stingrey

I did. I was looking at a ton of different cars for this very purpose. My other car is an 02 WS-6 Trans Am, and my hobby is getting outdoor and heading to West Texas (Big Bend in particular) whenever time permits. The T/A is a great touring car, but it isn't quite the car you want when it comes to getting off the pavement.

Not that the RDX is the definition of an off road ready vehicle, but in terms of getting "off road" in Big Bend, mostly I'm talking about graded dirt/rock roads with everything from sand to boulder type surface area on a variety of inclines. Jeep made my list for obvious reasons, but it fell off when I kept reviewing Edmunds.com and seeing that they still had cars catch fire on occasion.

Anyway, the RDX had never crossed my mind due to price issues (for me) back in the day, but I did have a TL briefly and LOVED that car. I looked at my local Acura dealership and found that a gently used RDX was on the lot... An 07... WITH Bluetooth. No navi, but I didn't want that year's navi system anyway.

Though I don't recommend driving off road every day in an RDX, the standard suspension was great on almost all surfaces except the washboard (otherwise level) surface on Old Maverick out in Big Bend National Park. The boulder type surfaces? Like a champ. The glaring shortcoming of this car is center clearance, but even then as narrow as the RDX is it was cake to maneuver (at reasonable speeds) around obstacles that were questionable.

Some pics:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...3&l=14c03d9dea

And a video including some of the typical "Off Road" conditions in Big Bend, though with the not so typical incline you encounter when you leave Ernst Tinaja. The video does not do it justice. For the record, the guy in front of me was spotting me in his tried and true Trailblazer. With the exception of the washboard road (piece of cake even in my girlfriend's TSX), the rest of the roads we took on were easy in the RDX:


I will post more with regard to questions about what the car can do, etc if there are any questions. I've seen the threads here since I reviewed the purchase heavily, but I still did not come to the conclusion that this car would do what it can do and still get on the road without having fallen apart either off or back on the road after having this type of encounter.



I LOVE the RDX, very happy that the former owner added a factory looking Bluetooth kit, and I could care less that it doesn't have memory seats. I added my own sunglass holders, hardwired my radar detector to the window enable/disable switch so I can turn off/on the radar remotely, and even made custom magnetic screens to sit and enjoy the "outdoors" without letting the pests from the outdoors in the car. Example:



I haven't posted here since I had to part ways with the TL, but before I put it off any longer... Let it be known that the RDX is a very capable car off road as long as you respect its limitations and have some type of understanding about how to avoid the pitfalls of driving off road with normal tires/limited center clearance while ALSO using common sense. This is no Jeep, but it is great for those rare occasions when you do want to get out and about and off the pavement.

Carbon2008RDX

Wow! I was mesmerized by that video. Just awesome!!

Anyway, the RDX off road? I haven’t done it but have thought about it. 1st gen RDX with SH-AWD is a constant front to rear torque 90-10 and up to 30-70 torque split with slippage. Bad news is low ground clearance (as you mentioned). The 2nd generation 2013 RDX has about 2 more inches of clearance but is 100% FWD unless slippage and can only do 50-50 split front/back at max. Not to mention no more torque vectoring between left/right rear wheels.

I’ll take the new RDX with SH-AWD please. Oops! Not available!

stingrey

Thanks! Big Bend is an AMAZING gem of a National Park. It is everything you could imagine when you think of "The Wild West" or West Texas in general. You never know what you are going to run across. I know the video wasn't exactly RDX specific, but a good portion was dedicated to the car.

Figured I'd share since I'm sure there are others like me who aren't quite sure what this ride can do... And very comfortably, I might add! The stiff suspension really didn't factor in when it came to running through the boulder type terrain (i.e. slickrock boulder type surface, not bouldering like you would in a Jeep) since it seemed to keep the car stable and without bounce after every transition from rock to rock. That to me was a huge plus.

On the torque being constant, I wonder if that is why the washboard roads were so much more rough than they were in my friend's RWD Trailblazer. Of course if you went slow, that wasn't an issue. I'll have to post an example if I get the chance in the future. Didn't record it, can't hardly explain it.

Either way, the other HUGE advantage is the way the front of the 07 slopes at the bottom. You could approach steep angles without scraping, and the same goes with the back of the ride. It is shaped very well so you can just go straight down/back up a wash. The Blazer dragged a little on the front/back if you hit a drop off straight away. Not that you'd want to hit every dip straight, but in some cases that is your best bet depending on rutting/mud/available traction points/etc.

