2005 Acura RL 3.5: Luxury Car, Economy Price

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When this model debuted as a 2005 model it had everything. The Acura flagship dropped the famed Legend name in favor of the RL moniker in the mid-1990s as part of Honda’s strategy to focus more attention on the Acura brand rather than individual nameplates (not a great idea to me).

Whatever it was called though, this 5 seat luxury sedan was equipped with a 3.5 liter V6, VTEC (variable valve-timing), 300 hp, 260 lb-ft of torque, a 5 speed automatic transmission and the SH (“Super Handling”) all-wheel drive system.

It was further loaded with lots of aluminum, a Bluetooth wireless phone interface, lots of aluminum and active noise cancellation. Road & Track magazine described it as “eerily quiet”.

The list went on and on: Keyless entry, climate control, heated front seats, voice recognition satellite navigation with real-time traffic reports, a DVD player, CD and MP3 player, xenon headlights, tire pressure monitoring, front and side curtain airbags and electronic brake force distribution. It was a real technical tour de force.

Even with, or perhaps because of, all these sophisticated features, this car is not simple and the book value of around $17,500 (75k miles) reflects that. It’s only around 35% of its $48,900 original sticker price.

The EPA fuel economy rating was 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. This model won the 2004-2005 Car of the Year award in Japan (Honda Legend) and was replaced for the 2009 model year. I’d easily expect another 100k miles out of a good example.