For anyone who currently owns an RL or has test drove one, does there feel to be a fair amount of torque in the car as compared to the TL? If you floor it at 60mph, does it suck you back into the seat pretty good?

 

It didn't for me. It was so serenely quiet (changes your perception) and the AWD/increased weight sucks up the added torque from the .3 liters

So its not fast like the TL but instead silently quick.

 

Punching the accelerator on my new RL is a brand new experience for me. Don't know if it's the way I've set up my seat (and lumbar) or what. But when I punch it, I feel a sudden (but smooth) push to my lower back, almost like a sky lift that shoots you upward (but without the blunt lurch).

I can definitely say that no other car in my recent arsenal, including a GLX Passat and a Mercedes E Class moved me in the same way RL does—literally.

Of course all of this happens in virtual silence and with the new RL's typical smoothness.

 

I test drove the RL lastnight in the rain. I was impressed by the road-hold, but did not feel the punch that my 04 TL has. The RL shifts so smoothly that you hardly notice you are at 70 MPH. I really punched the demo car's gas pedal to see if the wheels would break loose. I didn't notice any slips coming from the tires. Good to know while driving in D.C. traffic.
I can't wait to pick up my RL tomorrow afternoon!

 

You feel the torque on the TL because it is a front wheel drive car with 270 bhp among other things. The RL engine has multiple enhancements to minimize some of the more aggressive characteristics of the TL engine. I loved the TL but I just felt like I was on the tip of a Tomahawk when I layed into it.

There was absolutely no movement in the wheel when I floored the demo model. No feeling of torque steer at all. I think it is a perception thing like Ken mentioned. I hit the pedal pretty hard when getting onto the expressway and my eyes were telling me we were moving pretty fast, my ears were hearing the exhaust note but my other senses were telling me we were just cruising. At 70MPH, there's still plenty of power for lane changes or "d a m n, I'm late for a meeting" acceleration. It'll push you back into the seat but not as much as the TL. Try flooring an FX45 or an M45. That big ol' V8 will snap your neck.

In my opinion, the feeling is pretty satisfying.

 

I couldn't get the AWD to kick in while I drove the car in the light rain. I was told that if you turn the VSA off you can "make things happen" but it was a demo and I was not familiar with the car so I let the AWD and VSA do its thing.

I flew into Dulles about a year and a half ago and had to get a rental car. That one week of driving in DC was enough for me. I saw three accidents....HAPPEN during that week. One of them was a wreck involving a Prelude and a garbage truck on the 14th Street bridge I think, coming from Alexandria. The traffic was moving about 5-10MPH and this Prelude tried to squeeze between a concrete barrier and a dumptruck. The dumptruck merged to the right without looking. The prelude scraped along the barrier on one side and the dumptruck on the other for about 10-15 feet going about 5MPH. The dumptruck was tugging it along most of the way. Very painful to watch. No one was hurt....

 

There really are some terrible drivers here in the DC metro area...

And as for the original question, it is all about the perception; the lack of noise and the fairly heavy/solid chassis both contribute to there being less feel of speed.

 

"I couldn't get the AWD to kick in while I drove the car in the light rain"

What do you mean by this? I thought SHAWD defaulted to putting power to all wheels even without slip?

Anyone?

 

SH-AWD is always working. All 4 wheels get power at all times. I'm not sure what he meant by that statement.

 

 

Also, with respect to 6.5 seconds 0 to 60 vs 6.2 in a TL

Remember that the RL comes with wider tires and rims. If you put larger rims and wider tires on your TL, you will be slower than 6.2 seconds.

Not to mention, unless you have flawless pavement, you are going to have more wheel spin in a FWD TL. In real world launches, the RL will be faster much of the time.

 

You are correct. SH-AWD is always working; It's 70/30 (front/aft) below half throttle, up to 60/40 during hard, straight away aceleration.

Let me clarify. I could not make the yaw control engage on the hard corners and a few twisties. If the AWD system redistributes the torque from front to aft and/or from the inside to the outside wheels during hard cornering, it will display on the MID the amount of power that is being applied to the wheel that needs to turn faster to counter understeer. I never noticed that it was correcting but I was focusing most of my atttention on the road.

