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.
 |
| 2006 Acura RL (Photo: Acura) |
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.