I know this has been debated in other posts, but after driving an 08 TL for 3 days and 200 plus miles whiie my RL was serviced I thought I would give a quick summary.
If one word was to describe the RL compared to the TL it would be refinement.
the RL is just better on so many levels. The seats are more comfortable, materials on the dash, knobs etc are better. Engine and drivetrain is much smoother. I forget how much SH-AWD makes driving easy. Today in the rain,TL torque steer and wheel spin on turns, on ramps etc. required more concentration/attention than in the RL. The TL tranny seems to need to kick down 2 gears were the RL only seems to need 1 for passing at highway speed etc. At 75 the TL is much louder and the suspension is more unsettled, I felt every frost heave, and imperfection.The RL is just great. The only thing I really liked on the TL was the radio knobs compared to the buttons on the RL for tuning stations. It would be hard to go down, unless the 09 TL is AWD and a huge improvement in refinement.

now if they could just do something with the new beak

 

I use to have a 04 TL and put 70k on it. I just picked up a 05 RL with 15k miles on it an i must say the handling at higher speeds of hard cornering is better in the RL but at low to moderate speeds i think they feel about the same, other then that i think they both are great cars. I think the TL is alittle faster in the straight and as for ride the RL is alittle better but not by much. I do like how the RL interior is but i miss the aluminum pieces and the radio knobs in the TL. When i think about my experience in the RL i can see little things that add up that make it alittle better then the TL , as for performance i dont think the avg drive will notice unless your a person that loves to hit the corners hard cause thats only when i notice the SHAWD but I guess thats why you pay alittle extra money for the RL. I did get better MPG in the TL.

 

I have an 05 tl and 07 rl and I prefer the RL though the TL is more spirited. The tl handles tighter and feels more torquey and the rl is way smoother, less rattly and a way more refined feeling... I prefer the less rattles. When I used to drive the TL before I got the RL, I loved it.. now that I have the RL, the TL just isn't that great to me. I have 35k on the 05 TL.. so it isn't like it is old, either. Maybe it is more sporty so you feel more of the road....

 

How about doing something about the same dull wheels. The TL wheels should be on the RL.

 

AS previously concluded: The TL is a great car.............until you drive the RL.