lland

Just got my new issue of Consumer Reports (February 2010 issue) and on page 50 is a review of Luxury Sedans, covering the Cadillac CTS, Mercedes-Benz E350, Audi A6, Lincoln MKS, and Acura RL.

A few (edited for brevity) quotes:

• The CTS gives up virtually nothing to the premium European cars in terms of refinement, powertrain, ride, or handling...but below average reliability prevents us from recommending it.
• The new E350 has a slightly roomier interior and retains the high fit and finish of the previous E-Class but doesn't quite live up to its predecessor's great ride and handling.
• The Audi A6 is starting to show its age, but is still competitive.
• The MKS is larger than the other cars in this group, but that doesn't translate into more interior room.
• The Acura RL has a smooth and refined powertrain, even by the standards of this group.

A couple more about the RL:

• The Acura RL is a pleasant and refined car but isn't quite luxurious enough to justify its $50,000 price tag
• The RL's high-quality interior has impeccable fit and ifnish with nice wood trim and stitched leather seats. Most of the RL's touch surfaces are padded and everthing fits together well.

Bottom line...they like the RL but don't like the rear seat comfort and think the controls are confusing (same things they said a couple of years ago).

Finally, in their words: "Only the Acura is recommended."

LL

TampaRLX-SH

Although I agree there are some interior trim pieces of the RL that could be real metal (interior door handles) , or a slightly better grade plastic (window switches), I have yet to find an interior of any car that is as artful, thought out and balanced between elegance and tech as the RLs.

And for 'so many' buttons, I think the RL center stack is visually techie simplistic, embraced by beautiful and abundant sweeping wood flanks. No interior design comes close IMHO.

And for want of all these features, there needs to be controls. The VR in the RL is simply the most organic I have experienced and I have plenty of button rarely touched or used.

I never see any carping on the German's use of many uniformly sized chiclet style buttons. I cannot imagine hunting for any one button in that design while driving down an unfamiliar road.

CR expects vehicles to be appliances. All the features and telepathic controls? Even appliances are daunting nowadays. In shopping for for a new refrigerator, I had to figure out not only how to get ice, what kind of ice, how much ice dispensed and mixed with chilled water. Why oh why cannot I just say "Early Grey Tea....HOT"???

While I do read the media and reviews...I have long since learned that these self proclaimed critics and experts usually have no idea what appeals to me and how I should spend my cash.

*Greetings from Ushuaia*

neuronbob

This is better than the reviews they've given the RL during this current iteration. Usually they dismiss it by saying how hard it is to justify the added cost compared to the TL.

As far as the CTS...well, I knew I was taking a risk. No problems in 8400 miles, though, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and the dealer's phone number on speed dial.

Chas2

Don't forget the OnStar for .99G launches!

CadiGTi

The February 2010 edition of Consumer Reports tests the RL, Cadi CTS, Merc E350, Audi A6, and the modern day Lincoln Town Car (ie the MKS twin-turbo).

The RL was the only "CR Recommended" car as the Cadi and Lincoln have poor owner reported reliability and the Audi (with new V6) and Merc do not have a track record yet.

They say the RL's "larger engine" provides "better fuel economy" than the old engine (their personnel must be getting up in age and not too sharp).

What is really surprising is that they knock the RL's interior "It isn't luxurious enough to justify its' $50k price tag"......then go on to say of the interior how impeccable the fit and finish are as well as how nice the wood and stitching are???? Sounds like politician talk!

I just completed a 2,000 mile plus roundtrip to Florida for the Holidays and spending a lot of time in my 06 RL I think one of its' best attributes is its' interior......IMO very few cars (TL included) have interiors any where as plush and as high-end as the RL's (Lexus LS460 one of the few real exceptions).

So many car critics rave about Audi interiors....they look sleek, but just get in one, slam the door and take a good look at all of the low-end plastic and cheap switchgear in the Audi (and almost the same can be said of the Cadi CTS). I did visit an Audi dealer in Palm Beach. Sat in a $37 base 2.0T 6 speed A5 coupe, $59k V6 A5 coupe (loaded with upgraded S-Line pkg), and a 2010 S4 sedan 6 speed no options ($47k)......all great looking cars especially the S-Line dark grey A5 V6. But as soon as I sat in the 3 of them, and closed the cheap feeling doors, they reminded me of my 2007 VW GTi (a $24k car)....great to look at, but man these interior materials and switchgear are about as substantial as that of a run of the mill GM rent-a-car.

Got to use the "Leatherique" (from Autogeek.net) Leather conditioner that someone else had posted about on this forum. Did my car and my dad's 2003 Lexus LS430.....that stuff is incredible.........does a great job cleaning and leaves the leather softer than when brand new.....Highly recommend.

Got 27 mpg overall heading south from DC to Florida doing between 65-80mph and 25 mpg overall coming back in some real heavy traffic (10-80mph).

Still love the RL.....great interior, one of the better looking cars on the road, great NAV, AWD traction, and rock solid reliability!

knv8

so you used leatherique on your 06 rl and it worked? there was another post on this forum that said it did nothing. How did you use it? My seats need some major softening.

Bob In Miami

I also have an '06 and love the interior, however the look of the 2009's interior with the blatantly fake "wood" on the center consoul completely cheapens the entire look of the interior (and I am a fan of wood). Also, the combination of plastic wood around the door pulls next to the real wood of the dash is not a great look (our car also). And toss in the new Acura grill....well, I can not accept that look, have not warmed up to it, and will look else where when I replace my car in 2011. A shame, because the customer service at my south Miami dealership I use is excellent.

Bob

neuronbob

Threads merged.

CadiGTi

Go to this prior post: https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/wow-leatherique-really-works-731920/

On my dad's '03 Lexus LS430 and my '06 RL, I did them on Christmas Eve at their home in Florida. I started on them around 1pm. Temp was probably in the upper '70's. I used Griots Garage "Finest Sprayers" ($2.99 each)...they worked very well on the large bottles of leatherique. I sprayed the 1st step liberally on the seats and massaged in well with just my bare hands. Let sit in the sun for about 1 hour and repeated process. After about 2 1/2 hours (you are supposed to let sit in the sun all day....I was very time constrained) I used the microfiber sponges that came with the kit as well as microfiber interior cloths to apply step 2 which removes the remnants from step one, all of the soil, and also further conditions the leather. Put both cars back in the garage to sit overnight and took mom's 2008 Lexus LS-L out for dinner!

The Lexus seats were pretty bad as my dad gets in the car after golf and gym. His light parchment drivers seat was turning black. It is 80% better so I will repeat this summer on a nice hot day. Both the Lexus and Acura leather are now amazingly soft. I primarily wear business suits in my RL, but the clothing dye and leather pants belts were staining the drivers seat back. I was able to get most of the staining out and will re-do this summer.

Note to Neuron Bob, tks for merging the threads....sorry I did not notice the prior post relative to C/Reports.

037

top of the line CMBS uses real wood.