Picture Gallery: 2007 Acura RL Elite
Day 1:
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The first thing you notice when you slide into the driver’s seat of the RL is the smell of leather — or perhaps more precisely defined as the smell of chemical treatment. I don’t mind the smell, but some may find it a little on the strong side. The next thing you notice are design elements such as the swooping dash that surrounds the cockpit giving you a real sense of space and visually extending the width of the car.
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The standard RL package — it wouldn’t be right to call it the base model — includes such things as Navigation, rear backup camera etc., so what do you get for $5,600? Well, you get more acronyms! There’s AFS (Active Front Lighting System), ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), CMBS™ (Collision Mitigation Braking System™) and a few luxury trim items like genuine curly maple wood trim and ventilated front seats that are heated and cooled.
The RL is Acura’s halo vehicle right now, being the most luxurious vehicle they build and packed with the most technology. The RL is powered by Acura’s 3.5Litre V6 engine producing 290hp and 256lb/ft of torque, mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with sequential SportShift and steering wheel mounted paddle shifters.
The RL was the first vehicle in Acura’s line-up to put its power down to the pavement using the SH-AWD system, which actively transfers power forward and back as well as side-to-side to provide the best possible traction in all situations.
2007 Acura RL Elite
MSRP as tested: $71,275
For more information on Acura and the RL visit Acura Canada
Day 2:
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You see, the clock is built into the navi and HVAC system controls; it’s all one big computer. I tried turning off the automatic clock settings and setting the clock manually, but it always returns to the default settings when I turn the car off. Perhaps it’s in the vehicle configuration menu — I’ll look into that tomorrow.
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Front seat passenger space seems ample and headroom and leg room are great. In the rear, I find the space to be adequate as well, but only as a four seat vehicle, as the centre hump in the rear eats into headroom, resulting in a crooked neck and bruised head from the headliner for the middle passenger.
The front seats are heated and cooled, which eliminates both the problem of cold seats in the winter and hot seats in the summer. And the headrests are very squishy and supple, giving you a great place to take a nap… while parked, of course.
There are so many buttons on the steering wheel and on the dash that it can be a little overwhelming. I’m a techie and have a hard time remembering where some of the settings are on this vehicle. I can’t imagine a non-technical person even being able to understanding half of the controls in the RL. It seems if you want to play in the ultra-luxury arena these days, you have to have some type of complex computer system to make it feel like you’re driving a space ship. While I find it cool, I’m not sure the drivers in the real target market for this vehicle would see the necessity of all the gadgets.
Day 3:
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The SH-AWD system does seem to keep the vehicle easily on the intended path, and if you manage somehow to read the SH-AWD readout while in a corner, you’ll see that torque is distributed to the outside rear wheel as you accelerate through it, which reduces understeer in a corner for better handling.
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Since the weather has finally warmed up, I had a chance to test the driver’s seat cooling function: a wonderful feature on a warm day to keep your posterior at room temperature. The one-touch sunroof and auto-up down windows all around make for a pleasant spring drive at the touch of a few buttons.
Other notable buttons include the one for the rear sunshade, which I think would be great to use as a bulletin board for those tailgaters. By the way, tailgating is something you don’t want to be do in the RL unless you turn off the collision mitigation braking system. If you approach a vehicle to within about five feet, while moving and not touching the brakes, the vehicle will beep and a huge orange “BRAKE” message comes on the screen.
At that point if you were not paying attention, it is a little too late to brake. Nevertheless I’m all for safety devices that could save lives or prevent damage to a vehicle.
Day 4:
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Gas mileage over the week was about average for this type of vehicle. On the highway, I averaged around 9L/100km and in the city, closer to 13L/100km.
The RL really is an unassuming vehicle. If you are looking for a vehicle with high quality and lots of gadgets and luxury, the RL delivers. But if you want to be flashy, this is not the vehicle for you. My neighbors all asked how much the vehicle cost and assumed it was in the $40,000 range. The RL is one way to spend your money and not be the talk of the party.
NOTE: The clock problem I had was due to the keyfob / remote not being programmed as a memory remote. Doing so solved the clock issue, which was also partly due to the recent changes to daylight savings time. Acura has a fix available for this issue as well.
*Rating out of 5:
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*Rating based on vehicle’s classification
2007 Acura RL Elite
MSRP as tested: $71,275
For more information on Acura and the RL visit Acura Canada
April 17, 2007, 10:15:30 pm Better cars out there for the money, IMO.
April 17, 2007, 11:03:15 pm Coming from a TL, the quality of engineering can be pointed out in the RL. The doors had better fit and finish, the wiper blades were excellently designed, the leather is oh so much softer. Too bad all of this engineering effort can't validate the RL's relatively high MSRP and rather unsporting driving characteristics. I think this is a real competitor to the M from Infiniti and the GS from Lexus - but go to Tokyo and you'll see no RL/Legends, the competition galore.
April 18, 2007, 01:20:50 am The RL is a solid car, but for the money I think most people (including myself) would take their hard earned dollars to the Lexus dealership for a GS350. While the RL may have more electronic hoo-ha's and gizmos, most people in this marketing segment are interested in luxery and a touch of sport. From what I've heard, Acura doesn't sell many of these, and will be looking to replace in 2 or so years.
April 18, 2007, 07:36:38 am
I do not think the GS350 would be a better choice, with so many owners upset with the faulty transmission and with how Toyota is "not" handling the issue.http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/local_links/links/11
IMO, the RL lack of sales is all about the pricing. For the TL owner to move up to the RL, the price jump is quite drastic and I think if Acura had of priced the RL starting in the low $50,000 range then more TL owners would move up to the RL. I have no facts to back this up, but any TL owners I know have not moved up to the RL.
