52 — Friday, April 23, 1999 — North Shore News

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AFTER shocking the
automotive industry by
chopping the price of
the mid-sized 1999
Acura 3.2TL by
$7,000, it wasn’t such
a heady surprise when
Acura dropped the
price of the bigger, re-
worked Acura 3.5RL
by $3,000 — from
$55,000 to $52,000.

Good deal when you con-
sider that Acura also restyled
the front and rear, added side
airbags, improved the interi-
or, and upgraded the tires,
wheels and brakes.

Essentially, you get more
luxury for less, a trend we've
seen in other luxury cars
recently.

The 3.5RL is Acura’s flag-
ship sedan, and fits into a lux-
ury segment inhabited by the
BMW 528], Mercedes-Benz
E320, Lexus GS300, and
Audi A6.

The 3.5RL is descended
from the Acura Legend, the
first Japancse luxury car from
a Japanese luxury brand to be
sold in North America in
1987. The Legend was re-
named RL in 1996, to fit in
with Acura’s other letter-
brand cars, the EL, CL, TL,
and NSX-T. Don’t be sur-
prised if the Integra is re-
named next year.

Over the ycars, the
Legend/RL has gradually
become bigger and less
sporty. The new 1999 3.5RL
continues this trend — it has
a softer ride, a more luxurious
interior, and a more conserv-
ative appearance.

The front-end is all-new
— new headlamps, grille,
hood bumper, chin spoiler,
and front fenders. A big
bonus are new high-intensity
discharge headlamps for
improved night lighting. The
rear-end is also new, looking
Mercedes-like with a high
trunk-lid, and angular tail
lights.

Inside are new side-airbags
mounted in the outer sides of
the front seats — the advan-
tage of seat-mounted side-
airbags is that they move with
the passenger as the seat
moves forward or backward.
Other new interior features
are expensive-looking burled
camphor wood trim on the
dash and console, a leather-
wrapped magnesium steering
wheel with a new centre horn

pad, illuminated console tray
with pop-out cupholders, sun
visor extension, and a 12-volt
power outlet in the front cen-
tre armrest compartment.

Technical upgrades
include thicker tront and rear
disc brakes for improved
fade-resistance, new alloy
wheels increased in width
from 6.5 inches to 7.0 inches,
and larger Michelin MXV4-
Plus tires. This is on top of
the RL’s standard four-wheel
double wishbone indepen-
dent suspension.

Despite these handling
improvements though, the
RL. has a softer cide than
before with more body fean.
Tn addition, the transverse
positioning of the engine and
transaxle over the front
wheels puts about 60% of the
car’s weight there.

So while the ride is won-
derfully smooth and supple,
it’s not the kind of car you
enjoy throwing inte tight
corners or negotiating ovisty
hill climbs.

On the plus side, the
cabin is whisper-quict at
highway speeds and the
roomy, well-designed, well-
equipped cabin contributes to
a level of comfort exceeding
some cars costing $20,000
more.

The RL’s strongest point
has always been its power-
train. When 1 first drove the

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