Acura RL

shs111 · March 2005

Just got a Motorola V551 on a Cingular contract and could not be happier. Had previously been using Sprint with their one bluetooth phone, which was a disaster (random drops, etc.). Good luck.

3leggeddog · March 2005

Hi shs111 -

I have Sprint and was going to get the LG phone that they offer. Did you have problems with the phone in general or just with the RL?

Thanks!

jjacura · March 2005

Time out Bodble2! Let's keep this fun and enjoyable. I am not the enemy.. I know that you enjoy talking cars. The RL is not the end all in cars. We both know that. And there are more important things in life to discuss like the fate of Terri Schaivo. (But this is a forum on the RL) Being retired doesn't suggest that people are suppost to lead a sedate lifestyle. I compete nationally in NMRA racquetball tournaments. You won't find too many sedate people among those ranks. I am competitive and have been all my life. I also have a sense of humor and the dial up thing was cute and I didn't take offense to your comments about that.
You said: "BTW, I think you should re-read my post, again. You said...I don't think I said that it is MY OPINION that the TL SHOULD be playing in the V8 arena."
Bodble..I didn't say that. I said and I quote: "You make a point that SOME PEOPLE feel the RL should be playing in that arena." That agrees with your point. and you said TL but meant RL. That's a typo but I'm OK with that too. I am not upset with you at all, I just happen to have a different opinion. You are right about one thing. The car you drive is not important in this. I was trying to understand your perspective. Sorry! Actually going back to Shotgun's post about the RL being compared to cars that have V-8 engines is interesting. C&D magazine did a huge comparison of luxury performance cars recently that included the RL with some cars that had V-8 engines and the RL did extremely well. I'll get you those numbers in the next post. Meanwhile Happy Motoring to you too my Canadian cousin. I have no bone to pick with you.

bodble2 · March 2005

"I have no bone to pick with you."

Nor I with you, jj. I think sometimes things get misconstrued in print, when you don't get the benefit of using facial expressions. I've always found your posts to be civil and helpful, so it was not my intention to be inflammatory. I do respect your opinion. Afterall, you actually own a RL whereas I'm strictly going on observation. So, all else being equal, your opinion would count for more.

And I was just teasing you about the "sedate" stereotyping.

Look forward to reading more of your posts in the future.

ksoman · March 2005

As i'd speculated before the RL itself was launched... this segment now sees a real hybrid horse... comments?

jjacura · March 2005

The RL compares very favorably with a lot of other Luxury Performance Sedans. Check this!

Car and Driver $55K sedan comparo:

1. M45 (219 points)
2. RL (215 points)
3. GS430 (208 points)
4. E350 (202 points)
5. A6 (199 points)
6. 530i (198 points
7. STS (191 points)
8. S-type (181 points)

http://secure.grubbs.com/cardriver.pdf

jjacura · March 2005

Glad to see it. Hybrids will revolutionize the automotive industry and as Martha says "...and that's a good thing" :-)

jjacura · March 2005

That would be all right someday, an Acura RL_h giving us 30 MPG city!

shotgun · March 2005

To the contrary - I believe you're the one whose missing the point! Acura has always maintained that it positioned the Acura against the BMW 5, Audi A6 and MB E V6 variants - which effectively renders your devils advocate position moot!

Acura is sufficiently and automotively sophisticated to recognize and select which field it chooses to compete in. When and if Acura chooses to compete in the V8 arena it will respond appropriately! Should that day arrive, my estimation is that Acura will, again, set new standards and levels of performance their competitors will not only respect - but scramble to meet.

jjacura · March 2005

THAT WAS PRETTY ACCURATE AND DIRECT.....MORE LIKE A 30-30 SHOT THAN A SHOTGUN! :-)

bodble2 · March 2005

I don't recall Acura specifically including ONLY the V6 variants of the aforementioned competing brands, all of which have V8 options. And besides, I think it would be stupid to compare one's product only with a restricted variation of someone else's product. It would almost be admitting your product ain't good enough, because the BEST from your competition would be better than your best. It's like saying Peyton Manning compares well with Joe Montana, but only when Montana was playing with a pulled hamstring. If you can't make an unqualified comparison straight-on, then don't even try to make the stretch. Worse than being not a contender is to be a pretender.

bigrobnh · March 2005

Hey! It seems like I just got my April edition and you go and ruin the thrill of reading the May.

