Overview & Reviews

The Acura RDX is a small luxury crossover SUV with two rows of seats. The RDX has never been a bona fide class leader in performance or luxury, but like many Acuras, it's a well-rounded vehicle with numerous strengths. In reviews, we've praised various RDX models for their quick acceleration, confident highway cruising demeanor and composed handling. We've found the RDX's cabin to be both well-constructed and reasonably spacious, with exceptionally supportive front seats to boot. The RDX also enjoys a strong reputation for overall quality and reliability.

If you're shopping for an RDX, you'll find early models with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, standard all-wheel drive and unusually sporty handling. Later versions of the Acura RDX stand out for their added refinement, power and interior space, and there's also a front-wheel-drive version aimed at buyers in milder climates. Unlike some rivals, the RDX keeps shoppers' lives simple with a generously equipped base model and a straightforward, package-based options structure.

User Reviews:

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  RDX REVIEW - 2007 Acura RDX
  By William - May 12 - 2:03 pm

  We fell in love with this new SUV as soon as we saw it. Drives like a dream and is very quick and responsive. The interior is very plush. Great SUV..

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  2nd better than the 1st - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Broka - May 11 - 12:20 pm

  This is my 2nd RDX and my 4th Acura. My 2015 RDX came off lease and I turned in for a 2017 AWD Advance and it is awesome. I loved my 2015 but this one is even better. The LED lights are unreal and they fixed all the problems I did not like with the 2015 (no vents in rear, passenger seat that goes up and down, ...) Little stuff but they add up. This one even has ventilated seats (Cool)!!! But I do notice a difference in the ride. It feels heavier, more solid, more powerful, smoother. Once set up, the touch screen is great. I spent a long time looking and checking out ALL of the competition from Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, Jaguar, Range Rover, Jeep, Subaru, ... Perhaps it is not the sportiest but it is just as fast without the noise as any of the others with their turbo 4s and it holds the road beautifully. And its roomy too!! Definitely the right choice.

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  Almost perfect RDX - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Robert Nordlie - April 23 - 9:51 am

  Ive had my RDX for a month and already have 2000 miles on it. Overall, I love the car. Very comfortable seats and ride, however, Ive had a little difficulty finding and ideal driving position. I am very tall and with the seat all the way back to accommodate my legs, the steering wheel does not telescope quite far enough to be completely comfortable. Many complain about the two screen technology but I like it very much. I also own a Corvette so I like to go fast, and as a result Im only averaging about 21 mpg around town, but thats fine with me since I had a Ford Explorer Sport before this and only got 17 mpg with that. Overall, I am very satisfied and would highly recommend this vehicle. I really like the styling, with the door handles contoured to the belt line and the LED headlights. I also like the clean back end with no bumper sticking out below the hatch and not visible exhaust tips (and yes I do like the four exhaust trumpets on my Vette).

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  Best Value SUV in the Marketplace - 2016 Acura RDX
  By geoex1 - April 12 - 9:29 am

  Received delivery of our RDX AWD Advanced this past Thursday and have loved every minute with it. Compared to the Lexus NX200t, Land Rover Discovery Sport and Lincoln MKC and found it to be the best driving of the bunch and the best value in themarket. Enjoy all of the technology features, smooth and comfortable drive, great fit and finish and the appealing interior and exterior design. We bought into the high Acura reliability and safety features.

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  Traded in after 7 months for REAL luxury SUV - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Marcus - April 11 - 4:55 am

  What a waste of time and money for a "Honda". I purposely purchased a RDX w/ tech package for the navi and the so called premium audio system. I ended up using google maps on my phone for directions. The RDX navi couldnt find half the places I wanted directions to and worse neither the navi nor a live Acuralink representative could give me correct directions to the nearest ER. I ended up at dead end streets. I brought the car in to be checked and Acura couldnt find any problems. What made me trade it in after only putting 2,000 miles on the SUV was the day I almost collided head on with oncoming traffic due to the fact that I was using Google maps to find a local business. After that, all I wanted to do was get rid of the near cause of a death or two. Will NEVER buy a Acura again!!

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  Not a lot of bells and whistles for a luxury brand - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Albert Zack - March 10 - 4:52 pm

  Even though we got the base RDX model, I was really surprised that to see the CRV from Honda (Acuras sister company) had some features the RDX did not. From my perspective, the base RDX should have more features than the highest-end CRV considering the Acura higher end positioning. Overall, we like the car, but just disappointed on how Acura cut corners.

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  Great buy - 2018 Acura RDX
  By E.K. - March 2 - 11:32 am

  I ve only had my SUV a month and I love it. It handles well in the freezing rain. Everything about it is great except for acceleration from starting point. Also it uses 91 octane or higher which is more costly. I find I have to go to gas up more often although I dont let it go below 1/4 of a tank. I drive a lot and dont want to run out in the middle of nowhere. Overall I think this is a good automobile and am enjoying it a whole lot. I would buy another.

