Pete1burn

Do you find the RDX has enough room for 2 adults and one infant who is still in a rear-facing car seat, plus put carriages and other various stuff in the trunk area?

We are considering trading in our 06 TSX with navi for an RDX with navi, but I wanted to get some first-hand opinions on parents on how much room there is.

We will be looking at one, but I'll feel like a tool if I bring in his pack and play (packed up) and his carriage to throw in and see how it looks. I also don't think they'll appreciate getting dirt/dust on their new carpets in the trucks.

Thanks in advance.

XLR8R

My wife just took a weekend trip with 3 friends. Four women and their luggage fit comfortably in the RDX. The backseaters remarked on the comfort.

(My 14 year-old son and I took the GTI to Hooters. )

We often drive the RDX with three people and a forward facing booster seat along with a trunk full of ice hockey gear. I think you'll find it roomier than the TSX. The rear facing car seat should easily fit in the center rear so the front passenger can turn to reach the baby.

More importantly for families the RDX is an IIHS Top Safety Pick.

You may also find the SH-AWD dynamically superior to FWD both on dry roads and in Boston snow. (Uh-oh, TSX guys don't read this do they?)

black label

I wouldn't worry about bringing in all the stuff to see if it fits. A good dealership will understand why your doing it and won't have a problem with it. I saw a person bring a cello (big violin) into a dealership to see if it would fit in the car.

Having your stuff fit in the car is a necessity. Tell your sales person that Black Label said it was OK.

kenjr

We haven't had a problem with it. We've got a 4 year old and a 1 month old baby so we've got both types of car seat configurations in the back now.

When I'm driving, I can't get the seat all the way back, but almost. It's not a huge deal though. (rear facing baby seat is behind the driver and the main issue is the handle that swings all the way and locks at the top...so, depending on your seat this might not be an issue at all)

My 4 year old is behind the passenger seat and if you move that seat all the way back he pretty much has no leg room. That's not an issue though because it's either my wife or nobody in the passenger seat.

As for room in back - there's plenty. I had my golf clubs and $175 worth of groceries in the back last night.

johnny99

Acura dealers have demo models that they use for try outs. I've heard of people bringing in their golf club, bicycles, etc. to see if they fit.

XLR8R

So......that's about one large jar of coffee and a box of Dovebars, right?

creativeguy

You are spending $30k-$35k on a non-returnable item. If they balk at letting you try anything in the car (that isn't dangerous and won't damage it), then walk away. Another dealer will be happy to comply.

Pete1burn

Well we might be looking at Honda CRVs now anyway. Some folks have gotten their RDX at prices $1-$2k under what they're quoting me. It was a wonderful dealership when we bought our TSX, but it looks like I'll have to shop around a bit.

Thanks a lot for the responses so far.

kryptech

My wife and I have a three year old, now in a booster and a new born almost three months old. I have a 04 TSX which does not leave much room for the passenger when a rearward facing carseat is behind them (if a permanent base is being used). We replaced my wife's Accord with the RDX for the increased cargo room (double stroller would not fit in her trunck) and she wanted something with all wheel drive as she does not feel comfortable when it snows or rains heavily.

The situation is better with the RDX than my TSX as she can sit comfortably in the front passenger seat with the baby behind her. I still cannot do this as I'm 6'1" and my knees touch the dash. We can make due until the baby moves up to the convertible carseat and can face forwarf as I always drive (even her RDX) when we are together.

In regards to the cargo space, there should be plenty. It really depends on how you configure everything in the back. We have a double stroller that takes up much of the room as it is both wide and tall even when folded (although it's the newer model that is supposed to be 20% smaller when folded). Our single stroller, playpack and bags all fit in the back together with some additional room, although we have not tried this with real suitcases. That may be asking too much.

I would still recommend trying to fit all of your stuff in the RDX so you know that it will definitely meet your expectations and comfort level. I did the same thing with the rearward facing carseat and double stroller and none of the salesman seemed to mind or even give an odd glance.

rRDXg

I think there's more than enough room for what the original poster described. I have a front-facing carseat behind the passenger seat, and have driven with two adult passengers in the back, though they remarked that it was tight.

At first I thought the plastic backs on the front seat were cheap and cheesy, but they make for easier cleaning when you have a toddler who likes to kick...

I would have liked to put the carseat in the center rear position, both for safety and to eliminate a kicking target, but doing so prevents use of one of the rear outboard seatbelts, so that kind of defeated the purpose. I was really disappointed to see that Acura couldn't configure that better. Most of the vehicle is very well thought out.

saw1

Why bring your stuff to the dealer, bring the car home for a night. Any dealer will be more than happy to let you take one home for the evening, or from saturday to monday morning. As previously mentioned, you are spending major cash on this car, so take the time to make sure it works for you.

