neuronbob

I'm posting this from Boston. Just finished my 640 mile trip yesterday and am posting early before getting out and walking around some and going to meetings later. This is the longest trip I've taken in the RL. I did it in two segments: 5 1/2 hours (until fuel was low), then after a brief break, 2 1/2 hours through eastern New York and Massachusetts.

First, thank you, President Eisenhower! The Interstate is far superior to flying for travel within a reasonable distance from home when there's no construction activity. It's the best way to see our beautiful country up close. No security checks, no crying babies (wife and baby stayed at home this time), no overcrowded, nasty, smelly cabin.....

The RL is the most comfortable car I've ever driven on a cross-country drive. I was able to drive the entire way (8 hours) without cruise control. I haven't done a trip without cruise control in years! It's a testament to the relatively minor issue of pedal placement, which on this trip was just right for my foot. Usually, without cruise control, my foot is sore after a couple of hours. With the 5zigen exhaust, there is a mild drone in the background at 80-85 mph but it was not different from my TL and didn't bother me. Besides, I was too busy listening to the NFL draft to care (Cleveland used its 3rd pick wisely.....offense sucks right now).

The seating is great, as well. Just soft enough that I didn't notice it, just firm enough that I didn't sink into it. No back pain, no leg aches, no neck pain afterward. Then again, I take care to adjust my seats to fit me perfectly in the first place, which takes me about a month after I purchase any car.

The handling was superb. This car simply goes where you point it, and keeps going. The steering has excellent weight. Even with the A-Spec package, the ride is smooth other than over the very roughest road surface (grooved roads under construction). At my chosen cruising speed of 80-85 mph, the car was well-controlled, without body roll. At that speed, my TL's steering was a bit skittish. In the curves of the "B" section of the New York Thruway and the adjoining section of I-90 in Western Massachusetts, the wide, sweeping (and some tighter) curves could be handled easily. None was steep enough to activate SH-AWD's most famous feature (increased torque to the outside rear wheel) but they were fun nevertheless in AWD mode--this is what the MID indicated. I simply don't see why Acura leaves it to us here in AZ to push the A-Spec package....the car should come from the factory this good.

The navi was a little disappointing. This was my first use of XM's road condition service. In Cleveland, I only have the accident reporting service. My route into Boston was all green yesterday. Nice to know and that service works great! I thought it was important to note because some of you have noted problems. However, the navi totally failed me downtown, where I am staying. Those of you who are from or who have visited downtown boston know how closely packed together the streets are. The navi simply kept pointing me in the wrong direction and eventually I had to figure out where Broad Street was on my own. When I found it, the navi was still telling me to take "the second right". I'm not sure why that was, but Boston's downtown is the easiest I've seen to get lost in. I'm going to have to invest in a paper map!

At 80-85 mph, with the climate control on, I managed 25 mpg. I don't think that's too bad. If I had kept my speed to 70 mph, I'm sure I would have managed higher.

So more confirmation that I made a good choice with the RL. I am definitely not looking back to the TL any more.

GoHawks

Nice report Bob.

As for the Nav, I have has similar experiences driving in downtown Chicago. I think the tall buildings affect it to some degree. I would get the "next turn" prompt, but the street I was approaching wasn't the one it showed it should be on the screen. The directions it tries to give me are correct (re: street to turn on) it just gets confused on whether it's the next road or not.

GoHawks

I've been dying to take a road trip. My son has a hockey tournament in Toronto next weekend. I have waited too long to get our passports renewed so we'll have to drive. If it were just he and I going, I was going to take the RL, but now it looks like the whole family is going, so the mule will be the Land Cruiser. Comfortable in it's own way, but definitely a different driving experience.

On our last road trip, I commented to my wife how we've taken for granted comfortable seats and cabins. In my younger days I recall being stiff after long drives. Not so with the recent cars we've had (even my old 2nd gen TL). Most recently we were up near Niagara Falls, ON around for another tournament for my son. Drove it straight through. Never any achiness afterwards.

bmerton

Agree with the general sentiment that driving > flying for trips of up to 10 hours, or so...but the interstate is not the best way to see our beautiful country. After a while the concrete ribbon seems to look about the same from one mile to the next. For proof of this, you can make the most boring drive in the world...I-20 between Atlanta and Augusta, GA. I-95 is not exactly any fun, either...thank God for the South of the Border signs to break up the monotony, at least the first time you see them. After the 20th time or so, even THEY become a predictable bore...just like the rhythmic thump, thump, thump of a concrete interstate.

