STIG

RON430

Actually, my comments about room don't equate room to luxury, just comfort. At 6'1" and 210 I just can't imagine ever doing an MR2 again or anything much tighter than the GS. And I have gotten finicky, I figure a four door ought to have a back seat people could actually use to go with the doors. I enjoy performance but the traffic around here doesn't let you do much other than stay out of other peoples way. May be why I believe I will wind up with something LS sized next time. Glad you're happy with the RL, maybe you'll be keeping it longer than your other recent rides. I guess you are the target market for it.

RON430

Fought my way in to, and out of, the bimmer shop after lunch. 530 comes standard on 17s with 18s a no cost option (at least that is what the salesman said). The one I looked at, no navi but automatic, was 48.3 (looked like a couple of grand off MSRP - not a good sign for 5 series sales) and yes the interior is awful. But I do fully agree, the 5 series shopper won't go look at the RL. But it does sound like a lot of Lexus owners will.

dseag2

Don't. I could have probably retired young by now if I wasn't such a car freak.

dseag2

You're probably right. When I've car shopped recently my choices have been limited to Lexus, Infiniti and Acura. I did the German thing with an '02 Audi A6 and was so appalled by the service I swore I'd never go German again. That, questionable reliability, and the unfavorable dollar vs. euro exchange, have kept BMW, M-B and Audi out of my consideration set. I don't disagree that BMW is a great driver's car, but most of my time is spent in rush hour traffic so I want something supremely comfortable that is also competent when I need it to be.

I haven't seen anything tempting enough to lure me back to German cars... until the new M-B CLS. IMHO, it is one of the most attractive designs to hit the road since the SC300/400. But that one will definitely have to wait a few years.

RON430

Don't know if the CLS is officially available or not yet but have you seen it? It might be just too strenuous for my now ageing body but doggone is that stylish. Makes the M5 look like a Kia. Everything I have read says it is surprisingly comfortable inside, even for tall folks. But that reliability. Hard to go back. The freshened 7 is rumored to be getting a big bump in hp and that is tempting but outside of the common complaints about the GS (suspension, noise, sun shade rattle), the worse thing is boredom. It does't break, it doesn't degrade, nothing. Sorry to hear about the Audi but I know someone else who had a bad experience wtih Audi. But the new snout is actually not that bad. It is much better in person than the pictures IMO. You don't get the feeling of the big gaping hole like the pictures lead you to believe. And the interior of the new A6 is impressive although tending more and more to euro fussy. But to go back to bimmer reliability - no thanks. I hope the RL is more than just the latest model in that price point. The electrics in the drive train do bother me a bit but just have to wait and see if there are any reliability issues hiding there. Acura deserves better than the neglect Honda has treated their owners with for many years.

dseag2

This may help explain the owners' satisfaction with the RL...

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/vehi..._1213test.html

Hope the link works!

LexFather

I've been more excited looking and reading about grass growing. In the winter.

dseag2

To each his own, but well-worn ES300 = Glass Houses, my friend.

Iceman

You REALLY don't like the new RL, do you? In the years I've known you, I first though you were an Acura hater but then found you're an all-around auto enthusiast (I guess you've always been a fan of the Legend and NSX), but now you're getting awfully harsh on Acura. You've jumped right on the "they don't offer a V8 and no RWD and they build some cars in the States and they had a tranny problem and they sell a car for under $30K so they SUCK" bandwagon!

I'm pretty happy with the RL redesign, and that graphite color you posted is the best I've seen on the car thus far. You have to admit that Acura continues to push the envelope of USEFUL technology that actually WORKS and it USER-FRIENDLY, hopefully driving Lexus to passionately pursue perfection of their own.

Incendiary

Sexy color, decent curves, and beautiful DC in the background. What more could you want?

mmarshall

Try DRIVING in D.C. It is the roughest, choppiest, most pothole-filled place you will find in the U.S. outside the Snow Belt. The city streets are littered with blown tires, bent wheels, and knocked-off wheel covers.

RON430

FWD is well known for extreme understeer. Most cars are set up to understeer because it is safer. With RWD, and enough hp, you have the option to induce trailing throttle oversteer. In other words make the rear end want to go wide with more power. In that respect you are steering with throttle which is true, braking also has interesting effects in turns. The RL is basically FWD with a sophisticated AWD setup. The electronics will actually push more torque to the outside rear wheel in order to make the car more neutral by inducing oversteer to overcome the inherent understeer that is exagerated with so much weight on the front end (it is not unique in this respect). So it will overcome the inherent FWD understeer with a software driven oversteer inducing component. Now how you count on how much the electronics will put in and whether it is the right amount, whether you want more, whether you want less, whether the turn may be decreasing (or increasing) radius which should baffle its tiny electronic mind, are all issues that very few people will ever get in to. But for people who do favor the balance of RWD and making the car do what they want it to do (for better or worse), they may not be big fans of the RL drivetrain. Nothing to get perturbed about, the RL may be the best 50K car in the world but there isn't that big a market for 50K cars (as opposed to say 15K cars) and they won't get all the sales in that price point anyway. That's why there are so many models out there. As for the V8, well 300hp is 300hp and I am not so hung up cylinder count but I respect those that are. As far as I can see, the mileage of the RL is dependent on 300hp and not six cylinders. It doesn't seem to get much if any better mileage than any other modern car with 300hp.

Certainly electronics are going to be a bigger part of our automotive experience. Good grief, we have guys here change shocks and destroy the ABS sensors and get warning lights out the kazoo. Modding the RL is certainly not going to be impossible, but it is going to take a while. And I would not want to have problems with that drivetrain or computer. I'll bet you it won't be cheap. Hope everyone else is getting tired of talking about the RL, I know I am.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I'd hit it.

RJML

Here are pics of my RL.

I personally like the look of the car as I think its conservative look is nice. I do feel the TL looks better and the IS (which I traded in) to me looks better than both the TL and RL. What I do know is I'd take the RL's appearance any day over the new GS's exterior but hey, I am more into conservative styling it would seem since I think the LS430 is a great looking car and many say it is bland/ugly.

It is a shame some seem to trash the car without ever having driven it but I guess biased opinions will exist. All I know is the car handles great (reminds me a lot of the IS300 in how it takes turns) and its interior is phenomenal as are all the features it has. Really, to those who think it will drive like some big FWD car...you need to go drive the thing and be proven wrong....or don't. Doesn't matter to me but as a fan of great cras I think this one is pretty damn impressive and will be hard to beat in the all around package area.

My parents own a loaded LS430 which is the most impressive car I have been around and you know what? The RL comes close to it. If the new GS can better the RL as an all around package I will be amazed and very impressed.

Here's hoping Lexus does it since I am a huge Lexus fan and always will be unless they really start to screw up thier cars somehow