When I took a short, tight corner though I purposefully turned the wheel well past what was required to get the car around the corner. The car hugged the corner very consistently and without a problem. This was the only indication I had that SH-AWD was doing "something". The feeling is a little weird but you never get the sense that you do not have control of the car.

My first post was poorly worded.

 

If you really want to see the SH-AWD in action, take a corner fairly quickly and nail the throttle part way through the turn. You'll see the computer proportion nearly all the power in the rear to the outside wheel.

 

That is on my checklist. Among other things.

It's kind of hard to have your way with the car with the saleman in the passenger's seat. But I don't think he would have cared too much if I told him that I was going to do it.

 

I test drove an 05 RL today while I was waiting for a tire to be plugged on my 04TL and I noticed the lack of torque. I did not get a chance to get it up to 90 or 100 mph that's where I probally would feel the 300hp but at lower speeds mt TL has much more ooomph! I've never driven one but the engineers at Acura should test drive the GS 430. I hear that V8 really gets down.

 

For what it is, the RL seems to have enough power. Any car can use more, but I think the target market will be satisfied with the power.

 

I don't think so. Just search the site and you'll see a lot of comments that the RL lacks enough power or should I say torque. Real nice car but I would even say IT NEEDS A LITTLE OOOOmph!!!!!

 

These boards are in no way a reflection of the typical RL (or for that matter, Acura) driver. These boards attract auto enthusiasts. Any conclusions drawn from these boards would apply only to auto enthusiasts, not to the general Acura driving population at large.

Personally, I'm not racing my RL; as such, it's quick enough to have fun. I didn't buy my RL based on 0-60 times, I bought it for the creature comforts, gadgets, and superb handling (including AWD) - and not necessarily in that order. In other words, the total driving experience. My guess is that the typical RL driver buys it for much the same reason.

The TL is a great car, and for folks that need a slightly better 0-60 time than the RL provides, the TL is there for you, and it will save you $$$ too! To each his own.

 

The feel of less torque is largely due to the SH-AWD sytem which is tranferring it to different wheels. The Tl sending all of its power to 2 wheels( as with any 2wd vehicle ) has more sensation. When the RL accelerates hard the torque is sent to all 4 wheels equally resulting in a completely different feel. Still quick for a car of its size just no sensation. So if you want sensation stick with 2WD vehicles.

 

I never tell the salesmen I'm going to do something, I just do it. It scares them shitless, but they never say a word.

The best experience I've had was with a salesman who actually told me to gun the engine on a brand new G35 while I was testdriving it. He had me floor it through a turn, up a 180 degree freeway on-ramp, between a broken down car in the shoulder and a semi in the second to the right-most lane. That was fun.

 

Very well said.

I traded in an '04 TL for my RL, and yes... the TL felt faster, but the RL feels much more refined. That's more important to me.

As for the GS430 that someone mentioned, I test drove one in '01 before I bought a GS300, and I wasn't all that impressed. The V-8 definitely gives you more pickup lower in the RPM range, but Lexus' drive-by-wire throttle takes some of the fun away. It definitely did in the SC430 I owned a couple of years ago. Lots of "oomph" in the mid-range but huge disappointment off the line when I stepped on the gas. For the most part, the RL is just as fast, and certainly more fun to drive, so a V-8 is not always the key to automotive perfection.

 

It's been a while since a car has made such a deep impression on me. I had an '01 CLS and traded it in for an '03 CLS 6MT in which I love to drive. If it weren't for all the mods I've installed on my 6MT, I'd be looking to trade it in for the new RL. For me, the 6MT is now a keeper but now I'm trying to justify a second car; the '05 RL - one sweet car.

I have yet to drive the new RL, but did sit in one a couple of weeks ago. Very, very impressive. It's nice to see that Acura finally came out with a car that can complete directly with BMW, Lexus and Mercedes.

 

I guess you are right about the 2wd vs awd, but I like hitting the gas and having the car suck me in my seat. What a thrill. Don't get me wrong I like everything else that the RL has to offer, but what's wrong with wanting it all. Acura should be able to offer it.

