Hi guys and gals,
I was all set to buy the new IS350 but something has come up recently. I drove one yesterday and felt the car was just too cramped inside. The seating position was fine, it was just the size of the cabin. Anyways, I was thinking about getting the new GS300 before the IS350 came out but waited until I drove the new IS. Now, I am in a quandry of sorts. I stopped by the local Acura dealership and was floored by the new RL. The interior is just plain gorgeous! Yes, I also love the interior of the GS as well. So, I'm sure some of you cross shopped the RL with your GS and would love your opinions. Thanks in advance!

 

Maximus330... you should read Edmunds forums with regard to the RL. I was seriously considering one too until I read about all of the problems people are having with them.

I was on the waiting list for an IS350 since June then bought a GS300 last week because of the allocation issues with the IS. I wanted all of the bells and whistles. Apparently Lexus thought otherwise.

Get the GS... you'll be much happier with the purchase.

 

Thanks Bill. How do you like your GS so far?

 

i've had my GS for about 6 months now and i love it! i've seen the RLs on the road but to me they just dont have the same appeal as a GS does.

I know the features are pretty much the same, but this is a LEXUS..

 

I also was seriously looking at the RL as well, but when you look at from the side, it honestly looks like a glorified Accord. At least the GS has its own distinctive look. If I am going to drive a 50k car, I want it to look like one.

IMHO

 

Maximus330,
I owned the RL for 10 months before I was hit at an intersecton and the car was declared a total loss. I live in the northeast and wanted a car with AWD. Therefore, at the time I purchased the RL (Oct 2004), the GS 300 AWD was not available. After the accident I decided to purchase the GS 300 AWD and have NO regrets.

The RL is a great car; it saved my life - probably why it has a five star rating in all three categories of frontal, side crash and rollover tests conducted by the NHTSA. The interior is top notch (not that the GS's isn't). The AWD worked well; getting me though some pretty nasty snow storms. Its navigation system is superior to any I have seen (including Lexus) - voice commands are phenomenal. Bluetooth functions are also superior; that is, since I have Verizon wireless with motorola v710 (you can set up a phonebook in the acura that responds to voice commands). You also get alot of electronics for your money; including XM radio, onstar, nav-traffic (with realtime traffic), bose surround sound with mp3 capability, and active noise cancellation to name a few. I found realtime traffic was not always accurate, but that could be since it is such a new technology and may improve with age.

The downside of the RL - it is not a Lexus. Acura still does not hold the status of a Lexus. The RL's exterior is not as eye catching as the GS. I have the matador red exterior on my GS and have received many a praise from people about this color choice. The acura was desert mist metallic (gold). Acceleration had a lag before the acura's 300 hp engine kicked in. The acura also lacked rain sensing windshield wipers and folding side mirrors. Its passenger seat was only 4 way and only has an automatic day/night rearview mirror (not side mirrors, like the gs). When I would bring in the RL for service, obtaining a loaner car was a hassle - NOT up to the standards of Lexus like customer service. My lexus dealer told me that they coluld drive a loaner to my house and pick up my car for service - convience at its best.

Positives of the GS include push button start, ventilated seats, mark levinson sound system, ECD Instrumentation and phenomenal lighting effects when approaching the vehicle (especially at night). Fuel economy is better with the GS (approx 25 mpg with mixed driving vs barely 20 in the acura).

I only hope the GS performs as well as the acura in the snow. Either way, no regrets in buying the GS, just lots of enjoyment.

Hope my comments are helpful to your decission.

 

i see lots of RLs on thestreetsand highways i really like the look of the car, but it looks too small and doesnt have the status of a lexus

 

Very nicely compared. Great post.

 

I agree! Super post! I am still undecided. I now have 3-4 cars to decide from, the GS, IS350, BMW 330I and the Mercedes C350. Thanks again guys!

 

i was in the same situation back last december. i needed a new car and the rl was out and just begging to be purchased. luckily my friend at lexus got me atop the list for the gs in early feb or i might have purchased the rl. the interior lighting and nav w/ bluetooth were very impressive on the rl. i was maybe a little too excited by the 300hp number because driving the car left me fairly unimpressed. it's not to say the car isn't capable of great things but the engine cannot be measured by the hp number on the sticker. also, the cabin space and exterior look smallish, very honda accord. at the time i had only seen online images of the gs but it had so much more panache than the accord/rl. anyhow, the decision was somewhat tough because the nav screen(appears much bigger and sharper than lexus), handsfree(that actually functions) and the interior lighting(i like the blue). obviously i went with the lexus and never once have i been driving my gs and seen an accord/rl and had any regrets. i love this car----only wish i would have sprung for the 430.

 

Spectacular post!

 

If I was gonna consider an Acura, it would be the TL. It looks better than the GS imo and has good power. Obviously the drawback is that it is FWD. Since no one is racing it shouldn't be a big deal. I believe it comes in AWD too. Slap some wheels on it and it's one of the best looking sedans out there. Looks good stock. In fact I could drive it stock. I can't say that about the GS.

There's also the Infiniti M45.

 

The TL is only available with FWD. With the RL already having SH-AWD, hopefully next year they will move that technology over to the TL.

 

Maximus you really should just test drive all the cars several times and see what "you" like the best. Opinion wise you are going to get a Lexus bias here against the RL as you would get a RL bias against the Lexus GS on a Acura site. It all comes down to which car "you" like and prefer after test driving them and doing research and what kind of deal you can get. You cannot go wrong with either the RL or the GS or the Infiniti M in my opinion because they are all well built very nice cars that should be very reliable. I don't think the G, RL, or M have any issues or problems that we would warn you against or that one has a huge disadvantage over the other so it is really a matter of personal opinion. The BMW 330 and Mercedes E350 are nice cars too but you may be dealing with more relibility issues and other problems with those 2 cars especially the Mercedes unless Mercedes has recently adressed all the reliability concerns of the current lineup. I figure you would be looking at a 5 series if you are considering a Mercedes E class, RL, GS, since the 5 is closer in size and competition.

If you are considering an Infiniti M then it is generally a little more sporty then the 2 but does not have quite as nice fit/finish materials. The RL has everything standard including NAV and AWD and the Lexus generally has a smoother ride and a little more prestige of the brands, but all 3 are pretty close in what they do. The 300hp in the RL is not going to be as impressive as some may think because the RL weighs around 4000lbs and is channeling its power through an AWD drive system so you will not get the seat of the pants feeling a torquer rwd v-8 but the RL has plenty of power other wise. Good Luck and just test drive them and see what you like the most.

 

Go with the GS300 AWD. It will list around 47K and will not have quite the 300 HP or the sophisticated SHD AWD that the RL has but it is an excellent car and EXTREMELY well-assembled.....perhaps the best-assembled new car I ever looked at. Color choice, of course, is a personal matter but I think that of all the GS colors this year, the Matador Red is clearly the best...a stunning paint job.
The RL , as I stated,does have 290-300 HP but only 260 ft.-lbs. of torque..not that much more than the GS300's. 230 ft.-lbs.

I've already reviewed this car...I'll re-post it:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...view+mmarshall

If for any reason, you don't like the GS300 AWD (and you've already ruled out a new IS) check out the 2006 Subaru Legacy / Outback if you want AWD You will be amazed at what this car offers in fit-and-finish, power, and a classy interior for the price (25-30K)....especially the upper versons.