britus

I have been a long time acura owner that has strayed away. I have bought or the following vehicles. Integra, Vigor, Legend, the first 3.5 rl and last my 3.5rl special additon. 3 years ago I left acura and moved our family vehcicles mainly to volvo, jag and lexus. Well the kids are married now, the wife loves her jag and have been playing with the idea of getting another rl. I loved my rl's best vehicles i owned outside my ls43o. The LS s a great car and will be keeping it just to have, however it just floats around. My dilema is the new body rl just doesn't grab me from the outside, now the inside is fantastic. So the question is how many of you bought it not completely sold on the outside looks and did you fall in love with it after or does it still not grab your heart.

I miss my acura's dearly, i just wish it wasn't so accord looking.

You guys have a great form here, i might just be ready to join again.

Mike

fugazi

In my opinion, the Acura RL is the nicest looking sedan on the market. The lines are clean, and the body looks appealingly proportional all the way around. The looks and the safety were two of the main reasons I bought it. I get a lot of compliments from other acura and honda owners; they seem to really like the way it looks.

Benush

And you are 34 (according to the bio info) - you must have started awfully young

just giving you a bad time, lol I'm certain the bio information is wrong.

get back to Acura and remember what its like to have a car fit you.

britus

Thanks for the response. I am 44 actually, so yes that is wrong. Now I wish people would mistake me in real life for 34 lol

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I don't see the RL as being any more or less exciting than the Lexus LS in terms of exterior design so why not?

Besides, you'll be spending most of your time behind the wheel, where you know you'll enjoy it. Plus, the low key exterior design keeps you from getting "noticed" by the wrong people (cops, hookers, etc. )

klister

A good question Mike. Initially, I thought from the side that the new RL looks too much like an Accord and overall it seemed not different enough from most Japanese sedans. Over time you do begin to appreciate the subtle styling and flowing lines compared to a Volvo or the new M, for instance. Also you realize that the front and rear views are beautiful.

Probably more relevant, you spend most of your time in the car looking out. The visibility is great and the ergonomics of the car work well. I now hate to use a key in an ignition, a headset for the cell, and can't understand why other cars don't understand all the verbal commands that I give them.

Perhaps, function makes you appreciate form better.

NorCalRL

Britus,

Each car seems to have a color or colors that make it look the best.

I suspect that each of the RL owners on this board believe that their color is the best looking one.

Unless they have Celestial Siver, they're wrong.

You should take a look at the RL in Celestial Silver before you make a final decision.

YMMV

vp911

You will be inside the RL, not outside. The inside is nothing but superb. Get it, you will love it. Sometimes I miss my RL

GoHawks

Well said

britus

Great thoughts from all. I will say the that celastial silver with ebony would be my first choice if i come back. I agree that it is the inside of the car you are in the most and agree that it is fantastic on the RL. I must also say that the outside has to appeal to your hear or you just won't look at your car the same as something that stirs your soul. I just wish the RL had a bit more outside pizaz, yet a great p oint was made about not standing out to the wrong people. I am being swayed to come back to acura where i have always had great luck.

jftjr

I can't think of a car that's been imported to, or made in, the US in the past, oh, i dunno, 15 years that actually looked good enough to stir my soul, that wasn't an Italian exotic.

Cars, for the most part, look alike now. The ones that don't look like all the others tend to look ass ugly -- Pontiac Aztec anyone? Or their Bizzarro cousins, the Cadillacs... or the Bangled-Bimmers, which are abominable. Even the S-class mercedes.... first it got the Ford Taurus "jellybean" treatment, and now it's a jellybean with slab sides and fender skirts.

I know that styling decisions are often made by wind tunnels and focus groups, but...ugh. There's not a lot of art coming out of auto design houses these days.... if you're looking to be "stirred" by the styling of any sedan in the $50K range I think you're going to be in for a letdown.... because they're all pretty much identically bland.

