Long-Term Road Test
Twenty years ago, Honda launched the Acura Legend, the first Japanese sedan to challenge the European luxury establishment. In 1996, the Legend evolved into the 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 acquired an '05 RL in February of that year. It cost $49,670 and came in only one form, no options: four-wheel drive, sunroof, a navigation system, xenon headlamps, and a Bose sound system with a six-CD changer. But now you can add run-flat tires and adaptive cruise control (with a collision-mitigation feature that automatically applies the brakes).
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.
Back home at 5222 miles, we got our Michigan dealer to fix the sunroof properly by replacing the motor assembly. There was no charge, as the RL comes with a four-year/50,000-mile warranty. The dealer also performed recalls involving the stereo speakers in the doors and updated the real-time traffic-control unit and the onboard computer. Just 600 miles later we found ourselves back at the dealer when the right-front window and outside-mirror mechanisms stopped working. The dealer ordered a new master switch to get them working again, but we kept driving the car and forcefully adjusted the mirror manually.
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. This time the side-view mirrors and both power outlets weren't working, and the interior trim on the B-pillar was loose because it hadn't been properly reattached at the previous visit. The trim was put back in place. The power-outlet problem turned out to be a blown fuse, but the dealer had to order a new mirror switch. That switch took more than a month to arrive and required two days at the dealership to replace it. All these minor failures were fixed under warranty.
Maybe we should have moved in with Mr. Acura, because at just over 33,000 miles, the left rear headrest wouldn't stay up, the power outlets were once again on the blink, the driver's-side washer-fluid nozzle needed realignment, and the navigation system was rebooting itself while in use. The dealer dutifully cured all these ailments and took care of three factory recalls that involved reprogramming the OnStar and AcuraLink software and the transmission for a fourth-gear-upshift problem.
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.