Where'd you get that????

ljwalters1 · March 2005

Any 2 cars can be compared, regardless. That's the fun. And if you're considering a 2005 RL and a 2006 Lexis/Infiniti-whatever, you need to compare different years b/c that's what's available now.

If someone's considering an M45 and an RL, you have to compare the v8 to v6, so there's no sense in excluding things this way. FYI, the Passat had a v8 in a more upscale version, but I think it put out less hp than many v6s, so it's really HP, torque, weight, etc you want to compare rather than engine size.

bodble2 · March 2005

"you need to compare different years b/c that's what's available now."

Excellent point! Whether it is called 2005 or 2006, or whatever is strictly labelling anyway.

jjacura · March 2005

You have a point. I pulled out a copy of Automobile magazine (July 2004) issue, On the cover was a picture of the 2005 Acura RL, the 2005 Cadillac STS, and the 2006 Infiniti M45. A great story inside. It was my first good look at the new RL. I knew I immediately liked the RL design over the M at that point but forgot that the M was a 2006. Now that the M has made it's debut, nothing has changed my mind.

ljwalters1 · March 2005

I'm not in the market for a new car (I'm too busy enjoying my '04 TL), but am keeping up with these models for my parents, and while I haven't gotten to test drive or see them in person, I like the RL better than the M, too. The M seems to cheapen itself with the interiors, using cheap seat insets to look like stitched piping and the color-scheme can be chaotic since unless you get the light tan, the dash, floor and center console are black, and regardless of the color choice, the headliner is gray. The RL is definitely classier, and even if the M is faster, I'd imagine for most of us, the RL has more than enough ponies for our enjoyment.

One nod Ihae to give to the M is that their voice nav system recognizes spoken street names. It'd be nice if the acuras did that.

jjacura · March 2005

I like your style young Walters. Stick around for a while in this forum. It could get interesting.

aclc · March 2005

In the C&D $55K sedan comparison, it is amazing how the V6 RL is compared to a V8 GS430 & M45....and rates HIGHER than the GS430!!! I suppose that the RL would crush the M35 or GS300 AWD, based on those results.

mariner7 · March 2005

Not really, MT already put M35 first ahead of 2nd-place RL, and others. Drivers Japan also put Nissan Fuga 350GT (M35 Sport) ahead of Honda Legend (RL). M35 is 200 lbs lighter than RL, down 20 hp but up 10 lb/ft of torque, is much faster than RL.

ljwalters1 · March 2005

Edmunds ranked the GS430 1st, followed by the RL, followed by the M. Here's a very much abbreviated summary: the GS is sporty enough to be enjoyable and is the most luxurious of the 3; the RL is between the other 2 in sportiness and luxury; and the M is the most sporty, least luxurious. The cars are close enough that the M's sportiness doesn't make up for its shortcomings over the GS & RL, but the GS' shortcomings are made up for by its luxury.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=104808

If there's a discrepancy between C&D and Edmunds (and maybe consumer reports?), I'd probably go with Edmunds' report until I can make up my own mind. C&D is probably for the super-enthusiast who would do pretend slolams if on the road alone; Consumer Reports is more for the person who just wants to get from point A to point B without having to stop at the repair shop. Edmunds seems to be in between.

tayl0rd · March 2005

As has been discussed a lot here and other sites, that was one of the most ridiculous and bizaar comparison results in automotive magazine history. How in the world does the LEAST sporty car win a SPORT SEDAN comparison??? The M45 utterly embarrassed the RL and GS in EVERY performance category, yet they ranked it last in a SPORT SEDAN comparison! I might be behind the times, but when did LUXURY become a PERFORMANCE aspect???

And keep in mind they used a nearly stripped M45, if I recall. Virtually everything on the other two cars is available to the M. That SPORT SEDAN COMPARISON isn't worth the electrons that form the words. I think they should limit themselves to just doing driving impressions and research; leave the "comparisons" to dedicated automotive comparison magazines.

jjacura · March 2005

" leave the "comparisons" to dedicated automotive comparison magazines."