Dr. E in TN

I completely agree with your comments. My 2005 RL impressed me most from the inside. I found it nothing special at all from the outside. However, that is not to say it wasn't clean cut, stylish, etc.; it just didn't do anything radical for me. Buying it however was one of the best decisions I ever made because of what the car can do on the inside and because of the excellent customer service I get from Jerry Damson Acura in Huntsville, Alabama.

123456SPEED

I'm in the same dilemma as to whether I want to stay with Acura on my next purchase. I've had 5 Acuras, all coupes, and since it looks pretty certain there is no premium coupe planned anytime soon (I know about the TSX coupe, not premium enough), I have been eyeing the sedans, which I thought I'd never buy. The RL is very close to what I would want but the exterior styling, is lacking IMO, esp the rear end.
But I can see myself in the RL, main drawbacks for me are the mpg and styling. THe new TL is rumored to have the SH-AWD and with a 6speed already that may be a serious contender. I really want a coupe with a shifter but Acuras got nothing now. BMW, Lexus, and Infiniti have or will have coupes I would consider too.

Scott in Houston

I found the RL boring from the outside, but bought it b/c of the interior and the way it drives and all its technology. I know really like it from the outside. Like a lot of cars, it grows on you.

(I hated the 5 series when it changed, and now like it in the same way)

Type-S RPh

I only have 3 words for your......OEM Body Kit! I personally think it take a very clean good looking car and turns it into a badass looking sedan. Its one of the reasons I'm considering an RL for my next car. Its subtle enough but gives just the right amout of attitude IMO. Everytime I see one with the kit I cant stop looking at it.

HBaJ

it really adds to the lines and beefs up the design a little bit, it adds a muscular look to where the RL was lacking before

jftjr

I think it looks like rice, but hey, YMMV.

britus

Thanks for all the imput. I am going to take it for a spin again and make a decision. I know many of you like that it doesn't have snob appeal and slides under the radar. I agree with that to a degree, but for $50k I still want a small amount of the time for the car to be recognized. The inside is amazing though, absolutely gorgeous, if only it was a bit bigger and had a bit more pizaaz outside. I guess you can't get everything.

Benush

That's IT!!! I race cars as a hobby and each one is modified so that everything from the pedal angles to the steering wheel to the shift knob are where I want them without thinking. Honda and Acura do that for me generically in their cars. Okay, so its not EXACTLY in the position I would choose, but with very little adjustment, its darn close and once there the car remembers where I like it no matter what the valet does!. And every little techno goody acts they way my brain would like it to work. With my other vehicles, Tahoe, S10 pickup, etc. I get in, but I know I'm in a bulky one size fits all vehicle and I just accept that nothing quite fits, but I get in my Acuras and its like someone came to the house and took time to fit not only my body, but my mind and intuition. i don't have to look away or learn any complicated instructions to change the temperature or call a friend or find a way to get someplace.

Sometime back i wrote something to the effect that it either fits you or it doesn't. Now I know why I wrote that. The RL is like a custom set of golf clubs. You don't have to think about it, it just works, fits, performs without putting much concious effort into it. Your brain is relieved of mundane details are you are free to conentrate on what ever you need to. From the moment you just open the door without a key and settle into a space designed just for you to the moment you get out and are on your way, even to just grabbing my cell phone and walking to my next session without giving anything else in the car a thought.

Thanks klister! You finally gave me the words to figure out why I think it either fits or it doesn't.

Don't get me wrong, because there are some things I'd change. The frustration of Yugo like wipers come to mind! But for 90% of my driving comfort/uesabilty quotient, it just Fits.

ACUpunctuRA

I loved the looks of the TL the day it came out. The first pictures of the RL were a letdown. Thank goodness for the A-spec body kit. It gives a distinction from the regular RLs.

I drove it to the dealer today to look for my friend; he had already left so I decided to wash off some tree sap off the car in the dealer's car wash. Boy, does my celestial silver on black RL with the body kit stand out in front of the other RLs in the horizon of the setting sun...

So yes I bought it for the goodies inside and it looks GREAT outside. (Except for the rear lights which IMO could look nicer.)

A.