I had a 2004 TSX and we had an infant rear facing behind passenger seat, no problems at all. My wife has a 2006 RX330, car seat and everything else fits very nice. In fact, we have the Peg PlikoP3 stroller, and it basically locks in between the rear strut towers. We only found this out after we borrowed one for the night. We also took a Pilot, XC90, and MDX home for a night. The RDX was not out at the time, so we did not look at it, but I did drive one the other day when my TL-s was in for service. I really liked it. -

evantec

For the same $$ as the RDX you might also want to test drive the Honda Odyssey.

Be sure to bring all the stuff along.

When I first saw it, I thought there's no way I'd want to drive that school-bus. But its 240hp engine is decent and it can swallow up cargo easily. It also means you don't need to swap the car-seats as often because there are extra seats for adults.

The power-sliding doors are a real convenience, especially when the kids get bigger. (If you are only leasing for 3-4 yrs that may not be an issue.)

I won't pretend it's fun-to-drive like a TSX or even an RDX, though it's more fun than other minivans.

At any rate, you'd want to at least know what it was like before you buy the RDX.

CraigC

Yep. put the seat behind the passenger and the 60 side will fold down to fit a huge amount of stuff. we keep a mclaren stroller in the back fine with both the 60 and 40 side upright and you can still fit at least 4 grocery bags upright.

if the passenger is decently over 6' you'll run out of room. a friend of mine is 6'6 or 7 and has a hard time sitting in the passenger seat with the rear facing brittax....but then again he's pretty huge.

the pack and play would fit nice on either side....we like to put our son on the 40 side since thats usualy closest to the curb on city streets.

-c

DNPhotography

the new Honda Odyssey looks great! if i had more than one child i would definitly look into that.

number84

if i were to get a minivan it would definitely be a Honda Odyssey...they drive great for a minivan!

black label

In case any one was wondering, he's moving out of the TSX and into a CGP/EB RDX Tech package. All of his stuff fit will well (although he didn't bring the pack and play to test it out) and his wife (who is the primary driver) absolutely loved the way the car drove. Her only complaint was that they don't offer it in a stick shift.

Hopefully they will be able to pick it up tonight.

brizey

We are going through the 2-row, 3-row dilema. We have a 14-month old and are "trying" for a second baby. Frankly, we cannot see a reason to buy a three-row vehicle at this point. Once both car seats are installed in the middle row, no adults are realistically going to ride in the thrid row unless you have a van. And for us, that is maybe a once a year event anyway. My parents are out of state and my wife's are out of country.

I cannot see what people that have fewer than three kids actually use the third row for. Are they really buying a vehicle for the once or twice a year that parents are in town? I can see having other kids in the car once they are in grade school, but until then kids need booster seats, etc. so it would be a PITA to haul other kids around.

FWIW, my parents visited last weekend and we had no trouble using the Forester to haul everyone. Once we havea second kid, it would suck to rearrange things to get two babies and four adults in. I would rather just take two vehicles and everyone is comfortable.

Teledatageek

We have an RDX and an MDX. We take the RDX on weekends as much as we can with the two kids (3 and 6) as they love the "cool" car. Also have taken it on a couple of trips. Just enough room for our stuff. The MDX is for a longer trip and when the dogs come along. Also have a roof carrier for the MDX. I have used the 3rd row of the MDX two or three times in 4+ years.

brizey

Living in Dallas with a 14 month old means no "long" trips. I grew up in Ohio where there were 8-12 cities within 4 hours and 20 within six hours. Here nothing is closer than 4 hours and everything else is a plane flight away.

Thanks for confirming that the third row is rarely used in your case. You kids are basically a "car life" older than mine, so maybe we will wait until we trade in the Forester.

More and more I am leaning towards an RDX. This month's C&D put the X3 on top, but I cannot see paying 20% more for inferior quality (European cars are trending down in this measure from what I see).

Chas2

I hate to say so, but for families, the mini van is a package that cannot be beat. Low entry makes it easy for the grandparents, car seats are not an issue regardless of the configuration. The large trunks swallow up all the stuff you end up bringing like the stroller and portable playpen and myriad of other stuff. Access to the back seat is usually much easier than any SUV and the flexibility of seating is hard to beat. The Odyssey is a wonderful package and just think, you can throw in a CAI and an exhaust, etc on the J35 engine if you wanted to. Look at the factory modified Odysseys in the TOV One Lap of America videos.

One of our favorite configurations (even though we don't have an Odyssey) is bench seats up in the rear and one captain seat behind the driver. Easy in and out and swallows up awkward cargo.

As much as I like the RDX, with two little ones, the van is better choice. Heck we are still using the minvan, sans 2nd and 3rd row seats to move our son in and out of college. Try standing up a mini fridge throwing in an area a rolled up rug in an SUV.

Sorry about the rant.

turboted

Agreed! RDX is not a "family" vehicle. Get an MDX or van if you have a lot of rug rats and all the "s*** you have to carry with them. My rug rats are grown and out of the house, thank god!

Teledatageek

I agree as well. We had an Odyssey but it didn't do so great with our Upstate NY snow even with snow tires so changed to the MDX. We gave up a lot of cargo room in the process, hence the roof carrier.

