larrynimmo

Fellow enthusiasts...I have enjoyed my time for the past three months reading the Club Lexus forum. When I came to the forum I had already made my mind up to buy a new 07ES. After awhile I decided to buy the 08ES because of all the failed transmissions, unintended acceleration, and other quality issues. While the 07 is a first year model there were a lot of loose ends in terms of issues. I found out from my local dealer that in 08 less than 4% of the 08ES will be UL...they told me they wouldnt be discounting them much. The UL in their eyes was going to be truely a special edition car.

Just for the heck of it, I test drove the RL and purchased the Non-tech RL 07. I am giving up the sleek panaramic roof...the UL wheels...ventilated seats...and most of all the NAV system. I consider the RL's stereo to be at least as good as the ML, and the RL has a GPS fix and GPS based compass all the time. It has XM radio (which I won't likely maintain). The seats are much more comfortable...the car is electronically 4 wheel drive and you can feel the difference on back roads ...The RL's two front seat area gives you a more spacious feeling (don't know for sure about the dimensions)

The RL's paint quality is second to none...although I would think the ES is in the same quality class...the RL has tons of unique technology items that you really have to control yourself and take the time to learn yourself. While I consider myself to be tech oriented, yet that is of little help when I am sitting there and want to intuatively make an adjustment on something that requires a menu search. If I drove a lot of miles, the RL gets terrible fuel mileage...the RL (with the whopping 290 HP) seems to be anemic except when you floor the pedal which then gives you the 4 barrell kick of my 69 corvette.

jerfitz

We too almost bought an Acura RL but decided on the Lexus ES350 because its safety features were FAR SUPERIOR to the RL. So far our ES350 has been trouble free for its first 1,500 miles. BTW, we have an Acura MDX that has been trouble free for it's first 28,000 miles. Best of luck with your RL.

VroomVroom

Congratulations....it's a terrific car. The SH-AWD is absolutely outstanding. From the driver's seat, there's honestly no comparison. The ES is a FWD vehicle. The RL is AWD that splits the torque l-r as well as f-r. I'd compare SH-AWD very favorably to Audi's Quattro system, which is the best I've experienced. My wife doesn't care much about that, and everything beyond the driver's seat is what made the ES an easier choice for us. We test drove both extensively and one of the factors was rear seat leg and headroom...both quite a bit less in the RL than in the ES.

In any case, it's worthwhile to remember that the RL is Acura's flagship, while the ES is Lexus' sedan volume leader. Comparisons are apt only because the RL sells so poorly the discounts are enormous...putting it in the same price point as the ES. Realistically, they're far different vehicles. I'd be very curious as to the reliability of that 4% figure for UL versions of the ES. That just doesn't sound right to me. 25% or even 33% seems a lot more realistic. Why would Lexus deny itself the profit when it's there for the taking?

I would question you on the paint quality. As someone who has detailed both, I'll take Toyota paint any day of the week over Honda. The latter's clearcoat is remarkably thin and soft...make sure you keep a good coat of wax/sealant on it.

Anyway, congrats and enjoy the car. One thing you didn't mention was exclusivity...you'll definitely see far fewer RL's on the road than ES's.

UDel

Congratulations on the RL, I test drove a couple a few years ago and was hooked. It had one of the nicest interiors I have ever seen especially for a sub 100K car. It rode and handled very well and it looks very nice in black and dark grey. I debated if I wanted to spend over 40K on one but decided against it until maybe later and got a used GS430. The RL is in a notch above the ES and really competes with the new GS in which I still like the RL better then the GS. It is ashame many people only judge the RL by how underwelming the last one was and that it does not have a v-8 or its own rwd platform because it is a truly great car with a fantastic interior. Even though it is not selling that well I see a bunch of them up in Delaware and have seen far more on the road the new GSs and Infiniti Ms.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

The RL is a great upgrade from the ES350. As nice as the ES is, the RL is a "flagship," and will have much more bells and whistles than the ES.

larrynimmo

paint quality and finish....Both of my Toyota Avalons had really great paint jobs and have held up well. In my life of new cars (about 12) my last car the 2003 Acura TL had the worst quality paint of any car that I have ever owned. That being said, I think the RL has the best quality paint...better than the Toyotas. The Toyotas are Silver Spruce (medium green) and Gold.

The Acura TL was Rondondo Red and the RL is a pearl white car. The day I brought the TL home, I saw at least 20 paint defects (but decided to live with it) I can't find one single bad spot on the pearl white.

VroomVroom

Not to stray off too far on the tangent, but what do you mean by defects? I've seen a lot of dealer-induced problems, but aside from the obvious (orange peel) I've never seen anything that's clear to the naked eye on a new vehicle.

LexBob2

I had an '03 pearl white Avalon. I forget the name of the color but it was an extra cost option, for some unknown reason. It was perfect and held up very well. The SGM on our Lexus is perfect as well. I've had to touch up a couple of rock chips. It's a bummer, that's going to happen. I think the paint finishes on all new cars have come a long way, and most seem to be very good these days. I guess we can thank the robots??

onsknht

Disagree^^^^

We can thank the EPA and various other groups for the declining quality of paint. I'm not saying it isn't good to curb environmental issues, but we have actually lost some "quality" in the process... Paints today are uniformly applied (thanks to robots, etc.) and it is a nicer product when "new." But I think there's little if any regard these days by mfgs. to make products last beyond a 4-6 year lifespan in "showroom condition." I get a kick out of all the 5 year old vehicle on the road with originally clear headlamps, today they're "tranlucent" at best.

Finally on the RL... Acura/Lexus have differtiated themselves for years, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. To me what is surprising is the build cycle between the two companies. Acura is coming up on a major facelift, their cars were more advanced a couple years ago and now Lexus catches up... Now the Acuras are a HUGE bargain! RLs are selling for cheap, my TL was sub 30k brand new and that's a lot of car when compared to say a 30k Camry XLE?

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

Congrats.

I, too, considered the RL. However, small details turned me off and I went with a 3GS. Well, I started with the 3GS and looked at the M35x and RL as well as some other SUVs.

twister

RL is a great car, no doubt about it. But an interesting fact is that RL is AWD based on FWD, while GS is AWD based on RWD. In a good weather GS has 70/30 powertrain split performing almost like a sporty RWD, while I believe RL is either full time 50/50 or more toward FWD. Those are just small details Usually, when you fall in love with a car, you use every possible detail to justify its preference over others

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Great choice. The RL is an upgrade from the ES. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. Your paint comment is on par with mmarshall's review in the Car Chat forum. According to him, the interior/build quality is top notch!

LexFather

Congrats, the RL is a good car.