to prevent shoe scuffs. Rear-seat passengers can adjust the temperature
with controls at the back of the center console.
Acura claims its climate control system has the quickest draw in the
West, or at least in its class, with an air conditioning system that can
cool the car from 100 degrees to 70 degrees in 15 minutes flat, faster
than any of its competitors. Since our visit with the 3.5RL occurred in
the dead of a midwestern winter, we can't vouch for the a/c claim, but
it reflects the intense refinement that went into every detail of the car's
comfort quotient.
The Lexus-like illuminated instruments convey necessary information
clearly and elegantly. Controls are intelligently arranged, pleasant to
touch and operate, and comprehensible without recourse to the owner's manual.
The speed-sensitive windshield wipers adjust their rate to the car's speed.
The headlights turn on automatically. Even the leather has been treated
to reduce the amount of oil that evaporates in the sunlight, and Acura
claims that RL's leather seats produce 90% less window fogging than conventional
leather.)
Our only complaints are aesthetic quibbles. The wood trim could have
been laid on a little more generously. And the center dash console, with
its high-tech trapezoidal shape and materials, looks a little hard-edged
in this otherwise soft environment.
On the other hand, that high-tech look seems exactly right when the
optional satellite navigation system is installed. The six-inch screen
is linked to GPS satellites and a database of maps. Enter your destination
and your route will appear on the screen. A pleasant, reassuring female
voice gives you turn-by-turn directions.
The navigation system is a $2000 option on the Premium model. The map
database covers California and Las Vegas, and (as of April 1997) the Eastern
Seaboard from Maine to Florida.
The standard audio setup includes an eight-speaker AM/FM/cassette system
with a rear-window in-glass antenna. The Premium model is fitted with a
Bose audio system that has an extraodinarily rich, full sound. It includes
a six-disc CD changer that can be mounted in the trunk or in the center
storage console--a location that eats up some storage space but that we
find more convenient than the trunk. Next Page