mmarshall

http://www.acura.com/

For my latest review I thought the 2006 SH AWD Acura RL would be the best choice, for a number of reasons. First, there seems to have been a lot of interest in here at CL, particularly from you guys who own the Lexus GS. Second, I have already reviewed and test-driven both of its two major competitors....the GS300 AWD and the Infiniti M35 AWD. And third, there's been a lot of talk and speculation lately about whether or not this car was worth the incentives Acura was giving on the leftover 2005 models.
First of all, this is an impressive car in many ways...you will shortly see just how many. I liked the old RL myself, with its comfort-oriented ride and easy-going nature, and have to confess that I was somewhat dissapointed when I first saw its replacement....like many other luxury cars today, it gave up its comfort-oriented characteristics for a more responsive chassis and lower-profile tires, and of course the widespread complaints about the new one not having a V8 with RWD. And it is true that for several reasons......the AWD being one of them....... the new one does not ride quite as soft as the old one did, but many of the other features and the overall quality on this new car are nothing short of astounding. This car was a real treat not only to review and inspect but to test-drive as well. It is one of the most solidly-built cars I have ever driven, and in many ways reminds me of the way Mercedes-Benz used to build their cars before their quality dropped so badly. It is easy to see why the RL costs $49,000-$50,000 before discounts or incentives. And, if the L-O-N-G list of standard features is not enough, a Hi-Tech package with automatic vehicle-following cruise control and Collision-Mitigating Braking and Seatbelt system is offered.......and, like on other Acuras, the A-Spec chassis-enhancement package which improves steering response and handling but does not add any power...these will add about 3-4 thousand dollars to the price.
But like any other car, it is not perfect...it has both good and bad points, and I have to be objective and honest.....I don't believe in sugar-coating vehicle tests like so many newspaper auto journalists do. I can tell when they are bull-s**ting, and that really turns me off. But after a thorough inspection, review, and test-drive I could find nothing REALLY significant on this vehicle to complain about.....including the V6 and its 5-speed automatic instead of a 6-speed. Just a few minor annoyances....a rarity in the car-review buisness.

So......here is my take on this excellent vehicle:

Model tested: 2006 Acura RL

Base price: $49,300
Price as tested: $49,990

Drivetrain: 3.5L V6, 290 HP @ 6200 RPM, torque 256 ft.-lbs. @ 5000 RPM, 5-speed automatic transmission with console-lever Sport-Shift and steering-column paddles, SH ( Special-Handling ) All-Wheel-Drive system


PLUSSES:

IMO the best overall Honda / Acura product to date in the American market.

3.5L V6 has almost V8 performance despite its smaller size and extra weight and drag of the AWD.

Seamless and sophisticated AWD system...perhaps the best one yet in the over- $35,000 class. ( Subaru, of course, has the best ones in the under $35,000 class )

ROCK-solid doors, chassis, and body solidity......much like older Mercedes products.

Like all Acuras, smooth, orange-peel-free, well-applied, glossy paint.

Slick-feeling, precise, Swiss-watch quality hardware and materials throughout the whole interior....and with a durable feeling to them as well.

MANY mechanical, electronic, safety, and comfort features standard...too many to list in one sentence.

Ideal driving position possible for almost anyone.

Large, roomy trunk with REAL chrome spring-loaded tie-down loops and jack cleverly stowed inside the spare tire. ( run-flat tires optional )

Smooth, high-quality leather and wood trim throughout the cabin.

Interior available in 3 colors.....taupe, parchment, and ebony (grayish-black )

Legible, well-marked gauges and controls.


MINUSES:

Rather poor rear-quarter visibility backing up because of the thick C-pillars.

Dash and front door panels a little too swoopy and overstyled for my tastes.

Excellent wood-trim across the whole dash and door panels but too shiny and polished for my tastes,

Center-controller in upper console too much like BMW's I-Drive but much better designed and uses MUCH better-quality hardware...you can feel the difference.

So many electronic features and buttons that it is easy to get distracted.

Funeral-home paint colors............this seems to be a real and continuing problem with luxury cars. The only RL color offered that IMO did not look like morgue trim was the Redondo Red Pearl....more or less similiar to the superb Lexus Matador Red but not as brilliant.




