23 now 21 when i got it turned 22 a week after. But i love it. My friends all think its super sexy. And i like doing things like talking to it and having it talk back or if i forget to fasten my seat beat it conveniently tells me to fasten my seat belt. People usually stare when i drive by at the beauty of my baby.

 

likin the light interior with black exterior... too bad i make a mess of light interiors and therfore NEED a black interior....

Nice buy bro!

 

Well she said she didn't believe me until I showed her this post! I am pleased to say she has apologized and all is forgiven!

Elena was the name we were going to give our baby if it was a girl, we found it's going to be a boy, so I took the name and gave it to my car... might have something to do with her issues with my car!

 

Congrats on the boy and the argument.

 

25 here...got my '05 for my 25th birthday...makes me feel young and fun and the police don't pick on me like they do when I am in my s2000...Good luck with the wife, she will come around.

 

I am 26 with an 05 RL. I bought a 2004 3.5RL when I was 23. And yes... the 2004 RL is an old man's car, but I loved it!

 

This board might not be the best sample pool. Perhaps the older people that drive RLs do not post here or even go to message boards? I will say that most people I see driving 1st & 2nd generation RLs are of the older crowd (over the 40/50 age) ... of course that is not a very representative sample pool either but just sayin ..

 

25 and I hope to own an 06 RL within the next month!! Anyone know of a good place to look?

I love this site and the enthusiasm and helpfulness of the owners.

 

I'm 19

 

We need to skew this the other way; I'm 63 but I prefer 2 wheels. I just need something to drive when it snows hard.

 

18 here, I think I win!!

 

I believe, generally speaking, wisdom comes with age, but those of you who are relatively young (under 30) and own an RL are both wise and lucky.

Wise in that you are driving the pinnacle of Honda technology, and lucky that the American automobile "experts" are brain washed with BMW, Mercedez, and Lexus as being the symbol of luxury/prestige. This in turn has made the Acura RL one of the most affordable used-luxury flagships.

Anyone who is buying a used Acura RL is making a smart move- The only problem is that it is pretty hard to find a low-mile used RL these days. Especially 06 and up. Many automobile consumer reports underrate the RL for it's outward appearance being too small and compact for a flagship, but Honda took into account all aspects of driveability, including, you guessed it, parking a car. The reason why the 04-07 RL was designed as it is was to make parallel parking, as well as negotiating/turning into cramped streets as you will find in Japan, less of a headache. Imagine swallowing a horse pill for example. You wouldn't want to swallow a brick if you could swallow a rounded gel-cap, right?

Another aspect the RL is criticized over is it's relatively "slower" slalom speed, where the torque-vectoring SH-AWD isn't as quick to respond, say, compared to a rear wheel drive vehicle. What many consumer reports test drivers find is that they expect the SH-AWD to behave like that of Subaru Imprezza or WRX or similar AWD vehicles. This is not what the SH-AWD is designed for (ironic that many of those same test-drivers come back and drive the RL and realize how awesome and underrated it is). The RL is indeed a luxury vehicle, so making slalom moves at high speeds is something that is atypical of a luxury [mature,responsible] flagship driver (aside from the accident avoidance manuevers).

That being said, younger RL owner's should take heed- if you drive a prestigious vehicle, you should drive with the air of one! Remember your youth- there's no need to be in a hurry when driving an RL, you're going to want to be sitting in it driving longer. Time is on your side!

A little note on design: the 04-07 RL is by far the most beautifully, gracefully balanced designed sedan by Honda (the 95 Legend Coupe is still one of my favorites, and the 07-08 TL wins the sporty design). Many feel the design to be too bland and conservative, but that's all in the eye of the beholder. For those of you who picked the 04-07RL based on it's design, props to you.

There are times I want to trade in my wife's 07TL in for a used RL, and she always tells me that it's an old man's car. She does admit, however, the JDM 09Legend with the JDM grille is a beautiful car. For once, she and I agree.