Performance, style, and technology _ 2022 Acura RDX Review.

The Acura RDX is everywhere. If you're shopping for a compact luxury SUV, it's one of the most popular models on sale because Acura brings a lot of performance, style, and technology at a relatively budget price. This one is just under $54,000 fully loaded, and this is a brand new trim for 2022, the A-Spec Advance. There's a bunch of other minor updates for 2022. I will explain them all. And if you subscribe, you can watch me compare this RDX against the Infiniti QX55. That's the magic of the CarGurus YouTube channel. New cars just keep appearing. They come right to your screen every single week. Acura spilled its guts with the 2019 RDX. That's when this car was all new and showcased Acura's clean-cut design theme. It was a big departure from old Acuras, and the RDX has inspired every model since. TLX, MDX, even the NSX. We've reviewed the RDX every year since it came out. You should watch those videos and brush up. I'm here to bring you into 2022. Here's the changes. Up front, diamond pentagon grille. That's what Acura calls it. No idea really why. It's kind of got a different shape than a diamond or a pentagon that I've seen, but the grille surround is thinner. The whole grille itself is a little wider. The air intakes are now vertical. They're a little thinner here. The fog lights are a little redesigned as well. I say a little because you really have to look closely to see the differences, including these 15-spoke wheels. They're on the A-spec Advanced. That's a brand new package. That's what this is. It's the top trim now for 2022. Overall, it just looks a lot sportier than a lot of other competitors. There's no body cladding really at all. That's there on purpose. It's performance first, utility second. I like that. Big oval tips. They suggest a loud engine. Well, they're bigger than they sound. They're not actually like that. So if you like automotive paint, Acura has a really nerdy option. It's called the PMC Edition. That stands for Performance Manufacturing Center. It's where the NSX Supercar is built by hand and painted. They'll actually ship a bare RDX shell into that factory in Ohio and paint it this brighter blue, brighter than this one. And it's a limited edition car. Very few are out there, but you can order it like that. Pretty interesting. To most people, they won't know the difference. You can get the Apex Blue Pearl here on almost any RDX. It looks really good. The only thing really I don't love is this overinflated A logo, but a lot of cars are putting giant badges in the front. And let's face it. Inflation is here, folks. Order this interior. Orchid leather. It's white. It's black. It's leather. It's suede. This is a new color for the A-spec Advance, which combines two trims into one. The A-spec is ordinarily the sportier Acura look, while the Advance is more on the luxury side. Who wouldn't want them together? This is a pretty aggressive cockpit. Got all these swooping angles going all over the place right into the center stack, which feels like it's a bridge. Central command, you could say. And underneath, there's actually some storage space. You got power outlets, a wireless charging pad. I think it's going to age a little faster than other more traditional interiors, but right now it looks pretty unique. I like these analog gauges with the red type. You can't get an all-digital dash, but these gauges won't go out of style. And the RDX is all about performance. The driving mode dial is front and center. The steering wheel has depth and detail to it, like it's on a sports car. All the materials are pretty high quality. On this trim, you get all the nice micro suede on the dash and doors. It's real aluminum trim with this nice texture, including this sliding cover over the cup holders. It's good in here. The gear selector, all these tabs and buttons, I still dislike it, but you do get used to it. The main screen is touchpad controlled, and it's not always easy to navigate. I'll show you that later. Front or rear, this is a nice place to be, but this is the best seat in the whole house. Acura is part of Honda, and Honda makes some of the best 4-cylinder engines, period. And the RDX is no exception here. 2-liter turbo 4, 272 horsepower, 280 pound-feet of torque. Essentially, this is a detuned version of what you'll find in the Civic Type R. That engine's phenomenal. Everything Honda has done has been phenomenal with 4-cylinder engines. Really, the only other company that would compare to it is BMW. In terms of noise, vibration, and harshness, they're all low, right? Honda engines are just superb in that respect. They're really efficient. They rev high. Everything from the S600 Roadster of the early 60s to the S2000 Roadster to today. Really, the only thing you'd really want more is a turbo 6, but in this size car, this works. And combined with the 10-speed automatic transmission, you're always in the right gear, and it responds really well. That's what I really like about it. Now, for 2022, they've retuned the driving modes, so sport is now sportier, comfort is comfier. These are little electronic things that you may not notice right away, but it's definitely more responsive than the first one I drove back in the 2019 model year. They've also retuned the adaptive dampers. Those are only on the Advance and the new A-spec Advance that I'm driving, and that does make a difference. It really is nice to have a better response, so when you're going over rougher surfaces, you're not bouncing around. It's a great example of what happens with good chassis tuning and good suspension. In a way that, say, a cheaper Mazda CX-5 that I was reviewing doesn't have that same balance, with these adaptive dampers and this suspension, that's what you're paying for with an SUV like this. If you like to