.

 

I traded my 530 for the RL over a year ago and have had no regrets. I give the 530 the advantage in low end torque and its handling is great but so is the RL. In all other respects the advantages go to the RL.

I don't see another lux/sport sedan on the market that I would prefer but there are other great cars for sure. To change I would have to go to a different kind of car that was more sport, such as the new Cayman.

If staying in the lux/sport sedan category and already have an RL, I can't see making a change to another such car until something really new comes out.

 

The RL is the perfect daily driver - quiet, smooth, handles great, plenty of room, lots of high-tech goodies, wonderful audio sytem, super comfortable seats....
If your RL doesn't scratch you where you itch performance wise, then keep it as your daily driver and get an S2000 or (as 1HOTNSX suggested to Vik) a used NSX to get your performance fix from. You will be hard pressed to find breathtaking performance from a car that also competently serves the role of daily driver and highway cruiser. Such cars are available (CL65 for example) but you really have to open your wallet to get them and reliability may be an issue.
Just curious delacura, what is your age?

 

You'll pay at least $10K more for a comparably-equipped 5 series..... and apart from having a harsher ride and harder seats, i don't think you'll be any less "bored."

If you want something that's not boring, spend $5K on a used Alfa spyder or something that requires a lot of attention and adventure, and then use your RL to take it back and forth to the repair shop.

And 30 minutes in a 5-series with iDrive is enough to make me lose my mind....

 

I agree with the iDrive comment. I tried to use it once, confused the hell out of me - and I am young and a "techno-geek" as people call me.

 

i don't see how a 5 series will be any less boring to you.

i also dont see how the RL can make people bored...really, what do you guys want?

 

I actually found the 530i to be more fun to drive than the RL. Granted, I wouldn't buy that overpriced thing, I would keep my RL over that and add the a-spec suspension.

 

The 530i is more fun to drive--no doubt--but it is rougher riding, noiser, the seats are less comfortable, it is (depending on equipment) about $10k more expensive, and usually less reliable. So like everything in life, there are trade-offs. You can have more fun but you pay for it in a dozen ways.

 

And those are the reasons I didn't buy the 530i.

 

Bored? The tenor of this thread kind of reminds me of an old World War II movie in which one soldier sitting at the bar with another soldier says, "yeah, the movies are old, the pop corn stale and here at 23 I am still a Major."

delacura, if you throw down 45-50K on a sedan for the purpose of excitment, come see me. I have some things I want to sell you.

The RL is a luxury sedan - priced below others in the luxury line class. It has certain features that appeal to most and a ride that is what a luxury sedan should have. It does not puport to excite; it does purport to be ah so satisfying.

If you want an exciting car, go for a European GT, or a Corvette or one of the earth movers they use at the mines.....but, don't look for it in any Lexus, Mercedes, Audi or yes BMW. None are exciting.

For real excitment, join the Navy and fly an F18 or if you prefer, join the Air Force and fly a Raptor.

 

Luxury Performance Cars are 4 door sedans with nice leather cushy bucket seats and gadgets galore. I too was looking at a 530xi but $10K more didn't get me anything extra. As mentioned the BMW 530 has a harsher ride and a little better handling and a "lighter" car feel.

For a 4000lb car, the RL handles better than my wife's 04 TL. Its not as fast, doesn't have that low torque grunt but if I want to open the throttle, I paddle my way to 80+mph and its really fast, you just don't feel it as much...which to me is a testament to Acura/Honda engineering. I usually get that Holy S... I'm doing 90! and didn't even notice. Push the RL to its limits, the car is a joy to drive.

BMW's are "drivers" cars, but for me, I've owned them and wanted a more "luxury" ride.

Hopefully you find what you are looking for. BMW 545 or Infiniti M45 have sportier cars but in the end, its you who has to drive. Good luck.

 

Yeah and if I was still living in AZ, I would still be driving my Lexus LS400 and Miata!
http://miata.cardomain.com/ride/264031

Don't discount the value of the "boring competency and safety" of SH-AWD in Rust Belt states like MIchigan, or Chicago where I grew up. If you don't want to drive a SUV, the list of AWD cars is kinda short. Boring...perhaps, but a Honda S2000 for Summer sounds good to me!

 

Bored by the RL? Hmmm...I just drove from eastern San Gabriel Valley to Las Vegas (251 miles door to door at the Bellagio) and made it in 2 hours and 45 minutes...this included an approximate 20 minute stop in Barstow. Do the math...it was anything but boring! ha.

ps...works out to an average of a little over 103 mph for almost 2 and a half hours.

 

All things considered, if you're looking for excitement a new BMW is probably cheaper than a mistress.

 

It's a miracle!!! I mean, to drive 251 miles on public roads at that speed and not get some serious tickets or worse - time in jail. Even at low speeds on a curvy mountain road the RL is the most fun, best handling car - for a semi-luxury 4 door sedan. Nothing is more fun to drive, short of a sports car, a Mini Cooper S (new or original) or a gokart.

 

To be honest - if there were mountains, curvy roads, etc around here, then I am sure I would LOVE driving the RL...

 

Well... I'm not married to really have to worry about having a mistress... but for others...