Introduced in 2019, the third-generation Acura RDX dropped the V6 from the previous years and replaced it with a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four similar to the engine found in the Honda Accord.
Inside the cabin, the RDX was the first in Acura's lineup to feature its new True Touch Pad Interface infotainment system that uses a laptop-style touchpad to navigate the menu screens.
Though nothing has changed for the 2020 model year, our RDX came wearing the A-Spec package that includes a more aggressive exterior and package-exclusive wheels.
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Look, I get that as a car enthusiast, I’m supposed to hate this new automotive class of should-have-bought-a-sedan-but-wanted-to-sit-up-high-so-bought-an-overpriced-small-luxury-SUV-instead. “Why sit up high if you’re not going off road!” says conventional wisdom, “Just buy a station wagon if you need more space!”
Here’s the thing: I don’t hate these tiny luxury crossovers, and many of them, like BMW’s X3 or Mercedes’ whatever its called this model year, are quite good. They’re easy to park, easy to see out of, and drive great. Plus, there’s room for the whole yuppie family. Do I wish people just bought sedans? Of course. But I can understand the argument for these crossovers.
This RDX, though? I don’t get it. It looks the part, and I’ll give it props for both its exterior styling and its sweet interior, but I can’t get over how whiny that four-cylinder under the hood is. Sorry, but I don’t want to hear Geo Metro noises while I’ve got the cruise set at 45 mph in my luxury car, even if those noises do produce 272 horsepower at full throttle. Another gripe? The Infotainment UI sucks, and I mean sucks. Like, I’m 25 and was already hating it before it froze mid-drive (I punched a few different buttons and got it working again, but seriously: My E30’s Alpine stereo never got stuck on a spinning “Loading…" wheel when I was trying to play a CD…. There’s no touchscreen, so instead interactions are mostly handled by a trackpad that makes choosing a radio station a little bit like trying to play “Operation” while driving. Bzzzzzzzt, now you’re on the Easy Listening channel! Bzzzzzzzzt, climate control! Fortunately, there are a few physical knobs and buttons, with the largest measuring roughly saucer-size and sitting straight in the middle of the dash. What’s it control–volume? Radio station? Maybe the shifter like a modern Ram truck? Nope–it’s your drive mode selector, ensuring that it’s way easier to put your SUV into sport mode than to a lower radio volume.
All-in-all, this is a remarkably good car ruined by a sub-par infotainment system and a lack of firewall sound deadening. Maybe we’ll be writing about how to fix those typical classic car issues when we’re restoring one of these in 40 years.
I haven’t read any of my fellow staffers’ opinions of this car, and I’m not sure I want to, because if they liked it, I can’t be friends with them anymore.
It’s not that the RDX is “bad” necessarily, it’s just that it doesn’t make sense. After all, the U in SUV stands for “Utility,” not “U can’t figure out how anything works, and U will hate the way it rides.” Or maybe it does. If so, bravo, Acura.
Look I don’t automatically hate SUVs. I just prefer them when they don’t pretend to be sporty, because when you try and make them sporty you create a vehicle that sucks at doing everything. Focus on the U and the V and not so much on the S. And, really, so many of the RDX’s faults can be traced back to trying to maximize that S. The seats are… okay? Pretty good? If they were in a sport sedan or hatchback. But in a taller vehicle they’re hard to climb into, limit your motion once in them, and stress lateral support over comfort, which is not something I’ll ever expect my SUV to need. They’d be great seats in a vehicle you pick for the pleasure of driving, not one that you pick because you need to get stuff done in your life.
Also, the baroque and byzantine interface on the driver information system can be just frustrating. I know this is something that normally gets filed under “automotive journalist problems” and if you lived with the interface day in and day out you’d get used to it, but there’s just no reason to make it function so much differently from devices we all use every day, like our phones, tablets and computers.
And did I mention how intrusive the auto—stop-start function is? Let off the brake in a drive-thru and you practically lurch into the poor bastard in front of you who just wanted a McRib and now has C3/C4 trauma.
Look, it’s pretty, feels to be of the highest quality and of exceptional engineering, it just doesn't make a ton of sense, and as a result kind of does a poor job at being something useful.
Let me start by explaining that yes, you can fit your whole fist into the exhaust finisher. It was a theory that I had to test out for science. Also, it looks like I can't be friend with J.G. anymore, because I really enjoyed my time with the RDX.
Overall, it had plenty of space for a small family, and also had enough comfort features to make my commute to and from the office genuinely not suck. What also made my commute not suck in this particular instance was the RDX’s spirited attitude. The turbocharged engine was easily persuaded in any of its drive modes (except for snow, which I didn’t have the opportunity to test for obvious reasons) to launch the RDX out of corners quicker than any small SUV should be allowed to, and while the engine note isn’t the most heart-racing, for someone with a love for punchy Japanese 4 cylinders, it was right up my alley.
One thing that really stuck with me, however, is something that my wife mentioned. Even though we both really liked the RDX, and as much as it’s A-Spec package made it look aggressive, my wife pointed out that it kind of looked like any other small SUV--especially when we had to find it in a parking lot. I couldn’t help but agree. Frankly, it looked like a straight-up family taxi. I blame the white pearl paint our RDX came with. In order to combat that effect, I would recommend the package exclusive Apex Blue Pearl that can create a striking contrast when optioned with the red interior.
On that note, my only other complaint towards the RDX is so small it almost isn’t worth mentioning: the RDX only came with Apple CarPlay, but not Android Auto. I thought this was weird considering that both exist in nearly all other Honda products. If you have a theory as to why this is, I’d be interested in hearing it. Besides that, the RDX is par for the course when it comes to the entry-level small luxury SUV segment, with a dash of sportiness and sprinkling of attitude that I’ve come to love and expect from a Honda product.
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