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  Cross Country Breakin Fantastic - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Leslie Lagdamen - January 30 - 12:20 am

  RDX 2016 Fantastic....New technology features work great....Long time coming but worth the wait....was deciding between Q5...Murano....Sante Fe....Lexus ....The overall cost in comparison to what you get is what convinced me....Although Sante Fe was close....Honda Quality and my Personal History with Honda cars sold me in the end.....Purchased the RDX 2016 with the intent to Drive Cross Country from California to east coast and back.....and wanted and needed the additional technology features ( Acura Watch Plus ) to assist and make my trip comfortable and Safe....I was not disappointed...My only regret is that I should have bought the Advance Package ....oh and it needs more USB Ports especially in the rear Seating areas.

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  2017 RDX with technology pkg - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Sharat Patro - January 15 - 2:00 pm

  It turned out to be just an OK SUV. The fit and finish is not in par with other luxury vehicles of the same category. There seems to be some rattling and squeak issues. So far I have put about 2500 miles mostly highway. Gives decent mileage for a V6 engine.

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  Comfortable Ride with Tech Pkg to Make Geeks Happy - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Ralph Smith - January 14 - 8:58 am

  I bought this car because the ride is quiet, the acceleration is excellent, the ride is comfortable, it has a very good safety rating and safety technology is state of the art. I also liked the Acuras reputation for reliability. I enjoy a good sound system and the RDX with the Advance package is among the best I have heard in a car. We drive a lot of miles each year on long vacation driving trips. Since the car is also used around town, the smaller size of this SUV is convenient as it rides well on a trip but also easy to park in a city. There have been a couple of surprises. While I knew the car had great safety features, I had not really experienced the changes introduced to my life by this car until taking it on a trip shortly after buying the car. The surprise is that it requires changing how to drive in many respects and requires a new driver for this car to adjust to the technology. Specifically, the ability of the car to adjust its speed with the traffic. Dont misinterpret: I like the changes but on a busy interstate, one needs to pay attention to adjust to the changes. Cars and trucks pull in front of a car unexpectedly. The first time this happened, the Acura RDX slowed dramatically and automatically. I did not have to apply the brakes. Several days into this driving trip, I had adjusted and found myself becoming almost lackadaisical about this feature as the car almost adjusts itself. Driving is more relaxing. On a busy highway, I disabled the system though as the distance between my car and the next vehicle was long, even with the lowest setting, and occasionally a large number of cars would continually pull in front and constantly slow down our pace of driving. I did not like the feature of adjusting the steering when changing lanes or moving in traffic. I turned this feature off quickly. No doubt, I will try it again but doubt it will be useful or one that I will use with any regularity. I prefer to drive the car and change lanes as necessary without objection from the computer in the car. My biggest complaint in an otherwise excellent vehicle is the navigation system. I dont like it or how in integrates with the other system technology. The navigation systems in previous cars are much better. The Acura system is not intuitive or designed with the driver or consumer in mind. It works with the voice control but the list of possible commands is long and ignores some of the most common features available on other vehicles. I still do not know if I can send instructions to the car to follow a route I have created on the computer. The Acura site indicates I can do this. The salesman who sold us the car said he had never heard of that feature. A system like this works well on a Mercedes that I own. The manual is silent on on how to do it. The website offers no advice. I do not mind making a call with Acuralink to enter the destination but would prefer to map it out myself to select my own routes. The ability to use the smartphone with the Acuras system is an excellent innovation. I also like being able to stream a podcast or Pandora through the stereo system. Sirius XM generally works well with the Acura although the traffic and weather features do not integrate with the RDX. We used those features extensively with a 2012 Murano and this lack of integration is a significant failing of a luxury SUV. There is weather and traffic information on the RDX, it is not up to Sirius. Unfortunately, the navigation system operates in its own universe. The voice system giving directions cannot be heard clearly while sound is coming through these other systems. Instead, the systems yammers away incessantly with turns and directions while leaving the stereo system as a higher volume. Moreover, attempts to turn down the navigation system with the voice controls apparently cannot be done. At least I have not found a way to do this or to find in the documentation how it can be done. In my older Murano, I was able to know when the next rest area was coming up as well as when the next exit was coming up. Not so in the Acura. Asking for rest areas results in a list of rest areas, some of which may be behind on the route being traveled or may be many miles ahead. The information is useless. One friend who bought an Acura said he gave up and bought a Garmin navigation system to use instead of the built in system. I now know how he felt and I am inclined to agree. The nav system in the RDX is a major disappointment. As a person who uses a system like this extensively on trips, I have already found using Google maps or Waze on my IPhone to be much more useful and easier to use. With an MSRP of $45,000 for this luxury SUV, I expected much better. Moreover, the Acura salesman was not well versed in how to use the system so learning how to use it has been largely trial and error and stopping occasionally to check the manual to see if we missed something that would make it more useful.