In what may be the shock of the Detroit auto show, Acura officials admitted that the current RDX gets crappy mileage. Well, not in so many words, but close enough.
To rectify the situation, the redesigned RDX will get a 3.5-liter V6 in place of the current turbocharged four-cylinder. How does putting a larger-displacement six-cylinder in place of a small-displacement four-cylinder cure the mileage issue? Well, that gives you an idea how thirsty the turbo was.
A new six-speed automatic transmission helps the situation along with a lighter all-wheel-drive system. The results are impressive, too. Acura says the new RDX is expected to deliver EPA mileage numbers of 20 city/28 highway. The current RDX only gets 19 mpg city and 24 mpg on the highway.
As you might have guessed by looking at it, the new RDX is based on the recently introduced Honda CR-V. The wheelbase is longer and the tracks are wider so the cabin should have more room than the current model. New technology features like a Pandora radio interface, text-to-voice system and additional sound-deadening materials have been added to beef up the RDX's luxury credentials.
Acura didn't get very specific about pricing other than to say that the new RDX wouldn't stray very far in price from the old one. We'll find out in a few months, as the RDX is slated to go on sale this spring.
jscion says:
03:36 PM, 01/ 9/12
It doesn't look like Acura is willing to give up on that awful chrome piece across the front of every model. I actually liked the RDX because it looked like a sporty ute. Now it's an over grown CUV that looks just like the MDX does now. It's like the same team that updated the current generation Civic went ahead and destroyed the next generation model of another good model. Honda, you just can't stop yourself from doing a half-witted job. I Don't understand this at all!
cjasis says:
04:02 PM, 01/ 9/12
Promising. Surprisingly, at least from this angle, that god awful Acura shield nose doesn't look horrible on this vehicle.
coolb944 says:
04:10 PM, 01/ 9/12
Looks like a shrunken version of the current MDX, which came out just after the current RDX, which means we've seen this basic design for a while now. Hopefully the interior has much nicer materials than the current car at least.
Looks like the only Acura I will desire is the one that I can't possibly afford.
blurglide says:
04:24 PM, 01/ 9/12
I almost bought an RDX several years ago. It's a very practical gear hauler, and would make a great ski car. The handling with that SH-AWD really was amazing for an SUV, and power was decent. It would make a great ski car- good power at altitude, good handling on windy roads, and AWD. What stopped me? Crappy mpg on premium and bolbous proportions.
This one looks a lot better. Very understated though, which isn't a bad thing. It shouldn't draw much attention from cops. MPG is WAY better for long road trips. I test drove the new CRV last week and liked the way it handeled, and the RDX should be even better. I just didn't like how gutless it was, and the V6 will fix that. However, the V6 up front may disturb the balance, and they ditched the SH AWD. What's really interesting is now we know the CRV chassis can handle a V6. I wonder if we'll see that option soon? I sure do wish they would've continuted to develop their turbo 4 though. That configuration, if executed properly, has more mpg potential than a V6.
I was thinking of getting a RAV4 V6 for my next car, for a practical outdoor gear hauler. The next RAV4 might not offer such a powerful engine though, and the Acura looks more distincitive...less soccer mom. This will be high on my shopping list.
roar02ram says:
04:37 PM, 01/ 9/12
Now that this thing looks nicer and more mature and has a V6, it might actually be one of the best values in the luxury realm so long as it hews to the existing car's $33k price tag.
mista_tee says:
05:24 PM, 01/ 9/12
Acura needs something to sell. This may do well. A friend of mine works at an Acura dealer and he says its been dead for a few months.
cr_driver says:
05:28 PM, 01/ 9/12
"Looks like a shrunken version of the current MDX"
+100
akitadog says:
06:31 PM, 01/ 9/12
This one looks even more like its donor CR-V than the last one. The last one was a compromised mess in terms of interior space and fuel economy, but at least it wasn't boring.
jason330i says:
06:32 PM, 01/ 9/12
i like it. always wanted a fuel efficient v6. sh-awd will be missed but maybe the new awd system is not so bad.
jdubbs19 says:
06:43 PM, 01/ 9/12
Hopefully this will be the hit that Honda's been looking for with Acura. They design of the vehicle looks great (at least to me), hopefully it'll be priced right.
thelintproject says:
07:50 PM, 01/ 9/12
Soccer moms rejoice!
urbansophistic says:
09:06 PM, 01/ 9/12
Honda RDX or Acura CR-V. Take your pick. And yes, all soccer moms rejoice.
msmlexis says:
05:17 AM, 01/10/12
Dont like the front bumper but the rest looks really good especially the rear.
ba27 says:
05:28 AM, 01/10/12
A BIG improvement over the last version, and looks good overall. If the pricing is right, it'll sell really well, just like the MDX does.
BTW, where does it say that the SH-AWD system has been ditched? Just because the new AWD system is "lighter" (which is the only comment made in the article) doesn't mean that it's no longer SH-AWD.
My bet is that those clever engineers at Honda figured out how to make SH-AWD simpler and lighter. SH-AWD was the first mass-marketed torque-vectoring AWD system, and is too important to Honda's engineering reputation to abandon.
bonzjr says:
06:20 AM, 01/10/12
Wow they just won't give up on that front end will they? They keep shrinking it, smoothing it, dulling the 'shiny bits' with better material, but it's still there. This is the best iteration of it so far, but it's still not good. The rest of it looks OK. As most noted already, it's got that shrunked MDX look.
It'll probably sell if the price doesn't move much from the current model. This is where people will go when they feel 185-hp isn't enough for the CRV or they want something entry-level and safe, inexpensive and reliable in the small-luxury-crossover segment for the curb appeal portion of the kiddie motor pool.
The engine is a lateral improvement. I think it's better suited to this than the 240-hp turbo, but I'm disappointed Honda is still running what is now a pretty ancient motor (single cam heads, timing belt coupled with an interference design, and port injection?) in a 2013 'luxury' thingy.
blurglide says:
06:39 AM, 01/10/12
@ba27 "BTW, where does it say that the SH-AWD system has been ditched? "
In the article before this one...
http://www.insideline.com/acura/rdx/2013/2013-acura-rdx-is-redesigned-2012-detroit-auto-show.html
It says...
"The new RDX also will borrow the CR-V's on-demand real-time all-wheel-drive system, retuned by Acura for better performance. Acura officials say the CR-V system is lighter and less costly than the SH-AWD system that's offered on the 2012 RDX."
billt9 says:
07:39 AM, 01/10/12
The new CR-V is 500 lb lighter than the current RDX, that's where the mpg came from.
The current RDX has a spacious 3rd row, feels as big as the MDX's 3rd row.
I imagine the new smaller RDX/CR-V will lose the 3rd row.
billt9 says:
07:42 AM, 01/10/12
wait rdx has no 3rd row. I must be in the wrong car.
ba27 says:
10:15 AM, 01/10/12
@ blurglide: OIC.
Well then, let's hope Acura's "retuning" of the new system really does result in better performance.
pisado says:
08:31 AM, 01/15/12
I have a 2010 RDX. It has plenty of power, cool xenon headlights, beautiful interior and even though I bought it for $30,000 it still appraises for $25,000. Of course it is nice to have a 4yr/50,000 mile warranty in a $30,000 car. This car is just as nice as the Lexus version but less money.