GoHawks

After 5 months I still love this car?

Even my wife. When I had my '01 TL, she was indifferent about it. She thought it was quick (she drives the Landcruiser), but was bored by the styling and was "meh" about everything else. When ever we went anywhere as a family, we always took the SUV. Now she WANTS to take the RL, and further, she wants to drive it. She even encouraged me to get the windows tinted.

I still don't get why people aren't drawn to this car. Yeah I know the V8 thing, but I see plenty of Lexus GS300s out there. Although I've been seeing quite a few more RLs out there lately. The incentives must be working.

Mike_TX, you were a critic of the RL, and are now a convert. What did it take? Did the incentives encourage you to take a second more in-depth look? Is it that at first glance the RL doesn't scream out at you?

Anyway, I just wanted to say that. That is all.

JMikeF

The RL is the best value in automobiles today - PERIOD.
BTW, the RL is the first car I've ever had (I'm 54) where folks stop and ask me questions and tell me how much they admire its looks. I say, "It's an RL," and I get nods and responses like "Oh, an RL!" in hushed tones - I'M NOT KIDDING.

Ernie Golfs

We were out shopping for a new Caddy STS but we couldn't get a good deal from the local dealer. We went to Acura to look at the TL. My wife fell in love with the RL the first time she saw it. She had to have it that night. I probably could have done better on the price if I had more time to research and get different quotes but, after four hours of dealing we bought it. I never got to drive the TL until I bought one for myself two months ago.

I'm kind of glad there aren't a lot of RLs out there. She gets many questions and compliments on the car. She really likes it when young guys give her a thumbs up or ask her "what is that?" People are impressed with all the cool toys in the RL package. They say, "I didn't know a car could do that". I feel that the RL is a unique and special car, which has not been discovered by the American car buying public. The absence of RLs on the road doesn't bother me one bit.

neuronbob

I agree with the looks. I have been getting the same type of looks I was in the then new 2004 TL. People kept asking what that was. They are going to continue that with the RL for years simply because there are not that many on the road.

I can also attest to the value equation.

jhr3uva90

It is very uplifting to hear such praise about the RL. I'm proud to have one. There is so much negativity about the RL on other boards, so it is refreshing to read positive words.

Mike_TX

[Long answer]

Well, GoHawks, I had decided earlier that I wanted to go with the Infiniti M45 for the hp, so I didn't initially give the RL all that much attention. And as you say, the styling didn't call out to me, either. Then I had problems with the M and finally got rid of it after a year and a half.

The RL seemed a fairly logical choice for a lux car after the M, especially given the price, but frankly I wasn't very impressed with the first test drive I took in it. But as we were pulling back into the dealership, I punched the tire pressure button (just checking out the toys) and found out the tires were at 40-something psi. Needless to say, that affected the ride and handling, but I didn't go on to drive it further that day.

I kept thinking about it, though, and went back awhile later and looked at it some more. The styling had begun to grow on me, and the features (especially the Nav, VR and BT) seemed better than most others, so I finally asked for some more wheel time in it. Either the 2nd RL was just better than the first one, or my attitude was different, but this one seemed much nicer and even more energetic than the first one.

The dealmaker, though, was still the price. As I have said before, I might still have trouble shelling out 50k for the RL, but at 40k it's a bargain.

I still also don't know whether the SH-AWD will be a big factor in my long-term enjoyment of the car, since I don't live in the snowbelt, and I don't know that I'd pay extra to have it. But at this price, it's a cool feature. And of course, I can never have enough power , so I'd still like it to have a V-8 underhood. In the meantime, though, I'm finding the V-6 to be pretty darn peppy, and after my Thanksgiving trip to CA, I'll know how adequate it is on the open highway.

But the bottom line for me is that this is a nice-handling, excellent-riding car with a bunch of creature comforts and great electronics. The fact it may not turn as many heads as a Murcielago is not that important. It has a quiet elegance about it and nothing weird about its styling. In fact, it can easily slip under the radar (both figuratively and literally), but never fails to impress when people really look closely.

I still think Acura has a bit of a dilemma with this car, though. I don't think they'll be successful selling tons of them at 50k, for the reasons we've all discussed on here many times. But the people who DO buy them will continue to feel like they've found a diamond in the rough.

[end long answer]
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jhr3uva90

Hopefully, the 2007 RL with the lower MSRP will help.

bkw

I too would like to chime in here. We've had our 05 RL for 16 months and during this time I've always known how special of a car this is. The wife, like 95% of everyone else out there, thought that this was just a car until we recently picked up a 06 LS430.

In the beginning, she'd always opt for the Lexus, but a funny thing started happening. After 3 months with the LS, she's grown tired of it, and has gone back to the RL! For long tirps, or anytime she'd need the assistance of the navi, the RL was her first choice. Whenever the was rain or inclimate weather forecasted, the RL would go missing, and I would have to take the LS to work.

So I asked her last week what the deal was and she flat out stated, "I like the RL more". And there I was, grinning from ear to ear because I had just realized that she has finally figured out what makes HER rl special

The LS is for special occasions - dinner, parties, or long distance trips when navi isnt needed. But for daily use the RL gets the first nod in our household.

lumpulus

First time in my life I don't mind sitting in traffic.

Rob L

I don't get why people assume the SH-AWD is only good for bad weather. It does more for the car when driving it hard on dry pavement than when driving in the snow.

Mike_TX

In my case, it's mainly because I won't be as likely to use the SH-AWD driving hard on dry pavement as I will driving on slippery roads. IOW, the level of hard driving it takes to invoke the real benefits of SH-AWD on dry roads exceeds the level at which I normally drive a car like the RL.

I can see where I might find it nice once a year when I'm twisting my way through the Colorado Rockies, but I just don't push my cars hard enough under normal circumstances here in flat Texas to get all the goody out of it. And even though ice and snow happen only a time or two a year here, I figure I'm more likely to see its benefits then.
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