The interstate is a good, no-nonsense way to get from point A to point B quickly, but the true strength in the RL (and the reason I bought a personal GPS to use in my other car) is the ability to route a trip through secondary roads. Even if you stick to the US Highways, you get a FAR better flavor of what our beautiful country looks like up close. Try it some time...

jfprl

That is interestng about the nav. Last summer we were in Boston using a rental car and a hand held garmin nav. I thought I was in the twilight zone. I kep following the nav's directions and it put us in some huge circle where we kept passing a sign which said "Welcome to East Boston" Must have seen the same sign 4 times trying to get out of there. Finally we put the nav aside and figured it out.

Thanks for your report

DEG

Bob, sounds like a great trip and that you are at AAN. I'll be there Monday also (exhibitor). Have great meeting.

neuronbob

Yup, I'm at the AAN (American Academy of Neurology for the unwashed masses ) conference. While it seems like I'm always posting here, my offline life as a neurologist is very satisfying and this meeting is like Christmas for me.

As much as I love mingling with other neurologists from around the planet and boning up on my knowledge base, the highlight of this trip is going to be my "second opinion" dyno session tomorrow. Of course, full report to follow.

BTW, I drive every year to Colorado. The most boring part of the drive is I-70 west of the KC area. I cannot emphasize how boring that part of the trip is! Without XM and the company of my wife, I'd probably go to sleep from boredom and crash.

Hey DEG, which exhibitor are you with? I'll try to stop by.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Great write-up, Bob.

As for the navi, I know that there is constant construction so maybe that was part of the reason for it not working correctly.

Mike_TX

You beat me to it. I was in Boston year before last, and it was a war zone of torn-up streets, detours and closed roads.

Oddly enough, though, my Infiniti M's Nav took us pretty painlessly to the usual attractions, like Revere's house, the USS Constitution, Old North Church, Bunker Hill, etc. I could NEVER have found them with a paper map! I was surprised that we got routed down a closed street only once, since Nav maps are notoriously out of date, but it re-routed us promptly when I didn't take the turn.

I would have thought the Acura system would have been at least as good.

Oh, and Bob, you could have added a mile or two to your gas mileage if you'd used cruise. I can't even imagine a long trip without it.

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dwboston

Don't blame the Navi Bob for the downtown Boston coverage. The construction folks are still putting the finishing touches on the Big Dig, and recent changes have been made to a few roads to make the financial district more gridlike. High Street was reversed to make it one way in the opposite direction, and they are in the process of opening the cross streets from Atlantic Ave on the Harbor Hotel side of the Greenway to the Surface Artery on the International Place side. Once it's all done it should make more sense and traffic should flow a little better. I have the latest Navi DVD and none of these latest road changes are captured.

There was also the tunnel ceiling collapse last summer that messed up the roads downtown - there were no alternate routes other than city streets since there are fewer exits to downtown from the Artery Tunnel than there were before when I-93 was elevated. The I-90 West tunnel was just re-opened completely this weekend. Boston will never be a great driving city because of the small streets and local customs like double and triple parking but it is getting better.

neuronbob

Just got back from the opening party for AAN, lots of fun! Equally fun was walking the Freedom Trail today, though it was so cold I could see my breath.

In any case, thanks for the comments! I'll be less harsh on the navi, given the continuing construction conundrum in downtown Boston. I freely admit being nervous yesterday in the Big Dig because of that accident last year. I spent lots of time looking up as well as ahead.

As usual, Mike, you're right. I probably could have used the cruise control. However, I'm still playing with my new toys (the intake and exhaust). Dang, they sound good. My, um, use of the accelerator likely reduced the gas mileage a bit.

Mike_TX

Words I don't hear very often. Brought [choke] a tear to my eye ...