April 18, 2007, 07:53:08 am Agreed, much better cars for similar money. Once in a while Honda makes a mistake.
April 18, 2007, 08:30:04 am
It has alot to go wrong with it with all that electronic gadgetry (even if that is what people want today). It's pricey, and not the best looking girl on the dance-floor by a long shot.
April 18, 2007, 08:47:15 am $70-80K cars right now look very overpriced thanks to the incredible emphasis that makers have placed on the $40-50K bracket. The 3-series, G35, TL, IS and so on are so good that the higher priced cars just don't offer that much for the huge jump in price.
April 18, 2007, 10:34:20 am Probably the RL would sell better in Canada if it would follow the US/CAN exchange rate. If you consider 1 USD=1.2 CAD the ELITE would be 63000 CAD not 71000 CAD. That is before taxes. So, probably a loss of minimum 9000. A lot for me, at least.
April 18, 2007, 12:38:06 pm For 70 large, I would be more inclined to an M45. An A-Spec RL would be nice, but I still think a V-8 is required for this snack bracket.
April 18, 2007, 12:42:19 pm I think it's too small as a flagship model. If I didn't regularly have people in the rear, would consider. It's a nice piece.
April 18, 2007, 12:49:50 pm It's interesting to know that these doodads do add up to trouble : the current-gen RL was the least reliable long-term car in Car and Driver's fleet from many years in memory (the truly awful cars were early '80s GM).
April 18, 2007, 01:00:41 pm
More complexity means more potential problems--just look at Mercedes-Benz. While Honda has a better reputation for doo-dad reliability than your typical European car, Honda is not perfect either. Given enough complexity, the deck of cars will still collapse.
April 18, 2007, 01:06:14 pm does the RL come with the Legends (Honda's JDM version) power trunk lid (closing)? i think unless people has problem with their shoulder or the trunk lid is 200kg, it kinda useless...
check out the local japan video test drive with "english" anchor of honda legend which show the power trunk closing function at around 2"40' (btw, it is HD quality if you download it): "triple W"+"nihoncar.com/en/review-284-Honda+Legend+Test+Drive%2C+HDTV"+".html"
[i have less than 10posts, no link allow to be posted yet
April 18, 2007, 03:48:46 pm At that price, I'd get a TL and a CR-V.
April 18, 2007, 05:14:03 pm I don't think the RL is over priced compared to it's competitors:
Base RL (290hp): $63,900
M35 AWD (275hp): $59.900
GS 350 AWD (303hp): $65,250
535xi (300hp): $71,500
A6 3.2 quattro (255hp): $62,700
E280 4matic (228hp): $65,500
Listed above, only the RL has navi standard and in general is better equipped than any one of those cars. So pricing wise it can be seen as a bargain. Problem is many people don't put Acura in the same category as a Benz or Lexus. Not even an Audi or Infiniti. Acura's philosophy has always been to under cut the competition in pricing. What Acura needs to do is remove the standard navi and de-content it so base price is under $55,000. But continuing their current philosophy won't help Acura achieve a true "luxury" status and they know that. I think that's why they're trying to price the RL higher. So that it is more in-line with other luxury auto makers. Another thing hurting the RL is that the previous RL was so bad. The current RL is a very competent car in it's own right (was a C&D 10 best in 2005).
The RL is the perfect Honda. Just not a very good Acura.
April 19, 2007, 11:11:27 am While the RL has a good value compared to those models, it doesn't have the image and status like they do, I think.
April 19, 2007, 12:02:09 pm
Base RL (290hp): $63,900
M35 AWD (275hp): $59.900
GS 350 AWD (303hp): $65,250
535xi (300hp): $71,500
A6 3.2 quattro (255hp): $62,700
E280 4matic (228hp): $65,500
Listed above, only the RL has navi standard and in general is better equipped than any one of those cars. So pricing wise it can be seen as a bargain. Problem is many people don't put Acura in the same category as a Benz or Lexus. Not even an Audi or Infiniti. Acura's philosophy has always been to under cut the competition in pricing. What Acura needs to do is remove the standard navi and de-content it so base price is under $55,000. But continuing their current philosophy won't help Acura achieve a true "luxury" status and they know that. I think that's why they're trying to price the RL higher. So that it is more in-line with other luxury auto makers. Another thing hurting the RL is that the previous RL was so bad. The current RL is a very competent car in it's own right (was a C&D 10 best in 2005).
The RL is the perfect Honda. Just not a very good Acura.
Still, think it a tad small as a luxury brand's flagship model.
April 19, 2007, 12:38:22 pm
I think a modest increase in size and a V8 under the hood would make it a better contender, especially if they stick to this segment.
I seem to recall hearing rumours that the next-gen RL might have the V10 out of the new NSX? That would be interesting...
April 20, 2007, 11:44:23 am For some reason Day #3 runs into Day #2.
April 20, 2007, 12:10:00 pm Wing, the clock thing is probably because the central computer is programmed to follow the usual resetting dates. All device with that built-in feature have the problem, which is much worse than the whole "Y2K" thing. I deal with traffic lights for a living, and this new US measure is driving us nuts "#$%?&*(). Some traffic light regulators don't allow editing the auto date, so we were stuck with rush hour traffic light programs that came in a hour late, school zones programs came on a hour late, ....