Again, this isn't a Jeep, but in a pinch (i.e. after being in the desert and having a rain storm dump a good amount of water on the "roads") it is good to know that you are very likely going to be able to get back to the pavement if you were able to get out there to begin with! Only other major weak point is that the tires are not all terrain.

Other than that though and considering I may do something like this on a lesser rutted road maybe once a year plus a beach outing or two, I would have to say again that this is the PERFECT vehicle for a driver who wants a spirited ride that is more than capable off the pavement and yet also an extreme pleasure to drive while you are on the pavement. All that AND it doesn't catch fire in your driveway.

If any of you are on Facebook and get bored, I post most of the good shots on my FB site. Have a look and you'll understand why I am so happy to have this car. I do tend to get out and about as much as possible. If you JUST want to see the RDX version, check the original post above and just hit the RDX photo review link. If you like wildlife and landscape pics from crazy places (esp wildlife), feel free to like the fb page and drop me a line now and again!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mother...24123460932334

Rocketsfan

Twenty-five auto writers "beat the snot out of" a 2013 RDX in the 2012 Mudfest SUV competition and it won "Best Family SUV" beating out Chevy Tahoe LTZ 4WD, Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer Ltd, Kia Sorento, Mitsubishi Outlander GT, and Subaru Forester 2.5XT Touring in that class.

Excerpt from the article/video review found at http://drivencarreviews.com/2012/04/...-video-review/ :


Mudfest Winner

Not very many people are going to head off-road with this rig but at the 2012 Mudfest SUV competition, I and 24 other auto writers beat the snot out of it on a rough course at Dirt Fish Rally School. RDX has no problem handling rugged forest service roads and moderate pool of water. It’s doubtful owners will ever punish their cars to the degree we did. In the end it won the title of Best Family SUV and received high praise from every writer emerging from it’s mud caked doors.

I’m driving the very one used at Mudfest. It’s a testament to the RDX that after the punishment, there are no squeaks, groans or rattles. None

stingrey

Good to know it is still capable! I'd hate to find that the newer one was less able off the pavement. No matter how you slice it, you probably wouldn't take a new ride like this off the beaten path like you said in the review, but based on reliability and versatility, finding a gently used example of this car (even from its initial model year) is like finding a diamond (or Acura) in the rough.

gr8ness97

iTrader: (5)

I've wanted to go to big bend. Can you PM me some must see/must do things? Loved the write-up.

stingrey

PM will be sent shortly, and to anyone else who has ever considered it... Big Bend is DEFINITELY the place to go to get away. It is about the entire opposite of going to any other National Park in terms of visitation, but runs the same gamut of nature's surprises with regard to what you can see/experience in an undeveloped area.

DRR98

We go off pavement often.

At Big Sur the old coastal highway is a dirt and gravel 100 yr old precursor to highway 1. It arcs a bit East or inland of hiway 1 over some really cool spots and views.

Some spots were very steep and deeply rutted. With a sad little '11 FWD one legger I was worried a couple of times. But no problems. We ran it South to North and came out to 1 at Bixby bridge.

Central Cali - check it out...

docboy

OP,

Thanks for sharing the video and pics!

I've been a recent fan of the 1G RDX, though what's kind of stopping me from getting the RDX is the ultra firm ride and less than ideal gas mileage.

How did you find the ride when you were off roading, esp driving on all that gravel?

stingrey

DRR98, thanks for the pics! Forgot to say so before when you first posted 'em. Beautiful location by the way! CA is one of those places I'd like to dedicate some of my time to for sure, esp after seeing what you shared!

docboy, the firm ride is definitely something that you'd want to consider for the daily drive aspect of having said vehicle, but it is not that unpleasantly harsh that you'd not want to drive the 1G RDX on the highway.

Don't get me wrong, city driving with loads of potholes would not be an ideal situation for this car. On the flip side, it handled MOST of the gravel just fine. There were some very large "boulder" type surfaces (varied height/uneven slick rock I guess would be another way to describe it) and the RDX loved it.

The RDX did very well on every unpaved surface I could throw it at with the exception of anything too high in the center (simply drive on one side or the other on rutted roads to avoid) AND washboard surfaces. For some reason even gently washboarded surfaces caused me to have to slow WAY down (like 12mph) to avoid feeling like the car was going to break.

Washboard = unpaved roads with lines going from left to right, or perpendicular to the road's given direction. Imagine like 100 mini speed bumps all in a row packed tightly together. Nothing so deep that the car traveled up/down much, but uneven enough to "possibly" cause the AWD to start freaking out or something.