OK......now for the review. The first impression you get when walking up to this car, style-wise, is that you are looking at an American-market Honda Accord blown up a little in size. There is little at first on the outside that would clue you to the fact that this is the new Honda / Acura American market flagship. But as you walk around the car and examine it, you note features like the sophisticated, projectile headlights that turn left and right with the steering wheel, WELL-applied chrome strips, thick mirror housings that contain the turn signals and side markers and swivel and lock with a heavy, firm, precise feeling, Acura-quality paint, ultra-thin body panel gaps...and then it is obvious that this is not just a blown-up Accord, or even a blown-up TL.
The hood, made of high-quality aluminum and held up with struts, does have a light feel, like many other aluminum hoods, and the air deflector for the windshield wipers is a little flimsy, but that's about it. The rest of the car is just about as solid-feeling as you could imagine.
Now...get inside and this is where the treat really starts. As long as you have the little electronic " box " with you ( there is no key as such ) you don't even have to unlock the doors with the little buttons on it. Just touch the door handle and pull the door open....simple as that. Get inside.....not difficult at all with the shape of the door openings.......sit down, pull the thick doors closed.......THUNK........just like bank vaults. I mean S-O-L-I-D. Everything in front of you, underneath you, besides you, and above you has a truly first-class feel and quality. I can't really describe this on paper...you have to sit in this car and feel the trim and controls to appreciate it.
OK.....get comfortable, which is no problem with the electric tilt-and-telescope steering wheel and the ultra-long adjustable range of the power seats. The seats go down far enough that my 6' 2" frame, even with a cap on, can easily clear the sunroof panel......which can be a problem in many cars for taller people. The stereo, as expected in a car of this class, is first-rate as well. One minor complaint.....the otherwise excellent seats are wide enough for me but have little side support from the rather flat shapeless cushions. The wood trim, ( and there's PLENTY of it ) while also otherwise excellent and realistic looking, could use a little less polish and shine.....I have never been a fan of highly-polished wood. ( I like the matte-wood look ) The maze of buttons, features, and programs, even in the standard model, is just astounding....Bluetooth, I-Pod, Hands-Free, On-Star, Acura-Link, XM Radio, Homelink....on and on. In fact, I was surprised to see the OnStar....I thought GM had a patent on that and could only be used by GM or GM-owned companies.
OK.....time to start up. Since there is no "key" as such, the RL has an interesting start-up procedure I haven't seen on any other car. Some cars have a button...some an ignition switch with a keyhole. The RL has, instead, a big, thick twist-grip **** sticking out from the steering column. Just twist it forward with the big thumb-tab built into it and the big, smooth, quiet 290-HP V6 fires right up. The electronic analog-style speedometer and tach lights up with a blue face and red trim, like other Honda / Acura products. Pull the seat belt out....it unrolls with a SMOOTH, slick, high-quality feel that I've never felt in a car before.Get the mirrors adjusted, the climate control set where you want it, put it into gear and take off. First, one other minor complaint....the enginers need to work on the throttle-by-wire system a little more. It's a little jumpy off-idle both cold and warm. That minor complaint aside , this is a superb drivetrain....again, the best I have seen on a Honda / Acura product, even though the automatic transmission lacks the sixth gear of some competitiors. The V6's 256 ft.-lbs. of torque, unlike other Honda / Acura engines, comes on even at low RPM's ( though it peaks at 5000 ) and even with the added weight and drag of the automatic and the AWD system....it gets out of its own way in no time. It's not a dragster, mind you.....you're not going to be racing Corvettes and Dodge Vipers on Friday nights......but the power level IMO is just fine for this size car in spite of not having a V8. Nine out of ten drivers, IMO, will never miss not having a V8....the V6 is that good......so IMO perhaps the V8 was not necessary. ( This is one area, BTW, where I have changed my mind a little...when the car first came out I thought maybe Acura should have used a V8 and RWD ).
Handling, especially with that much-publicized SH ( Super-Handling ) AWD system, while maybe not " Super " as such, will not embarass you on a winding road. The AWD system....one of the most sophisticated on the planet.....not only apportions torque front/rear but side/side as well depending on road conditions and traction needs. The handing and cornerning ability did not feel quite as nimble as, say, a RWD BMW 3-series or a RWD Infinti G35, but part of that was the car's weight ....over 4000 lbs. even unloaded. In magazine tests it has pulled 0.89 G's...well up in sports-sedan territory.
Brakes, considering the car's weight and bulk, performed very well. An optional "Collision Mitigation " system ( one more safety nanny, IMO ) detects impending collisions and first alerts the driver with audio devices, then tugging on the seat belt, and then automatically braking. Will this electronic safety stuff EVER stop?....people can always learn to just watch the road and DRIVE.
I had very few complaints with this car on the road...the only significant one was trying to see back at an angle while backing up...the thick C-pillars block some rearward vision, but those thick C-supports probably contribute to the unibody's tank-like solidity. The new RL has superbly addressed several of the complaints I had with the cheaper TL, TSX, and RSX.....road noise, body-panel tinniness, and poor low-RPM torque. While its ride, mainly because of the newer lower-profile tires, firmer chassis, and unsprung weight of the AWD system, is not quite as smooth as its predecessor ( which was like a Buick ) , and its road noise level is not quite as low as its competitor GS300 AWD, ( no one builds quieter cars than Lexus ), it is much, MUCH better than the TL's, which was a car that in a number of ways did not impress me that much.

