In a word, refinement. Everything in this car has been well thought out and refined since Acura entered the luxury market with the Legend. The ergonomics of the drivers environment are just about perfect. The ride is smooth and quiet. The Bose sound system is superb and the navigation system (new for '00) is nothing short of amazing. In terms of reliability (mine is too new to really comment) I fully expect the car to be trouble free. My independent mechanic, who specializes in Japanese cars and performed routine maintenance of my '91 Legend (trouble-free for 9 years/140K miles) says he never sees RL's in his shop. Period. I expect to get tired of this car in, say, 8 or 10 years, well before it wears out, just like my '91 Legend.

Styling is a bit boring; its handling, although competent and fun, is not as exciting as an Audi A6 turbo or a Volvo S-80 T6 (which I looked at).

Refined and reliable. Perhaps a bit boring, but the car surrounds you in luxury. The new Navigation system is amazing.

I paid $39,900 for the RL with Nav option. The dealers aren't negotiating much on the Nav cars, since they're in low supply, but they're over-supplied on the non-Nav version. In our area the non-Navs are going in the mid 36K range. Right now Acura is promoting a 39 month lease program with a 0.00152 money factor that is comparable to a 3.5% interest rate. At this rate, even if you plan to buy the car at the end of the lease period, the lease saves you money compared to current conventional loan rates; plus, you save money on up front sales tax (7.75% here in CA). Check out www.leasesource.com for worksheets that help you compare lease versus purchase with a variety of scenarios.

Value? Probably a 4 rather than a 5, since I can't honestly say that any $40k car can be considered a good 'value'; the overall rating, though, is a strong 5.

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Acura Legend L ('91); in '91 I felt the Legend was essentially a Lexus LS400 for 15K less; in 2000, the RL continues that tradition.

We have had this car for 15 years and 100K miles.
Very few items have gone wrong on this wonderful car.
Body, interior (in the hot Calf. sun) are still pristine.
Mileage can be over 30MPG on the highway. Can't imagine a better car.

None. It's the most satisfying car -- or any machine -- I have ever owned.

In 15 years and over 100K miles, this car has never disappointed.
I perform all routine service myself. Other than battery, brake pads, tires, timing belt (at 85K miles), I haven't had to change much. (One bulb burnt out in all these years.) Still original struts and exhaust system.
It is still as quiet and performs as well as when new.
Passes California's tough smog inspection by a factor of 10.
This is an amazing automobile.

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M-B 300D, Nissan Maxima

everything about this car i love. the handeling is perfect. the stereo is great. the night time lighting (xenon) is great i have no complaints at all

nothing i love the car

$43,000 paid and worth every penny if not more.

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acura 3.2tl

excellent ride, solid feel, interior workmanship is perfect.
Love the zenon headlights - they provide a much better view in front for night driving. Price value - compared to the Lexus ls400 we saved over $15,000 and maintained a high level of luxury. I could go on and on for the strengths of the 3.5 RL.

Have had some service problems with the SRS light. It took 4 warranty services before finally repaired but the Dealer put us in a 98 3.5 RL to use.

$40,000 paid.
Would highly recommend the 3.5RL for it's high luxury value
as compared Lexus and Mercedes.

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1996 Acura 3.2, 1994 Acura Legend,

Overall balance of this car is hard to beat. Other cars in its class may have more power, frills, better handling or a more historic pedigree, but none combine it all in such a "value" package.

Placement of the power seat controls are nearly impossible to adjust with the doors closed — a real oversight. The main controls for the stereo and the climate control are both large round knobs, placed on the left and only a couple of inches apart. More than once, I turned one up or down thinking I was adjusting the other. On the performance front, I'd prefer more power and a firmer set up around corners.

Acura has hit on a fine combination of luxury and performance at a bargain price (if you could call any car costing $40K a bargain). I would have prefered an A6 2.7T , an E Class or an LS400 but all are much more expensive without providing a comparable increase in content. I know that Acura is subsidising the lease deals on these cars, but what do I care? My only real desire would be for Acura to introduce an S Type variant — one that would push the performance envelope a bit further. By the way, after four months and 5,000 miles, I've experienced ZERO defects or problems.

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I drive a lot of cars and are pretty familiar with the competition.

Excellent workmanship,comfortable ride,very quiet interior,quiet and fast climate control system,excellent acceleration,excellent paint job,excellent stereo system, well lit and visible displays,excellent wet road handling Excellent customer service and support. No reliability problems.

No day/night rearview mirror. Steering a little soft.

(1998 Model) - Overall this is the best car I have owned. I have owned an Acura Vigor before this model and this model exceeds the Vigor in every respect. The car feels solid and refined when driven without being too stiff. Ride is a good combination of firmness and comfort. Car is very quiet even at highway speeds. Engine is a V-6 though performance is excellent. Engine is as smooth and responsive as any V-8 I have driven. I would not hesitate to own another Acura.

