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2005 All-Wheel-Drive Luxury Sport Sedan Comparison Test
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=106555
By Ed Hellwig
Date posted: 07-28-2005
Introduction
Twelve months ago you could have counted the number of all-wheel-drive luxury sport sedans with two fingers. Now you need both hands. New entries to the segment include the 2005 Acura RL, the 2006 Infiniti M35X, the 2006 Lexus GS 300 AWD and the 2006 BMW 530xi, the first ever all-wheel-drive 5 Series. Even the 2005 Audi A6 3.2 quattro, the spiritual and mechanical godfather of the segment, was redesigned just last year.
All five use six-cylinder engines, automatic transmissions and cost about $50K, but which one offers the best combination of performance, luxury and value?
To find out, we drove each over a thousand miles in two days on a road trip that included long stretches of highway, twisty mountain passes and a stop at Buttonwillow Raceway Park road course in Bakersfield, California, for some hot laps. Along the way we filled every cupholder, looked for rib joints on the navigation systems and became addicted to ventilated seats and satellite radio.
Why All-Wheel Drive?
SUVs have convinced buyers that all-wheel drive is a necessity whether they live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula or Florida's pan handle. By adding all-wheel drive to a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan, like the BMW, Infiniti and Lexus, it becomes a more attractive alternative to a luxury sport-utility. Now you have a real all-weather friend that delivers better handling, quicker stops and better mileage than any Escalade or Land Rover ever could.
But all-wheel drive isn't just about blizzards and black ice. Adding all-wheel drive to front-wheel-drive platforms, like those under the Acura RL and Audi A6, also gives the car more balanced handling.
The Contestants
The RL's midpack mid-pack price, high content and 300 hp made it a favorite going into this contest, and the Acura proved accommodating the minute we left town. Its excellent navigation system kept us out of traffic, and it found us a good place for lunch once we reached our destination. It also ran the fastest speed through our slalom test, proved competent on the twists and turns of Buttonwillow and was a pleasure on the long slabs of Interstate 5.
Of the five, only the A6 offers all-wheel drive with V8 power, but sticking with the V6 made it the cheapest sedan in the test at just over $45K. The low sticker price didn't seem to matter as the Audi became a favorite by the first stop. Even without a navigation system or a sport package it felt luxurious, handled competently and it looked good inside and out.
A sticker approaching $60K made the BMW the most expensive car in the test and by the end of the first day it was obvious where all that money was spent. With the best steering, suspension and brakes, the BMW was clearly the driver's car of the group. It lost points, however, for a stark interior and flimsy cupholders.
Laps at the Buttonwillow road course made the Infiniti feel like the winning ride. It had the biggest, stickiest tires, loads of power and an automatic that matches revs with every downshift. Like the BMW, the Infiniti was a driver's car that suffered lost points for the design of its interior.
Too soft and slow to attack the Buttonwillow road course, the Lexus was the ride of choice for the ride home. Its soft seats, plush ride and finely detailed interior make any drive seem relaxed. If luxury is your priority, it's worth the $50K.
One Winner
By the end of the road trip two things were obvious: Bakersfield is not the home of the babyback and the Acura RL is the all-wheel-drive sedan of choice. What it lacks in distinctive styling it more than makes up for in solid overall performance, a well-designed and comfortable interior and a standard features list that'll impress the neighbors. The Audi A6 snagged a distant second, while the Infiniti M35x barely edged out the BMW 530xi for third. The competent but slightly less athletic Lexus GS 300 AWD pulled up the rear.
First Place: 2005 Acura RL (click)
It's not the fastest or the flashiest, and in this test it wasn't even the cheapest, but the 2005 Acura RL ran away with first place anyway. We were looking for the all-wheel-drive sedan with the right balance between performance and luxury and we found it most often in the RL.
At $49,470 it was the second most affordable of the five and with everything standard all you have to do is pick a color. Its styling won't get you many second looks, but you'll never second-guess yourself for buying it either.
Technology That Works
Acura calls it Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. In the RL it sends varying degrees of power to each individual wheel to help get you around corners faster. And if things get slippery just going in a straight line it will help you there, too.
It sounds like Japanese techno overkill, but it works. Not only did the RL post the fastest speed through the slalom course, it was the easiest car to drive through it. Keep your foot in the gas, point it in the right direction and the computer does the rest. In the other cars, all-wheel drive is almost an afterthought. In the Acura, it's as important to its performance as the engine.