So....the verdict. A very, VERY impressive car. It has perhaps the best body and door construction of any 2006 vehicle I have seen short of a Mercedes G-Wagon ( a military-derived vehicle ) , Swiss-watch-quality interior and hardware ( believe me, you have to see this hardware and feel it to appreciate it ), a V6 with almost V8 performance, a seamless and sophisticated AWD system for both handling and traction, and plenty of comfort inside with almost limitless comfort, convienence, and safety items.

How does it compare with its two primary competitiors? Very well, IMO. The Lexus GS300 AWD is ultra-smooth, quiet as a tomb, ultra-refined, slick on the road, and runs a couple of thousand dollars cheaper than the RL ( depending on both cars' incentives ), but its V6 does not feel as strong as the RL's and its body and sheet metal is not in the RL's league either. Though both cars have extremely high-quality interiors and hardware....I'd say the RL is superior inside and has better hardware..it's definitely more roomy. Both have about equal handling, at least under the conditions I drove them ( the enthusiast magazines may not agree ). The GS300 AWD , though, has a better paint job than even the RL's superb paint.

Against the Infiniti M35 AWD, the RL has a MUCH better paint job ( Infiniti's current paint jobs, IMO, are second-rate for an upscale nameplate ). The Infiniti's V6, like the RL's, is quite strong...and its much-improved interior this year, with Infiniti's new Rosewood console trim, is an eye-opener, with hardware that is also much-improved but quite a ways short of the RL's. The M35 AWD handles a little better than the RL primarly because of lighter weight, and has more effective brakes.

But it has to be taken into consideration that the RL's quality costs money........$50,000 of it. This exceeds the price of both the GS300 AWD and the M35 AWD by several thousand dollars. Is it worth it? Only you, of course, as a shopper, can decide that....but I am very impressed with it. All three cars offer AWD for traction, high build quality ( unlike some other Infiniti products, the M35 is quite well-built ), good materials, and the likelihood of good-to-great reliability. The Infiniti's paint is subpar, but in in virtually every other way it stacks up well.
So the final question...is the new RL worth $50,000 before discounts or incentives? Once a car starts getting above about $40,000 or so, I have a hard time justifying what it costs regardless of content, but in the RL's case, the overall quality is so good that I would say probably a borderline " yes ".

Falcon LS

Thanks for the great write up, as always! Sounds like a winner. I think the RL will have some serious competition once the ES 350 is out.

mmarshall

If nothing else, I think Lexus will have to consider AWD for the next ES....even though the FWD setup of the ES is not bad in snow as it is. North of the Sun-Belt states from Florida to Southern and Coastal California, it is going to become more and more difficult in the future to sell luxury and upscale cars without having it at least as an option. The GS300 AWD and Infiniti G35X AWD, for example, are doing quite well here in this area.

Falcon LS

Valid point. But I suppose that could in some way bring about a few problems, taking the RX into consideration.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the review, now a few questions if you dont mind.

How does the 3.5 compare to infiniti's 3.5? I would imagine infiniti's has much better torque, but less high rpm power. How about the 3.5 in IS350, which shold also make it into the GS350?