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lumpulus

Make sure, if you haven't already, to check out Old Ironsides. If you're proud to be an American, this ship is one of the reasons we are all here today. If you walked the freedom trail all the way through, then you passed by it at least.

I find that using "Heading up" instead of "North up" and zooming all the way in help allot when driving in Boston, but when you're downtown, the tall buildings sometimes cause some issues.

If you like good barbeque.....check out Redbones in Somerville.

You can take the "T" there or there is plenty of parking nearby, and it's just a few miles from downtown.

jftjr

And the Boston drivers... "local customs" such as rotaries where traffic in the rotary doesn't have to yield to incoming traffic... oh, and how about changing 4 lanes across traffic with no signal.... traffic lights that are red and green at the same time, or worse -- a BLINKING GREEN LIGHT (someone please explain that one to me?)

Spent a year just outside of Boston during my freshman year of college. Surprised I didn't die numerous times... it's a very, very scary place to drive.

dwboston

Cars in the rotary have the right of way - that's not a local custom, it's a state law. There is a lot of changing lanes w/o signalling - while driving on the highway around here it's best to assume that if there is anything more than a one car-length gap between you and the car in front, someone will swerve over to fill it. Honestly, driving around here isn't that bad once you get used to it - the worst drivers I've seen in MA are those with NY and NJ plates.

jftjr

Heh... and I'm from NJ.




The scary part about Boston traffic is that "fill the gap" thing -- there's no warning, people just come over for the slightest space, and as you say -- people ASSUME that it's going to happen, so it seems to cause no fuss. Nobody honks horns or gives the finger when someone cuts right in front of them, and it's pretty much *expected* behavior. Someone needs to make an exit from the middle lane in crowded traffic? No problem, they just GO... and people make room for them. Bakes my noodle.

It's still a running joke with some of my college friends... sometimes if we need to get across traffic, or find ourselves in the wrong lane, we just "pretend it's Boston" and go. However, that usually leads to a road rage incident in NJ....

jswearingen

Hey, great write-up. I knew I wasn't the only one who loves the Acura furniture! You'd be in physical therapy if you made that drive on the Lexus sofa cushions...

Funny, I was in Boston last week with a rental car and rented Nuvi unit. My customers there can't give directions to get to them or anywhere else because the roads can change overnight. I once came to a complete stop trying to interpret the directions the unit was giving, guessed incorrectly & spent 20 minutes getting back to the same spot in Cambridge. You gotta love Massachusetts, $2.6B approved for the Big Dig, $14.6 spent and it's stil not done. But I digress...

My $0.02 for Boston driving:

*it's all about offense
*never, under any circumstances use your turn signals (tells the enemy your plans)
*two wrongs don't make a right, but eleven rights may get you onto 93 North

Travel safe!

neuronbob

LOL, now I'm going to experience Boston traffic firsthand again to drive out to Norwood for my dyno. Keep your fingers crossed for me! After a morning spent in classes on stroke prevention, I need a nice long drive.

Rob144

The seats in the RL are just about the best I've experienced.

By the way, do you hear the "flutter" when traveling at 80-85mph?

Rob144

black label

You can't blame Acura for the poor navigation in Boston, the big dig has screwed that up for you. The problem is that the roads have changed frequently in the downtown area that no maping system can work for you. My suggestion is to point yurself in the right direction and drive, let the nav recalculate until it finds a way to get there. It's a little frustrating, but it works.

lumpulus

Where you going in Norwood? I work in Norwood!

It's funny, I feel right at home driving in Boston traffic.
My turn signals will never wear out.

neuronbob

Already asked and answered several posts above yours.

lumpulus, I was at the Dent Sport Garage on Endicott. They are a Subie/Evo shop.

lumpulus

Sorry, I missed you, I woulda stopped by, I work less then a mile from the shop, but I leave work at 1530.

SpicyMikey

I think it's a North East thing. Being from North Jersey originally, my directionals saw little use as well. In fact, you needed to avoid using it to be sure you didn't give anyone advance warning on your intentions. If you did, then this gave others time to take counter measures to block you! It was a game out on the road to see who had faster reactions

Now I'm 45 and live in Orlando. I feel like everyone is driving faster and faster every year. I recently realized it's ME just driving slower.