Road Beat: 2019 Acura RDX SH-AWD A-Spec, Skip the acronyms and call it G for Great

Times are good for the auto industry, everyone makes good cars and it’s been that way for about a decade. That goes for full-size trucks, too. But some cars are better than good, some are great and some super-great and Honda/Acura makes great cars and a few super great ones. This new Acura RDX is almost super-great like I would call the Acura TLX SH-AWD A-Spec.

If Acura new radio system was more user-friendly as it’s claimed to be it might make the super great rating. Sometimes it wouldn’t respond to my finger touch. The idea works, but the execution didn’t work all the time.

RDX is all-new and slightly bigger, about 3 inches longer in wheelbase and length and an inch taller and wider. Dimensions are clearly a small midsize with length stretching out to 187 inches, width beaming out to 75 inches and height growing to 66 inches, all on a long 108-inch wheelbase. The new body is evolving beautifully, the eagle beak is gone and the lines are smoother and cohesive. RDX has become a real looker. Nice job Acura.

Underhood is a new engine borrowed and slightly detuned from the Civic Type R Supercar. It’s a 2.0L Four-cylinder turbo motor with all the other bells and whistles that punches out 272 hp at 6,500 rpm and 280 pounds of twist from an off-idle 1,600 rpm to 4,500 rpm. In the Civic Type R this engine makes 306 hp.
Also new to the drive-train is its responsive 10-speed auto cog-swapper driving all four all the time. Don’t worry, it still has world-class performance blasting from 0-60 mph in 5.89 seconds and scooting from 50-70 mph on a level highway on just 3.05 seconds and doing the same run up a 6-7 percent grade in a scant 4.16 seconds. The new tranny helps in that you forget about the turbo. It feels normally aspirated with almost completely linear throttle response and the correct gear is always there, but yet when you are at 7,000 feet elevation, you still have all 272 stallions at your disposal. The new tranny, while it has sequential paddle shifters, is able to drop four gears at once, like from 10th to 6th or 7th to 3rd. Nice job Acura. Well done.

Ok, so now for a bit of a knock, fuel economy. EPA rates the new RDX AWD at 21/26/23 mpg city/highway/combined. My tester averaged about 24 mpg overall with a 70-mph highway run raising that number to 28.5 mpg and in my 200-mile trip over the Sierras returning 26.6 mpg. Not bad, but 2-3 more mpg overall would be desirable. At least Acura saw fit to give the new RDX a larger fuel tank now 17 gallons. Hurting that fuel consumption a bit is a 4,015-pound curb weight.

But that two-ton number does little to dissuade to RDX from changing directions. It flat out handles as you would expect from a German sporting sedan with oodles of grip, accurate steering, and excellent roll control. RDX has all the right creds, trick, very sporty tuned, independent suspension, a super quick electric power steering rack that goes lock to lock in 2.23 turns, 20X8 inch gorgeous alloys shod with 255/40 series and a super-wide track of 64- and 65-inches front and rear. Honda/Acura are known for fine handling qualities and the RDX can be a new poster child. No, it’s not an NSX, but don’t try to lose one in the twisties in your BMW.

The ride is firm but still supple and compliant. The new super rigid body is a bank vault or like the hull of a battleship and that adds to the ride as shock tuning can be revised to soften jolts without taking away from handling. It is quiet with silent tires, no wind noise and an engine that spins a low 1,750 rpm at 70 mph.
Safety-wise the RDX has it all, lane keeps assist, great backup camera, blind-spot warning, auto braking plus all the usual acronyms. In addition are the superb, slick LED headlights with an auto high beam system. Auto high beams are the latest in safety advances and should be standard on all cars as they are on the RDX A-Spec.

Inside is a beautiful leather interior in my A-Spec done in red and black. It is both stunning and sublimely comfortable. Rear seat room is also generous as is the cargo area with almost 32 cubes behind the rear seats and almost 80 cubes including the underfloor.

Instrumentation is done in a red glow and looks like a precision Swiss watch. It is complete with a big tach and speedo flanking a center info center/trip computer. Going to the center stack is a large info screen and easy HVAC controls, but the radio system is controlled by a laptop type touchpad and it didn’t respond to my touch all the time. I guess I didn’t have the right touch. And this system as newly designed to be easy and intuitive. It takes away from the otherwise fantastic vehicle the RDX A-Spec is.

Pricing is another area where the A-Spec shines big-time. This loaded top of the line RDX AWD A-Spec stickers for just $45,500 plus $995 for the train/truck from its Marysville, Ohio Assembly plant. There are no options. Considering the capabilities, quality and styling the RDX becomes an incredible value, a smarter value than any of the German brands with all their alleged virtues and then some at a lower, better price.

Specifications
Price $46,495 all in
Engine 2.0L DOHC, 16 valve turbo direct-injected inline four-cylinder 272 hp @ 6,200 rpm
- 280 lb.-ft. of torque @ 1,600-4,500 rpm

Transmission
10-speed torque converter automatic

Configuration
Transverse front engine/FWD/AWD

Dimensions
Wheelbase 108.3 inches
Length 186.8 inches
Width 74.8 inches
Height 65.7 inches
Track (f/r) 64.2/64.7 inches
Ground clearance 8.2 inches
Weight 4,015 pounds
Weight distribution (f/r) 57/43 percent
Fuel capacity 17.1 gallons
Cargo capacity (behind first row/second row 79.8/31.1 cubic feet
Steering lock to lock 2.23 turns
Turning circle 38.9 feet
Wheels 20X8 inch alloys
Tires 255/40 high-performance all season

Performance
0-60 mph 5.89 seconds
50-70mph 3.05 seconds
50-70 up a 6-7 percent grade 4.16 seconds
Top speed Way into triple digits
Fuel economy EPA rated 21/26/23 mpg city/highway/combined. Expect 23-25 in rural country driving and 28-29 mpg on the highway at legal speeds.