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Acura RL Road Test
We had
a week with the Acura RL and even at that we didn't have enough time to
explore its many technology attributes or exploit the extent of its all
wheel drive handling. Suffice to say that this is a car for those that
enjoy a pleasurable ride, appreciate the best GPS, stereo, and night
lighting in the business, and aren't afraid of letting snow or rain
halt the  fun. Perhaps best of all are the terrific safety ratings and the fuel
mileage that was exceptional for a 290 horsepower sedan that weighs two
tons as we consistently got 22 mpg or more on premium fuel. Priced from
$48,565-53,100 (US)
Mom's
view: A most interesting vehicle. It lives in the region bordered by
the BMW and Lexus and appears to rely on its technological gee whiz
factor to seek out its own identity. To this end it does nothing
upsetting or untowardly, but remains an enigma. Priced around $50,000
(US) it requires a buyer that has the financial capacity to purchase
pretty much any luxury vehicle, but is not impressed by the performance
of the M45 Infiniti, the handling of the BMW 5 Series, the
accommodations of the  Lexus LS, or the straight-line acceleration of the supercharged Jaguar
S. In other words, the appeal of the RL is most probably going to be to
those who have previously owned an Acura or Honda and enjoy the
creature and electronic features rather than the performance.
Enough philosophy, what does it feel like to drive this top of the line
Acura? Actually it feels quite relaxing. Although the seats just didn't
fit my backside well, everything else was well above average. Yes, I
would have liked a rear view camera when I was backing up such as is
available on the Infiniti M because the high trunk restricts visibility
to the back. I would have also liked the trunk to pop open more when I
used the remote key fob, but other than that the Acura treated me very
well.
It was fairly quiet with just tire noise entering the cabin and that
was easily dealt with by a stereo system that automatically adjusted
the speaker output. Braking needed some getting used to as the pedal
starts a bit soft but quickly gets serious. You can feel your body pull
against the seat belts as the Acura quickly responds to more pedal
pressure with a reassuring force from the large four-wheel disc brakes.
The interior is adequate with lots of storage bins, a good-sized center
console, and easy to reach and use switches. I did feel that I sat a
bit "deep" in the Acura due to the high doorsills. The GPS is wonderful
and if you drive in heavily traveled US cities it can provide
alternative routes when traffic is stopped and the system is easy to
set, has voice commands if you wish, carries seven million points of
interest, is said to understand 560 voice commands. The gauges are a
bit bold for my taste with the bright blue being more suitable to a
younger generation. However, it the readouts weren't a problem to
decipher at high speed.
Acura has loaded the RL with so many features that it is difficult to
imagine anything you could possible need. They have night lighted door
handles, an illuminated center console, 14 switches on the steering
wheel for everything from radio controls to voice activation to radar
cruise control, a rear armrest with a ski pass through, a dual climate
control with solar sensing, speed sensing windshield wipers, key-of
window operation, Homelink, and two 12-volt power outlets.
Safety wise, you have daylight running lights, LED side view mirror
turn signal indicators, fog lights, automatic on headlights, heated
outside mirrors that tilt down when the car is in reverse, the optional
collision mitigation system, dual stage front airbags, side airbags,
side air curtains, front pretensioner safety belts, and a child-seat
mounting system. The RL is prepared to sacrifice most every thing to
save its passengers and I believe it.
Since technology is what the Acura RL is about here is just a brief
listing of some of the features you get with the fully loaded RL with
the Technology Package. A Collision Mitigation Braking System that uses
a radar unit mounted inside the front grille to monitor potential
rear-end collisions, alert the driver with a bright brake warning on
the gauge panel and even tightens the seatbelts and applies the brakes
should a collision prove to be imminent. If you are driving a highway
speeds and change lanes so that you are close to the vehicle in front
this feature is activated. At first it is distracting, but once you
understand its use it is a vital option. There is also an Adaptive
Cruise Control that applies the throttle or brakes to maintain a
consistent following interval using a grill mounted "radar" system.
We are just getting warmed up with what the RL offers. Speaking of
which there are dual setting heated seats, rear and side sunshades, run
flat tires, Grade Logic Control and an all wheel drive system that
distributes power front-to-rear and/or side-to-side as well. The all
wheel drive can also increase the rotation speed to the outside rear
tire while cornering to improve handling. We tried are best to fool it
to no avail. In other words this is a great car for those winter drives.
