2005 Acura RL

2005 Acura RL - Built through 2004, the RL posed no serious threat to its German rivals until the redesigned model appeared in 2005. That RL wound up on our 10Best list. And last May, it beat up some serious German middleweights — the Mercedes E350, BMW’s 530i, an Audi A6 4.2 — but still came up short to an Infiniti, the impressive M45. In 2006, the Acura fell off our 10Best list.

We hit the road and started piling on the miles. Unfortunately, after only two weeks and 3456 miles on the clock, we found ourselves at the dealer’s door because the RL’s sunroof got stuck with its rear edge open in the vent position. The dealer couldn’t fix it, but we had to be in New Orleans pronto, so we took the MacGyver route, spending $1.68 for the sticky silver stuff and duct-taping the thing shut.

The service intervals on the RL are determined by an oil-life monitoring system, and your style of driving determines when and what gets serviced. Our first service came at 7032 miles and consisted of an oil and oil-filter change for a frugal $34. The maintenance computer called for subsequent services every 7000 to 8000 miles. Most were just oil and oil-filter changes, except for the work done at 29,748 miles, which involved a thorough inspection of the RL and new air filters in the cabin and engine. All five scheduled services over 40,000 miles set us back $427. Not much, but there are luxury automakers — BMW, Audi — who offer this maintenance as part of the purchase price.

We were back at the dealer two weeks and 1400 miles after our first scheduled service because the master power switch had arrived by carrier pigeon, apparently, and soon our faulty window and mirror were working again. Two thousand miles later the sunroof quit a second time. The dealer blamed it on a loose electrical wire. A month and a half and 5000 miles later, we were once again enhancing our budding relationship with the man from Acura.

Still, all these dealer visits didn’t reduce the RL’s popularity around the office, and the Acura continued to be the chariot of choice for long-distance trips. The logbook was full of testimony concerning its quality seats, deemed not only comfortable but also supportive when the driving grew spirited. The combination of a relaxing interior and superb sound system made long grinds easier to take in one sitting.

Complaints, yes, we got complaints. The ignition knob on the steering-wheel column seemed a dumb idea and left at least two editors stranded with a dead battery because they hadn’t turned the knob all the way off. In a car with a traditional ignition, they wouldn’t have been able to remove the key and kill the battery. Several folks here also barked about the programmable driver preferences for the seat and steering-wheel positions, door lock and unlock settings, and lighting choices. Confusingly, some of these were accessed via the navigation screen, and others were controlled through a screen in the instrument cluster by buttons on the steering wheel.

There was no retribution by C/D staff for the eight unscheduled visits to the dealer. The Acura RL continued to be a staff favorite for comfy trips, short or long. The Acura suffered from a lot of minor problems — dare we reach for the “teething” metaphor? — that would nonetheless rate as a major pain to a “real life” owner, even though this swift, adroit cruiser benefited from a faultless and slick powertrain.