The TL is a piece of crap. Hands down. Take it from someone who bought one excited about it and got it bought back within a year. Acura corporate treats their customers worse than as if they had stolen the cars off the lot. If you buy one, all I have to say is GOOD LUCK. I think you'll need it.

 

I think a more accurate comparison would be the Acura RL vs. the ES 350. With the discounting going on on the RL pricing is competitive with the ES UL.
I drove the car and was very impressed with the handling, quality and interior design. Both cars are well equiped from a feature perspective.
Exterior appearance, gas mileage, dealership performance and name recognition goes to the ES. Handling, interior appearance, Nav usability goes to the RL. The rest seems to be a toss-up.

Anyone else driven an RL?

 

Man I wish we had impartial unopinionated neutral perspectives here. I mean we all either own an ES or a TL, so the bias is inevitable. We need someone who knows nothing about cars....He/she is just driving it and looking at it and using the bells and whistles...thats it. Just an overall experience and impression from a neutral party is all we need. I wish my daughter could provide us with some insight. Unfortunately, she is only 2 years old and can't reach the gas pedal yet.

 

No you don't! You should be thankful that it will be 14 more years before she can drive your car. Then you'll have pop spilled on your ML stereo system french fries and ketchup stains mushed into your perforated leather and you'll have to get replacement keys made at least 3 times a year for the ones she loses!

 

Hmm... if this ES350 lasts this long, she can have it! Actually I have no doubt a Lexus can last 15+ years. My old old 1991 Toyota Camry LE (sister's-hand-me-down) was sold in 2004, and the buyer was really impressed at the condition and performance. Asides from the ascethetics (chipping plastics and old paint), the car drove well after all these years. That's a good idea... I'll keep this car nice and good for my daughter's first car. Maybe by then she'll want a flying car... doh!

 

I didn't mean to imply that you'd be driving the same car in 14 years time, however being a Lexus, that should be very doable. I drive a 13 year old ES300 with 401K kilometers (approx. 250K miles) on the odometer, and it still looks great inside and out and runs smooth as can be. I've had two total strangers approach me in the last couple of months asking if I was interested in selling......that NEVER happened to me before I bought this car!