I looked over the new RL today for quite a while with a sales man.

Exterior styling C-- maybe a D+, non-descript, generic, does not look like an Acura much, some of the light colors looked awful on it, IMO. but I like the shorter length a lot, did not seem too big at all. for $50k I guess I expect too much?

Interior styling B+ Clean, precise, maybe too many buttons! esp on the overhead. Real wood looked like plastic and felt thin, polish might have improved it.

Tech goodies A, esp. the Navi interface and computer. Voice control everything , not sure if I like that tho. does it work well in the TL??

Audio A, XM radio, DVD audio test disc was awesome! sounded like speakers everywhere, and yes I've heard the TL too.

Fit and finish A- looked flawless. nice touches all around. Door sounds were tight, even trunk looked very clean with new kind of hinge. All closed very nicely. The black paint looked much better than on other Acuras I've seen, looked very thick, it was with the blue flake.leather seemed the same as on the CL, no better IMO.

Value? - Don't know, but for $50k I want some style. looks more like a puffed up Accord than a distinctive new style. Not sporty at all like the TL. Actually recalls the original CL with the tailights and tail shapes, not a good thing IMO.
Didn't drive it but the best features on the car are the AWD and the paddle shifts.
what do you guys think??

was gonna take some pix but there's really nothing that photogenic!, plus it was getting dark out.
other features - electric rear sunshade and headrests, side sunshades, no key- like Lexus, just touch the door handle to unlock car, do not need to insert key to start car, lots of gadgets and gizmos. throw the entry fob in the trunk and shut it, it reopens cause it knows the fob(key) is in there. THis car is like driving a computer on wheels, but looks user friendly. The RL on the showroom floor died, the battery had been used up with all the lookers I guess, so the man took me to one outside to sit in for quite awhile.

 

B+ on interior styling.....I think u smoke crack!!, then what is our cl's like a F-??

and a C-- on exterior styling...i mean u wrote a good review and all but i think u need to look over the car again!!

 

And finally the amazing Mugen RL

 

common now, u gotta give credit to where credit is due!

 

Black interior looks great in the pictures. the one I spent a lot of time in was a tan interior, not as striking. I still give the tan a B+, that's a good rating. I would give some Lexus and Audis A's for interiors. the rear styling is lacking.
No I don't smoke crack, but you could in the RL cause it seems smart enough to drive itself!
Ok, so you're only happy if I give everything an A. I gave A's to most areas. jeez!!!

and I didn't see no mugen car on the lot! .. just baby blue and light gray ones.

 

I hope u don't smoke crack actually but yes I do believe the RL will drive itself if u become intoxicated!!

still good review in ur opinion

 

Yea , all you'd have to do is fall drunkenly against the door and it'd open, and then turn the thingy, (no key to mess with) and you're home free...maybe. but if you slur your words the computer lady can talk your way out, when you get pulled over

 

well i know im going to get flamed

but i just dont like the exterior styling. for $50k i would consider the 5 series, or s4. of course the acura is going to be the best value but i just really dont feel the exterior design at all. it just looks to much like a camry/accord put together. Seriously when i look at the car there is not one exterior part of the car that I find "catching"

now with the cl-s, i just love the way it looks from the rear and from a 30 degree angle from the front. also the car is gorgeous when its rolling too

sidemarker

 

I'm not a fan of the new RL either. It's light years beyond the current RL, but I don't think it's better than the 5-series, new M45, new RL, STS, E-class.

 

^ so the new RL isn't better than the new RL?


i'll hold my judgement until i see one in person.

 

i saw one at my local dealer 2 days ago... Interior is NICE... but exterior doesnt really match with the interior....

 

I agree with most here. Exterior seems eh. Interiors looks good in pics but so goes the GS and the M45.

Besides real time traffic, what does his 50k RL have that the 33k TL doesnt in terms of Tech goodies and audio?

