9/11
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Review: Acura RDX
There is still gold to be mined in the compact crossover marketplace.
To mine this gold, oil prices would have to remain high. That also means a fluctuation of pricing at the fuel pump. Once these prices drop, consumers will go back to larger vehicles again. It is a simple matter of economics compounded by consumer trends, even if these trends are short-lived.
Yet, the segment continues to grow. The fact that these five-to-seven passenger, easy to drive crossovers attain moderate fuel economy, these vehicles have weathered fuel price fluctuations with continued strong sales on each model offered in this country. The growth in this market not only benefitted mainstream brands, such as Chevrolet, Honda and Ford, but of premium brands as well.
Perhaps this assessment of the smallish crossover segment is a bit boring for all of us. Economics is something for the pundits at The Wall Street Journal, CNBC and FOX Business can parse out and regurgitate. What we want to know is whether the new 2013 Acura RDX is an improvement from the last model.
The RDX had been seen as the unsung hero amongst luxury compact crossovers. Somewhere behind the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Volvo XC60 was a front-wheel-drive based, shield-grilled little bugger that exuded more technology than most of its ilk. For only having a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the RDX was seen as an alternative – to the alternative. The Acura sat in the back of the class, though it did attract a loyal following of premium brand buyers that liked the idea of being completely different, if not tasked to drive such a polarizing vehicle.
American Honda went back to the drawing board with a mission in mind: Make the Acura RDX more attractive to consumers in the segment. It worked for BMW after its first iteration of the X3 drew the ire of practically everyone except those who bought one. Sales of the current X3 skyrocketed during its first year thanks to an improved, more attractive design and better execution.
If it worked for BMW, did the same strategy work for Acura?
Initial sales already indicated a trend that the RDX is gaining traction in the marketplace. If you go to an Acura dealer, you might not find one immediately. The Ohio-built crossovers are indeed hot items. It also helped that the pundits gave plenty of positive feedback on the RDX. So far, so good…
To understand the initial reactions to the RDX, you have to look at it. It is a very handsome package. The taut size and lines shape an attractive silhouette with varying creases, textures, curves and lines. The RDX was designed to entertain the eye, not polarize it.
Every detail went unnoticed. The Acura shield, a design element now commonplace with Honda’s premium brand, received some sculpting. The side glass profile and the liftgate simply attract the curious and excite the enthusiast. Big eighteen-inch wheels finished off the Basque Red motif just right. Compared to the muscular TL sedan reviewed previously, the RDX shows a sensitive, but elegant side to Acura.
The same theme was found inside the cabin of the RDX. There are many of the brand’s cues inside. Start with a big TFT screen in the middle of a shrouded area topping the center stack. A big center knob controlled the TFT screen’s functions, which were pretty easy to figure out and use. Information came from two big dials in the instrument panel along with a small center screen for trip and vehicle functions. Gear selection was done in a non-obtrusive area right next to the driver. To start the RDX, all you do is press the red button on the dashboard – one of the unique touches found on Acuras today.
Getting used to the gadget-laden steering wheel may take some time. However, today’s Acura owners would show you some tricks on how to master the buttons dotted around the wheel’s center hub. When you set up your infotainment options – Bluetooth connection for the mobile phone included, all you need to do is to ensure that the voice recognition works well with your speaking style.
The Parchment leather seats were a welcoming sight to top off the two-tone interior motif. The front seats were big, comfortable, and offered many adjustments for drivers of all sizes. There was some bolstering, but not enough for more enthusiast tastes. Rear seats are thick and offer comfort along with ample leg and head room for adults. The RDX does not come with a third row of seating – which is probably for the best. There was more than enough room in the cargo hold for a weekend away or a night at the drive-in movie.
Acura’s ELS Surround sound system offered up 10 speakers of fantastic sound. XM radio joined the usual AM/FM and CD/DVD playback in the audio system. The Bluetooth connection worked not only for your phone, but also for your audio files on said device along with connectivity for the AcuraLink system. Navigation is part of the Tech Package and offered exact positioning.
