After two wonderful years with my '05 TL Navi, decided to move up to an '06 RL. What a terrific car the RL is. Quite different in character than the TL. TL is definately more sporty; tighter suspension. RL more sport-luxury oriented, which is what I was ready for. Although many think the standard TL suspension is too soft, for me it was too rough at times. Just my point of view.

Thought I would pass on a few early observations about both cars:

TL
1) Seems faster.
2) TL seats more comfortable (at least for me)
3) Steering quicker and feels slightly better
4) Clear-coat seems thicker.
5) More decisive automatic transmission
6) At MSRP, TL a better value
7) Better brakes
8) Much better city gas mileage (was getting about 22 MPG in the TL, 18 MPG in the RL)
9) ELS as good as the Bose system

RL
1) Very smooth ride and quieter interior
2) Better quality leather
3) Better looking interior (more subjectivity!)
4) Better Navi system (voice inputs much quicker and easier)
5) Almost no flaws in the paint
6) Zero torque steer with SH-AWD, however it never bothered me with the TL
7) I like the style of the RL better (again very subjective...looks better than it photographs)
8) Bose system as good as the ELS.
9) Active front head lights are awesome
10) Got a great end of year deal on the RL, enough to make the poorer gas mileage completely and unequivocally irrelevant
11) Extremely important to me, NO RATTLES! Although eventually fixed by the dealer, the TL started to rattle the day after I bought it.

Bottom line is both are fine cars, but after many sporty cars and sports cars, I was ready for something a little more layed back; must be starting to get old. Enjoy your cars.

Bob

 

You made a good choice, even though I'm definitely a TL fan. Having recently made the upgrade, I agree with all your points with both cars.

Don't forget to sign in on the RL board.

 

Great write up Bobby.

 

DAMN, don't say that, I'm 2 years behind you. Have fun with the RL. Actually if the RL that I wanted wasn't almost 50k. I'd be driving one now.

 

A very respectable decision. When I read the title thread I thought you were leaving the family or something. You're just going next door. I'm contemplating the same leap myself, actually

 

I am contemplating the same leap myself. I just want to see what Acura does with the 09 TL. Congrats on the upgrade and enjoy!

 

I'm glad to see people jump from the TL to an RL instead of leaving Acura, hopefully Acura will notice and price the RL accordingly.

 

When I bought my TL, I contemplated the RL. But I couldn't see enough difference to warrant the increase in price. Now that I have had the TL for a few months, I wish I had bought the RL. My TL has been trouble free, but I believe the RL would have fit me...and my needs...better. If I stay with Acura, I will try the RL next.

My wife is about ready to trade her Aviator. I've been looking at both the RDX and the MDX. The mileage on the RDX is disappointing. Her Aviator is bigger, more powerful, AWD, and gets better mileage than the new turbo RDX.

 

I dont understand how you can pull off 22MPG city?!? the best i can pull with mix hwy/city MPG is like 19...

 

I am not an aggressive driver and drive with fuel economy in mind most of the time. At times I saw 23 MPG in mixed driving. To my surprise, I saw 31 MPG on a trip to Orlando last month, and 32 MPG on the trip back. I was certain I had made a mistake in my calculations until I checked the mileage again on the way back. Highway mileage obtained with the A/C on and the cruise control set between 65 and 75 MPH.

There is no denying the TL is an awesome car. There is also no denying that the RL is not worth $50K. But for the steep discounts being offered on left over '06s, it was an upgrade that made financial sense to me.

Bob

 

My TL got 23 mpg in city/hwy driving before I switched jobs. Now I get 19 mpg because work is only 5 miles from home and back. So it barely even warms up.

 

I think you made a good choice. The RL is a really nice car. I have sat in it and it is very roomy and feels very luxurious!

Enjoy your new RL!

 

i get 23 mpg in the city and about 28-35 on the highways. THats when i drive nicely, but when i drive "spirited" i get about 19 and 25.

 

I was getting 22-23 mpg in the city and 30 in extended highway travel, at 80 mph, and A/C on, in my TL. I miss that about the TL, as I'm getting about 19 mpg in my RL. Then again, I was expecting that.

 

Bye

 

I'm doing about 22mpg with my TL in town, and the RL has increased with every tank ... from 18.1 to 18.5 to where it's showing 19.4 right now with less than a half-tank left and a little over 650 miles on the clock.