123456SPEED, good review. Seems as close as i will think when i see it im sure.

 

Jizo is all in when he sees a V8 powerplant. As it is right now, its enough to go against the A6.
But what would be needed to go against the A8?

 

THis thread got moved to bikes??
Anyway, the main thing I can see over the TL is the SH-AWD system and the paddle shift on the steering wheel (probably accounts for $5k-$10k). with 300 hp, so that is probably the bulk of the price diff.
The handling is supposed to be superb for the weight of the car. The only standout feature on the exterior is the length, looks short which I like. The CLS looks like a stretch.

 

im not really an expert on AWD systems but if i remember correctly the weight distrubution of the new RL was something like 58/42 now why does those numbers sound disapointing? my first assumption was that since most FWD cars have a weight distrubition of 60/40 the RL with its AWD should be around 55/45 correct?

looking at the front of the car just reminds me too much of the camry/es330 and looking at the car from the side i can just see the accord sedan.

so does anyone know how much hp is accounted for from the 3.5L? if our 3.2 can produce 270 hp (TL) surely the 3.5 could produce something close to 290 or even 300. so the RL is getting 40 hp from the rear? that should bring the numbers to at least 320-340 hp??

yes 300 hp is a huge jump from the previous RL but I just feel that the numbers should be even or closer to lets say the s4, 545, and gs. in addition, 260 lbs of torque seems a little weak to me. maybe 280 would make up for it...

sidemarker

 

It's not 58/42....therear accounts for like 80% of the power delivery...UNTIL ur wheels start to spin out...then it activates the front wheels. AND under full throttle on a staright acceleration the rear gets I belive like 90%. Cool shit!!

 

I know I read something about what I said above somewhere...I'll try to find it

 

thought it was the other way around. Thought it was FWD car till it slips then it transfers some power to the rear.....

 

Even with a V8 powerplant it still wont be going against the A8 or 745, etc...

 

"Here’s what happens: During straight-line cruising and moderate cornering, up to 70 percent of the torque is put to the front wheels. Stomp on the gas and up to 70 percent of the torque goes to the rear wheels. In hard cornering SH-AWD can send 100 percent of the rear torque to the outside rear wheel. The system works with an electronic control unit that senses steering wheel input, wheel speed, engine rpm and lateral g forces. The ECU takes those data and determines the best front-to-rear and left-to-right torque delivery."

 

the exterior is OK but the interior is hot, not like a german car but still good

 

Car & Bike Talk. this is where non CL car threads go.

 

 

It's not a reactive system like Quattro, it's active and will change it's powe delivery based on if it's accelerating, breaking or cornering. Your quote later on explains it better. The way to think of it is it has the safe FWD qualities when crusing, and RWD qualities when accelerating and breaking. And never before seen qualities when cornering.

 

Good review...it is nice to hear from someone who is not in love with the car....more honest that way....I cannot wait to see one in person...in the pics the exterior is really not turning me on...we'll see when I get to see one in the sheet metal...thanks again 123456speed!!!...

 

Not everyone wants flashy styling. Especially the older 50+ crowd who will be actually buying this car.

My father is nearly 70, likes his 2nd generation TL's styling. Attractive but not attention grabbing. He doesn't WANT the attention.

He's now looking at the '05 RL and I am as well.

 

i think it'd look a lot better if it was a bit longer (a la A8L) - to me, it looks like an accord. the interior is plain sexy though!!

 

It probably would, but then it would be catering to another segment, like the A8L segment.

 

better than catering to the accord segment

 

And when did anyone ever say it would? Jesus Jesal the RL is no where near the segment the A8 and 745 are in.

Hey, when is the RL gonna get 400+ hp so it can compete with the M5/RS6....

I think we're asking a bit much for Acura to build a $50K car that competes with $70K+ cars.

Don't you have some curry burning on the stove? j/k

 

LOL, for 50K, it's not catering to the Accord segment, even though it may look like one.