One note regarding the ELS Surround audio system: Take the RDX to a drive-in movie. The sound rivals that of a movie theater.
Under the hood is Acura’s (and Honda’s) familiar 3.5litre V6 with dual overhead camshafts, four valves-per-cylinder and… With 280 horsepower on tap, the RDX’s V6 winds through the revs quite nicely – whether driven normally or a bit more spirited. Do not let the 251 pound-foot of torque number fool you. There was plenty of low-end grunt, sending the 3,800 pound crossover down the highway with ease.
The V6 is connected to a six-speed automatic gearbox with power sent to all four wheels. Just like all Honda/Acura transmissions, this one was very good. Shifts were unobtrusive and sure.
With the spirit of the TL under the hood, one would forget that it the RDX a crossover and not a premium mid-sized sedan. Driving dynamics are on the soft side, but expected for a vehicle of its sub-class. You get a smooth ride that does its best to absorb road imperfections and bumps. Once you get the RDX onto a smooth piece of tarmac, it simply flattened out the experience. There was some lean and roll in the corners and curves, but not enough to cause alarm. Otherwise, the RDX loved every road it was asked to tackle.
Stopping power was very good in both normal and panic braking. The steering was pretty good. Cornering action from the wheel was very responsive and turns were made pretty tightly. In all, the RDX was a very light vehicle that is simply worth running around in every day.
Whenever a six-cylinder compact crossover shows up for review, I would have to gird for the worst possible fuel economy figures. To say that 19MPG is acceptable for such a vehicle could be seen as “defeatist.” This of course flies in the face of everyone else telling me they get better fuel consumption than I. In the end, the RDX turned an average of 21.7MPG – right where it was expected to be.
For being a luxury compact crossover, the RDX may be the best buy of the lot. At $40,315, it is an honest value when compared to the competition – an advantage of at least a few thousand dollars. This is one of the reasons why the RDX outsold the class benchmark, the BMW X3, by 200 units in June of 2012.
For the sake of argument, Acura did a good job of improving and elevating the RDX by creating value both monetarily and content-wise. By supplanting the previous generation’s turbocharged four with the proven 3.5litre V6 and tweaking the overall design making it more handsome and easier on the eyes, this luxury compact crossover now sits at the head of its class – for now.
However, it would be valid to argue that the RDX belongs where it should be because it offers up the one thing often overlooked in a crossover – “fun.” Another adjective that applies to the RDX would be “alive.” This is the kind of crossover that would deliver something good for the driver, while keeping everyone else comfortable, safe and secure.
All of this leads to one conclusion: Acura has struck gold in this sub-segment. The RDX should never be seen as some form of alternative, unless one is married to the Teutonic paradigm in the luxury segment. Ask the 3,090 owners who took delivery of one in the month of June.
2014 Acura RLX Concept
Who says Honda—and by extension its luxury
arm, Acura—is off the pace technologically? A big pile of evidence, for
starters, among it the late adoption of direct injection and six-speed
automatics, as well as decade-old infotainment systems. Attempting to
push that pile into the dustbin is the Acura RLX concept, which makes
its debut at the 2012 New York auto show.
Per
Honda/Acura practice, the RLX is only a concept because its name says
so. It’s really a thinly veiled look at the next Acura flagship sedan,
and the replacement for the excellent but ultimately forgettable RL.
As you might imagine, the RLX shares much with the RL, including a
basic architecture (the suspension mounting points are largely the same,
for example). They also share the letters R and L. Both cars have V-6
power. And both feature SH-AWD—Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive—systems.
