supafamous

So nearly every manufacturer in the RDX space has now come out with a hybrid but the strategies behind them do vary a bit:

Volvo XC60 T8 plugin - Top of the line trim with the most performance. FWD with rear motor
Audi Q5 55 eQuattro plugin - Mid level trim between Q5 and SQ5. AWD.
Mercedes GLC350e plugin - Mid level trim between GLC300 and GLC43. AWD
BMW X3 xDrive30e plugin - Mid level trim between xDrive30 and xDrive40, AWD
Lexus NX300h - Bottom performance trim, fuel economy focused, AWD
Lincoln Corsair plugin - slight performance lift from base trim, AWD.

5 of the 6 are plug-ins, for the Euros that's a must have as they also have enough range to be pure electric for a small distance which is a necessity in the EU. Only the Volvo puts the hybrid at the top of the line for performance while Lexus puts it at the very bottom (by a mile).

Curious to see what Acura ends up doing here. They don't need to do plug-in as they don't sell in Europe but the fuel economy benefits are pretty big. They had said they want to focus on hybrids as a performance enhancement as well and they also have eSH-AWD as a product.

Possibilities:
- Take the Accord Hybrid drivetrain and up the specs. 2.4L motor with a stronger electric component. This would be the slowest, most efficient model. FWD only.
- Hybridize the current drivetrain. Add electric boost to it retain SH-AWD. This is a solid performance boost but heavy and doesn't deliver much fuel economy boost.
- Take the MDX Hybrid drivetrain and plop it in. Decent economy boost, probably gets to 29mpg combined. Slight performance boost. Cheap development effort, probably just $1500 to upgrade to it.
- Plugin hybrid with the current motor and eSH-AWD. Big economy boost, gains a few hundred pounds and decent performance boost. Big development effort, probably a pricey upgrade ($5K?)

Any guesses on where Acura lands with this?

I'd be pretty keen on the last 3 options - I'm not thrilled with averaging 18mpg (My guilt around climate change is significant).

fiatlux

The smart thing to do would be to offer a PHEV version since those will qualify the buyer for $5-6K in tax credits, but I doubt Acura has enough resources to devote towards that. If the next generation NX can be equipped with the RAV4 Prime's powertrain, I suspect the RDX is going to be in a world of hurt when it comes to sales if it doesn't follow suit.

flames9

I'm a huge Acura/Honda fan so I hope they come up with something down the road. I have a 2019 XC 60 T8 Inscription......and the T8 does come in different trims, you can get a base model Momentum in a T8. I never really considered going the hybrid route, I was actually about to buy a 2019 RDX......then my wife told me to test drive others.....glad she did. Think once you test drive a hybrid and consider how you use your car, you may find it fits you very well. My 2019 T8 only has like a 25 mile range in perfect conditons.....I can get around 20 in the winter, but it fits me fine....work is 19.9 miles....charge for free, thus back home on battery. I really love being able to charge my car at home, vice hanging out at the gas stn!! I see Subaru is teaming up with Toyota to go electric.

hans471

Well, the Honda CR-V is on its way. Of course we all know the RDX and the CR-V are close cousins. So, look at the CR-V and see what Honda has in mind.

RDX10

The CRV and RDX have always had very different powertrains and that's not going to change anytime soon. The CRV is skewed towards max economy (both for price and performance) whereas the RDX is more sport oriented.

I suspect the RDX will pair the 2.0T with the hybrid motors from the MDX. I don't think Acura will just plop in the MDX hybrid powertrain, but it's definitely possible.

hans471

The RDX is built on the CR-V line. The CR-V uses a variation of the Civic power train so since there is already a Civic hybrid its a straightforward engineering project to put that in the CR-V. The RDX uses the 2.0l engine/transmission based off the Accord. Since the Accord two motor hybrid has been around for a few years now its not difficult to imagine Acura using a variation of this in an RDX.

Of course there is one thing to consider: Engineering cost vrs units sold. It costs money to engineer the system and then adapt the plant tooling to actually build the car. The secret to remaining in business is to not lose money, to turn a profit. Profit pays the bills and the stock holders, pays for the designers and engineers that make new product as well as the plant and machinery that actually produces the cars. I am sure if there is a good business case for Acura to produce a hybrid RDX they certainly have the engineering to do it simply by adapting systems they already have in place on the Accord. Likely they will watch and see how the new CR-V hybrid does before committing the money to do the lower volume RDX plus see how the RDX gasoline models sell. They have to recoup all those millions they spent on the current model.

Wander

Agree.

Much of the reason Acura dropped the previous 3.5L V6 engine and 6-speed transmission was to reduce weight at the front end and lower the center of gravity of the drivetrain. Along with the stiff chassis, this allowed them to achieve the impressive handling characteristics of the vehicle. The sport hybrid drivetrain would keep everything added low to the ground. But efficiency gains might not be very impressive compared to CR-V or RAV4 hybrids.

But I do wonder about the weight and packaging requirements of the 3.0L V6, as is used in current MDX hybrid. Not to mention the other transmissions in Honda's parts bin. MDX sport hybrid uses a 7-speed DCT, but CR-V has a CVT of unknown torque capacity, or at least unknown to me. ( They use the 9-speed ZF transmission with the torquey turbo-diesel drivetrain offered in some markets ). Accord hybrid also uses a CVT.

Keep in mind CR-V is about 500 pounds lighter than RDX ( 3500 lbs vs 4000 lbs for AWD ). Weight matters.

Agree about minimizing development costs. They would use stuff from their existing parts bin.

fiatlux

I'm bearish on how the CRV Hybrid will sell given how much of a better package the RAV4 Prime appears to be. The CRV will definitely need to compete on price, because on paper the RAV4 Prime sounds like the real deal. 39 mile battery range and 5.8 second 0-60 sounds pretty good.

anoop

It's got to be a really confusing time for the folks whose job is picking a strategic direction at the auto makers. It looks like things are all over the place in the industry. I think mild hybrid tech offers the best bang for the buck right now.

Wander

For PHEV I think you gotta wire in a charging station unless you're gonna trickle charge the thing on 120V overnight, or you can charge at work. At some point it makes more sense to go pure electric. ( I can't believe I just said that... ). But I guess PHEV does solve the range anxiety issue for long distance travel.

flames9

U dont need an actual charging stn....Just plug it in for 120 service and for 240 service, its just a special receptacle (pic attached). Cost me $500 to get 240 to my garage. The advantage of the fancy wall systems is that you can set times for it to charge....so if your electric provider has discounted rates, you can take advantage of them...but some vehicle Apps, one can program the times as well.

fiatlux

At 120V you can just charge it overnight, and if you want 220V you likely already have an outlet for your dryer that you can tap into.

Wander

Dryer outlet is lower current rating than most level 2 charging stations. 30A for mine. Still about 4 times better than a standard 15A 120V outlet. But the better level 2 stations draw 60A at 220V via 10 gauge wire direct from the service panel. Yes, I know that would be overkill for a PHEV, but not much more trouble than properly redirecting the dryer circuit.

I know my dogs would enjoy chewing on a big yellow cable strung across the garage floor, and then I'd be shopping for new dogs and probably a new house in place of the smoldering embers from my current home.