The RL is equally equipped with some great interior technological items
such as Acura Satellite-Linked Navigation System with Voice
Recognition, AcuraLink satellite communication system with real time
traffic, Active Noise Cancellation, a Acura/Bose 10-speaker Surround
Sound System, GPS, tire pressure monitoring, OnStar, and Xenon
High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights with Active Front Lighting
System that turns the headlights about 20 degrees when turning, LED
backlit gauges with progressive illumination. There is also a driver's
computer that gives you more information than you are ever going to
need besides being easy to operate and a maintenance monitor. You also
have a hands free wireless phone interface that is Bluetooth
compatible, remote entry, an electronic tilt and telescope steering
wheel, good but not great seats with power lumber, remote retracting
headrests, and tire air pressure monitoring.
Unfortunately, the 6-disc CD, DVD-Audio, and changer and AM/FM tuner
was located in the trunk, but it is a most excellent system. The radio
reception is good, but you can order satellite radio as the RL is
prewired, but when we called the foreign-based consumer help line for
the XM connection it was less than helpful. No doubt the customer
relations contact was following a script and didn't have any idea of
how to handle non-listed problems. Anyway, that's not Acura's problem.
This
was a low mileage test car and so we didn't do any speed tests with it.
Suffice to say that it gets you onto crowded highways easily and
passing isn't a problem once the transmission has decided you are
serious. There are steering wheel mounted shift levers but I seldom
used them because once you turn the wheel they are difficult to
activate if you have small hands. I would have preferred a six or even
seven speed automatic transmission to get the most out of the
electronically whipped up six cylinder engine. Acura claims that their
transmission has widely  spaced gears and I have no doubt about that, but I like a little more
swag in my luxury car's performance and would gladly tolerate the added
cost of more gearing for better low end grunt and more leisurely high
speed engine rpm numbers.
The bottom line for me is that this is a great vehicle to drive with
exceptional safety numbers and a reassuring ride. All the electronics
are helpful, but also worrisome in the long run should they need
fixing. A friend of ours just had a luxury car seat fixed at a cost of
$500 largely for the electronic component so be prepared to consider
this in the long run.
Dad's view: One of the major criticism of the Acura is that it has a
six cylinder engine and is marketed as a luxury sedan against potent V8
powered competitors from Jaguar, Lexus, BMW, Infiniti, and Cadillac. We
agree that all of these have better performance when passing or pulling
onto a highway at speed. However, the 3.5-liter VTEC with its 290
horsepower, 260 lb-ft SOHC 24-valve V-6 does well even with a five
speed automatic that is clearly in need of another gear to either help
low end grunt or passing power without the wait we experienced. Of
course, if we weren't so lazy we could have used the Sequential
SportShift or paddle shifters. The paddle shifters are on the steering
wheel making them difficult to articulate when cornering. The
transmission does have grade logic that helps it hold gears longer when
it senses the need such as when driving in the mountains. It should be
noted that the Acura does get better output numbers from its
six-cylinder powerplant than the competition.
An interesting feature of the Acura R is that the crankshaft of the RL
is positioned transversely instead of front to rear to gain more
interior room. It may help handling, but with so many electronic aids
it is difficult to notice. The mileage is rated at 18/26, which is
similar or better than the V8 competition, and it meets the strict
LEV-2 ULEV requirements.
Okay, finally, what is it like to drive? Well, in a word, orderly. It
doesn't flaunt its electronic doodads, it doesn't scold you with
aggressive actions when you are trying to figure out if this luxury car
has any sport in it, and there certainly is no breathtaking
acceleration. It just flows. It certainly handles better than the LS
Lexus, but it isn't as tidy as the BMW 5 Series. When you accelerate
the transmission seems to debate for a split second before making the
correct gear choice if you don't use the manual mode. Figure 0 to 60
mph scores in the 7.5 second range with most of that energy coming on
after 45 mph. Fast, but not quick.
Parking it isn't too bad, but we wish it had the rear monitor and
camera that the Infiniti M sprouts due to the high trunk. Even the
sharply descending hood makes it difficult to tell where that expensive
grill is and the all wheel drive feature makes for a larger turning
radius so pick your parking spots carefully or just let the valet do
it. By the way, there is no key for the RL. You carry a fob and the car
senses your arrival and prepares properly after it unlocks the door. I
really like this feature, especially when turning the big ignition
switch is so easy for those of us with large hands.