drive, the RDX does not disappoint. You don't have to get the top trims, either. Every RDX trim has everything baked in for you, because the chassis starts out really stiff. It's strong. You get good steering feel, good suspension, good road holding. It's just a perfect compromise, and this A-spec Advance, even though it's the sportiest trim, it doesn't go overkill, so you're never feeling brittle. You're never feeling like you're getting punched against the seat from the suspension. The transmission never just whipsaws your head back and forth. It's not about that. Now, I would kind of like that in a way. I would like the Type S on the TLX we tried. I would love that engine in this car. I really think if they charged maybe 5-10 grand more, it would really be a hit. I would love to see what it could do, but as it stands, with this Turbo 4 and the way it's equipped, you're just not going to be disappointed. In fact, you're going to be elated when you drive it. Front-wheel drive is standard. The super-handling all-wheel drive is optional. It's also standard on what I'm driving right now, the A-spec Advance and the regular Advance. So, what does that bring you? A mechanical torque vectoring rear axle. Acura has done that for years. What that does is it shifts torque left to right preemptively, so before you even need it, the system knows where you need to drive the wheels to get the most traction out of a turn. It really is awesome, and you don't notice it in everyday driving like this. Just drive around the neighborhood like I am now. But if you take a tight turn and you power through it, it really tightens your line. It's really awesome, and a lot of other all-wheel drive systems, they don't do that. So, you've got to order the RDX this way. You just have to. One of the more notable changes of the 2022 RDX is that it's a little quieter. Acura stuffed in some more insulation, double-pane glass, a few other things. Can I tell? Not really, but it is quiet. You really have to get a sound meter on board with the decibels to really compare the levels, but I believe them when they say that because when they're adding insulation, that means they're adding weight and adding cost. So, it's a good cost to have in a car like this because, well, who wants to hear the outside world? This is luxury. Fuel economy is okay. It's 21 city, 26 highway, and 23 combined. The front-wheel drive models get a little bit higher, but yeah, you know, that's okay. Again, this is a high-output four-cylinder engine, higher riding crossover. These are things you're going to have to put up with, and I don't really mind that because in the luxury space, you want performance. At least you should. Otherwise, why are you spending this upper-tier money? $40,000, $50,000? That's a lot to ask. The Mercedes GLC, that two-liter four? Not really that exciting. Doesn't drive with the same type of dynamics. Neither does the Volvo XC60. The Lincoln Corsair comes close. But again, in terms of overall refinement, getting everything balanced and tuned just right, Acura does that, and you might not think so from just seeing Acuras all over the place. You might think, oh, that's pretty commonplace. But what you don't realize is that from a driving perspective, they're a lot better than a lot of the German and even the Swedish and other Japanese competitors. The infotainment is the one hang-up I have about the RDX interior. I'm torn between liking this user interface and disliking the controls. There's no cursor. You tap on the pad where you want to select on the screen, and you have to hold your finger there to do it. It gets easier, and you can swipe menus with one or two fingers. But at the same time, it's not as intuitive as a touchscreen. Just the change the stereo controls, which I'll try to figure out. Yeah, it's like kind of going through physical therapy here. Sound. Finally. You have to remember and relearn how to do basic tasks, but that does make the wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto a bit harder, too. Here's the good parts. The 16-speaker ELS stereo with speakers on the roof that you can control separately. Check that out. You don't see that in most cars. There's a head-up display with lots of detail to change audio sources, browse phone contacts, and a lot more. That helps make up for using the infotainment controls. And there's AcuraWatch, which comes standard on every RDX. It's a whole suite of driver assist and safety features, and it has a self-steering system on marked highways. The Acura RLX, remember that? That was 8 years ago. That was one of the first cars I drove with a system that actually self-centered the steering. It was pretty amazing then, and it's much better now. The 2022 RDX starts at $40,100 and maxes out like my test car at $53,645 with Destination and the Extra Charge paint. Among the BMW X3, Audi Q5, and Mercedes GLC, it's a tremendous value. Against the Volvo XC60, Lexus NX, or Infiniti QX50, it stacks up well and drives better than all of them. The Genesis GV70 is the one car that beats the RDX by a wider measure, especially because it has the larger V6 engine and all that fancy style. It's hard to choose, but if you're choosing the RDX, you're getting a solid value and a well-appointed car at the same time. The technology is impressive, and the powertrain and the chassis, they're perfect in my mind. The only things I really want that are missing are a touchscreen and Acura's turbo V6. I know that would elevate the price a bit, but I'd really like to see it as an option. Still, I like this car now like I did when it came out. So, what do you think? This car, any number of other compact luxury SUVs? Keep watching, subscribe, go to CarGurus.com, because we've got a lot more videos, a lot more reviews, a lot more car listings for you guys to browse. See you next time!