Ive been searching for a car and ive finally narrowed it down a bit... new rl, audi a6 or an m45... i realize the the a6 gets pricey with options and i hate the fact the m45 doesnt have AWD. i hear you guys talkin about m45's and rl's. whats the deal??

 

As an RL owner, my bias is obvious, so allow me to give you my reasons for buying the RL. Firstly, I had owned other Honda vehicles in the past and had amazing reliability from these products. Once you are used to the outstanding ergonomics that Honda designs into their cars, you just feel at home in the RL - everything is exactly where it should be. Secondly, I was looking for a luxury car with all of the latest technological advances. The RL delivers great bang for the buck in this department with technology that rivals even the Lexus LS430 and the best Mercedes Benz and BMW have to offer. Thirdly, living in western Canada, AWD was attractive to me since at least 5 months out of the year the roads are covered with snow. The RL not only delivers AWD, but does so with the worlds most advanced system that not only makes driving in the snow a pleasure, but makes the cars handling characteristics absolutely unbelievable. Fourthly, I was primarily looking for a quiet riding luxury car, but I am an avid F1 fan and from time to time I like to drive a bit more aggresively. For this reason, I shied away from a dedicated sports car. The RL is a smooth, quiet luxury car that is a pleasure to take on long trips or use as a daily driver BUT when shifted manually with the paddle shifters and driven hard, the RL is just SO much fun to drive and shows its sporty roots. My fifth criteria was exclusivity without being ostentatious, for lack of a better term. I wanted a car that not every Tom, Dick and Harry was driving but I didn't want to look like a total snob while driving it. I see the small volume of RL's being sold as a plus since it makes my RL a rare sighting. Also, the Acura name screams of Honda reliability and practicality more than the "hey look at me, I've got money" personna of some other German or Japanese luxury brands. So, the RL turned out to be exactly what I was looking for (even though I had ruled it out earlier because of the abhorrent treatment I recieved from the sales people at our local Acura dealers) and I must say that I couldn't be happier with my choice. I just can't wait to put the 18 inch wheels on with Pirelli PZero Nero M&S (they should be arriving early next week) which apparently makes an already amazing car even better.

 

I say RL because I hate Infiniti...service blew, scratched car all over, leaky sunroof...million other problems, but it was probably just my dealer.

 

have you looked at the 06 GS430?

 

I'll second Hondamore and Vik's comments.
I love the exclusivity of the RL. I have not seen but a handful of them here in Columbus, Ohio.
The M45 is a great drivers car. If all I cared about was driving performance in a sedan, it would have been the M45 or the 545 BMW. But I wanted AWD and good fit and finsih at a reasonable cost. The Infiniti interior looks and feels cheap....right out of the Nissan parts bin. I hate that. And like Vik said, the dealer support is marginal at best. I would have hated having to deal with the one we have here.
The A6 is beautiful inside and out (styling is always subjective...but I love the looks of the Audi). Audi's interiors are the benchmark for every car I buy. What kept us from buying was preious experience with Audi reliability and terrible resale. A6...great car...love looking at them, just don't want to own one.

 

i think an 06 gs 430 with all the options the rl has will carry a nice price tag... the rl was real nice though. so roomy for me. im a big guy (6'2, 330) and i had all the room in the world. def a great car... new gs's are hot tho

 

The main reason I would recommend the RL over any Infiniti product is resale value. I had bought a new Q45 some years ago and needless to say lost big $$ in one year. I was driving a 2004 Escalade ESV Platinum, which I sold last month and now have a '05 RL. The MSRP on the Escalade was $71K and I can honestly say the RL has far more options and is far less expensive (and does not make 8mpg in the city)... but they are two different vehicles altogether.

The GS430, 530i, STS, and E350 get very expensive once you add up the options (close to $60K). The RL comes standard with everything but the two or three dealer installed options. I bought my RL for $46K out the door, a bargain if you ask me!

Goodluck!

 

I looked at the M35/45 but didn't like the interior except for the seats. The choice of metal dash didn't interest me and the wood option looked exactly like contact paper. Also the ergonomics of the controls didn't work for me.

After I included the RL in the short list, the interior was clearly superior.

If you like the interior and would prefer a rear wheel drive car, the M45 is a great SPORTS / luxury car.

IMHO the RL is more of a LUXURY / sports car.

 

If you don't need the V8, you can outfit the V6 will all of the same options plus AWD.

 

As an owner of both cars, I'll throw in my . I owned an '05 RL from 11/04 to 4/05 and traded it for an '06 M45 Sport. Here is a quick list of pros:

RL Pros:
-Extremely quiet
-BOSE sound system crisp/clear
-Unbelievable cornering capability w/ SH-AWD
-Top-notch materials in interior/paint quality outstanding
-Blue guages/lighting are (IMO) best-in-class, although I've gotten used to orange in M and find it appealing as well.
-16-character display for title/artist on XM radio. M radio only has 10.
-Ability to program nav while moving. Can only do "Previous Destinations" or "Address Book" in M.

M Pros:
-V-8 engine always has power on tap, unlike RL V-6 that strains sometimes to get up to speed
-Overall driving/handling sportier than the RL
-BOSE sound system is stronger overall, with more bass than RL system, although not a crisp
-Overall exterior design may be Nissan-derivative, but IMO it has more "presence" than the RL
-Sport Seats have great bolstering. It also seems that you sit higher in the M, which is a good thing from a visibility standpoint. Took me less time to find the optimal position in the M.

I traded the RL for the M primarily for the V-8 power. I found everything else about the RL perfectly acceptable. With that said, I find the M interior equally appealing (Stone/Black w/ Aluminum trim) and overall quality just as good.

I test drove the GS430 as well and just wasn't impressed with the totally isolated feel of the driving experience.

Hope that helps.

 

Sounds like you have had the best of both worlds, however I am a little suprised that you traded the RL for the M45.

 

I would hardly call having mroe bass to be better and would put mroe value in "crispness"/clairty...but that is just coming for me who is an accurate audio guy rather than someone looking for the most bass/noise.

 

I absolutely agree, but tell that to all the kids out there who think that 1000 Watt sub-woofers makes their cars go faster.

 

Well, I don't listen to hip-hop (although to each his own) and I'm certainly no "kid". I listen to Elton John, Yes, Diana Krall, etc. However, I find that being able to HEAR the lower end frequencies is a plus for me.

I never felt the RL had a very strong system, although it was very crisp and clear. I was always disappointed in the low-end sounds as I couldn't really hear them. Maybe it was mid-bass. Anyway, I can definitely hear them in the M, resulting in a more "enveloping" music experience. For me, that is definitely a positive. It could have a lot to do with my range of hearing.

Maybe I should have explained myself a little more clearly.