Okay. In just about every Acura review online, you'll see something in regards to how people want the big "v8" in their big luxury car.. But is it going to be like this for long? Has it already changed? When I list my favorite big luxury cars - I think of my own Fleetwood Brougham, the Lexus LS, the Mercedes S-Class, the Infiniti Q45, the Lincoln Town Car and the Acura RL. The only one out of all these cars with a v6 is the Acura. With soaring gas prices (and rumors that they'll never go back down to where they were) - maybe the v6 in Acura's big luxury sedan was a good idea.. What do you think? If you want a big luxury car that's built very well and has great reliability - but want good gas mileage - what other choices are there?

you probably know that i'm very anti-rice, but in this case it's obvious. the Acura RL's 3.5 v6 with 225hp has 18/24 mpg while the Cadillac DeVille's 4.6 N* with 300hp has 18/26 mpg (that's city/highway respectively). Plus the DeVille is only about $5,000 more, or the SeVille wich cost about the same.

I leased a '97 RL for 39 months. It was very comfortable, averaged about 22mpg. The only word I can think of to describe it is BLAND.

It only had 210 hp. I would've been happier with a TL. They're redesigning the RL for '05, and it's supposed to be along the same lines as the new TL. A lot more power, which was their big mistake with the last design.

By the way, in every country except the US, it's still called a Legend. I owned two legends, an '87 and a '90. The RL was a huge disappointment by comparison. It cost over $10,000 more than the '90 Legend, but I'm not sure I ever found out where that money went.

supposely the big acura gets a hybrid drivetrain down the line soon from what ive read , thatd bring the torqe figures up and gas milage up with it

Well, if you want to sacrifice performance for fuel economy, go ahead. That's all there is to it.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/image/0412200418335937.jpg

rumored 300hp V6

more info at edmunds.com (http://www.edmunds.com/future/2005/acura/rl/100197761/preview.html?mktcat=preview&kw=N&mktid=in246434)

By the way, in every country except the US, it's still called a Legend.

There hasn't been a Legend for years here because they go by the numbers game now. On the other hand, I've never heard about the RL, but I think it might be the Honda Civic based EL that is supposedly ONLY available in Canada.

Today's V8's are getting near the mileage that the V6's are so I wouldn't panic about this. The gas prices are only supposed to last through the summer and then lower. It is mainy because of the war in Iraq, from what I heard on the Market news. If we panic and sell our Caddies, think of what wll happen to resale value, not to mention a damaged reputation because of thousands of them on dealer lots. They would have to practically give them away!

An alternative with a V6 that I would consider is the CTS base. I might even go with a Mazda 3 because they actually sold more of them than Honda did the Civic in the last 3 months.

I never understood why acura put that little V6 in their flagship while they had 260hp type S TL's & CL's. Acura is refusing to use V8's but their new RL will have a 300hp V6 and available AWD. The styling is very honda family sedan though...just like the new TL.

Well, if you want to sacrifice performance for fuel economy, go ahead. That's all there is to it.
in my first post i said that the fuel economy of a 2004 N* DeVille or SeVille is same in the city and better on highway then the 2004 RL. so you're not getting better fuel economy, just less performance :hmm:

Big car, small engine...

large man, small penis

Honda is devoted to its "simple is better, smaller is most efficient" design philosophy. Its what sells so many Civics, Accords, and Odysseys. But that same mindset crippled the NSX and continues to keep Acura on the bottom for luxury value and performance. If you own an Acura, youre either a practical luxury buyer, or a badge snob who didnt want to settle for a Honda.

Exception: there are models now that stand out, including the TL, TSX, RSX, and MDX. My Mom has an 04 MDX -- it drives and handles nicely without the "trucky" feel of other SUVs -- mostly because its just a beefier AWD version of the Honda Odyssey. The TSX, RSX, and TL emphasize compact and midsize sportiness but remain crippled by FWD configurations.

And the current RL? Proof that Acura can make great cars but still cant compete with Cadillac, MB, Infiniti, Lexus, Audi, and even Chrysler. I'm guessing the next RL will be FWD too.

-Jesda

The next RL is supposed to have a 300hp v6... Should be interesting. The Acura RL is a nice car...

The next RL is supposed to have a 300hp v6... Should be interesting. The Acura RL is a nice car...


The new RL will have a 3.5 liter VTEC V6 with 300 hp and 280 ft/lbs tq. Standard will be their new SH-AWD, which will combine all wheel drive with their pattented ATTS (active torque transfer system). That's where the SH comes in (super handling). The ATTS can automatically transfer tq from the wheel with the most to the wheel with the least. This goes beyond traction control or Stabilitrak. The front and rear differentials acutally have electro-hydraulic clutches for each individual wheel which can adjust not just throttle and braking, but the amount of actual mechanical torque each wheel gets.

That new 3.5L 300hp 280Tq is going to be almost exactly like the 3.5-4.0L unit that Ford is developing right now for Lincoln,Merc,Ford.