Sat In A New 05 Acura Rl

[SW03ES]

We were at the mall yesterday and there was a salesman with a brand new 2005 Acura RL, silver with black interior. What an impressive car for an Acura! Exterior styling seems a little overdone in some places (like on the TL) but the interior is fantastic. Great quality materials and nice leather, a really great and unique design to every aspect. The center stack looks like some sort of high end home stereo. Very cool. All functions are run through an i-drive like controller on the dash that seems easier to use than BMW's system, more like Audis. Everything had a very high quality finished appearance including the trunk which reminded me of the way BMW makes trunks. Here's some pics:

[93LSOwner]

Nice interior, but the back of the car needs to be redone in my opinion. I think the back of the car doesn't flow very well from the front, the front has this sharp face look and back reminds me of a Nissan Sentra. :chairshot:

Wouldn't you say, that Acura is doing what Lexus did with LS and ES. That ES is baby LS, and for Acura they have made father RL after creating the baby TL.

I would rather go with the old once, 2004 or older.

OH yeah, Steve. How big was the car in person, comparsion to the new ES and LS and the older RL?

[steviej]

the back actually is very similar to a Honda Accord. I'm not surprised.

I am very interested in the AWD system and whether or not there will be any carry over tranny problems.

time will tell. Maybe I go test drive one, for the hell of it Tuesday while my car is being worked on. Acura is right next to my Lexus dealer.

steviej

[SW03ES]

No way I would take the older gen RL over this one, this one puts the older one totally to shame in content and quality. I wasn't as impressed by the exterior as I was by the interior, the interior is one of the best looking luxury car interiors on the road, gotta go see one in person.

I'd say its about the size of a new ES. Little bigger than the GS but not as big as the LS.

Also has that DVD audio system and its unreal, much better than the Mark Levinson system.

[amf1932]

Isn't the price of the Acura RL much higher then the ES 330 with similar equipment? :whistles:

[1SICKLEX]

Isn't the price of the Acura RL much higher then the ES 330 with similar equipment?  :whistles:

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The RL is a 50k car. 52k with all options. No thanks. It is a great step over the previous 9 year old RL.

[SW03ES]

Yeah I think the one at the mall was $50k and change and it was pretty well loaded. Its designed to compete with the GS, 5 series, E class, A6 etc. I dunno, its a pretty appealing car, especially that interior. The real issue is that it still doesn't have any road presence. I was listening to the questions the people were asking (this was at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, these are some very wealthy people) the first question was "What is this" answer: "This is the new Acura RL, just came out" and then: "Acura, thats basically Honda right?". Now, the people we're still interested in the car but would they really buy one? Everyone knows what a Lexus is and of course a BMW and Mercedes, but $50,000 is a lot to pay for something where the first question out of people's mouths is "what is it" and then "Thats a Honda right?" You get that sometimes in the Lexus but its just people being smartasses, everyone knows its a Lexus. Seems everyone doesn't know what an Acura is. I think they can sell entry level TLs without that brand recognition, but at least from what I've seen those buyers move up to "real" luxury cars. No doubt thats what Acura is trying to stop here, but is it too late? Its too late for Infiniti, they have some great cars out now that get awesome praise from everyone, but sales are still pokey and resale is still poor, even on the "hottest" Infinitis like the G35 and the FX. I remember when I told my fiance that I was going to buy a luxury car and I was looking at the Acura, her first response was "An Acura, thats a luxury car?" whereas she knew exactly what the Lexus was and automatically found it more appealing, having never even seen either car.

Thats another question, resale and how well it will hold over time. All three cars, Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes age well and maintain their status and panache over time. A Lexus is still a Lexus and something really worth having even when it gets to be 4, 5 years old, Acuras really aren't like that. Think of a 99 Acura TL, its outdated and frumpy looking when 99 Lexus' still look fresh. Definately BMW and Benz are that way too, it comes from being responsible in their redesigns.

[SW03ES]

Isn't the price of the Acura RL much higher then the ES 330 with similar equipment? :whistles:

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It does have a lot more equipment than the ES, more HP, AWD, smart entry and start, DVD audio, voice activated nav and controls, distronic cruise control, power everything (wheel, headrests, seatbelt anchors, adaptive lighting, bixenon headlamps, bluetooth phone, OnStar, its equipment list is more similar to a low model LS430. Thats what attracted me to the ES though, the fact that its feature list, its look, and its ride and drive make it SEEM much more expensive than it is. People are always shocked when I tell them what the ES costs, they assume its a 50-60k car. Thats part of the problem with the Acura I think, its a $50,000 car but from the outside it could be any number of much cheaper cars...

[denslexusgx470]

i only like the center dash interior. the rest, :whistles: :whistles:

[SW03ES]

You have to see it in person, its really sharp.

[amf1932]

You have to see it in person, its really sharp.

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No comparison to the LS430! B)

[SW03ES]

Ehhhh designwise maybe, not in quality. The LS has never had an exciting interior, just high quality. I like the look of the interior in my ES better than the LS.

[amf1932]

Ehhhh designwise maybe, not in quality. The LS has never had an exciting interior, just high quality. I like the look of the interior in my ES better than the LS.

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I don't consider an exciting interior the criterion for buying a car. Example: My brother-in-law's Bentley hasn't got an "exciting" interior either, but I'd still prefer owning it. :)

[SW03ES]

True lol

[blake918]

Way too much VW Phaeton from the front and Hyundai XG350 from the rear! Acura for the Lexy...not a chace! B) I wouldn't want any kind of controller that resembles an iDrive controller. I could see myself totaling the car trying to find the climate control settings! lol

[SW03ES]

Actually it worked pretty well, I intuitively knew how to operate all the functions without the book. This system and Audi's similar system are very easy to use. BMWs is the one that takes some learning. Eventually all cars are going to have to have these things because of the sheer number of buttons neccisary to run the vehicle's components. The new LS430 in 2007 is supposed to have one.

[99lsguy]

For years the TL was always the superior technological machine compared to the RL............looks like that may have changed...........

Nice report SWO

(the 99LS does still look nice, doesn't it :D )

[SKperformance]

the fornt end and dash is impressive the back is nasty.

I sat in one the other day and found the fit and finish awful for a showroom car.

[SW03ES]

Really? The fit and finish in the one I sat in was fine...

[SW03ES]

Saw another one at the mall today, they must have sold the silver one. The salesman wasn't there so it wasn't open to sit in. This one was a real nice cobalt blue (greyish blue) with black interior. Still don't like the rear. I've figured out what the front reminds me of now, an 02-03 TL...

[blake918]

If the RL didn't have the point at the bottom of its grill, it'd be a perfect match.

[SW03ES]

Ehhh I don't see that as much as I see the old TL in it. I think the Phaeton's a little bit of a stretch ;)

[SKperformance]

I am paid to be anal with cars so i notice the smallest differences and abnormalities.

I was floored when i first looked at the car by the bumps on the handles . I thought it was an imprefection then noticed it is on both doors ,must be part of the keyless system.

Funny how it also has a big plastic know to start the car and no key holes.

[THE ONE]

If the RL didn't have the point at the bottom of its grill, it'd be a perfect match.

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I AGREE WITH YOU.

[Senna4ever]

I had a gander at my local Acura dealer the other day. Looks like the Legend has finally returned! Now, do I get rid of my ES300 and go back to driving a Legend? Hmmmm.....