Acura RL

The Acura RL is the flagship car of Honda’s North American luxury brand Acura. A revised car, known internally as KB1, was launched in late 2004 for the 2005 model year, and is much reminiscent of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Still without the much-rumored V8 engine, it features a sophisticated all-wheel drive system Acura calls Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. It integrates active differentials with the all-wheel drive system and traction control to improve handling, similar to the “ATTS” system featured on the 1997 Honda Prelude SH. This all-wheel drive system was lauded by Popular Science as one of the best automotive innovations of 2004, and earned the 2005 Tech car of the year from cnet.com. The 225 hp (168 kW) 90° C-series V6 engine was replaced with a new 60° J-series 3.5 L engine delivering 300 hp (224 kW; later revised to 290 hp due to new SAE testing procedures). To give the car a more sporty feel, the car features a five-speed automatic transmission with shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel in the current, racing-car derived fashion. Other features found on the 2005 RL include DVD-Audio, XM Nav-Traffic (real-time traffic monitoring utilizing XM Satellite radio), as well as extensive use of aluminum and carbon fiber. Pricing is up to US$49,100 without destination.