The 3.5-liter V6 does its part, too. With 300 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, it managed a 0-to-60-mph run of 7.3 seconds; only the Infiniti was quicker. The RL stopped in a short 123 feet, second again to the M35 at 119 feet, but it lost points for heavy fading during road-course hot laps.
The suspension is soft and the steering slow, so the RL feels big and heavy when you're running hard. Steering wheel shift paddles invite you to switch gears yourself, but the transmission is still a second or two behind your fingers. On the track, the RL held its own, but compared to the BMW and the Infiniti, the Acura was out of its element.
Road Trip Nirvana
Getting to the track was a different story. The RL is a nearly perfect road-trip car, with a standard features list that includes everything but someone to do the driving for you.
With its keyless ignition, you never even have to take the keys out of your pocket, and the power-adjustable steering wheel and eight-way driver seat assure a perfect driving position. Rear passengers get plenty of room and a sunshade on every window, while the wide trunk opening makes the most of the Acura's modest 12.7-cubic-foot cargo capacity.
The standard navigation system works painlessly with maps that are bright, detailed and easy to read. Hit the voice activation, say "nearest ATM" and the screen lights up with every money machine within a 10-mile radius. The premium audio system not only sounds great, it comes with a year of satellite radio, a godsend when you're deep into AM radio country.
The suspension and steering that felt so awkward at the track make for a perfect high-speed cruiser on the highway. No constant corrections needed, it just hunkers down and goes. Passing requires a flat right foot to wake up the V6, but you otherwise hardly know it's there. Our mileage for the week was 17.5 mpg, about midpack in this group.
It Has its Flaws
Picking your way through the cluttered center stack to find the fan speed button is a constant annoyance and the seat heaters could barely melt an ice cube. The wood trim isn't bad but some of the switchgear looks cheap for a $50K luxury sedan. Same goes for the gauges which look almost cartoonish next to the elegant dials in the Audi.
Can't Argue With Success
If you want an eye-catching valet star, there are other cars that might be better. If you want the best all-wheel-drive luxury sport sedan for the money, the 2005 Acura RL is as good as it gets.
Others: (clickable)
Second Place: 2005 Audi A6 3.2
Third Place: 2006 Infiniti M35x
Fourth Place: 2006 BMW 530xi
Fifth Place: 2006 Lexus GS 300 AWD
Editors Evaluation
Specifications and Performace
Top 5 Features
cont...
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=106555
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=106555
By Ed Hellwig
Date posted: 07-28-2005
Introduction
Twelve months ago you could have counted the number of all-wheel-drive luxury sport sedans with two fingers. Now you need both hands. New entries to the segment include the 2005 Acura RL, the 2006 Infiniti M35X, the 2006 Lexus GS 300 AWD and the 2006 BMW 530xi, the first ever all-wheel-drive 5 Series. Even the 2005 Audi A6 3.2 quattro, the spiritual and mechanical godfather of the segment, was redesigned just last year.
All five use six-cylinder engines, automatic transmissions and cost about $50K, but which one offers the best combination of performance, luxury and value?
To find out, we drove each over a thousand miles in two days on a road trip that included long stretches of highway, twisty mountain passes and a stop at Buttonwillow Raceway Park road course in Bakersfield, California, for some hot laps. Along the way we filled every cupholder, looked for rib joints on the navigation systems and became addicted to ventilated seats and satellite radio.
Why All-Wheel Drive?
SUVs have convinced buyers that all-wheel drive is a necessity whether they live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula or Florida's pan handle. By adding all-wheel drive to a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan, like the BMW, Infiniti and Lexus, it becomes a more attractive alternative to a luxury sport-utility. Now you have a real all-weather friend that delivers better handling, quicker stops and better mileage than any Escalade or Land Rover ever could.
But all-wheel drive isn't just about blizzards and black ice. Adding all-wheel drive to front-wheel-drive platforms, like those under the Acura RL and Audi A6, also gives the car more balanced handling.
The Contestants
The RL's midpack mid-pack price, high content and 300 hp made it a favorite going into this contest, and the Acura proved accommodating the minute we left town. Its excellent navigation system kept us out of traffic, and it found us a good place for lunch once we reached our destination. It also ran the fastest speed through our slalom test, proved competent on the twists and turns of Buttonwillow and was a pleasure on the long slabs of Interstate 5.
Of the five, only the A6 offers all-wheel drive with V8 power, but sticking with the V6 made it the cheapest sedan in the test at just over $45K. The low sticker price didn't seem to matter as the Audi became a favorite by the first stop. Even without a navigation system or a sport package it felt luxurious, handled competently and it looked good inside and out.
