Just a Honda with a facelift? I don't think so!
The new Acura RL is something to be admired. Asian car manufacturers are really stepping it up when it comes to performance and luxury (excluding the Prius!). What makes this car so great besides the chrome?
This is definitely not from Honda!
Interior: The Acura TL comes with a very lush and vibrant interior. I am still surprised. Most Asian cars never had this kind of workmanship or quality. The gauges are very easy to read. The buttons are a bit clustered, and some of them are a bit tiny.
The materials used are very rich, and they should be for the price. Not too much plastic, and at least it isn’t black and hard. The GPS display is a little bid hard to read in direct sunlight, but there are display setting to fix it. Other than that, visibility is great, easy to see.
Exterior: (See above picture for exterior) The exterior is one of the best in its class. Very nice lines, along with some nice (possibly too much) chrome. The headlights and taillights look amazing! The wheels that come with the car also look very nice, but brake dust is very noticeable. No complaints here!
Hardware: A/C and heat work great. The radio isn’t as good as the satellite version they offer. Some knobs feel a little bit flimsy, but otherwise the car is sound.
Nice little engine cover
Powertrain: Power comes from an aluminum-alloy V6, making 300 HP and 271 Ft/Lb of torque. Doesn’t sound like much? Well, after going through it’s 5-speed automatic transmission to all 4 wheels, this car has some step to it. Fuel economy is rated at 16/22 City/Highway.
Overall: This car deserves a solid 8.0 out of 10. Why 8? Well first off, I don’t believe the car is worth the $35,000 base price. It needs some more options thrown in, especially an option for a bigger engine, or a more fuel-economy minded one. That is just me. Does it mean that this car isn’t worth it? I don’t think so for it’s class. It does offer a lot from a company owned by Honda, but not for the class it belongs in.
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