Suspension is based around a terrifically sturdy platform with high-tensile steel and lightweight aluminum components anchoring the independent
front double-wishbone and independent multi-link rear. The wide stance
of the RL makes for massive resistance to rollover and the brakes are
very good, but need more feel.
Although we spent a lot of quality family time in the RL visiting for
Thanksgiving and traveling for hours in heavy traffic, the Acura never
proved us a reason not to like it. This might be damming it with faint
praise, but in reality it reminded me of watching a great baseball
pitcher who makes it all look so easy. That is what the Acura does,
makes traveling so effortless you wonder if you are really needed.
Young working woman's view: I really wish it looked more exciting. As
for driving, the RL is comfortable and compliant, but never
overwhelming. It carries a six-year or 70,000 mile limited powertrain
warranty in addition to the four-year or 50,000 mile standard
bumper-to-bumper warranty and claims 100,000 miles or more tune-up
intervals.
A feature we have seen before and that is always appreciated is the
keyless entry system. You simply carry the key fob in your purse and
the car recognizes the signal and unlocks the driver's door. All you do
is slide inside and turn the steering column mounted switch to start
the RL. Easy, safe, and a must for those of us with seriously purses
that would make a key search untidy.
Acura's all wheel drive system is seamless. Most of the energy flows to
the front wheels until there is significant need for acceleration when
up to 70 percent of available torque is directed to the rear wheels and
thus torque steer is avoided. The RL system also varies the amount of
torque to the left and right rear wheels. When cornering the outer rear
wheel gets up to 5 percent more power to improve handling. It reminded
me a lot of the Audi S4 of the early 1990's which, to me, was the best
family hotrod ever produced for those who live in the snow. High praise
indeed.
College going male's view: The RL has the best stereo system I have
heard from the manufacture. The RL BOSE 10-speaker surround sound
system has MP3 and DTS capability and standard XM Satellite Radio. The
system utilizes eight distinct channels and Centerpoint signal
processing circuitry processes stereo recordings to five independent
channels, and don't forget the AudioPilot noise compensation
technology, which monitors interior noise and adjusts the sound balance
accordingly. There are more potent components in other luxury vehicles
and more elaborate set-ups but this is the finest. If you test drive
this Acura bring along your favorite music, too. Of course you can
always download my tunes at www.simple-thoughts.net.
The backseats are comfortable and you can direct the air or heat most
anywhere using the center console mounted vents. The trunk is adequate,
not particularly large and lacking the total rearseat fold down some
vehicles offer. There is no spare so extra room is available under the
trunk floor mat.
The
Technology option has standard real-time traffic information integrated
into an in-car satellite navigation system featuring AcuraLink that
uses the XM NavTraffic service to display traffic information in large
American cities and it ids displaced on the eight-inch monitor. The
system also enables Acura to communicate directly with the cars to
provide diagnostic information specific to their vehicle as well as
vehicle-related messages. You also get Bluetooth capability and
roadside assistance connections.
There simply is no reason not to buy the more expensive RL with the
technology and navigation as it is both fun and provides you with some
primary resources that could make your day a lot easier. The greatest
thing about this package is that it has Zagat ratings of restaurants so
you can select your favorite type of food and also see how the experts
rate it. Is that not just too cool! You also have hundreds of voice
commands  including dialing the phone, but the system takes a while to
know and sometimes was more frustrating than it was worth. Acura uses a
noise canceling system to reduce interior sound and it words except for
the rumple from the P245/50R17 tires
Family conference: We much admire the Acura RL for its array of
technology, warranty, and family friendly interior. We also liked its
looks, cargo capacity, and handling. However, despite the 290
horsepower it just isn't enough to motivate this 4000 plus pounder when
loaded when passing and on ramps. It is not slowpoke, but all the
electronics can't make up for the extra torque of it competitors. On
the other hand you don't have to pay the extra charge for the V8 and
you can easily while away the time with all the technological doodads
that make this such a fun car. Our recommendation is to buy the
optional technology package and an extended warranty or just lease it.
Either way you need to test drive the RL even if it means just sitting
in the car to learn what the best electronic exhibit this side of a
computer fair offers. Its overall strength is that it offers something
for everyone. For a complete list of all vehicle websites go to
www.reacheverychild.com and click on business.
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