Press Launch: Road Testing the 2011 Acura RL

Ask any "real" housewife from Beverly Hills and she will no doubt tell you that a little nip and tuck can transform how the world sees you. But many of these plastic surgery devotees wind up taking it too far and the person they were disappears with all of the nipping and tucking.

Subtle balance is the key to most things in life and this is a notion that Acura stuck to very wisely with the newly redesigned 2011 Acura RL. Now, keep in mind that this is just a small "nip and tuck" so the 2011 RL still looks just as squat, purposeful and handsome as it ever did. It just has a smaller nose. Now do you see why I am using plastic surgery analogies?

The 2011 Acura RL's schnoz was smoothed and flattened mimicking the2011 TSX's recent front end redesign. The taillights are also new, there is a handsome new light beige leather trim option called "Seacoast" and there is updated (and good looking) wood trim on the dash and doors that betters anything Lexus offers.

Most important, however, is the fact that the 2011 Acura RL now comes with a smooth, quick and crisp shifting Sequential Sport Shift 6-speed automatic. There are also paddle shifters behind the steering wheel and Acura's superlative SH-AWD system is standard.

If you don't live in a snowy climate do realize that there is value to Acura's SH-AWD system as it utilizes "torque vectoring" to any outside rear wheel to create a "yaw moment" which improves cornering ability in dry weather. It doesn't matter if none of that made sense to you because all it means is that SH-AWD sends power to any wheel not only for traction but also to aid in cornering prowess.

Not only are fuel economy ratings from the 3.7 liter 300 horsepower/271 lb. feet of torque V6 engine up to 17 city/24 highway thanks to the new 6-speed automatic transmission but it also boasts a multi-clutch torque converter which helps keep it cool even in performance driving conditions. Not that most RL drivers are going to be taking their luxury sedans to track days but it is nice to know you could without frying the gearbox.

The 2011 Acura RL also now has an even quieter cabin thanks to a piece of technology that lurks within the standard 18-inch five spoke aluminum wheels. It is called "wheel resonator technology" according to Acura and it is the first time it has ever been used on a production automobile. So how does it work?

Well, according to Acura they installed a polypropylene Helmholtz resonator around the center portion of the inside of the wheel. This significantly lowers middle frequency noise which (in combination with some floorboard insulation alterations) resulted in 1.3 dB overall drop in cabin noise.

That amounted to a 15% reduction in cabin noise and I can verify (since I tested a 2010 RL earlier in the year) that the interior is much, much quieter. The old 2010 model suffered from way too much tire and road noise so it is nice to see that Acura addressed that issue for the 2011 model year.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE

Now, when I test drove last year's Acura RL I was left feeling cold by the vague steering (at least compared to TSX and TL) and lukewarm overall driving experience. But during the press launch around the winding roads near Bodega Bay in Northern California I really, really enjoyed my time with the newly refreshed 2011 Acura RL.

During that drive the steering felt like it was giving me a better sense of what the front wheels were doing and the SH-AWD gave the RL a nice planted feel around corners. Also, thanks to the quick shifts of the new transmission it was easy to approach and maintain illegal speeds much too easily.

I am not sure what made me finally me feel connected to the 2011 Acura RL but I am thinking the six-speed automatic and the free revving 3.7 liter V6 in combination with the SH-AWD are what have finally gotten me excited about this large and in newly in charge luxury sedan.

So put away your surgeon's scalpel Acura because your work on the 2011 RL was most definitely a success. I used to look at the Acura RL as the "safe" luxury car an accountant would buy but now I can honestly say that the 2011 model is the premium brand flagship that it should have been from the beginning.