2006 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

2006 Acura RL (Photo: Acura)

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)

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.