mac_man

I had the opportunity to test drive the RDX last night. The dealership had the Nighthawk Black Pearl/Ebony/Tech Package (which was not available to drive) and the Royal Blue Pearl/Taupe/Non-Tech (which we were able to take for a spin).

I was impressed by the acceleration of the vehicle. It was initially in normal-drive mode, but once I got out of the dealership I switched to sport-drive mode so that I could use the paddile shifters.

From the exterior, the RDX looked smaller than I expected, but actually sitting in both the driver seat and the rear (when my wife drove it) I was impressed by the spaciousness of the seating, particularly in the front.

Overall, I was impressed with the RDX (both in styling and drivability). I do not know when we will be getting the RDX, but we did put our deposit down.

wiz

Did you test drive at Acura Carland in Duluth, GA? They had those same color combinations on the lot when I was there yesterday.

mac_man

I'm in the state of Washington. I seem to be pretty far from the other people posting to this site.

snorton48

I drove one yesterday. I thought the acceleration was fine, maybe a bit less than my FX 35 but plenty fast. Not much turbo lag. Excellent around fast corners. Nice fit and finish but my early example had two defects I saw in my brief time witht the car: right mirror didn't work, and hatch didn't close correctly.
I'm 6'5" tall and there is PLENTY of room for me.

UW RL

which part of WA are you at?

mac_man

I live in Seattle. Based on your id you went to UW, huh? I did too. Graduated in 2001. How about you?

propagandist

I had the chance to go into one of the dealers here in SoCal, they had 3 available - 1 black in the showroom (tech), 1 carbon grey (non-tech), and 1 silver (tech).

Before sitting in the pilot seat (the black w/ taupe int), I already had the idea that the contents would be plush and conforming (wrapping) to my rear. To my surprise, it felt quite firm! I don't think my tush can take such a firm type of seating. All you SoCal people know about sitting in traffic.

Any thoughts?

Colin

In my experience, you appreciate a firm seat the LONGER you are in it...

propagandist

Interesting thought, but confused on how this would be more comfortable in the long run. Please enlighten.

I currently drive '03 C230, and the seats are quite firm. Compared with my wife's '05 ES330, it's the total opposite (she has the longer commute to work and decided this was her best choice)

If I had to choose, I would commute with the more supple and soft ES330 seating. This is based on my driving habits and experience.

Colin

If I sit on a soft seat for long drives I find my back gets sore. When I'm in a seat that initially feels too firm, after an hour "in the saddle" I feel better. I don't know, maybe it's just me and by bad back....?

flipnoyz

Went to southbay acura for test drive, but the sales person name Dan said they are not allowing you to test drive the vehicle until you have a commitment to buy!!!

That's the stupiest thing i have heard?


Southbay Acura, in Torrance California

phile

I don't know if BMW made any changes to the X3's interior comfort for the mid-cycle refresh, but sit in one, and you'll really know firm! The RDX's seats felt very tolerable to me at the auto show, I doubt it would've changed for the production model.

ArthurKnight

Southbay has 3? I hope that means mine is coming early next week.

vp911

The local dealer here did that to us when the MDX came out. We got the RX300 and didn't look back.

flipnoyz

Went to Cerritos Acura last night and test drove the RDX w/ nav. It runs great didn't really notice turbo lag.

Thinking about trading my 05 Tl for the RDX! Any suggestion.

vicpai

......is one of the WORST dealerships ever, and I will never ever buy anything from there. They are nothing but a bunch of sleazy, lieing cheating crooks. When I bought my 2003 MDX, in Dec of '02, they were still playing the "forced mandatory options/accessories" game, and the generally sleazy way they were wheeling and dealing left a very bad taste in my mouth. So, even though they are just a couple miles from where I live, I ended up getting my MDX from VALENCIA ACURA, which was a FANTASTIC buying experience to say the least.

I also went to CERRITOS ACURA the day before yesterday, and test drove the RDX. They were excellent to me. Very courteous and willing to accomodate me all the way

TSX69

My quick thoughts on a brief test drive of 1 w/ the tech package:

• The exterior was kinda odd looking but I guess curvy is the current style
• Love the interior design but some of the plastics did look cheap: the door plastics particularly & the faux metal
• Powerful engine compared to my TSX but it did make an interesting noise w/ acceleration: salesman said it was the turbo

Overall, I think it is a nice ride but was missing a lot of things that should have been standard like the dimming rear view mirror. It is a tad overpriced for an Acura but I think it will sell fine.