The car didn't malfunction, but it seemed as if all of the difference in height/grip/etc caused the car to really shake on the surface. Not sure how else to explain it. For the record, the washboard surface was the smoothest surface I took the RDX on. The extreme stuff? The car handled it great and didn't miss a beat.

The suspension was tight, but that allowed for easy transitions between rock surfaces. It never "bottomed out" or anything, but I never abused it or expected it to do more than it could. I've driven those type of roads quite a bit in other cars, and the RDX got me to/from pavement within 3-5mph worth of speed in relation to say a Trailblazer.

Next test that I can't wait to try out is a beach. I don't drive off road or on the beach hardly ever, but if this ride does that, then it is perfect for sure for me. I LOVE the suspension on the highway, most of my driving is on pavement on the highway or in the city. Being said, I avoid potholes, but beyond that (and the mileage), it is a great car.

For the record, it gets better mileage than my Trans Am, so for me it is the economical car to drive out of my lineup! :)

DRR98

Thanks Rey. I find the most enjoyable places are out there if you try to find them. We own a truck and it is more capable off pavement but less comfortable.

Doc, some people prefer a firmer ride that corners flatter. Some want plushness. Just try to know your taste before you buy so you have no regrets.

InfamousJamous

I have gone off-roading in my '07 RDX with Eibach springs and have not bottomed out. It is very capable even when slightly lowered. It does get bumpy when going fast on uneven dirt. My only gripe is that the front pillars do block my visibility when cornering.

DRR98

We do as much dirt road travel as we can when its dry.

Exploring all over cali is fun. (except for the washboards)

You do have to slow your roll over the rough stuff.

08FLrdxSH-AWD

When I bought my 08 RDX in Florida, one of the first things I did with it was take it on the beach. That was a little sketchy at first being that the sand is extremely fine and it was at night. Nonetheless, it made it right through with no issues. I have also used it going through some really hilly terrain in northern Ohio where i live right now and I must say it does a great job. One more thing i was even more surprised of though was its almost masterful handling of mud. I have a very long trail behind my house in the woods that i decided that i would try out sometime, so I did. The trail didnt seem all so bad until i got deeper into the woods where it just seemed to disapear. Long story short, it made it through some pretty nasty stuff without getting stuck.

phrosty

I tell you what - I love mine. I take it on dirt roads here in Alabama a lot. It handles like a champ, even in the red mud after it's been raining. Yes, the washboard roads suck. But hell... I bought mine used. Not because it was an Acura. Not because it was "fancy." And most certainly not because I wanted an AWD vehicle that never got utilized... But because it was an AWD and sat up higher than most of the other AWD vehicles in my price range.

08FLrdxSH-AWD

On a side note about going through mud.....

Watch getting too deep and setting it on its frame

The tow hooks tend to get buried, not fun at 1 in the morning

VietNinjaJ30A1

I took my RDX out to my buddy's land out in Coriscana, TX and immediately suffered from the lack of ground clearance. He's got a Jeep Rubicon with all the bells and whistles, and long story short, I parked at the gate and he came out to pick me up. I haven't had problems with my RDX at the beach and anywhere "off-road" that has relatively shallow tracks. I wouldn't want to give up the SH-AWD for more ground clearance now that I've owned the car for a couple of years. I'm glad someone's been putting this car through the paces though!

pickler

you need snow tires and a suspension lift kit:


there must be shops there in texas who would do that for you at a good price.

08FLrdxSH-AWD

Lift kit for RDX?

DRR98

Won't be complete without the 32" tires.

phrosty

Revisiting this topic - to further avow the RDX's capabilities. We've recently taken the '07 out to Talladega National Forest on some poorly maintained NF roads rutted up by rains and pickups. No problems whatsoever - even on some really deep ruts. Just took it slow and easy over anything I thought might cause any ground clearance issues. Sometimes... approached at an angle. That seemed to help. At any rate, in Alabama red mud this thing performs.

KenB350z

I love the Rdx to much to take it off road; however my old beat up Crv would be prefect! :

RDXOdie

...just in case anyone comes upon it...let it be known that I took my 08 RDX with all terrain tires and no other mods to the Silver lake Dunes in Michigan and there was no hill I didn't get over and I had no trouble at all in the sand. Aired down to 12 psi and it was a blast....only Acura out there for sure. The Sh-AWD can do off road don't let anyone tell you otherwise...just don't try to go rock crawling or something stupid.

DaIll1

Hold my Fresca