2005 Acura RL

While we've been minding our own business these past four years, Honda's upscale Acura arm has been revamping its product line. First came the 2001 MDX SUV and '02 RSX coupe. Then the sporty TSX and luxury TL debuted as '04s. Not coincidentally, U.S. Acura sales have swelled 77 percent from about 110K in 1998 to 195K in 2004.

Nearly three inches shorter but an inch wider than the '04, the new RL boasts sexier styling, a muscular 300-hp V-6, "revolutionary" all-wheel drive and a smorgasbord of new technology.

Now comes this all-new 2005 RL luxury sedan boasting sexier styling, a muscular 300-hp V-6, "revolutionary" all-wheel drive and a smorgasbord of new technology, including the first North American satellite-based real-time traffic information. With this "exhilarating and athletic sedan," Acura says, it aims to "redefine the luxury performance sedan category."


Among the RL's firsts is a standard AWD system that was 12 years in development. Acura claims the modestly dubbed "Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive" (SH-AWD) is "ground-breaking" as the first and only such system to distribute optimum torque not only front-to-rear, but also between left- and right-rear wheels. Normal cruising and moderate cornering sends up to 70 percent of the engine's available torque to the front wheels. Full-throttle acceleration or "spirited" driving diverts up to 70 percent to the rear wheels to enhance traction, and aggressive cornering routes up to 100 percent of the rear torque to the outside rear wheel and actually accelerates it slightly to improve stability and steering feel on wet or dry surfaces.


In the face of intensifying competition from Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz, Acura has been correctly criticized for (still) not offering either RWD or a V-8. The RL answers that criticism with its marriage of SH-AWD and a potent new high-tech V-6 that out-powers all other V-6s and most V-8s in its class.

This 3.5-liter, 24-valve aluminum VTEC V-6 is its most powerful ever, generating 300 hp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque?up from the '04's 225 hp and 231 lb.-ft.

This 3.5-liter, 24-valve aluminum VTEC V-6 is its most powerful ever, generating 300 hp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque—up from the '04's 225 hp and 231 lb.-ft. A pair of close-coupled primary catalytic converters give it quicker light-off, and a secondary under-floor catalyst helps lower emissions by 75 percent from LEV to LEV2-ULEV standards while delivering 18mpg City/26 Highway EPA economy. It drives through a 5-speed SportShift manumatic that you can shift sequentially through either the console lever or steering wheel paddles.