I'm also very surprised about your comments on the interior quality, and especially that you rate it above the GS and M35. I dont want to sound like I'm doubting you, but are you sure? The GS and M35 interiors are nothing short of amazing, and Acura has never excelled in this territory. Granted, I've never driven the new RL, but from the pictures the interior looks very much like the TL, and TL isn't quite up to par in Lexus territory. For instance, the old RL, and the old TL, both of which I've driven on many occasions, had about the same quality interior, very very similar looking with the same colors and materials.

Also, since you've mentioned you were impressed by the wood trim, was the wood real? There was not a single Acura in the past that used real wood trim, and the plastic trim in new TS and TL looks great, but its not real, so I'm wondering if the RL actually used the real stuff.

And finally, on an overall, which one would you rate the highest, GS300, M45 or the RL? Will that change with the upcoming GS350?

mmarshall

Of course I don't mind.......I'll answer as many of your questions as I can: That's part of why I post reviews.

Acura lists the RL's wood trim as real maple wood, not fake stuff. With some cars, however, the fake trim looks better than the real stuff. I have seen " real " wood that not only looked but felt fake as well. Not so in this case. Acura has done a good job, except that iMO it is just s little too shiny and polished.

As far as the 3 different 3.5L V6's are concerned, I thought that both the RL's and the M35s were both quite strong....especially on low-end torque. The Honda / Acura 3.5, in the past, like other Honda / Acura engines, has not been noted for low-RPM torque. I noted that in my TL review. It is obvious, though, that for their new flagship Acura clearly wanted a better V6 than the one the TL got...especially with the corporate decision not to go to a V8 or RWD, and the fact that it had to haul the new SH AWD system around that added both drag and weight. The result was the reprogrammed new 3.5 you see here in the RL.....290 HP and 256 ft.-lbs. of torque at 5000 RPM.....( 300 and 260 last year under the old rating system ) though the new torque curve, unlike the past, is noticibly flatter.....though max torque comes at a high 5000, you start to feel it around 3000 or so. The M35's HP rating is 10 lower than the RL's.....280 at 6200 and the torque figure....270 at 4800 RPM is pretty close as well.

I cannot directly compare the Lexus 3.5L V6 to the other two because I have not test-driven it. For one thing, it does not directly compete with the RL and the M35 AWD because it only comes in RWD form ( for now, at least ) I did test-drive the GS300 AWD, though, which does compete, and as would be expected by its lower 3.0L displacement, it is not as strong as either the RL's or the M35's AWD V6.

I plan to review a GS 350 RWD when they are available and then will be able to answer that question further. The IS350 is available now but is a different class of car than these three.

As far as my coments on the RL's interior, I agree that many past Acuras were not particularly impressive inside, although they have gotten much better recently. ( and the third-gen Integra's was pretty nice before it was replaced by the RSX ).The TL's is OK but nothing to write home about. The RL's, though, IMO, is far better than any Acura I have seen previously . A lot of money, attention to detail, and concern for the hardware quality was put into this new one......though the swoopy dash and front door panels have a few too many curves and arcs for my tastes. This is why I think.......along with the expensive and sophisticated SH AWD.....that the price of the RL went up so much over its predecessor. Superb-quality hardware was used inside, and there's an old saying....you get what you pay for. ( though some expensive cars today, you know as well as me, are a rip-off ).
Now...that is not to take anything away from the traditionally superb Lexus interior quality either. The new GS300's interior, though, while superb in many ways, did not have what I thought was quite as durable-feeling hardware as the new RL....and the GS has an annoying feature that when the little flip-down box with the power-mirror controls is open under the left vent, it ( for me at least ) hits my left knee uncomfortably. And when you shut the doors, there is no comparison. The GS doors, while precision-built like a Swiss watch and attached almost perfecly with the Lexus laser-assembly system at the factory ( one reason the car rides so quietly ) did not have a solid or as tank-like a feel as the hefty doors on the RL. However, you ARE correct that the GS's interior, like the new IS's, has an extremely well-finished and highly detailed look to it.
And last, you mention that you think the RL's interior looks like the TL's. I don't agree.....and IMO the RL's has FAR better materials. Drop in at an Acura dealer when you have a chance and just take a static look at the two cars yourself without a formal test-drive, and I think you will be able to see and feel the difference yourself.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Cool, I guess Acura can do it when they want to. I guess the reason it's not selling is because of the bad reputation the old RL had, it wasnt competitive in its class and lost value rather quickly. I guess it is suffering the same fate as the Q45, which in my opinion is an awesome machine, but because the old Q45 was so terrible its not selling at all.

