so....I am currently in an 02 Type-S. I have been waiting a while before I hop into a new car. Its about time to start making a decision in the next few months. I just wanted some opinions about what you guys would do. I am 24 years old and love a more sporty car. I am finally making some good money and am realizing that if I really wanted to I can afford a car in the high 40's. I really really like the new TL and have planned on getting one all along. But now I am torn becuase the RL looks really really nice. Besides all of the technology which I love, my friends are telling me that its too much of an "old mans" car, even though its got 300 hp. my question is....if you were 24 and could stretch yourself to afford the RL, would you do it? or would you save the money and go for a 6sp Nav TL? I realize the practical decision would be the TL, but Im not one to be practical all the time! Thanks!

 

well im 19... and i have worked enough to afford either one... (i had a TSX for a year, then the dealer screwed it up..and had to buy it back...so now im driving a fx35 which is leaking in the sunroof... 6th time leaking...im hoping that i can win the lemon law case in arbritration), if i do win, i am going to get the TL... after a lot of thinking i personally decided that the RL is an old man's car...sure it has acuralink, f1 paddle shifters, sh-awd and keyless access... but that comes at a cost of nearly 15 thousand dollars more than the TL.... in my opinion its not worth it...even with the awesome features.... spend close to 40 and get the a-spec TL... :-D

 

05RL could be up to 48k, or more if you add some packages into it.

It seems to be a great car with lots of valuable reviews so far. Go test-driving both of them back and forth and make sure you like to spend $$ with RL.




Note: if others think this is VS thread, please move it.

 

Get the RL its the better Car http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-ar...icle_id=265741

 

Plus the RL has Paddle Shifters!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Also rumored to have ventilated seats!

 

Its funny that you say you have a FX35 vikrampatel, thats my outside choice. I am going to decide between the TL and RL and then between those and the FX. I cant decide if I want an SUV or not. how do you like your FX (besides the sunroof)?

 

I'd go for the RL (i am).

I don't really consider the FX a SUV, we looked at one when my wife wanted a new car (we ended up with a MDX) and it's TINY on the inside, smaller even than my current 99 TL probably. Basically a car on big wheels (drives like one too, very 'volatile' on the road)

Tracer

 

well, its the only suv i could find which drives somewhat like a sports car... drive it... you will see what i mean... its pretty fun to drive...not as much as my tsx...but still good...

my problems are also with teh dealer...they ar ethe only one in a 100 mile radius...so they have the attitude... "we are the only ones around, you have to deal with us" and im 19 driving a 45 thousand dollar car...so that doesnt help the situation at all

i think i got the lemon of the year... sunroof leaking for 6th time (and infiniti is asking for another chance to repair it), headlights dont work, interior lights at night dont work, gas tank doesnt fill up past 3/4 tank sometimes, xm radio shuts off automatically... if those issues were corrected it would be a great car...

the intelligent key is awesome... if i do win the case i will surely miss it when going to the tl

i personally HATE the orange lighting on the inside (when the lights did work) i think the blue ambient lighting in the TL is awesome... personally i think it looks cooler, and is better on the eyes..but thats my opinion...

bluetooth (if you have a bluetooth phone) is great in the tl...fx doesnt have it

the xm radio in the fx sucks... the display is limited to 12 characters... so if the song name or artist is longer than 12 characters it gets cut off

the nav system sucks compared to the acura's...not touch screen, deosnt have nearly as many residential addresses in the system... its just crap in general

the tl does not have AWD...which was one of my biggest reasons for getting the fx (i live in michigan)...but now that i think about it...ive lived without it for 3 years, and tons of other people do also, so im not going to die without awd

before i bought the fx i asked on the FX boards about gas mileage... i was told numbers from 18-22... i get an average of 14..so thats KILLER

my infiniti dealer also managed to put a deep scratch in the bumper of my fx...about 1/3 inch deep...and a scratch on teh side of the car... what idiots

now the other thing that really gets me with the FX is my radar detector problem (if you get the technology package) it has teh intelligent cruise control (uses laser) which isnt an issue for me...becuase you can use regular cruise contorl without the laser... but the "Brake assist with preview" feature uses the laser also...and if you get close enough to another car the laser bounces off the other car...and hits my radar detector...so the valentine one laser alert goes off...it drives me CRAZY... infact i got so used to the noise... i ignored it when a cop actually hit me with laser and gave me a ticket for 22 over the limit (my first ticket...i knew at that moment that the fx was going to be trouble for me)... now granted a cop using laser...once they hit you... they have ur speed...so it doesnt matter...but still...

but anyways... if AWD is an absolute requirement..get the RL but be prepared for problems as its the first model year with the new features (im sure if you are willing to spend the money, the problems arnt going to make you mad down teh line)... otherwise i still say TL... i guess it really comes down to how much you want the extra tech toys...and trust me im a HUGE tech person.. i love all the toys..but 15 thousand doesnt seem worth it to me...at least at my age... this may be different for you....


good luck

 

agreed... it is basically a wagon raised up a little bit... and yes the interior room is small... i dont consider it an off roading type of vehicle either... i dont think it can handle it... at least from what i have tried with it... although i havnt really had much time with it.....owned it for about 2 months now...and been in the shop about 2 weeks of that time... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

oh, i should probably mention... the bose audio system in the FX is pretty good (at least for my needs)... i havnt really had a chance to listen to the tl enough to be able to compare it to...

i find it humerous that the bose subwoofer is inside the spare tire... lol

and, my front passanger window squeels when going up and down... and there is an annoying rattle somewhere in the back... i havnt had a chance to find where yet

 

I have to be honest with you - at 24, I think you've gotta go with the TL. Although I like the look of the new RL, when I drive past any car of that type, I think that's something someone my age or would drive (40). Not that it doesn't have a kinda sporty look, but it doesn't compare to the RL. If I'm sitting next to you at a light in my TL and you're in an RL, I'm not gonna know you have some of those sportier gadgets you mentioned. But with the TL and aspec, it'll be obvious.

I'd save the 12-15K and in a few more years, get you something different if you're ready.

Either way, you can't go wrong.

 

OK, ok, this should be in Cars & Bikes forum now.

 

if you have the money...

RL

 

Ventilated seats only in Canada.

 

Do the RL - Then put those Audis, BMWs & MBs in your rear view mirror. The 2005 RL is targeted at a different younger, more affluent buyer than the previous version. It is by no means an "old person's" car!

Drive one and find out!

 

Young people wouldn't be caught dead in that bland styling. Sorry.
Since RL re-sale is pretty horrible, If you want it buy it in 2-3 years. Not sure how the re-sale on the new model will be, it HAS to be better.