Which one do you recommend?

acuraphile · March 2005

shs111:

Thanks. My Verizon contract ends on June 12th, so I save $175 by waiting it out. Salesman in Cingular store promised to honor the current offer.....$50 for the V551, in conjunction with a 1-year contract. Is anything missing that you would have liked?

My RL has run perfectly, from the get-go. I don't care if it takes a slice more of "one, one-thousand" to get me off the line. I bought the WHOLE PACKAGE, so no comparo is possible. I put all of the info that's passed before my eyes into the hopper...and "ground out" an RL. I did a dozen walk-arounds, paid attention to this forum, touched every knob, sniffed the leather, loved the dash, was thrilled by the power and smoothness, read all the specs, was entranced by the audio, pleased by the nav's simplicity, stunned by my wife's enthusiasm ( a first!) and I wasn't deterred by the price. So the A6 or 530i may present one or two better stats, BUT HOLD ON, I BOUGHT THE WHOLE PACKAGE!!! My nature is unwilling to deal in ULTIMATES and ABSOLUTES. I do have one firm rule that I obey: Never buy a car that's reputed to frequent the shop more than the highway! In the shop, 0-60 loses its panache and the shop becomes a virtual showroom for a few celebrated marques.

shotgun · March 2005

acuraphile - Your post was indeed refreshing and spot on! I echo your sentiments precisely! When I bought my RL I got "mucho" bang for the buck and I haven't looked back. My RL has also been "flawless" since I've acquired it on day one of it's release date (Oct 14th, 2004)...Here's wishing you (and myself) a continued ecstatic motoring experience...

ljwalters1 · March 2005

"... that was one of the most ridiculous and bizaar comparison results in automotive magazine history. How in the world does the LEAST sporty car win a SPORT SEDAN comparison??? The M45 utterly embarrassed the RL and GS in EVERY performance category, yet they ranked it last in a SPORT SEDAN comparison! I might be behind the times, but when did LUXURY become a PERFORMANCE aspect??? "

I think the sports sedans they tested - M35, RL & GS are really looked at as luxury cars that are sporty (hence, no manual transmissions). The cars 1 model above (Q & LS) are all luxury. The cars 1 model below (G, IS, TL) are all sporty sedans with some luxury.

I think Edmunds is more in tune with who will drive those cars than C&D. Not people who want to race from stoplight to stoplight, but people who want a luxury car that can thrill once in awhile.

tayl0rd · March 2005

Were that the case, all of the upper level cars have a sport package, even the Lexus LS, so why not opt for those? No, this class of cars is for the driver that wants to have his/her cake and eat it too. I believe Infiniti is more in tune to that than any other manufacturer as proven by the option of having wood trim with the sport package; everybody else forces you to have that gawdy aluminum or carbon fiber(look) trim. I think we will find that no other publication will give the GS430 a win in a sport sedan comparison unless it's up against some pretty lackluster competition.

washdcguy · March 2005

Hopefully, everyone can get along here. The first thing that appears to be common ground is that the Europeans seem to have lost out in this particular category. The Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Jag are also rans in many peoples eyes (be it for their perceived lower reliability or design, or whatever). Some people will love the Lexus just because it's a Lexus. And some will love the throaty V-8 available in the M. I opted for the RL and am thrilled with the vehicle. It's never provided me with anything less than stellar performance and rock solid reliability and to me, it looks the best hands down. So to each his own (though it does look like the Asian team is winning the day here).

jjacura · March 2005

George I'm glad you are going to Cingular and the Motorola V551. I was a little concerned about that patch for the 710 with Verizon..

To the rest of your post...GREAT!

To Shotgun and WashDCguy....Cool!

To TaylOrd...seriously, which dedicated automotive comparison magazines do you recommend. I am trying to educate myself because my younger brother has been an enthusiast for 50 years and I want to bridge the gap now that I have all this time on my hands. (I was always off playing ball some where.)

acuraphile · March 2005

"The M45 utterly embarrassed the RL and GS in EVERY performance category......."