mmarshall

Yes, the old RL was about as close, both in style and driving dynamics, to a Japanese Buick LeSabre as you could want. While it WAS a comfortable and well-built car, ( and I liked it ) it simply didn't appeal to a lot of people....especially the sport-sedan crowd. This new car is not quite as cushy, but the engineering and material quality is superb.......it is obvious that Acura put a lot of money and attention into it, and it shows.
It IS, however, and expensive car ( perhaps justifyingly so ), and the average person doesn't have $50,000 in his or her wallet or checkbook to just walk right into a showroom and plunk it right down on the spot. ( the kind of thing Liz.....Asian Girl.....probably used to dream of ). This new RL...for those who DO go look at it and choose to buy it ( and there seems to be a fair amount of interest here at CL in it...that is why I did the review ) will probably, because of its price, be leased more often than bought.

Och

iTrader: (3)

I actually kind of liked the old RL too, and a used one can be picked up at a bargain price. But in general Acura doesn't appeal to me anymore, their models are lackluster. Such a strong start for them, the Legend, NSX, Integra, and look at them now. The NSX while still being a marvelous machine is dated and begging for redesign. The Integra was bastardized into horrible RSX and is being cancelled due to poor sales, the RL despite your review is selling poorly, and the TL with ongoing transmission fiasco is getting a lot of bad rep.

Their MDX SUV however is the best SUV on the market (IMO), and the TSX is very nice for what you get for 26k if engine power is not your main concern.

It is kinda sad, I personally used to love Acuras but now they do not have a single appealing car, besides maybe this RL. They once used to be the innovators, and now they are lagging behind. I hope they have something up their sleeve, because at this point they are not even being considered a premium brand by a lot of folks, and quite frankly their best selling models, the TL and TSX belong in Honda's line up, not Acura. Hopefully they can implement their SH-AWD technology into the entire line up, and add the turbo from the upcoming RDX into the TSX, drop RL's engine into the TL and make a V8 option for the RL.

And did I mention they should start from scratch with Integra and NSX?

mmarshall

I agree they never should have dropped the Integra. I said so at the time.
The rest of the Acura line has generally not impressed me either....until now. This RL is some car.
As for a new NSX...the people I talked to today STILL don't know. I myself am getting tired of Acura's indecisiveness on this. One day it is yes, the next, no. Everyone in the company, from salespeople to company execs, says something different each morning. I'm at the point where I just don't care about it anymore......there are other, more important things in the auto world to be concerned with than a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't automotive NSX roulette wheel. Besides, the car in the American market never sold in significant numbers anyway and as far as the market was concrned did little but serve as Acura's technological aluminum-construction showpiece........although at least two people in CL.........DocC and Kristen, Dave's girlfriend, have owned them, and they were indeed great cars. But I'm not going to lose any sleep even if they don't replace it....I've got more important things to concern myself with.

spwolf

seem like you were quite impressed with it, nice. problem with RL is probably that when you buy luxury car, you buy the brand as well.

Gojirra99

Is the current Acura RL available in most of Europe as the Honda Legend ?

mmarshall

Probably...I'm not sure. You might want to PM Richie on that one.

Gojirra99

I think spwolf should know too

UDel

That was a nice review mmarshal and I was looking forward to you reviewing the new Acura RL. You generally felt the same way I did in that once you got used to the exterior it is good looking and comes off better then in most photos and I was blown away by the interior. When I first saw the pictures of the new RL and saw that it was not going to have a v-8, only come in awd and not rwd and its base price was around 50K I was pretty dissapointed and questioned if it was worth 15K over the new TL which I really like.

When I was able to see one in person I felt it did look better in person especially in the darker colors like black, dark grey, and silver. Unfortunately all the ones at the dealership had that ugly protective clear and white plastic film on them so I could not see the car clearly. Once I got in the car and shut the door and looked at and felt the interior I was pretty convinced it was well worth the 50K even though it would be nicer if it cost around 44-45K. The car felt powerful and did not feel underpowered and it rode like a proper luxury sports sedan. It handled very well and never felt like it was struggling to keep up but it was not pushed to its limits on the test drive. I came away impressed but still a little dissapointed that it was 50K where you could get base models of the GS and M without as many options for a few thousand less.

