EXTREME MAKEOVER; The new RL is more of a driver's car.(News)(automobile)

Byline: WES RAYNAL

Another hot, sunny July day in Washington, D.C. Temperatures in the high 90s, humidity way up there. The Mall is packed with profusely sweating tourists gawking at the Washington Monument, the Capitol building. The brand-new World War II memorial is jammed. Overflow crowds fill the National Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum and the Lincoln Memorial-even the fish-market area is hoppin' down on the Potomac.

We joined the throngs (many of whom looked like they had consumed more than their share of adult beverages) to drive Acura's completely redone flagship, the RL. Why the D.C. area? One reason, Acura officials explained, is because it is only an hour or so from Summit Point Raceway in Virginia. The company not only wanted us to get a taste of the lovely, rural two-lane roads outside of Washington, but also to wring out some hot laps on the road course.

Say what? An RL at a racetrack? What gives?

What gives is that this time around, Acura built a midsize luxury car you can drive, a car you can drive hard.

The new RL replaces the eight-year-old original model. The concept car, first shown at the 2004 New York auto show (AW, April 19), promised a badly needed horsepower boost, real-time traffic and navigation info, and perhaps most important, all-wheel drive. The show car also had a lovely interior and a good-looking, edgy body, prompting one Acura official to note, "We don't do styling, but this car actually looks pretty good.''

The production car delivers on the concept's promises. The 2005 RL is three inches shorter than the old car, but slightly wider and a couple of inches taller. The overhangs are shorter, and the new car looks more chiseled and aggressive.