This is how the 1996 Acura 3.5RL battled against Lexus and INFINITI | Classic Cars | 1990's Cars 

I own a 2004 Acura rl with 187,000 miles and I still love it

I have a 2000 RL and I just bought a 2002 as a parts car because I intend on keeping it as long as humanly possible

I have a 96 RL, JUST like the white / gray one in the video and LOVE it. I bought it with 123K miles and now has 130K. It's got a nasty fuel leak somewhere that'll be fixed soon, but it'll gobble up the highway miles effortlessly.

I have a 1997 Acura 3.5 RL and it is the best car i ever drove sure the gas mileage is not the best but I don’t care everyday when I get into it it feels like I am sitting at home on a leather couch watching tv of the road and all my worries go away. The RL has never did me bad I always keep it looking like brand new interior, exterior as well as the engine bay.

Love this car been driving it for 7years all original 272000 and still goin!!!!

I own a 2001 RL I bought 3 years ago with 81k on it. It’s not sporty but it does have that smooth 90’s Japanese ride. It absolutely guzzles gas, about 15-18mpg is all you can get, however it doesn’t have any issues keeping up with modern traffic. I do enjoy driving, the fit and finish is quite nice for a 20 year old car.

I had a '99 I picked up used from the original owner. It was a smooth, comfortable car. It could do any speed on the highway all day long without stress. Yes, it loved its premium fuel. I averaged 18 mpg in mixed driving. This surprised me because it was a Honda based product. When I checked with other owners I found it to be average. Some reported 14-15, no one seemed to get over 20. Unfortunately, after a few years, it was suffering from the need for a dozen or so minor fixes plus the timing belt/water pump replacement. More than i really wanted to put into it. Sold it cheap to someone willing to make the investment. I still see it around town occasionally. Edit: The styling was definitely "Inspired by" Mercedes. But that's not necessarily a bad thing and they did it better than several others who tried.

I have an 04 dropped with 20’s. I’ve have like 6-7 of these. Awesome cars and super reliable

joy to drive, joy to work on, I always liked them, over the TL when they came to the dealer to maintenance.

Great vid! I wasn't as large a fan of these. As many, I would have looked at a RWD LS or Q45 instead. I wonder if the RL had transmission issues like the TL was famous for.

Even as a kid I hated the name change of the Legend and Vigor. I just knew it would be downhill from there for them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Acura brings back the Legend. They discontinued the RLX. So it’s a high possibility they will

Interesting. The Legend lived on Japan as the Honda Legend. We did not get that model in the United States. I have seen videos of it here on You Tube. The first generation Oldsmobile Aurora competed well against this car in this video. I cannot say the same about the second generation. It is interesting Honda entered the luxury segment first with the Legend and got surpassed with time. I know The Infinti ( Nissan) fight hard and lost too. The Lexus LS fight hard and long. Now the Genesis( Hyundai) is in the game. Mazda tried too with the 929. I know they do have JDM cars we did not get here at all the brands. Thank you for sharing.

You should make a video about the forgotten Acura Vigor!

My family had 3 legends during the 90s (one was a ‘89 model) and I miss them all. Especially the vault like ‘89. Luxury cars from the 90’s are my favorite cars :) I always thought the RL secretly stood for “revised legend” which isn’t the case. Tho thr car itself is!

I drive a 96 rl that was handed down to me from my parents and I still love that car till this day I’m slowly putting back to its former glory with a few new things but yeah she is a gas gussler but other than that it has been a reliable car and haven’t had to put money into it until this year

Too bad the RWD, V8 platform was killed off in 2001! What they should have done was make the RWD platform scalable, and make every car (EL, TL, TSX, RL) RWD biased with SH-AWD. The EL would compete against 2 series, A3, and CLA, while the TSX would compete against A4, C-class, and 3 series, TL would become a 5-Series, E-class, and A6 competitor. Then the RL would become a 7 series, LS, S-class and A8 competitor.

I liked these but never understood why Acura never got serious about putting a V8 in these! Always a step behind Lexus. Also, I've never heard of the Canadian EL!! 🤯

Honda has a reputation for being very conservative

I Driven a 2002 RL, it feels Nothing Like a Legend, Feels a lot like a 1995 W124 E320, The seats to Dash Design was W124 all be a Smoother Number, I feel like Acura was After Mercedes Benz E class this Time Around vs The Legend BMW Manual Transmission & Great handling, I Talk to Tons of Acura people, Nobody remembers Much of First RL Nor 96 to 98 TL, What made it Great? The RL Engine Swap 3.5 into a Legend, TL Just Spare 3.2s Parts,

I too have a 2002 RL.. I love driving it but.... Yes.. it's a gas guzzler

I kinda wish Honda had a flagship sedan that was based off the Acura RL to compete against the Avalon, Maxima etc... Honda should've had a sedan that was above the Accord.

I own a second generation RL (2008). Similar to the first gen, Acura upped the ante on luxury but completely flopped on sportiness. Despite advanced AWD, tight suspension, and a refined V6, the RL is slow, you feel every bump, and you're permanently stuck with a nice sized hole in your wallet due to fuel consumption. However, I absolutely love driving my RL - once you get up to speed, the performance is above average. It'll easily glide through any corner or hill without slowing down. The amount of technology they neatly shoved into the interior is insane as well, the second gen RL was way ahead of its time in that department. All in all, interesting to see the path Acura chose with this model.

These cars were so dull compared to the Legend. Better objectively, but dull. With no V8 or RWD, it was never a legitimate competitor to the LS.