{"id":1414,"date":"2020-06-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T07:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/cars2news\/?p=1414"},"modified":"2019-03-31T07:38:23","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T07:38:23","slug":"2019-acura-rdx-arrives-to-defend-its-compact-luxury-crossover-crown-updated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/?p=1414","title":{"rendered":"2019 Acura RDX Arrives To Defend Its Compact Luxury Crossover Crown (Updated)"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Fortunately Acura has revealed a new version at the New York Auto Show this week, ushering in the third generation of the compact luxury crossover.<\/p>\n

There goes the beak<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previewed by the concept version shown just two months ago in Detroit, the new 2019 Acura RDX adopts a fresh design language for the brand that leaves the controversial “shield” grille in the rear-view mirror (figuratively speaking). The new theme stems from the Precision concept showcased (also in Detroit) back in 2016, and is incrementally proliferating across the lineup.<\/p>\n

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Underneath that fresh sheetmetal, the new RDX rides on a 2.6-inch longer wheelbase that affords it more cargo space. It’s also fitted with a 2.0-liter turbo four and Acura’s Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive system. The engine kicks out 272 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque, up 20 horses and 28 lb-ft over the outgoing model’s larger, naturally aspirated V6. It transmits its power to all four wheels through a ten-speed automatic transmission \u2013 a first in this segment \u2013 to make this \u201cthe quickest and best-handling RDX ever,\u201d according to the manufacturer.<\/p>\n

Up to 70 percent of the torque can be sent to the rear axle, and on to either (or both) of the rear wheels.\u00a0Steering is handled by a variable electric system. And it’s all suspended on MacPherson struts at the front and a five-link independent setup at the back, with available active dampers.<\/p>\n

As with the larger MDX (and other Acura models), there’s a sportier A-Spec model as well. More about show than go, the RDX A-Spec features 20-inch wheels, gloss-black trim, and an available two-tone red and black leather interior.<\/p>\n

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Higher-end materials inside<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even in standard spec, though, the compact crossover incorporates high-end materials like brushed aluminum, open-pore wood, ultrasuede, and leather. There’s a big panoramic glass moonroof overhead, and a long list of tech features inside. Those include a 10.5-inch head-up display, a 10.2-inch infotainment screen (running an Android-based system), a touchpad controller, voice recognition, a knob to switch between four drive modes, and an available 16-channel, 710-watt audio system developed with Panasonic and tuned by a Grammy award-winning music producer. And it packs all the latest safety features as well.<\/p>\n

The vehicle’s been designed in California and engineered in Ohio, where it (and its engine) will also be manufactured. That makes this a thoroughly American product, despite the parent company’s Japanese roots. We don’t have pricing yet, but\u00a0the new RDX is slated to to start arriving at showrooms in the next few months.<\/p>\n

The competition is unforgiving<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it does, though, it’ll face a far more competitive market than it enjoyed when the first generation was introduced a dozen years ago. By now the luxury compact crossover market has ballooned with Japanese contenders like the Lexus NX and Infiniti QX50; German rivals like the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Mercedes GLC, and Porsche Macan; other Europeans like the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Jaguar F-Pace, Land Rover Discovery Sport, and Volvo XC40; and domestic offerings like the Lincoln MKC, Buick Envision, and the new Cadillac XT4, also introduced today in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

* This post has been updated with new information and visual assets<\/em><\/p>\n

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more photos…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fortunately Acura has revealed a new version at the New York Auto Show this week, ushering in the third generation of the compact luxury crossover. There goes the beak Previewed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[637,224,237,764,636],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1414"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}