Here’s
where they differ: The RLX has an X in its name. It has a seven-speed
dual-clutch transmission on all-wheel-drive models. Its V-6 is a bit
smaller (3.5 liters versus 3.7) and boasts, yes, direct injection to
increase output and efficiency. And its SH-AWD setup is now officially
called Sport Hybrid SH-AWD, on account of its two electric motors at the
rear axle. The skinny on the new system: Rather than a more complicated
mechanical differential and driveshaft, the RLX uses electricity to
spin the rear wheels and provide torque-vectoring capabilities. Acura
also will apply a similar concept to the 2015 NSX, although the motors will be placed at the supercar’s front wheels.
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Acura isn't providing any info on the RLX's
batteries beyond confirming that they're lithium-ion cells, but it did
reveal electric-motor output. The electric motor housed within the
transmission is good for 40 hp, while the two electric motors at the
rear each produce 27 hp. These outputs are identical to those of an
Accord prototype fitted with Sport Hybrid SH-AWD we sampled last year.
(For an in-depth rundown on how SH-SH-AWD works, head to this post.)
The result is a claim of 370-plus combined horsepower and 30 mpg in
both the city and on the highway. Front-wheel-drive models get 310 hp
from the V-6 alone and make do with a conventional six-speed auto;
mileage with this setup was not reported. The current RL, which is only
available with all-wheel drive, has 300 hp and is rated at 17/24 mpg.
Acura
promises a lightweight structure; it's unknown if the new hybrid AWD
setup will be any heavier than the old system—our best estimate right
now is that it will be a wash—but the front-drive RLX is said to come in
well under 4000 pounds. The latter model also features a piece the
automaker calls Precision All-Wheel Steer, which is rear-wheel steering.
It controls toe angle with individual electric actuators at each rear
wheel.
Dimensionally, the RLX is about
the same overall length as the outgoing RL, with two inches added to the
wheelbase; the front overhang is reduced by the same amount. Both the
track and width increase by about two inches. Despite the similar size,
the RLX looks much more substantial than its predecessor. Similar
mounting points notwithstanding, the suspension is said to be completely
new, and the car will have variable-ratio, electrically boosted
steering.
The RLX will have full-LED
headlamps, as well as a passel of safety and infotainment gadgets.
Collision-mitigating braking, lane-keep assist, forward collision
warning, and lane-departure warning all will be standard. The interior
will feature dual LCD screens—an eight-inch screen for display purposes
and a seven-inch touch screen for inputs. Acura says the latter will
provide one-touch access to audio, HVAC, and navigation systems, and
that it offers haptic feedback. (Thankfully, some major features will
have redundant hard buttons.) The car will feature an app that will
allow access to smartphone e-mail, text-message, and contact functions. A
14-speaker top-shelf audio system will be offered, and USB connectivity
is standard. Acura claims the RLX has interior volume on par with that
of the Lexus LS, but declined to provide numbers. At minimum, a spacious
cabin will address one of the RL's major drawbacks.
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Stylistically, the RLX takes very few
chances; while the creasing and particulars are slightly different, it
looks like a larger ILX, Acura’s new Civic-based small car.
Given how many leaps forward the RLX makes in terms of tech, the safe
wrapper comes as somewhat of a disappointment. The RL drove nicely, but
it looked anonymous, and that, plus its output deficit versus much of
the competition, kept it from moving in any significant numbers. The
all-wheel-drive RLX rectifies the power issue, but the car’s cautious
styling could leave it standing in the blocks. We're told the bumpers
will change slightly, too, but that the lighting elements are
essentially what we'll see on roadgoing models. The only truly
distinctive items on the show car are its glitzy 20-inch wheels—the
multi-diode headlamps are pretty cool, too—which are sure to be swapped
for smaller, tamer pieces in production.
The
new technologies and impressive fuel economy—especially in the
city—should help the car garner some attention, though, as will the fact
that it will face less competition within Acura’s own showrooms: The
company told us that it will pare its car lineup
to just three sedans in the near future. With the arrival of the ILX
and this RLX, that means the TL or TSX will get the boot. It’s perhaps
telling that Acura is in the process of securing a trademark on the TLX badge.