I felt the interior in the RL was nicer then the new GS and M but I was still pretty impressed with both of those cars. The M center console was a little odd and did not feel quite as high quality but I am glad they tried something different, plus I was not impressed by look or coloring of the wood, It would be nice if it had a light birds eye maple option and a more brown or cherry color too. Exterior wise the M did not look very upscale and more like a Nissan model in non sport 6 cylinder versions especially in red and lighter colors. The M45 sport model in black and grey did look very good though. As for the GS I was not that impressed by the exterior and felt it looked similiar to a Maxima/Altima at many angiles. The rear end of the new GS is horrible and does not look like a luxury car at all to me. The interior of the GS is nicer then my 2nd Gen GS with higher quality ***** and buttons although it seemed a little plain especially the passenger side dash area with all the plastic and head room was not that good. The rear seat did not seem that roomy either. I did not think the GS or M had any real advantages interior/exterior/design wise over the RL and they all competed well with each other except that the GS and M have more configurations like rwd only and a v-8 option which would be nice for the RL to have.

I was in the market for a nice used car and decided on a 2nd Gen GS which I was not having much luck finding a good one in the price range I wanted. I went up to Delaware on vacation to look for cars and went to the Acura dealer downstate and got to see more RLs without the ugly protective plastic film on them. They were also selling for around 46K and some of the less popular combinations were going for around 44K. When I saw the dark greys, silvers, and blacks I really like the way it looked and after sitting in it again I fell in love with the car. I was seriously debating if I wanted to spend alot more then I should for my next car and get a new RL but decided I was too young to spend that kind of money on a car. There were a couple people at the dealership and they seemed very impressed by the new RLs too and someone decided to get one while I was there. I liked everything about the interior and thought the wood was very attractive, one of the most attractive wood finishes I have ever seen. The quality of the materials was first rate and I would love to spend alot of time in that interior and probrably would not mind traffic jams as much. One complaint was I believe the Japanese market RL-Legend had massaging AC seats, night vision, power rear seats, and some other cool features that would be nice on the U.S. version. Also the chrome rim option was pretty ugly and something I would skip on. I felt the car was worth the 50K price and a bargain at 44-46K. Acura definitely hit a home run with the new RL especially the interior, it is ashame it is not selling as well as it should but considering it only comes in one configuration loaded where you can get others with different engine and drivetrain configurations with cheaper base prices it is not that surprising.

I got to sit in a new 5 series at the dealership and it felt so plain and spartan and almost depressing compared to the new RL yet it cost much more. The quality of materials and solidness, especially in the thunk of the doors in the BMW felt nowhere near as high quality as the RLs. I test drove a few earlier model RLs and even though they were not nearly as nice as the new one they still had very nice interiors and quality was very high. I always thought the TL was a better buy then the older RL because the TL was sportier and faster with most of the RLs options but the RL did have a very nice ride and the handling was not as sloppy as I thought it would be. The older RLs I drove did have "real wood" in the interior. I even considered getting the older RL if I could get a great deal but the one I wanted that had the navigation system was a 02 or 03 model and was well over 30K so I decided to pass. I am pretty sure the older RL's used real wood and there were a few models of the Legend that used simulated wood. I believe the older RL and Legend did not share the accord platform either even though they were fwd.

I have always been very impressed with Acura interiors and I feel the TLs and TSX are very nice and nicer then there competition I never felt they were unimpressive and have never read any reviews or magazine articles that were not impressed by them. Both cars perform very well and drive nice although it would be nice if the TSX had some more horsepower like from the turbo engine going in the RDX and the TL needs to come standard with real wood even though the simulated wood looks very nice. Even with being impressed by the TL and TSX interior the RL is much nicer and comes loaded with what most consider the best navigation system in the business as well as the most sophisticated awd system out there plus all the other things too numerous to list. Some people may feel the RL needs its own rwd platform or needs a v-8 to justify the price but once you sit in it and drive it a couple times it is clear it does not need any of those besides it being nice to have a v-8 option or a lighter rwd model. I am glad you really liked the car mmarshal and your review is very well written.