 

I know what you mean about being thrust back into the seat. I went to 6 Flags near LA last summer (vacation), and they had this roller coaster that absolutely crushed me! The line was something like 90 minutes for what could not have been more than a 90 second ride, and I couldn't figure out why people would wait so long. After the ride, there was no more question. That sucker accelerated so fast, then kept you glued to your seat. Gotta love roller coasters!

Sorry, didn't mean to go off-topic.

 

damn gotta drive one of these beasts

 

In hard acceleration the SH-AWD system shifts 60% of the power to the front wheels, 40% to the rear. But, as you said, that tourque sensation is muted a little in an AWD configuration versus a front wheel drive car performing the same aceleration maneuver.

Presumably, if the AWD configuration distributed 75% of the power to the front wheels you would experience more of a torque sensation than at 60%.

Hmmm. My spidey senses are tingling. How hard would it be to re-program the AWD system to apply 75% of the power forward at +50% throttle?

 

I notice you keep mentioning if the torque went to the front wheels what about the rear wheels. I've driven RWD cars before and it gave the same sensation. Also does anybody know if the Audi RS6 is AWD? Because if it is you can through that AWD not giving you sensation crap out the window.

 

260lbs of torque isn't a lot when you're launching a 4K pound car. Torque is what you feel when you launch and explains why you won't "get pushed in to your seat". With another 400lbs to carry over the TL, and AWD, it's pretty impressive that 0-60 is as fast as it is. FWIW, the Volvo R's have 300HP and 295lbs of torque and can do 0-6 in 5.7 seconds. Even with AWD, the RL is 300 pounds heavier than the Volvo.

 

I am sick of people saying "it's good considering". Forget all of that! Acura should have compensated for that. If they knew they were going to build a 4000lb car they should have put more torque in it to compensate for the weight. I know many may say why complain? Just go with another company and get all the things you want in a car. But Acura has almost everything I would want in a car. I like Acura/Honda as a company very much and I would like to stay within the Acura family as long as I drive a car and can afford it. But it seems as though Acura doesen't offer enough of choices. For instance I own a 04TL. If wanted to buy a $40,000 car and stay in the family there isn't one. I have to jump all the way to a $50,000 car with lots of toys (but only 260lbs of torque). HA HA. Anyway if I wanted to own a big luxury sedan with a V8 I might add for about $70,000 there isn't one. If I wanted to own a fullsize SUV (with a V8) and stay in the family there isn't one. If I wanted to go extreme like the E55 Benz or BMW M5 or Audi RS6 and stay in the family there isn't even a division of the company that builds extreme machines like this. Must I go on. Don't take this as me hating on Acura because I am very fond of the company. But they need to wake up and smell the request!!!!!!

 

Every brand has their own customer base, and it is possible you are no longer one of Acura's target consumers. If so, it's time to move on to a company that offers a vehicle that suits your needs.

I have no need for an LS430 (luxurious as it may be) that wallows all over the road or a QX56 that barely fits in the garage, so Acura's cars are perfect for me. When I owned my GS300, I actually wanted to stick with Lexus but they had nothing interesting for me to move up to. I couldn't see owning an LS430 until I was just too feeble to enjoy driving anymore, and I'd already tried the SC430, which is even less nimble than the LS. So there you go... different needs, different brands.

And I am also sick of people saying "it's good considering". To me, it's just plain GREAT. This is a car that needs no excuses. Ciao.

 

Have any of you even looked down the product cycle road? Yes there will be a 38-40k Acura it will be the TL with SH-AWD. Companies can't just invent cars on a monthly basis. Acura has one of the best lineups 2 cars on C&Ds ten best list how about Lexus-0 If you don't want an RL fine, The MDX is 40k Acura is a small company what are you going to buy at BMW or Audi for 40k a 530i or stripped A6?? Full size SUV/ wait til the model cycle changes and the MDX gets bigger. The RL is state of the art technology. the company must be diong something right theyare setting sales records every month without any incentives. I'm sure Audi BMW and MB wish they could say the same. And what is going to happen in june when BMW puts the cost of ownership back on the consumer? enjoy those 95$ oil changes.

 

Sufall96: Dseag2 is right. Maybe Acura can't make you happy with its current offerings, or maybe even its future offerings. Try to find something by another company that suits you better, that puts a big smile on your face. Or maybe the TL is still the right car for you? Nothing wrong with that, the TL is a great car.

