05-08 Acura RL/Honda Legend

[Apexbender]

I am looking at entry level luxury car (and I mean entry level because of the year not the quality) and I wanted to know if any of the member owns or owned one (05-08 Acura RL/Honda Legend) and what are their opinion on the car. Thank you in advance and have a great day.

[HardInThePaint]

Never owned one but if you end up getting one you are winning... Automatically.

[trinistylez]

The rl is a really nice car, i too have had my eyes set on them for a while too. . I would say even for the year, its more than just your entry level luxury car when it comes to honda.

The 03 tl type s a spec model is a nice car too. Or even the tl generation after that one. The tsx is nice too.

[deevergote]

I always thought "entry level" simply meant the low end... Lexus IS or ES, Infiniti G, Acura TSX, BMW 1/3 series, Benz C Class, Audi A3/4...

The RL (Legend in every other market ) is Honda/Acura's flagship!

Anyway, it's a beautiful car inside and out. 300ish horsepower, AWD. I've never heard any complaints about reliability.

However, I rode in one once. It was very nice... and quite possibly the most BORING car I've ever been in. Fortunately, being a car that sold for what... 50+k?... it was likely owned by a mature adult, maintained properly, and never abused. That's a definite plus.

[Nurega]

From what I can remember in my readings, Car and Driver had a long-term 40,000 mile test of an Acura RL back in 2005. They had quite a few issues with it - 8 unscheduled dealer visits - if I remember correctly. If you can look up that article, I'm sure you will find a good idea of what you're getting into. It did win 2nd place in a Car and Driver $50k Luxury Sedan comparison though, same year.

Definitely check reliability ratings from Consumer Reports, etc. The car has excellent handling characteristics with its torque-vectoring AWD system, decent fuel efficiency, and some of the all-time BEST front seats of any car on the market.

*This is entirely from my memory. If you request, I can go into my collection of car magazines and dig up the article.

[Nurega]

I dug up the magazines.

It was the May 2005 issue for "The $55k Question" comparison, and April 2006 for the long-term test.

The reliability complaints were mostly minor electrical issues; I'm sure they were fixed by the 2006 model year. In the comparison test, it beat the Lexus GS430, Mercedes E350, Audi A6 4.2, BMW 530i, and Cadillac STS V8, some of which had V8 engines. All lost to the Infiniti M45.

The staffers wrote, at length, about the absolute perfection of the front seats.

Highs: Nible handling, strong high-RPM thrust, comfy seats and ride, great value.
Lows: Not much low-end torque, wide gear-ratio stack, rear seat could be bigger.

Hope this helps your decision.

[Apexbender]

Very helpfull replies, thank you Nurega for the info...
Deevergote, I know that the car is not entry level, that is why I specified that I meant the year because of the price that as of today one can find an 07 with somewhat "low" mileage for about $20,000 give or take 2 to 3 grand. That what I meant by "Entry Level". I thought I was being clear about my post.

[lilg4mdalbc]

If its boring, you can always add a supercharger.

[C91BLX7]

Check out the RL section on Acurazine.com

These cars are soild they really dont have any major problems.

[Apexbender]

Thank you for the site suggestion!

[buzz11]

My buddy recently bought a 05-08. I forget which year it was but has the same body style. He also works for Acura. It's pretty much what C91BLX7 said. It built pretty solid. And my buddy was trying to find any major or minor issues with the car and so far..he has yet to find an issue, besides regular maintanence

[lilg4mdalbc]

Comptech. . . .

But really, I think i remember reading about there being a transmission recall on an acura up to 2007, dont remember what model though. Well either way, you should search if there is recalls on the year RL your looking into.

[Apexbender]

I am looking at an 08 with low mileage. If the car had any issues they should have fix them by the last year of production of its generation. I went to www.acurazine.com to read about the RL, found a supercharged one done in CA, with 272 WHP @ 2.5 psi not bad, but it is not tuned properly. I bet that with a Rotrex SC and a good tune with a stand alone ECU the engine can make 300+ HP, and with the SH-AWD I bet it can handle its own weight.