If you had to choose between an Acura RL or Cadillac CTS? (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

I have a pretty tough decision to make.

I leased my first vehicle, a 2005 Acura RL, 3 years ago.
That lease is about up. I gotta say that the Acura was the
first luxury car I ever drove in, and not surprisingly, the best
experience I have ever had with an automobile. It rides like
a dream -- especially for the S-AWD that sends power where
needed to individual wheels.

I was about ready to slip into a 2008 Acura RL until just
for kicks I tested a LOADED 2008 Acura CTS with the 304HP
engine.

I was very, very impressed with the test drive, but even
more impressed with the car's interior. Where the Acura RL
has sort of become "bland" for me, the CTS looks very HIP!

The problem with the CTS is that it lacks bluetooth and S-AWD.
The bluetooth is a very big deal for me and I can see it's going
to become an expensive dealer install once it shortly becomes
available.

Anyhow....

I'm torn between the two cars. I know what I have with the
Acura. The company is hard to beat as far as quality is concerned.
The RL was a solid car that you felt you could drive forever without
a problem.

I was so impressed with Acura I swore I'd never buy American again,
but here I am looking at a Cadillac. I don't know enough about
their reputation as of late, but something must be going right if the
car recently won Motor Trend's Automobile of the Year.

Lease wise, the CTS is $30 more a month with about $130 more
out of pocket down. The reason CTS is an expensive lease over
the RL is because the RL isn't moving as much and Acura is pricing
it low these days.

So, there I am. Could use some expert advice on which car
I should lease for the next 3 years. I am highly satisfied with
the ride of the RL (plus it has bluetooth), but after 36 months find
it bland compared to the CTS.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Personally I'd take the Acura over the Cadillac but thats just my humble opinion.

Also don't forget to look into the Infiniti M, Audi A6, BMW 5-series and Mercedes-Benz E Class for full sized luxury marquees.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

The CTS recently won a Best Car type award for its price class but personally I don't like the styling at all.

 

[Jay H]

If you are considering the Cadillac CTS, you might also want to check out the Lincoln MkZ, which is a similar sedan but has that new Sync thing from Micro$oft... (bluetooth and MP3) and also has a AWD version... Sounds like it would suit you fine...

Acuras too me tend to be overweight and not as nimble as your european sports sedans (BMW, Audi, Mercedes)... At least my father's 2 older Acuras were very heavy and felt like it.

Jay

 

[Jason Kirkpatri]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the new car/truck awards handed out to those vehicles that underwent some significant change during the current model year? Thus, if a vehicle was unchanged from previous generations, it wouldn't be eligible, regardless of its worthiness?

I second the Acura.

 

[DaveF]

I'm not a car guy. But I'll offer some analysis

Long-term reliability is a key reason to buy Honda (Acura). But you're doing a 3 year lease, so that's not as big of a deal here.

If you try the Cadillac and find that it's not as good as the Acura, well, in three years you'll be in your next car. Not much risk.

You note the expensive Bluetooth install for the Cadillac. You're leasing ($$$) an luxury car ($$$$$). What's a few hundred bucks to get bluetooth, when you're considering what are essentially $40k+ cars?

The AWD seems like the biggest deal. If you need it, the decision is made. I drive a FWD with Traction Control Honda and we get our snow here in NY. Normally it's fine, but there are times when AWD would be good. And I can imagine that if you're used to AWD, you'd feel the loss going back to FWD, come winter. And if that CTS is Rear-Wheel Drive, well, time to learn winter driving anew!

If you've got time, do another test drive of both cars, same day.

But it sounds like you enjoy the fun of always driving a new car and are having fun with luxury over pure pragmatism. If the Cadillac has caught your fancy, go for it!

 

[Steve Schaffer]

If you were actually buying the car with the intention of keeping it past the warranty I'd say go for the Acura.

Since that's not the case, go for the one that makes you smile the widest when you mash the slanty pedal. $30 a month is what, 5 coffees from Starbucks?

