2022 Acura RDX

The 2019 Acura RDX has a pretty big shoes to fill is replacing the second-generation RDX which was one of the best-selling premium compact crossovers available so acura always knew that the RDX was a practical choice but what they learned was that people wanted something maybe a little bit more emotional which is why they spent a lot of time refining the handling and the performance of it but also giving it this much more aggressive styling compared to the outgoing RDX this is much more aggressive it's more creased it looks more grown-up and more premium the most noticeable features of the new design language can be seen in the five-pointed grille and the multi LED headlights this third-generation RDX is on an all-new platform it's also a little bit bigger than the previous generation RDX it's a little wider longer and rides on a longer wheelbase it has a new four-cylinder turbocharged engine and a 10 speed automatic transmission the turbocharged 2-liter engine makes 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque and it's actually one of the most powerful engines in its class even though the 2019 RDX has one powertrain it's gonna be sold in four trim level configurations base tech a spec and advanced what we have here is the a spec you can tell by the 20 inch wheels that are unique to a spec every other RDX gets 19 inch wheels and the a spec also has a lot of blacked-out trim on the front and the rear of the vehicle the tires are 20 millimeters wider on a spec but otherwise it's basically the same as all the other RDX's with one exception the dual mode muffler in this is a little bit louder so they've tuned this to give it a little bit more exhaust note this has the newest fourth generation of Acuras super handling all-wheel drive system and it's kind of a unique system and it lends a lot of capability to the RDX not just in terms of traction which all-wheel drive systems do but as the name implies it also has a big benefit in handling [Music] one of the changes for the third-generation RDX is a variable ratio steering now this is a fixed variable ratio steering system which probably sounds really confusing what it means is the further you turn the wheel the quicker the steering ratio gets so it's going to feel totally natural when you're driving it around unlike some systems that change the ratio with vehicle speed so for example when you're on the freeway the ratio right around Center is going to be nominal and once you're in a parking lot situation you need to add in a lot of steering angle you're gonna get a quicker and quicker ratio so what that means is you don't have to turn the wheel as far in a parking lot or a tight cornering situation in order to get the steering done you do notice the stiffer chassis just driving around it just feels solid and responsive and the 5linx suspension does a good job picking up its feet over bumps and basically you get responsive handling without a ride that punishes you there's a big silver knob front and center that controls the dynamic mode and with that you can select between the RDX's for driving modes and those are snow Comfort Sport and Sport Plus and among those they allow you to vary the transmission response the throttle response the super handling all-wheel drive torque vectoring capability and a sound level based on the exhaust mode so it changes a whole variety of things and it actually makes a pretty significant difference the new RDX it really strikes a nice balance between ride quality and handling I mean this thing feels pretty sharp pretty nimble on some of these tight turning roads but it still picks up its feet well over bum's that has a nice compliant ride and that's true whether you're sitting in the front or the back so well done now some of you might be wondering about the boost response of the engine and I can tell you it's really good I mean you roll into the throttle and the torque is pretty much immediate you've got 40% more torque at 1600 rpm than the old v6 so you're never wanting for torque and you're never waiting for the turbo to come on boil either and it's got a 10 speed automatic transmission and it seems to make pretty good decisions it doesn't get flustered about gear choice and it seems to always have the right gear for the occasion we've experienced this same powertrain in the Accord and we liked it there we like it here Acura paid a lot of attention to sound insulation in this new RDX and for a couple of reasons first quieter cars are just nicer but also they wanted to make sure the environment was set up appropriately for their new Els studio 3d sound system which is the premium audio system available in a spec in advanced packages and this is a really impressive sound system it's a 16 speaker 710 watt sound system that includes speakers in the headliner front and rear so really does create an experience that an audiophile will really respond well to so check it out if you like music Mac here went all in on technology with the third-generation RDX Acura watch is standard on all RDX's and that consists of adaptive cruise control emergency automatic braking lane-keeping system the whole suite of driver assistance features and those are things that you kind of have to piecemeal in some of the competition and pay more for it on advanced trim levels or super sophisticated head-up display that allows you to customize the menu items and control various aspects of the vehicle apple carplay is available and Android auto is not yet available but it will be they say they're working on it right now so we expect to see the Android auto in a few more months the new RDX also debuts Acuras all new infotainment interface which is called true touchpad interface and it really is unlike any other infotainment interface that is out there today it starts with a 10.2 inch HD screen that's not a touchscreen instead all the action happens here at the base of the center stack with this touchpad down here and it's split into two zones you have this big touchpad to control the main part of the screen and then this smaller touchpad zone to control the right side of the screen and it's it's pretty trick it's called absolute positioning so wherever your finger is on the touchpad corresponds to where you're highlighting the part on the screen so basically it's as though you are directly touching the screen without directly touching the screen it's going to take a little bit of adjustment but I think it holds a lot of promise the new RDX did grow slightly on the outside and on the inside and it's pretty spacious in here man there's plenty of room up front and even the back seat passengers have all kinds of headroom legroom you are not hurting for space in this and that goes for cargo volume as well not only is the cargo area big it's got the typical Honda Acura functional storage it's got in floor storage and they did that without giving up the spare a key remove the spare underneath the car to make more room for cargo on the inside the cabin storage is really well thought through - there's a nice size console bin with cupholders there's this auxilary storage area underneath the floating console door pockets I mean it's like any Acura and Honda they really think through the details of how people use their cars in the real world on a daily basis let's talk value which i think is a real strong point of the third generation RDX the entry-level two wheel drive version starts at 37,000 300 and comes pretty well equipped it has dual zone automatic climate control heated 12-way power seats a power liftgate and a panoramic sunroof which is standard on every RDX and even if you threw caution to the wind and went for the top-of-the-line advanced trim with the super handling all-wheel drive it's forty seven thousand four hundred which is a whole lot less than comparably equipped competitors this vehicle competes with a whole variety of different competitors from the BMW x3 mercedes-benz GLC Lexus NX Infiniti qx50 out eq5 I mean the list is really long Acura decided to set their sights primarily on the Germans and I think they pulled it off this is a nice driving vehicle that's beautiful inside we've got real leather wood metal accents the layout of all of the technology is pretty intuitive it's going to be a little bit of an adjustment to get accustomed to the true touchpad interface but I think that's because it's different not because it's difficult to use this is a pretty solid well-rounded package it doesn't break the bank there's a lot riding on 2019 Acura RDX in a really competitive segment but based on our first impression here we think it's got what it takes to be a success from features to performance to luxury it's kind of a sweet package and to top it off it's thousands less than the competition there's a lot to like here and as a bonus you're not gonna have to wait very long because they reach dealers on June 1st to read our first drive in the 2019 RDX head on over to edmunds.com 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