Teledatageek

Yes, less stuff to bring as the kids have gotten a bit older. No question.

I don't get why people buy the X3. I actually took one for a 24 hour test a couple of years ago before I bought my Infiniti FX35 (ultimately traded for the RDX). The pricing vs. what you got just didn't make sense to me other then the "BMW" name which didn't make a difference to me anyway.

brizey

New question: What is all this "kid stuff" people talk about? We never need anything but an umbrella stroller and a diaper bag. Even two strollers and two diaper bags fit easily into my WRX wagon.

We went to Malaysia for two weeks with one 27" suitcase, one 20" suitcase, an umbrella stroller, a car seat, and three backpacks for the three of us. It all fit easily into our Forester, and it all fit into the trunk of my inlaw's E-class Mercedes.

So what the heck are you guys carrying? Even with two kids, I can see us taking a car trip with a 27" suitcase, a 29" suitcase, two strollers and a diaper bag. All of which will easily fit into the back of an RDX. Why do you need something larger? We want the RDX over the Forester for the luxury features, and my WRX wagon has a smaller cargo space, but what goes into a MDX that won't fit in an RDX? I ask this question is all seriousness. If there is a good reason, I will spend the extra ten grand and get an MDX. But I would much rather drive the RDX everyday if it is reasonable.

Pete1burn

We drive to Canada once a year for 2 weeks to stay in my parent's beach house. We would need to bring our clothes, his clothes, pack and play, various other stuff, jogging stroller for the wife, regular stroller for walks, etc. It all adds up.

DNPhotography

haha exactly! maybe they are taking their whole house with them anywho i have a 2 year old and find more than enough room in the RDX. in the back, everyday driving i have a stroller and an umbrella. diaper bag is small so its no big deal. im with you brizey i have no clue...

sasair

Yes, but you are on an island that it takes an hour to drive completely around. You probably won't be driving your RDX for 8 hours and staying somewhere for 2 weeks.

DNPhotography

ahh you have a point. although it takes a little more than 5 hours to drive completely around.

on that same note though. i found that packing for an inter-island trip via ferry boat i still have more than enough room with my 2 year old.

brizey

I guess I also can't get over spending $10,000 to haul round an additional $200-300 worth of stuff three or four times a year. It would be cheaper to just buy it when you get there.

sasair

What exactly is the $10000 I am spending? I know I pack up my RDX more like once a week, sometimes more, and I don't have any kids. I'm sure many people with kids load the RDX up more than I do.

DNPhotography

to each his own. everyone is different.

brizey

The $10,000 was the jump to an MDX.

Sorry if I came off as harsh. I am just trying to make sure I don't wish I would have bought the MDX instead of the RDX. For just me driving, I would rather have the RDX, but I don't want to shortchange myself. I also don't want to spend an extra $10,000 on the MDX and wish I was drving the RDX everyday instead.

MikeRDXNJ

I really think the RDX is one of those vehicles that people see from the outside and underestimate the cargo capacity. My friend at work who also happens to have an RDX has 1 kid and another on the way. He has a child seat permanently set up in the middle of the back seat and theres still plenty of room for all his crap and a fairly large person to sit comfortably in the back next to his child seat.

sasair

Yeah I don't think it is worth the $10000 to make the jump to an MDX JUST for the extra cargo space. There may be other things though that make it worth the jump, but as MikeRDXNJ just said, the RDX has more cargo space than it would appear from the outside. Just tonight I carried my dog, who takes up the entire back seat, my hockey bag, a suitcase, a duffel bag, my briefcase, and my hockey sticks. None of which were in the passenger seat area and all of was behind the rear seats and didn't obstruct my view out the back window.

hobbesk

Personally, I wish I would have made a jump to MDX. After loading the RDX for extended trip with family of 3, including my 11mos old kid, i.e. stroller, playpen, clothes, etc., I am really missing the extra space of MDX. RDX will suffice, but MDX would have definitely helped in terms of cargo space. Just my 2 cents.

brizey

I guess we are just lighter travellers. We don't carry a playpen (never understood what people use them for to tell you the truth--out just sits in our game room so we can use it as an upstairs crib), we only carry the umbrella stroller which is not very big, and I have no idea what people carry that they get beyond two suitcases and a couple of daypacks for a family of three. Like I have said elsewhere, we can go overseas for two weeks and everything fits in the trunk of a car.

Also, from what I could see at the dealer this morning, the middle row of the MDX is only a little bit wider, not really deeper, than the back seat of the RDX so it is not much help with a rear facing car seat.

We are pretty set on the RDX now. It crushes the MDX in terms of driving experience, it is $10,000 cheaper, and does what we need it to do.

Also, FWIW, if you are looking for a big backseat, try the Subaru Tribeca. When you slide the middle row back the back seat is HUGE. It steals all the third row leg room and gives it to the middle row. We test drove a pre-production 2008, and while it is better than the older version, it is no match dynamically for the RDX.