 

[Brian Perry]

I can't think of a single reason to go with the Cadillac over the Acura, unless you really like the styling better.

The fact that the CTS is actually more expensive to lease is telling, considering it lists for much less than the RL. It tells you that the Caddy will depreciate much faster than the RL.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thanks for the advice thus far.

Dave, the CTS is indeed AWD. The Acura is S-AWD,
which throws power to specific wheels as needed.

Not sure how much of a difference is there.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Is it possible to rent the CTS for about a week from a rental company? Drive it for a week, and see if you want to commit to it over the RL.

 

[Mort Corey]

I buy cars based on fit. I tried on a CTS and an Acura and found them a little cramped for my 6'5 frame. I ended up buying the Cadillac STS model and it makes me smile. AWD is not a factor for my needs in So Cal, but it was an option. Their ??stabilitrac?? system does what it sounds like the S-AWD is doing. I also ended up having my vehicle equipped with the Northstatr V8 vs the V6 standard. For a difference of 2MPG EPA rating, I figured what's the point? If I had been comfortable in the CTS I think I would have purchased the CTS-V......not that I'm in dire need of 400+ horsepower, but.....

Anyway, car rides nice, handles well and has been trouble free for two years. My favorite part of it is that it's now paid off (with two years warranty left...yeh)

Mort

 

[DaveF]

Ah, I misunderstood the description. I don't know what the difference is, but on the plus side the CTS does have AWD.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Cadillac, Lincoln, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi all offer AWD on their full-sized sedans.

As for the difference between AWD/quattro/S-AWD/etc etc, I'd put it down to marketing lingo.

None of the above are a 'bad' choice, especially if you lease.

 

[Philip Hamm]

As far as I'm concerned the difference is nothing more than a brand name. Of the two cars you've mentioned, I personally wouldn't consider the Acrua. Acura RL = bland, Cadillac CTS = sexy! For a lease, if you are intending to hand the car back after 3/4 years, long term reliability should not even be an issue.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Ditto the above. I think the American makes have paid their penance and are now due for a lot more respect. There is nothing quite like the V8 rumble, certainly not from any Acura.

 

[Todd Hochard]

The CTS is a V6- 304hp, 3.6l, direct-injected (so you'll hear some ticking). I like the CTS, except for the ridiculous weight (4000lbs). For a car that has less room than my Acura TL, I'm passing.

 

[KurtEP]

I agree about the weight. Unfortunately, that's the bugaboo with a lot of modern cars. Tons of safety equipment and the structural rigidity of a bank vault seem to make a lot of high end cars way too heavy. I long for the good old days when cars were dangerous, had the structural rigidity of a bowl of linguini and didn't need 500 hp to do a sub six second 0-60 time.

All kidding aside, the CTS is a revelation for an American car, that seems to be able to run with the benchmark sedans from Germany and Japan. A friend of mine had one of the previous generation models, and I though that was a very respectable effort. The new model seems to be an even bigger step forward. It's good to see an American make actually putting a competitive product out. Hopefully, they'll be rewarded with lots of sales.

If you plan to lease, I'd definitely go with the car that you thought was more exciting (provided, of course, that it isn't made in England). Life's too short to drive dreary cars.

 

[David Rubenstein]

I've also had a RL for the past 3 years and I regularly rent a CTS when I travel. I do enjoy driving the CTS quite a bit, but I honestly think that the nav/audio system is not nearly as good as the Acura system.

I've become so fond of the systems in the Acura (we've had them in a TL, RL, and MDX), that it's one of the deciding factors when we look at new cars.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

David,

Interesting point.

What are the major problems you see with the NAV system on
the CTS compared to the RL?

I also take it that the Bose system in the CTS doesn't sound nearly
as good as the Bose system in the RL?

 

[Bob Graz]

Here's an interesting article on Cadillac CTS vs other upscale sports sedans.

Upscale Sports Sedans: American Dream - MSN Autos