Embarrassed? You mean "shamed?" The RL hung its hood in disgrace?

taylOrd, hanging an RL or GS out to dry requires a far graver offense than either one could have committed, considering their overall quality and refinment.
"Embarrassed" is a highly charged descriptive. You, as a car lover, must have felt devastated by their performance!

ljwalters1 · March 2005

my parents are looking at the RL & the M. My dad wants a car that'll be fun for him to drive on the weekends (he's a former porsche and 'vette buff who now drives a Lexus SC convertable). My mom is a former Lincoln Towncar/BMW 7-series/Lexus LS driver who wants to downsize now that the kids are all grown up & out of the house. She'll probably prefer the RLs or Lexus' smoothe ride.

I think she makes up the target clientelle - I expect that the more sport-oriented drivers are just more likely to spend time in car message-boards.

mariner7 · March 2005

There's no denying that Lexus and Infiniti both had 5 as their target. In fact Lexus made a much bigger deal of it than Infiniti. There's no denying that Infiniti accomplished more of what both set out to do. Yesterday's car review in usatoday says it all: "Lexus GS falls short of Infiniti M."

It's not true you have to drive like Jeff Gordon to notice the difference. usatoday's Healey noticed it in normal conditions, just like under normal conditions the driving characters of 5 & E are different.

RL's caught between M's sportiness and pace and GS's luxury and refinement. Notice it has never finished first, and finished 2nd to M35 on both sides the the Pacific.

jjacura · March 2005

:-) and Happy Easter

acuraphile · March 2005

JJ:

Right back at yer! :-)

George

pat · March 2005

Some of you may be interested in a recent question about vehicle choice that has been posted in our High End Luxury Marques discussion.

jjacura · March 2005

Please provide the post # Pat...all I could find were a lot of posted pictures of the VW Phaeton

pat · March 2005

I guess they were in reply to the post I saw which is dwongswong, "High End Luxury Marques" #8701, 27 Mar 2005 4:11 am

kfhmail · March 2005

Hey Canadian owners, if you get a chance, can you see how the front seats are cooled/ventilated. I mean...where does the vent/air come from? You would think that if both the Canadian version and the US version came off the same assembly line, that most of the parts would already be there/installed???

And...does this look like something that could be added/modified for the US versions of the RL?

Or...have any of the US owners asked their Acura service dept about this? Can the ventilation be added?

Thanks.

jjacura · March 2005

Well kfhmail...I'm not Canadian, (Maybe bodble2 can find out for you), but was able to come up with some info from another forum. will post the info here:
Retrofitting cooled seats?
The seat cooling was one of my "must-have" features that I was ultimately willing to live without given all the other great features of the '05 RL. So, I posed the question to my dealer, but they were unable to check on the ability to retrofit parts since they don't have access to non-US microfiche. I did notice the seat heaters are simply insertable modules - but I would suspect the cooling "module" is more complex and may need to have access to ductwork from the AC system.

So, has anyone explored this? The US microfiche is, of course, available online at acura.com - but we would need a friend in Canada to compare fiche/part numbers to the Canadian version.

Of course, this may simply not be achievable. But worth a try for those of us in warm climates.

acuraphile · March 2005

jjacura:

I'm wondering about the efficacy of ventilated seats. Help me out. The buttocks and the back smother a great part of the seating area, so whatever air would escape from the seat would come from the space between the legs, and, marginally, around the outside of the upper arms.
The seat, and the seat back, would be cool, but not ventilated, as "ventilation" describes the movement of air which, in this case, would not be happening. Is the purpose of this just to circumvent the hot seats that result from an idle car sitting in the sun? If THAT IS THE CASE, the seats would not be cooled in time when starting up after the car has been sitting, engine off, in the sun. Am I being dense? Yes, I must be dense, as it seems that great importance has been imputed to this feature. Fill me in, please.

Most of my driving is stop-and-go so I'm not surprised that I'm averaging about 15MPG. We'll put on 300 highway miles this coming weekend - that'll give me a better idea. Actually, I'm so taken with the RL that the mpg may be slightly dismaying, but not an issue. The optional steering wheel gives driving a wholly different feel; wonderful admixture of textures - the perforated leather and sleek, slim, smooth simulated trim.

jjacura · March 2005

George, I'm not an engineer, and really have never sought out the technology, mechanicals, or specifications on automobiles until recently. It probably shows because I don't debate the mechanical comparisons of these very sophisticated cars as maybe a lexusguy or mark cincy or you can go on and on with names of people that really know their cars. But I really enjoy reading the posts and even try once in a while to jump in there on occassion. It also becomes a form of entertainment as well as education at the same time.

