Hi all,

First time poster. I hope I'm not repeating a thread. I'm in the market for a SUV. I have 2 more months left before my '14 ILX is up. Sales person at Acura threw some numbers at me for the RDX tech, RDX Advance and base MDX. The payments are pretty much within $25 from each other respectively. $25-50 is not going to break the bank for me, but I was wondering which would be a better car overall (residuals, resale value, driving experience, build quality, etc.)

The tech in the RDX is nice, although with smartphones nowadays I don't see myself using the navigation much. However, I do like the other items that come with the tech package. Same goes with the Advance package. They're nice, but not necessities, which is why I considered the base MDX. What do you guys think? I suppose I'll post this in the MDX forums too just to get their opinions, but mods, please feel free to remove for redundancy.

 

The MDX is a far nicer car. The build quality is nicer and while larger, it has a tighter turning circle. It depends on the features you want. If you don't want the features then get the MDX. What kind of pricing are you looking at?

 

The mdx comes standard with 3 rows?


OP, it really depends on your needs and wants. Despite the mdx being much larger than the rdx, it drives and handles much better (on account of shawd, which the model you are looking at may not have). If you will be on the highway a lot or can use the extra space, mdx all the way. If you want ridiculously high resale value, mdx all the way, if you want a better built, more luxurious vehicle, mdx all the way.

On the other hand, if you really care for the bells and whistles, then go with the rdx adv in this case. If you want a smaller and easier to park vehicle, go with the rdx. If you want a more manageable car and spend a majority of your time in the city, go with the rdx.

Both have their pros and cons. If it was up to me personally, I would stretch a little more and go with the mdx tech + shawd + acurawatch both because the mdx boasts some of the best resale value period/ is a much nicer place to be and second because if you do get an mdx, the difference in resale value between a base and tech has historically been very very large. Like 5-10k large. While the difference between tech and advance has not been that great. On the other hand, a fully loaded rdx is also a pretty nice place to be compared to a base mdx.

 

The 17 MDX will have Acura Watch standard on all models. The final prices shouldn't be that much different compared to a 16 MDX base without Acura Watch. I don't know if the timing will work with the lease ending and delivery of the +17 MDX? Also depends if you like the styling of the +17.

I have a 1st gen RDX and 2nd Gen MDX. I find the RDX is perfect for an in-town commuter/errand vehicle. The MDX is perfect for needing extra space in a pinch, space for 4-7 folks, towing, long distance traveling, and upgrade in ride/luxury touches. The wife uses the MDX as her daily driver; but, the extra MDX size, more restrictive visibility, width, and length doesn't work as well compared to the RDX. The 16 RDX will be maybe 1/2 step below in luxury touches, only 1500 lbs of towing, no sh-awd option, and no 3rd row. The 16 RDX has the advantage of the solid 6AT, better mpgs, same styling as the MDX, and perfect for commuting and errands.

If you are going to do exactly the same thing with the RDX/MDX as you did with the ILX. A loaded 16 RDX Adv (or a 16 TLX V-6 tech/adv) will be a serious upgrade on every check box. I would go for the MDX if you need to do something different and you going to need the extra capabilities of the base MDX (space, sh-awd, towing, long distance traveling, etc...).

 

I agree that it will come down to what your primary use of the vehicle is. If you have kids and/or do a lot of road trips, the MDX will give you more utility with the space, especially the legroom in the second row. If you are looking for something fun to drive and don't have much use for space, then the RDX would be the better choice. I have a 2015 base and in hindsight, I wish I had splurged for at least the tech version especially since it is a pain trying to navigate using my phone for long distance travel...and almost going over my data. In town driving though I hardly even miss the tech package. I'll tell you this much, next car I buy I will at least get the tech package if not the advanced. I have a 5 year old and if I have a passenger in the front it cuts on his legroom which is why I'm thinking of getting a MDX....probably a tech 2015 if I can find one within my price range once the 2017 hit the dealers' lots. We do a lot of road trips too and if I have other people along the RDX gets crowded pretty quick. Yes, I know, I'm spoiled...lol

 

Thanks for the insight. I agree with most of you all and it seems like the MDX is a better car. I can't buy space, but the bells and whistles I can certainly live without, as I'm content with the ILX I currently have already. I don't have navi (I use my phone), I don't see myself using the adaptive cruise control since I don't even use the regular cruise control, and I don't have trouble cutting lanes or staying in lanes so the lane departure and BLIS are not going to help me much. I do agree that it is a nice feature though. Right now it is the wife and me. No kids yet, but perhaps in the foreseeable future. Parents/in-laws live out of state, so if anything, the 3rd row seat will be folded down most of the time for extra cargo room. I do plan on going on a few road trips with friends and the extra cargo room and leg room will be great.

I'm not a big fan of the new '17 MDX grill yet. I think Acura finally made their grill look good and now they're changing it...Maybe I just need some time to get used to it. There are currently more incentives on the '16 MDX than '17 MDXs.

 

just curious how quiet is a MDX, does it have the same wind noise issue as RDX?

 

The mdx is not quiet persay, but is much quieter than the rdx. On that note, the rdx suffers from bad wind noise, while the mdx "suffers" (I LOVE it) from loud engine noise.

I had a 16 mdx tech loaner for a couple days and got to have quite a good amount of time behind the wheel. I went for a highway jaunt to test the engine and tranny and took a friend with me who is into the whole ferrari, lambo...etc scene and he mentioned immediately just how loud the vtec V6 was.

His words were "holy shit this thing is LOUD", but in a surprised and approving way. I personally love hearing my engine rev when it is a nice V6 or V8, so I did not mind and it was only when you really pushed the mdx, like 5000 rpm plus. I had a 16 rdx with acurawatch loaner many times and was very dissapointed because the engine was very very muted, even at high rpms. I found it odd.

In my experience, the rdx suffered from wind noise even at city speeds while the mdx only really suffered when I highly pushed it. But in closing, no Acura is really "quiet".

 

Thanks everyone again for the insight. I ended up getting a base '16 MDX. I re-test drove both cars, and the MDX is more refined. Standard feature-wise, the MDX has the RDX beat. All those tech and advance package options...I could really care less. When I test drove both cars with the tech package, I never noticed the BLIS and I never see myself using the navigation as this will be mostly a commuter car. Once in a while I'll go on a road trip but when that happens, I'll just use my iphone. The base model MDX seats are comfortable for my body contour, and the RDX base is also very comfortable..but different. Seems like MDX has the lumbar support won whereas the RDX has the side bolsters won. The MDX had a slightly heavier steering, and the RDX's steering was just way too light for me. The ILX i leased previously had a good weight on the steering, and I wished they brought that over to these cars. All in all, it came down to pricing. If the RDX had a compelling price point, I would've gotten it. But the dealer was clearing out the '16 MDX inventory. Ironically the '17 tech/advance RDX cost more than the 'base 16 MDX on a lease, and the remaining '16 RDX models were colors that I wasn't too into and they were the base with Acurawatch. Still a great car, but the dash is the same as my '14 ILX and I'm ready to move on to something new. The payments weren't that much more than each other, and my wife and I were able to get a good deal so we ended up getting a base '16 MDX, which was what I was leaning towards anyway. BTW, I really love the small cargo compartment. I just throw all my tools, measuring tape, tire inflater, etc. in there.

 

Congratulations, I hope you keep enjoying it. I had a feeling you would get an mdx by the way you talked about it. I personally feel you made the right choice given the 2 scenarios. Enjoy it!

 

Congrats!!!

Road trip time

 

Awesome. You made the right choice. Now post some pictures please.