I'll try to be brief, but I tend to be wordy. You've been warned 
Currently have a 2013 Accord Coupe that I really like but two doors ain't cutting it anymore. I'm either looking into another Accord, but a Touring Sedan, or possibly jumping to an RL. My timeframe is kinda up in the air, between 6-months a year before I would purchase anything, as of right now.
Anyway, since the nearest dealer to my parents, whom I was visiting today was kinda on my way, and since it was Sunday and they were closed, I dropped by to check out the RL for myself. Met another shopper and schooled him on all the features and specs I also stopped by dealer closest to my house after they had closed and found a MSM/Gray RL unlocked and ripe for the fondling. Be aware that I have never set foot in a G1 RL. Notes below:
STYLING/EXTERIOR
Really like all the angles except head-on front end. Not bad looking by any means but not the most attractive schnoz I've seen on a vehicle. I just like it, but don't love it. Like the two-tone gray/machined wheels and the ride height. Not sure how I feel about the huge piece of weatherstripping between the bed side and the cab. Would need some upkeep with 303 or something to keep it presentable. Same goes for all the black plastic cladding, of which the bed rail caps and tailgate cap seemed "stick" in the 94* heat. Af for build quality, I noticed a few issues. One was the gasket/weatherstripping around the rear window on one truck did not have a consistent reveal against the body. Probably only a cosmetic issue, but a little odd. The other was that the wheel well liners are super chintzy and thin. Seems like rocks could tear through the plastic later on. Yes, it's that thin. The doors do shut with a very pleasing "thunk" sound.
INTERIOR
Got to sit in a Gray on Black RL and found the seats to be very comfortable. I found no issues with the arm rest, other than I wish it was either wider, or pushed more toward the right. The ratcheting was nice, but the lowest position would suit me just fine. The visibility was very good, even toward the back. A nice commanding view of the road, or in my case, just the parking lot for now. The RL does not have the touch screen so i couldn't judge glare or fingerprint-i-ness. I immediately noticed the narrow opening angle of the rear doors because I swung open the door and it came to its stop much sooner than I anticipated. Not a big problem for me (5'6") to get in and out back there, but can see where might be tight for some larger passengers or cargo. Not a deal killer in the least, IMO. Rear seat was fairly comfortable and folded up, offered plenty of protected and lockable cargo capacity. Overall quality of the interior was excellent. Plenty of soft touch materials and everything fir together very well in the two trucks I looked at. My biggest disappointment was the glovebox was not damped and drops hard to its stops if opened abruptly.
STORAGE
While I liked the large center console, I was left feeling like three could have been a better use of all that space. Would have like to see slightly larger cupholders with either the famous Honda spring-loaded tabs, or at least the rubber slit bulls to adjust to different drink sizes. Large cubby that will accept larger phone/phablets is nice and 1.5a USB up front is good. Door pockets seem to have decent bottle holders and other trays, but may not be terribly functional. Glovebox is decent sized, but not sure if it's lighted or not. Wish it was damped as mentioned above.
BED/TRUNK
The bed area seems very useful. Nice amount of tie-downs, place to store full-size or donut spare if needed. Two non-LED lights on the RL I looked at. Dual-swing tailgate is a really nice feature, but why in the world does it not lock?!?! The trunk area is bigger than I was expecting and can hold a decent amount of cargo, and it can be opened with the tailgate in the traditional open position. I can see instances where side-swinging the tailgate may not be practical or feasible so this is welcome. In the RL, the inverter housing is just a storage cubby. Not sure how useful it would be. The bumper caps feel a bit cheap.
Of what I could discern from my brief exploration, I could definitely see myself in a RL in the next several months. I am an urbanite who gets into home improvement projects frequently. I also like to hike and also take my road bike out frequently. The RL would be an excellent daily driver for me; comfortable to commute in, rugged enough to make Home Depot runs and haul things to dump, take slightly off the beaten path occasionally, be able to haul furniture or other large items; etc. I have a use for a good pickup somewhat frequently and would also consider a small trailer for certain loads. I'm very impressed with what Honda has done with the new truck. I think they will sell a lot of them to people like me.
Now, my only issues with the RL so far are really packaging. I think I would really like the Forest Mist color, but it comes with no interior color choice, only gray which I'm not in love with. Also, there's no sunroof on the RTL-T. I fear I would really, really, miss that feature as I use my sunroof all the time in my Accord. I don't really need Honda Sensing or the fancy truck bed audio, but the interior system would be nicer than what comes in the RTL-T. The biggest mitigating factor to my future purchase is the cost. The RL would be the most expensive vehicle I've purchased, and by a pretty large amount. Cost of the vehicle would be higher, and for the miles I drive monthly, my fuel bill would likely grow by $40-$50. Might shoot my budget of under $400/month for loan and fuel tho LOL. Either way, I'm very intrigued by the new RL and will continue to monitor the forums while I'm hashing everything out.
