2005 Acura Rl Review
For Honda being the most expensive of the three major car companies from Asia, they haven't measured up on their Acura's, however; as is the case with all Honda's; one thing remains the same across the board: reliability, fit and finish are superb....
If you go into an Acura dealership and ask to see the RL today, you'll probably hear the salesman saying something to this effect: The RL is loaded at $52,000, just go down the street and check out the Lexus LS 460, you'll see it goes for close to $90,000 fully loaded and if you get the LS600H; you'll be spending over $120,000 to purchase one, likewise Infiniti: the M45 goes for $60,000 + loaded! Here you can purchase the RL for considerably less.' Where as this is true, Acura just hasn't measured up to Honda's unbeatable reputation for building great looking cars at reasonable prices, but again: the RL is a wonderful car in its own right.
Depreciation on the RL is steeper than on both: Lexus and Infiniti flagships. You'll rarely if ever get a good deal on a used LS460, or on the Infiniti M45; although you'll most likely get a better deal on the M45 than on the Lexus...the RL is a much better deal; making it hard to beat price wise.
The 2005 comes with a standard 3.5 V6 producing 300 horsepower. On thing about Honda, it has always been 'cutting edge' in technology. So is it any wonder that this Acura was at the forefront of technological advances when it first appeared in late 2004; XM satellite radio, real time traffic monitoring system, navigation system...and just about every other amenity under the Sun; which to get on a Lexus or Infiniti you would need to spend thousands more. Also an all wheel drive system that is probably not quite up there with Audi, but leaves little if anything to be desired.
Honda's have always been the sportiest of all the Japanese brands. Just look at how close to the ground they're, and you'll see Audi/BMW cues on all if not most of their products...Acura is no different. The RL is great looking both interior/exterior; showing Honda's sport heritage throughout: "wide, muscular stance" and the "dramatically sloping hood leads down to an aggressive front fascia with angular headlight treatment." 72 inches wide keeps the car hugged on to the road for decent performance; all this helped by the car's 193 inches long body, and last but not least: 110 inches power train...17 inch wheel also help to improve this car's above average performance; although it still falls short to an Audi or BMW, but again: you just can't beat the price. The interior is very well dressed. Wood and leather abound to improve the car's cockpit. Also, a Bose system is included, and one thing you can say about both Acura and Honda products is: they're most of the times fully loaded, leaving very little on the options list. Something that neither Lexus or Infiniti can't say.... The Kelly Blue Book on this 2005 model is around $25,000-$26,000.