V6 engine that feels like V8, fast car, silent ride, great interior layout, better brakes then many sports cars, huge sunroof, huge interior,

do NOT buy 1996 model, this was the first year and there are plenty of problems and recalls with this model: from faulty window regulators, to ABS pump having the mind of its own and temorary failure, faulty fog light bolbs to mechanical problems with cassette player, lower ball joint recall and i still feel them after they were changed, and be awera of tarnsmission problems which have developed after 50k miles. That will eventually progress into a bigger problem. Poor fuel economy for V6. Front wheel drive is ok in snow but not sophisticated enough. Boring to drive, nonexciting. Laud angine and harsh sfifting while the engine is cold. Also the ride and the solid feel of the car deteriorated after 65k miles. I liked this car when i bought it the way it drove and felt. I got rid of it cause it developed too many problems. I'd buy 1999 and up. Avoid early models.

First the styling, very clean nonintrusive and masculine shape thru out. This car is more of a conservative appearance with great fit amd finish. The V6 engine has the power of V8, with very sporty sound at full throttle but otherwise virtually silent. Very well matched tranny, the car accelerates better then expected and pulls strong all the way up to 140mph. Yes 140mph, nice and calm too and the car is suprisingly tight and precise at high speeds. Otherwise the suspension is more on the soft side with moderate amount of body roll but don't let that scare You. The car tracks and goes where u point it even when pushed to the limit as long as the tires handle it. Emergency handling is extremly precise and controlable without any suprises, again as long as u have rubber that grips. The silence is the key word for this car. Weather cruising at 60mph or 100 mhp this car is extremly quite from engine to windnoise. excellent noise filtering over rough payvament. Great interior layout too. Love the gauges. great seats for long travel.

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for the price its worth it, but do not expect the sportiness and excitment as u would from BMW5 series.

Value; handsome appearance; excellent fit and finish, especially on the inside; best audio system of any car I've heard (only BMW 7 series comes close), this from an audiophile; outstanding reliability; fine road ride.

Handling around town corners is a little sluggish; wish there was a single CD slot in the dash, as well as the changer.

Solid quality, handsome, elegant, responsive car. This is my fifth big Acura, having owned a 1987 5-speed and leased a 1988, 1991 and 1995(twice)Legend; also my wife has leased three Integras. I hesitated to lease an RL after the Legends, thinking the RL was too big and expensive by comparison; now,especially after looking at the competition, I'm happy with the upgrade to RL. We have always felt that we had among the very best cars on the road, and never felt that we had to pay too much for them. I always smile when I get into this car, and have received many compliments about its fine appearance. The car loves the open road, and does fine around town as well.

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Compared Mercedes E series(a little stodgy, not clearly superior in any way, over priced, but nice star on hood), Audi A6(too plain, poor sound system, but better driver in town, comparable price), Volvo S80(like Audi), Lexus GS300(close in most respects but weaker power, less luxury, much higher lease price though less MSRP}.

Navigation, handling, steering feel, acceleration, Interior back seat leg room.

Remote start, Dual climate control, Needs 17" wheels

This is our 7th Honda product. Nothing like it. We will not buy anything else. A smooth ride and a solid body structure. A car that can handle 5 full size passengers and just about anything Mother Nature can whip up. An outstanding ride. An overall reputation of quality, a history of excellent design and a long heritage of worl class luxury sedan. Worth every penny.

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Shopped GS400, LS400 and 740il. Lexus is just over priced and over rated

Smoothness in all respects, looks definitely, reliabilty, speed, quiet ride, really well thought out interior. First with radio controls on steering wheel. Great Bose sterio, especially with factory CD changer. Will stand up to any used Lexus or Mercedes and still provide better value.

Leans a little in tight cornering. Sometimes auto tranny has a mind of its own, during hard acceleration sometimes it responds perfectly by downshifting and other times it just decides to stay in same gear. Repairs are expensive especially anything electric. Tune ups are also very expensive. Problems with power ant and steering wheel adjustment switches. Maybe 1 time out of 100 one door lock will not shut while other three do.

This car is outstanding. There's a certain harmony that comes from all the gadgets on board. When you push a button or move a lever its quiet and soft.Even the steering is silky smooth. Mine is black with black leather and chrome wheels, quite a looker. I bought it used with 28,000 miles and it now has almost 65,000 miles (3 yrs later). It is still as solid as the day I bought it. I've tested the Lexus LS400 and MB E320 and each car has its strengths and weaknesses, however overall in terms of value the Legend is quite a package. Reliability, fun, value and great looks. Even though the Legend was discontinued 6 yrs ago it still looks great. It has always stood out in a crowd and 6 yrs later it still does.

My problems with the car have been few. A power antannae and steering adjustment switches, all replaced under warranty. Also, once in a great while a power door lock won't work but this happens 1 time out of 100. At the time of purchase I opted to have an alarm installed, big mistake, they installed a Karr alarm system. This has to be the biggest pc of junk ever. First of all the button on the key fob is raised above the surface of the fob itself so that when I put it in my pocket I would always either unknowingly unlock the car or activate the panic alarm which would take me at least 15 seconds to deactivate. Secondly, the key fob had a second button for my trunk release which I have to hold down for at least 5 seconds and this button is also raised. Don't get a "Karr".
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this car to anyone looking for a reliable used luxury car who has about $15,000

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ES-300 - glorified camry E320 - bumpy ride, ridiculous price, not as reliable. I30- maxima in disguise. 5 series is a great car but not far behind MB pricewise.