Ikko

What you mean it overpriced for an Acura?

ArthurKnight

I finally got my test drive this morning.

Couple things I don't like:

The tachrometer is hard to see without taking your eyes off the road. With my CL, I can glance quickly and see it clearly. With the RDX it takes a good look to see it. Consequently I accidentially redlined it in first gear and hit the engine cut off....not a pleasing experience. I can safely say I've never done that with my car.

Second, it's very easy to downshift into first. I don't know if it's possible, but I'm worried I'll attempt to downshift into 2nd and accidentally go past it into 1st and redline. Does anyone know if it'll prevent you from downshifting into a gear that'll redline?

Other than those concerns, I'm ready for mine sometime this week!

jaobrien6

Test drove a black tech package today at Tonkin Acura in Portland. Here are my thoughts.

Exterior: Smaller than I expected. I can kinda see why a few people have been comparing it to a big hatchback. I know the dimensions say that it's as big as a current gen CRV, but it doesn't look that way. The shape must be visually deceptive. I like the front better than i thought I would. I was one of those who complained a lot when the busy production nose debuted, but it looks better in person. The rear end looks a little odd, with the bumper that curves out a little, but it doesn't bother me. Overall, I like the exterior. Rating: 4/5

Interior: I love the instruments, and the blue ring around the gauges. Most of the materials semm to be of good quality, but there are a few things I don't like, such as some of the trim on the doors, and the greyish horizontal strip at the very top, these seemed a little cheap. However, the leather feels great, the HVAC and stereo controls feel nice, most of the rest of the interior touches seem very high quality. The seat were *very* comfortable, much more comfortable than my TSX seats. I did *not* like the huge center console. It makes the cockpit feel a little claustrophobic... it definitely takes away knee room also. The back seats were reasonably comfortable, and had decent leg room considering the vehicle just isn't that big. I didn't like how the seat pan folds forward in order to fold the seats flat... the seat pan just felt like it wasn't attached that strongly, it doesn't even latch in place. I do like how the seat back is just about perfectly flat once folded, though. The back cargo area is pretty small (definitely seemed smaller than a CRV), but big enough for my needs, I'd think. Rating: 4/5

Acceleration: Decent, especially for an SUV, but not blazing. There was a little lag, not sure if it's really turbo lag, more like just a lack of very low end torque. One thing I didn't like was how loud the turbo is. I've driven some other cars with a turbo (Subaru, Saab, Volvo, Audi), and have never heard a turbo this noticeable. Rating: 3/5

Handling/Ride: I didn't push the car very hard, but the handling felt very tight. Nice and flat around corners, firm but not stiff or jarring. I really liked the quick steering rack (2 1/4 turns lock to lock, i believe?)... it made it very easy to corner while keeping your hands near the paddles. Rating 5/5 (for a compact SUV... definitely wouldn't be 5/5 for a sedan or anything)

Transmission: I was surprised, I actually like the paddles. I normally hate sport-shift automatic transmissions... they shift slow, and you can still feel the torque converter... but even though this still *felt* like an auto, it was a little more engaging to drive. I've never driven a DSG, but after driving with these paddles, i might consider a DSG as a somewhat acceptable substitute for a stick. Rating: 4/5

Conclusion: I liked it, but didn't love it. The first time I went to a dealer and looked at the TSX, I *loved* it... and ended up with one. This time, I thought "hey, that's a pretty nice car", but I definitely didn't fall in love with it. I definitely don't think the tech package is worth the $3500 or so... but we'll see. Rating: 4/5

TSX69

I meant that Acuras are known for several things including being a good value, lots of goodies standard and high quality.

Based upon this, I think the RDX is overpriced @ 37k because of the cheap plastics & faux metal in addition to the lack of power passenger seats, dimming rear view mirrror etc etc. Especially bc these things are standard on the cheaper TSX.

Now, if this were rebadged a BMW, the price may not seem too high but again, Acura is known for giving you great bang for the buck. That is why I say it is overpriced for an Acura ... but not overpriced in general.

ostrich

Yup - at this price, it's a STEAL if it were a BMW or Audi! Try getting an Audi A4 2.0T wagon with all the bells and whistles and you will be at over $40K.... oh yeah, it's still a 4 cylinder turbo but somehow people don't seem to complain about that with the A4....

TSX69

Forgot to mention that the leather seats were really nice & soft -- guess Acura heard the complaints about the leather in the TSX & TL. I forgot to pay attention if all the seats were leather or just the main parts tho ...