A sticker approaching $60K made the BMW the most expensive car in the test and by the end of the first day it was obvious where all that money was spent. With the best steering, suspension and brakes, the BMW was clearly the driver's car of the group. It lost points, however, for a stark interior and flimsy cupholders.
Laps at the Buttonwillow road course made the Infiniti feel like the winning ride. It had the biggest, stickiest tires, loads of power and an automatic that matches revs with every downshift. Like the BMW, the Infiniti was a driver's car that suffered lost points for the design of its interior.
Too soft and slow to attack the Buttonwillow road course, the Lexus was the ride of choice for the ride home. Its soft seats, plush ride and finely detailed interior make any drive seem relaxed. If luxury is your priority, it's worth the $50K.
One Winner
By the end of the road trip two things were obvious: Bakersfield is not the home of the babyback and the Acura RL is the all-wheel-drive sedan of choice. What it lacks in distinctive styling it more than makes up for in solid overall performance, a well-designed and comfortable interior and a standard features list that'll impress the neighbors. The Audi A6 snagged a distant second, while the Infiniti M35x barely edged out the BMW 530xi for third. The competent but slightly less athletic Lexus GS 300 AWD pulled up the rear.
First Place: 2005 Acura RL (click)
It's not the fastest or the flashiest, and in this test it wasn't even the cheapest, but the 2005 Acura RL ran away with first place anyway. We were looking for the all-wheel-drive sedan with the right balance between performance and luxury and we found it most often in the RL.
At $49,470 it was the second most affordable of the five and with everything standard all you have to do is pick a color. Its styling won't get you many second looks, but you'll never second-guess yourself for buying it either.
Technology That Works
Acura calls it Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. In the RL it sends varying degrees of power to each individual wheel to help get you around corners faster. And if things get slippery just going in a straight line it will help you there, too.
It sounds like Japanese techno overkill, but it works. Not only did the RL post the fastest speed through the slalom course, it was the easiest car to drive through it. Keep your foot in the gas, point it in the right direction and the computer does the rest. In the other cars, all-wheel drive is almost an afterthought. In the Acura, it's as important to its performance as the engine.
The 3.5-liter V6 does its part, too. With 300 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, it managed a 0-to-60-mph run of 7.3 seconds; only the Infiniti was quicker. The RL stopped in a short 123 feet, second again to the M35 at 119 feet, but it lost points for heavy fading during road-course hot laps.
The suspension is soft and the steering slow, so the RL feels big and heavy when you're running hard. Steering wheel shift paddles invite you to switch gears yourself, but the transmission is still a second or two behind your fingers. On the track, the RL held its own, but compared to the BMW and the Infiniti, the Acura was out of its element.
Road Trip Nirvana
Getting to the track was a different story. The RL is a nearly perfect road-trip car, with a standard features list that includes everything but someone to do the driving for you.
With its keyless ignition, you never even have to take the keys out of your pocket, and the power-adjustable steering wheel and eight-way driver seat assure a perfect driving position. Rear passengers get plenty of room and a sunshade on every window, while the wide trunk opening makes the most of the Acura's modest 12.7-cubic-foot cargo capacity.
The standard navigation system works painlessly with maps that are bright, detailed and easy to read. Hit the voice activation, say "nearest ATM" and the screen lights up with every money machine within a 10-mile radius. The premium audio system not only sounds great, it comes with a year of satellite radio, a godsend when you're deep into AM radio country.
The suspension and steering that felt so awkward at the track make for a perfect high-speed cruiser on the highway. No constant corrections needed, it just hunkers down and goes. Passing requires a flat right foot to wake up the V6, but you otherwise hardly know it's there. Our mileage for the week was 17.5 mpg, about midpack in this group.
It Has its Flaws
Picking your way through the cluttered center stack to find the fan speed button is a constant annoyance and the seat heaters could barely melt an ice cube. The wood trim isn't bad but some of the switchgear looks cheap for a $50K luxury sedan. Same goes for the gauges which look almost cartoonish next to the elegant dials in the Audi.
Can't Argue With Success
If you want an eye-catching valet star, there are other cars that might be better. If you want the best all-wheel-drive luxury sport sedan for the money, the 2005 Acura RL is as good as it gets.
Others: (clickable)
Second Place: 2005 Audi A6 3.2
Third Place: 2006 Infiniti M35x
Fourth Place: 2006 BMW 530xi
Fifth Place: 2006 Lexus GS 300 AWD
Editors Evaluation
Specifications and Performace
Top 5 Features
cont...
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=106555
