-J-P-L-

The E-Class has always been a volume luxury car. Its success though is more a result of the fact that it's a "Mercedes" than anything else. For as long as I can remember, its been a poorly built car that spends more time in the shop than on the road. Aside from a quality comparison, IMO the RL is much more enjoyable to drive and is more comfortable/roomy.

The RL's sales "failure" is based on many factors none of which is really the product itself. Its a superb car. If you don't think so, then you haven't driven it. Problems have included bad marketing, Acura's lack of "status", the TL beginning to intrude into the RL's territory, ect.



You know you're referring to what's proven to be one of the most well built, and reliable cars, right? It isn't merely mmarshall's opinion, it's well documented. While many MB models including the E-Class is documented to be a POS.

mmarshall

With most car magazines (and, to an extent, with Consumer Reports), the numbers are usually assigned BY personal opinion and the experience and results of the actual test-drives and reviews. Each tester assigns so many points based on his or her assessments of the vehicle's build quality, performance, comfort, handling, quietness, braking, trunk space, fit/finish, and a number of other factors. Often, a car that scores high in one area does not score so well in others....and vice-versa.

When I myself do reviews, though, that's not my cup of tea. I don't like to assign number points.....cars, to me, are much more than simple arithmetic. I prefer to make two separate lists of PLUSSES and MINUSES and then generally go over them, in greater detail, in the main part of the review.

Lastly, you are correct that both opinions and a** holes are the mark of humanity. I usually try to give the former without acting like the latter.

LexFather

As MT said the RL is not faster than a RX 350. It is slow and has 300hp in name only. it then offers the worst MPG.

The GS 350 awd and 535x and a6t are much faster weighing the same. It's not just marketing/image it was bland it's now ugly offers no value and you have to dig pretty deep to argue what it does significantly better than the competition.

They have failed with it for 14 years now!!!

mmarshall

Both the RX350 and RL are dragged down, to some extent, by weight, and by the torque figures. The RL, like some Nissan/Infiniti V6s, achieves the magical 300 HP figure, but not 300 ft-lbs. of torque. AWD is also, in general, the enemy of high MPG....both from weight and drag, though how much drag you get depends on how often the center differential is re-routing torque.


There are many factors that can make some AWD vehicles faster than other equivalent ones. Your automotive knowledge level is high enough that I'm sure you know what they are.

And here's a good one......just putting ME in the car is almost like two normal male adults. That will certainly slow a car down.

IS-SV

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, lol.

1. We are talking about the 2010 E-class, not past E-classes.

2. The RL is a failure at 200 sales units per month, ready for EOL.

3. The biggest fans of the RL are people that never buy the car.

IS-SV

Agreed, not to mention the lack the lack of advancements expected in a premium car in this price range.

But the RL sales results are painfully obvious, ignoring all the subjective stuff that the fans of the RL like to talk about but are afraid to put their money on the line for.

mmarshall

It's true that I don't own an RL, but that is not because of my personal opinion of it....good or bad. First, I generally don't buy used cars, and second, a new RL runs 45-50K (or more). I personally don't care to spend more than 30-35K on a new car, though I would consider 35-40K for some Lexus or BMW models. But a new RL, like many upmarket flagships, is a car for well-heeled people.

In fact, you could say that about a number of slow-selling upmarket/luxury cars, like the VW Phaeton, Infiniti Q45, Bentleys, Rolls, Maybachs, and the Audi A8.

LexBob2

Like it or not, the RL needs a makeover, or something, ASAP for it to be viable as a premium car in that price range.

IS-SV

I wasn't addressing that to you specifically.

But when you are selling a mundane RL at only 200 units per months of RL's comparing it to Rolls and Maybachs is a joke. It's pretty obvious the car-buying public, both mid-tier and "upmarket" is largely ignoring this car.

-J-P-L-

Hopefully the new E-Class will prove better. The last gen was junk.

So we're comparing the 5-year old RL to the brand new E? Tough battle for the E-Class.

Anyway, we're all aware of why the RL doesn't sell. Generally, there are more compelling products be it styling, prestige, larger size, more options, ect. Doesn't diminish the fact that it's still a great car.

Sales don't make a car great. In fact, what do all the best cars in the world have in common? They barely sell.

mmarshall

Yes, I know. And I'm sure that neither your opinion or mine, on the matter, is alone.

Part of that is Acura's own fault. They focus a huge amount of advertising and PR money on the TL, and almost none on their own flagship. It seems like they almost WANT the RL to fail, by giving the TL the same power, same AWD system, and much of the same chassis. Still, the RL is a noticeably better car in several areas, especially in sheet metal and interior-material quality.

IS-SV

Tell that to Acura, that will make them feel better, before they get fired.

Don't agree the "best" cars in the world barely sell, that's too subjective and most of the low-selling exotics are impractical.

IS-SV

Some good points, but Acura will not advertise it's way out of this sales disaster with the RL.

The product (RL) is not compelling, even if it's better than the TL which is not it's real competition especially at $50K plus.

LexFather

Bingo........especially number 3

make a good used car though since it has the resale value of wet kitten ****

Gojirra99

... and prohibitively expensive too, and so are the "slow-selling" ultra luxury sedans and coupes from RR and Bentley ...