Getting back to the ventilated seats. I believe there are coils within the structure of the seat that operate off the air conditioning system. I don't believe that air actually ventilates through materials that you block with your body structure. As I stated before, I am not an engineer and this is only a semi-educated guess. :-)

Like you, most of my driving is short trips around a metro suburban area, I get about 17 because some of it is also freeways to lake country but in May we'll be heading for Houston (A 1250 mile one-way trip and return) so I hope to get 26-27 MPG. (the car will have it's first oil change by then as well. In the next year we also plan to get out east again by car. We love Boston, and have been to Maine, New York, (Long Island is fantastic), Williamsburg. I've driven west to California but it is a real haul from Milwaukee. We will always fly from now on and do rentals. We leave for Phoenix next week and will fly there as well. Wish I could rent an RL but will be with Enterprise and I believe it will be an Altima this trip.

acuraphile · March 2005

"I don't believe that air actually ventilates through materials that you block with your body structure."

jj: I'm certain that our posts will arouse one or two sleeping engineers among us who will clarify the issue. The previous two RLs that I've owned have both had sheepskin coverings on the front seats - cool in summer, warm in winter. The leather on the current RL somehow doesn't present a comfort problem, even in the coldest weather - no sheepskin necessary. Additionally, the seats warms up surprisingly fast.
Thanks for the response, and safe trip to Phoenix.

George

kyfdx · March 2005

Are they actually cooled? Or just ventilated?

I would guess just ventilated... Cooling seems like overkill.. If you are cooling the rest of the cabin, it seems just ventilation would be enough..

Where are all those Canadians when you need them?

jjacura · March 2005

I just summoned Bodble2 from another forum! Maybe he can answer this one or get an answer for us!

3leggeddog · March 2005

Unlike the Infiniti M or the Lexus GS, the seats in the RL can only be heated not cooled. The material is ventilated (e.g., it has holes), but they never hooked up any sort of A/C to it.

That would have been a GREAT feature for me, since I live in So. California. In fact it was the last feature that I debated as a "must-have", and almost drove me (pardon the pun) to the the M35.

kyfdx · March 2005

Well.. when we talk about ventilated seats, we aren't talking about perforated leather..

And, we are talking about Canadian market cars... We realize that it isn't available in the US.

regards,
kyfdx

bigrobnh · March 2005

I can't speak for how the RL works but I have them on my E320. There are a series of fans in the seat cushion and seat back (think my car has 10). They actually draw air through the seat and out a vent type thing in the seatback. The effect is subtle but noticeable. I actually run with heat and ventilation running simultaneously.

I would buy that feature on my next car.

Regards,
BigRob.

kyfdx · March 2005

Good info, BigRob....

But, the question is:
1)Is the air cooled by the A/C system?
2)Or is it just ambient air from inside the cabin, drawn through the seats?

(Say #2, please....lol)

regards,
kyfdx

tayl0rd · March 2005

It's not really ambient air drawn through the seats. It's more that the heat from your body is pulled away from you which gives the effect of cooling because the heat doesn't build up.

I've noticed the vent fan on the back of the Mercedes seat. One bad thing about having the vent there is if you "rip one," it's going to blow right in the face of the person sitting behind you! LOL!

bigrobnh · March 2005

well, both are correct since the A/C runs almost all the time with the climate control system (when it's functional that is) so the air that is being drawn thru is conditioned. However, 2) is the most accurate.

I think the idea is to create enough air circulation to prevent moisture (sweat) from developing.

I've never had problems with sweat when using perforated leather, however, as I've already stated, I do like this feature.

Regards,
BigRob.

bigrobnh · March 2005

true. we've often joked that they should have had a charcoal filter w/it. Then again, it probably wouldn't work and would be 500 bucks to replace.

Regards,
BigRob.

Acura RL

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