Currently have a 2013 Accord Coupe that I really like but two doors ain't cutting it anymore. I'm either looking into another Accord, but a Touring Sedan, or possibly jumping to an RL. My timeframe is kinda up in the air, between 6-months a year before I would purchase anything, as of right now.
Anyway, since the nearest dealer to my parents, whom I was visiting today was kinda on my way, and since it was Sunday and they were closed, I dropped by to check out the RL for myself. Met another shopper and schooled him on all the features and specs
I also stopped by dealer closest to my house after they had closed and found a MSM/Gray RL unlocked and ripe for the fondling. Be aware that I have never set foot in a G1 RL. Notes below:STYLING/EXTERIOR
Really like all the angles except head-on front end. Not bad looking by any means but not the most attractive schnoz I've seen on a vehicle. I just like it, but don't love it. Like the two-tone gray/machined wheels and the ride height. Not sure how I feel about the huge piece of weatherstripping between the bed side and the cab. Would need some upkeep with 303 or something to keep it presentable. Same goes for all the black plastic cladding, of which the bed rail caps and tailgate cap seemed "stick" in the 94* heat. Af for build quality, I noticed a few issues. One was the gasket/weatherstripping around the rear window on one truck did not have a consistent reveal against the body. Probably only a cosmetic issue, but a little odd. The other was that the wheel well liners are super chintzy and thin. Seems like rocks could tear through the plastic later on. Yes, it's that thin. The doors do shut with a very pleasing "thunk" sound.
INTERIOR
Got to sit in a Gray on Black RL and found the seats to be very comfortable. I found no issues with the arm rest, other than I wish it was either wider, or pushed more toward the right. The ratcheting was nice, but the lowest position would suit me just fine. The visibility was very good, even toward the back. A nice commanding view of the road, or in my case, just the parking lot for now. The RL does not have the touch screen so i couldn't judge glare or fingerprint-i-ness. I immediately noticed the narrow opening angle of the rear doors because I swung open the door and it came to its stop much sooner than I anticipated. Not a big problem for me (5'6") to get in and out back there, but can see where might be tight for some larger passengers or cargo. Not a deal killer in the least, IMO. Rear seat was fairly comfortable and folded up, offered plenty of protected and lockable cargo capacity. Overall quality of the interior was excellent. Plenty of soft touch materials and everything fir together very well in the two trucks I looked at. My biggest disappointment was the glovebox was not damped and drops hard to its stops if opened abruptly.
STORAGE
While I liked the large center console, I was left feeling like three could have been a better use of all that space. Would have like to see slightly larger cupholders with either the famous Honda spring-loaded tabs, or at least the rubber slit bulls to adjust to different drink sizes. Large cubby that will accept larger phone/phablets is nice and 1.5a USB up front is good. Door pockets seem to have decent bottle holders and other trays, but may not be terribly functional. Glovebox is decent sized, but not sure if it's lighted or not. Wish it was damped as mentioned above.
BED/TRUNK
The bed area seems very useful. Nice amount of tie-downs, place to store full-size or donut spare if needed. Two non-LED lights on the RL I looked at. Dual-swing tailgate is a really nice feature, but why in the world does it not lock?!?! The trunk area is bigger than I was expecting and can hold a decent amount of cargo, and it can be opened with the tailgate in the traditional open position. I can see instances where side-swinging the tailgate may not be practical or feasible so this is welcome. In the RL, the inverter housing is just a storage cubby. Not sure how useful it would be. The bumper caps feel a bit cheap.
Of what I could discern from my brief exploration, I could definitely see myself in a RL in the next several months. I am an urbanite who gets into home improvement projects frequently. I also like to hike and also take my road bike out frequently. The RL would be an excellent daily driver for me; comfortable to commute in, rugged enough to make Home Depot runs and haul things to dump, take slightly off the beaten path occasionally, be able to haul furniture or other large items; etc. I have a use for a good pickup somewhat frequently and would also consider a small trailer for certain loads. I'm very impressed with what Honda has done with the new truck. I think they will sell a lot of them to people like me.
Now, my only issues with the RL so far are really packaging. I think I would really like the Forest Mist color, but it comes with no interior color choice, only gray which I'm not in love with. Also, there's no sunroof on the RTL-T. I fear I would really, really, miss that feature as I use my sunroof all the time in my Accord. I don't really need Honda Sensing or the fancy truck bed audio, but the interior system would be nicer than what comes in the RTL-T. The biggest mitigating factor to my future purchase is the cost. The RL would be the most expensive vehicle I've purchased, and by a pretty large amount. Cost of the vehicle would be higher, and for the miles I drive monthly, my fuel bill would likely grow by $40-$50. Might shoot my budget of under $400/month for loan and fuel tho LOL. Either way, I'm very intrigued by the new RL and will continue to monitor the forums while I'm hashing everything out.