I'm happy enough with that, since I didn't expect the RL to get over 18 in town!
.
.

 

Do you think Acura will come out with two versions of the '09 TL, one with SH-AWD and one with FWD ? It would make sense because some people won't appreciate the substantial decrease in fuel economy with SH-AWD.

 

Knowing how conservative Honda/Acura is, they will only offer FWD and come up with some hugley technological way to deal with torque steer. They are famous for keeping designs under wrap until close to release, so we won't know until then.

 

Its funny to watch all us long time TL owners switch over to the RL, I see a trend coming on ! I love my RL

 

I predict another trend...in 2008.

 

The RL is a logical step up for TL owners, especially with the great discount! If the TL should come with AWD, then it would make the choice MUCH MORE difficult, if not illogical.

 

Hahahaha, you're right. My plan was originally to wait and see what Acura offered in 2008 for the 2009 MY, but several factors came into play perfectly such that the RL was the logical choice:

1) RL not selling well=huge discounts
2) Wife didn't want SUV to hold our new baby's stuff, loves her Accord (e.g. slightly higher car budget as our other car is paid off)
3) Base RL being sold for 2007 MY, so huge discounts on fully loaded RL likely going away
4) I love the RL, for somewhat different reasons from my love for the TL, and have always admired it from afar...
5) VERY high value on traded TL

I love the RL, too, but will definitely be looking at the 4G TL as a second car in a couple of years.

 

Went by the dealership yesterday and saw the '07 TL-S. I believe the standard TL now has the upgraded Navi also, almost the same as in the RL. So I would add that to the plus column for the TL, making it a better value than before.

I am liking the RL more and more each day. I look forward to driving it more than I did the TL. The ride/handling compromise is spot on to me. It is the first Japanese car I have driven that is darn close to the suspension magic the Germans mastered years ago.

Many have complained the RL lacks low end torque. In normal everyday driving I would not agree with that. Hesitation on initial acceleration, as reported by others, is not present in my May '06 built car. It does not jump off the line like the TL, but instead has a longer accelerator pedel travel like a Mercedes in order accelerate from a stop more smoothly. Just different from the TL.

If I had to complain about something in the RL, it would be about the automatic transmission. It's just not as decisive as the TLs. More than likely it is also something that is just different, and I will adjust to and not even notice in a few months. Also, I still like the feel of the brakes on the TL better.

In summary, I stand by my statement they are both great cars, but of different character. For me I am glad I made the jump to the RL.

Bob

 

What kind of trade in did you get on your TL?

 

$27,099.00 TL had 17,500 miles on it. 2005 Navi. Excellent condition. Thought the car held its value well, better than the RL will.

Bob

 

Bob I do agree withy ou on most of you points, great posting I have noticed though that I catch myself speeding alot more in the RL then I did in the TL, has anyone else been having this problem? Id be cruising donw the road, listening to some music, then I notice Im going like 15 miles or so over the speed limit. Its just such a smooth ride, I cant help it

 

Plastikman,

Speeding in Miami doesn't really seem possible anymore, unless one drives very late at night (due to incredible traffic congestion and construction projects in south Miami). However, yesterday I did get the RL out on the Turnpike for some semi-high speed cruising. She is a great cruiser, however I did not really noctice what you are describing. What I did notice was a slight wheel vibration above 60 MPH. It is possible there is some minor flat spotting on the tires since my car sat undriven on the dealer lot for 5 months. If it doesn't get better by the first oil change, I will have the wheels rebalanced. Perhaps after that I will notice what you mentioned about being 15 over the limit.

Otherwise, the RL feels great on the highway. So did the TL. In fact, I thought the TL felt better on the highway than in city driving. In the city the suspension felt way too stiff to me, however at highway speeds the TL felt absolutely perfect; spot on. Hence, the balancing act of the suspension engineers. BMW, Mercedes, and to some extent VW, have mastered the art of combining the best of both worlds to create what I refer to as 'suspension majic'. Acura is close, but not there quite yet, that is up to 2006.

With 2007 TL, the suspension has been revised slightly in the softer department (non TL-S cars) to address complaints similar to mine. I have not driven the car, but I would venture to guess that Acura is one step close to achieving the art of 'suspension majic'.

Bob

 

good points. RL definitely has smoother ride and goes over speed limit without knowing. love taking it for long trips. da boat! lol