2005 Acura RL

The RL's outward imagery is quick, thrusting, BMW-sporty. But with comfy seats, soft-ish ride, and subdued V-6, it feels more like a cruiser. An old man's car, says one editor's wife. Ouch. But we like the seamless SH-AWD system for almost making you forget you're driving a four-door family hauler built around front-drive architecture. The adaptive headlight system malfunctioned one evening, but the nav screen allowed us access to a function that verbally described how to fix the problem. The car's smarter than the dealer, who reported a powerless powerpoint with a sticking lid as "normal." We replaced a blown fuse ourselves; the lid still sticks.