2006 Acura RL Road Test

2006 Acura RL (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com)

Something like that anyhow. With this angry visage mounted to an otherwise discreet body, one thing is clear: this is a performance sedan for those who want to fly under the radar, so to speak. There are many reasons for this desire--I'll leave it up to your imagination.

Step inside and you'll discover the interior to be of stark contrast to
the RL's calm outer skin. It's what's on the inside that counts, after all. The front seats are trimmed in gorgeous, soft leather with padding that isn't too firm and isn't too cushy. With a plethora of power adjustments, one can quickly sport the perfect driving position. The seats will go from lounge-ish and laid back to near racing buckets or anywhere in between with a few button presses. There is even power lumbar support, and the seats are air conditioned and heated too. After a 6-hour highway trip in the RL, I wasn't suffering from road legs, typical when driving lesser machines. Even with the sunroof, headroom is plentiful, though rear-seat room is at best cramped for 5 adults. I took 800 pounds worth of passengers for a road trip and found myself drowning out complaints from the rear quarters with the marvelous Bose stereo.

As visually striking as it is comfortable (for four, not five), the RL has acres of leather, wood, chrome and metallic pieces, broken up by the controls and various information displays. The center stack consists of a multifunction control panel with a joystick-like knob allowing access to just about any function. It's got a little bit of a learning curve, though it's an interesting idea. I've got mixed feelings about having to navigate through sub-menus to change climate control settings, but maybe I'm just old fashioned.

Another smaller display cleverly built into the stereo's center channel in the middle of the dash shows the driver what the climate control is up to, as well as what the audio system is playing at a glance. A third display in the instrument cluster contains information on fuel economy, fuel range, outside temperature and even has an ingenious display to show you what the all-wheel drive system is up to. Funny, because the all-wheel drive meter is most interesting to watch when you are accelerating through a corner, in which case the display is covered by your hand on the steering wheel. Should, for some reason, you wish to know how much air is in each tire, it will show you that as well. It's always good to be informed.

2006 Acura RL (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com)

Showing off cutting edge technology is the name of the game in the realm of the RL and its playmates. The central control system and multiple multifunction displays come as part of a tendency within this market to put such features to use in order to wow drivers and passengers alike. It's not all about joystick-operated climate control and entertainment centers either. The RL has more than a few other bits of gadgetry to show off. The Active Front Lighting System, or AFS, for instance, does a magnificent job of directing light into nighttime corners by pivoting the lens on the inner light in the direction of the steering. There is an available laser-guided cruise control system too, called ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) that allows the RL to maintain a safe following distance between itself and other traffic by backing off on the throttle where needed. The keyless start system allows access to the car and the ignition without ever taking the fob out of your pocket or briefcase--one less thing to worry about when entering or exiting.

This is a great feature in theory, but the RL represents two for two times where I've used it (the first time being on a Mazdaspeed6), found it interesting and then wished for a normal system. It's something I may not have had the time to learn the intricacies of in my week with it, but it can be fussy in some situations when even the unlock button on the remote won't open all the doors.

A voice navigation system allows you to verbally instruct the car to perform certain tasks, from adjusting the climate control, to changing your CD, to operating the navigation system. The latter is very intelligent,

2006 Acura RL (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com)

user-friendly and uses detailed maps. You can even ask the system, verbally, to locate you the nearest Chinese restaurant, ATM or hydrogen fueling station, for some reason. When I was growing up, this was the stuff of the future. Cars that understand what you say to them were just fiction not so very long ago, and though voice navigation can be had on almost anything nowadays, there is still something smugly satisfying when the polite cyber-assistant repeats your command to you and does what you ask.