Look
for the production RLX to debut at either the L.A. auto show in the
fall or in Detroit in January before the front-wheel-drive model goes on
sale in early 2013. The Sport Hybrid SH-AWD RLX will follow sometime
later in the year. View Photo Gallery
Driving in Las Vegas
People who’ve lived in Las Vegas a long time are always moaning about the traffic. I can’t blame them. When a city goes from dusty Western town with a couple of intersecting highways to a multi-freeway metropolis in forty years, it’s easy to wax nostalgic for the good old days. I’ve lived here only five years, and even that is long enough to remember charming phenomena that have vanished in the supergrowth. There’s a street named “Pyle” on the south side of town, but recent arrivals don’t know that the next major street north of it used to be called “Gomer.” “Gomer” is now Silverado Ranch Boulevard. Ah, the good old days, when you could name dirt roads after old sitcom characters.
Is traffic in Las Vegas really bad? It depends on what you compare it to. If you’re remembering when the first “Ocean’s Eleven” was being filmed on the Strip, it’s terrible. If you’ve just arrived from Boston, you might think you’ve landed in paradise. Whenever I come back from a trip to Los Angeles, Las Vegas seems pretty tame. Even so, there are aspects of driving here that always strike me as being peculiar to Sin City. Here are my top ten:
1. It’s amazingly easy to get out of town, and the scenic highways around Las Vegas are breathtakingly beautiful and uncrowded. Lots of new car commercials are filmed in the natural areas around Las Vegas, and it’s easy to see why.
2. Pedestrians have no rights. The major thoroughfares are vast swaths of asphalt, and crossing them on foot is like swimming across a river full of turbo-charged crocodiles. If you’re walking, you can assume that all cars, most of which are oversized SUVs, are out to get you.
3. Parking, even on the Strip and in downtown, is generally plentiful and free. This can change when a large show (like the CES show currently here) puts extra pressure on parking lots in certain areas, and hotels sometimes charge people who aren’t renting rooms.
4. Valet parking is available at many places on and off the Strip (even malls and hospitals) for the price of a tip — usually a couple of bucks. (If the “Valet Full” sign is out, a twenty will often get you parked anyway. It’s a scam, but if you’re late for a show, it’s useful to remember how well money speaks in this town.)
5. “Rush hours” are completely unpredictable and can occur for reasons like a boxing match at Mandalay Bay or an air show at Nellis Air Force Base. The only heightened traffic flow that seems to follow patterns like other cities is the daily migration from Summerlin (in the northwest) to the center of town.
6. Rain is serious. Even a little rain can make cars slide around in scary ways, and a big storm invariably brings big accidents. Intersections flood, and even though freeways have better drainage, they still can’t always handle the quantities of water a sudden cloudburst can drop.
7. Car insurance is expensive. Rates are among the highest in the country, right up there with places like New York City.
8. Lots of drivers, especially those near the airport and the Strip, don’t know where they’re going, and they’re driving unfamiliar cars. Mix that with the reason people come here — to drink and play games of chance — and you’ve got a mandate to drive defensively. This also helps explain the high insurance rates and the outrageous number of fender-bender accidents.
9. Taxi drivers are great! They know the city, speak English, and the cabs are in good shape. They’ll cut you off as gleefully as they do in other cities, but generally speaking, they’re a cut above.
10. Driving on the Strip can be frustrating unless you get into a car- and people-watching frame of mind. If a cool vehicle exists, you will see it. From Lamborghinis to Humvee limos, tricked-out low riders to Rolls Royces, they’re all here. (For some reason, traffic on the northbound side of the road is always slower than on the southbound side. I can’t figure out why, but if you want to cruise the Strip more quickly, start at the north end.)
Like everything else in Las Vegas, driving can be an adventure, and there’s no denying that you’ll sometimes be stuck in a jam, most often caused by a construction project like the interminable one in Henderson that will eventually result in a new freeway. For this reason, I always carry books-on-CD in my car — someday I will have Las Vegas traffic to thank for finally finishing Moby Dick.
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