One car company cannot be all things to all people. That's true for Acura, Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, MB, and every other car company out there. It's unfortunate for Acura lovers, but that's the simple fact. Fortunately, there are lots of other cars out there from which to choose.

I wish that every driver, at least once in their life, finds a car that makes them as happy as the RL makes me. Sure, it's not perfect for me (wouldn't mind cooled seats!), but it's damn close, and I get a kick out of driving it every day. I can't ask for anything more than that!

 

The request isn't that large. Honda stands to gain a lot more profit from offering value oriented cars. I don't think it's worth it (financially) for them to put in effort to develop something like the BMW M-cars, or MB's AMG division. Honestly, there aren't very many Benz's on the road as it is, much less those in AMG configuration...

 

Point well taken from you all. I just wish Acura could excel over other car companies in almost every aspect. I kind of take it personal when someone says something negative about Acura especically when it may be partially true.

 

I think we're coming from very different perspectives. My recent cars have been a Mazda, a Honda, a Nissan, and a Chevy. Yes, I had a Honda, but this is my first Acura. I don't have any allegiance to Acura. Just about all that I know about Acura comes from what I've read in these forums over the last few months. So I'm not an Acura lover, but, I love my RL!

It's nice to be passionate about something, like you are with Acura. Life is mighty boring without passion. Maybe in time my passion for Acura will grow. But, did I mention, I love my RL!

Ok, enough sappy stuff.

 

I kind of don't understand why people are upset about the RLs lack of torque. Hondas never have torque. THeir claim to fame are high revving engines with peak power with small engine displacement, reliablity and fuel economy. Not luxury and sport. So if your expecting that, your looking at the wrong place.
The RL, IMO overpriced but from such a conservative company, is a big deal for them and seems to be doing well initially. I don't expect the RL to beat the competiton. It should do well in its niche like the rest of Acuras products.

 

From freshalloy talking about the review in a Japanese car mag of the Fuga 350GT (m35 in the US) and Legend (RL in the US)

Acceleration:

M35 0-60 6.7sec 0-100 14.7sec beating out the Legend by almost a full second. Guess 300hp and no torque can't handle a heavy car as well as they hoped.

Braking - The magazine claimed the M35 has the shortest 60-0 braking distance ever recorded, besting even the 350Z and exotics. RL was behind, of course.

Road Course - Believe it or not the M35 ran 1'10 in Tsukuba circuit, the RL was in the 1'12 range. The staff praised the RE050A tires on 19" rims and the torquy engine with the M. The only complain was that it's hard to hook up the car on corner exits where the M35 left long trails of black rubber mark from the inside tire. (Eh? No LSD!?) The RL was very composed and handled corners very well, the SH-AWD allows the RL to carve through corners with ease and hook up immediately at corner exits. Still...... losing by 2 seconds is a pretty big deal.

And the M35 is no lightweight at over 3800lbs.

 

So what's your point? The M35 is a second faster, but the RL handles the corners much more easily. The handling is really the reason most of us bought the RL... not for stoplight drag races. Plus, of course the quote is from Freshalloy, which is a Nissan/Infiniti forum. Do you think they're going to post something negative about the M???

I have one Infiniti already, and although I really enjoy it it isn't nearly as refined as the RL. That's what interests me.

 

Just threw it out there to show that things are a bit different on paper and in real life. And it was the road circuit times that was what I was mainly curious to see - with a 20 HP deficit and a 200lb advantage the M is 2 sec faster that the RL with SH-AWD. Just imagine how much faster and perhaps even more nimble the RL could be if they ditched the front drivetrain part of the AWD and went SH-RWD only.

 

Sir, the point is, its the sportier car. 2 seconds in difference at the track is a huge deal. I'd much prefer a M45 to a RL and with the M35 being faster at the track (a blend of mostly curves with some straighaways) this is very interesting.

In driving the RL, I found it to be pretty lifeless and the interior too weird. Since it never snows down herer, the SH AWD is useless. I wish they continued to make a FWD RL for maybe 42-45k. The car does clearly seem to be built much better than my American made TL. It should for 15k more.