WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!?! Don't you know you're not supposed to utter that name?! Shaking my head...once you've conjured the one whose name I won't say, you cannot put it back in the box.

oy.

Atleast I didn't tag him :shrug:


RDX owners at their best! :)

I listed issues and concerns you should look out for since I assume one already like enough about the RDX to know about it's pros.
But here are few more thing I think you should look for that are enjoyable during your Saturday's test drive.

1. Ride and handling. The SH-AWD is no joke. Please take the test drive to a highway and find a really curvy entrance/exit, you will thank me later. I'm speaking from experience of owning xDrive and 4matic vehicles.
2. Sound systems. Only system that's came close to the level was GLC's Burmester. But that's with just mp3s. I suspect if I play flac with true surround, ELS will be significantly better.
3. Backseats space, one of the best thing about the vehicle is the near flat middle seat floor. The under cargo storage space is also handy.
4. Seats, wonderful seats. check out ventilated functions, hopefully your dealership lets you take it for a extend period of time.

Enjoy, and hopefully you have arranged other test drives on the same day, really makes a difference.

What exactly do you like about it over the RDX? Surely not the infotainment, or engine power. I also thought they piped in fake engine noise. Maybe just the FSport.

And why wouldn't your wife "let you" buy the Santa Fe?

Yes,, I test drove a Santa Fe Ultimate about 2 months ago. Very nice vehicle. If the only Hyundai dealer here had "at least" a decent service dept, I might consider it. This is a Mazda/Hyundai dealership. Unfortunately, it is truly at the bottom of all the many many dealerships I have dealt with over many years, and the next closest one is too far away to make it a reasonable place to have ny needed warranty work done. The last (and only) Hyundai I owned, a 17 Tucson Limited Ultimate, needed a lot of attention.

I drove a couple of NXs yesterday. I haven't totally made up my mind about them yet. However, I wasn't overly impressed. I didn't really like any of the lighter interior colors, and I won't have an all black interior. The hybrid is the only one I would consider.

The infotainment is better IMO. The Nav is actually really good. It has traffic, weather and you can change the scale and save favorite destinations. I don't even bother using CarPlay.

The power is fine, it's plenty fast for my needs even though on paper it has less power than the RDX. It does have piped in noise but there is a dial to adjust and turn off. I have the F-Sport model with adaptive variable suspension and it's quiet and comfortable but when you turn it to sport+ mode it tightens the suspension, steering and shift points. Overall it just has a more luxury feeling but the behavior changes quite a bit with sport+ mode. It's well built with high quality materials.

There are pros and cons to both. I narrowed it down to the RDX and NX. The better deal on the NX pushed me over the edge. It's got all the options of the Advance but not as boring looking and with incentives ended up being cheaper. I hope Acura offers the Advance trim with the A-Spec package at some point. The RDX is commanding a premium in my area right now and I just wasn't willing to pay it. I'll revisit at the end of my lease.

She just didn't like the Hyundai. For some reason she doesn't like that brand.

Agreed on the lighter interior colors. My F-Sport has the red/black seats with red stitching on the dash. I don't think you can go wrong with either vehicle. I test drove both several times.

Does the Lexus NX have Android Auto? (off to do some research...)

Crap.

Agreed! And no "promise" that they will update '19 NXs later (at least that I have read anywhere)

Does teh NX adaptive Cruise come to a stop and resume like the RDX will?

After an extensive search on the Lexus website, I found my answer. It does appear to have this feature.

The NX in white and F-Sport is pretty mean looking but from what I have heard it isn't very sprightly.

Hi,
I've had 2 Acura RDX models (2012 and 2015) and had big expectations for the 2019 when I test drove one recently when I wanted to upgrade it.
My initial impression was that the 2019 handled considerably better than the previous model, but the new transmission was a bit slower than the previous 6 speed.
I wound up getting the MDX instead and here's why.
More interior space, more power (6 instead of turbo 4), most comfortable front seats ever, actually handles better than the RDX, even though it's a considerably larger vehicle. And the price. Once you add in the tech package on the RDX, which you have to by the way, unless you like sitting on plastic instead of leather, the price difference between the two, negotiated out the door with a MDX SH-AWD(no packages) is about $1k.
$42,130 is about $1k more than the average price paid, according to true car, so you still have a little wiggle room for a better deal if you go with the RDX.
But for about the same money, the MDX is a better vehicle.

Never ask why.. even then you don't speak after the answer if you got one.

This is a nice comp against the bigger brother especially if a larger size benefits or wouldn't matter to your garage space. I would also add in the available sports hybrid if that's your fancy.

As for the leather seats comment, I have always said I sit on my jeans or whatever leg wear I decide to suit up that day. Unless you drive naked, the leather is just something you know you have...

I think they may actually get nearly the same MPG as well. The traditional lease on the MDX also makes it cheaper vs RDX traditional lease due to the money factor.

This is well said, although I don't think I've ever not had real leather before.

Congrats on your new vehicle! Everyone assigns different values to different things

Couple of comments: I see that you didn't figure in expected resale value, and you assigned a low value to the RDX initial cost.

So, price was the final factor?

Yes, I guess I didn't make my point clear enough... He assigned a 6 to the RDX vs a 10 for the Sante Fe. That's a big difference. Based on his overall ratings, the difference was only .2 (point 2) So, like another poster commented, it appears that he weighted the initial cost higher.

Hi all, Thanks for the comments. The final rating differences were very small for all the three SUVs that they are all pretty good overall and yes, the initial cost played a big role finally. The initial cost is based on OTD after all rebates and negotiations. Santa Fe in fact costed me 35% less than RDX. I didnt take resale value into account as I am hoping to keep in for long time.

Enjoy your Sante Fe, I nearly went with an Ultimate edition myself... might go that route on the next vehicle

Congrats! The Santa Fe Ultimate 2.0 was my 2nd choice, behind our CX-5 Sig. I hope your dealer experience with them was better than ours.

Hmm, maybe it's time to check out a Santa Fe Ultimate...

I suggest doing a test drive and research on it.

Ditto on the congrats (to the OP) and the comment on dealer experience. Although the Santa Fe was never a contender for me..

The Hyundai dealer service dept here is the worst I have ever dealt with, bar none. It will be a long time before I even consider another Hyundai product, until there is an additional (new) dealer in town.

I wonder if Hyundai's Genesis division will make their own premium SUV

I have seen rumors in the car mags to this effect. Any manufacturer that doesn't have a player in this segment will surely loose market share going forward, it seems.

Big problem I see with Genesis, is they are still sold and serviced at Hyundai dealers. They need a separate dealer network to really deliver a premium brand experience.

Yes, it's in final stages of development now. It's modeled after the GV80 concept. RWD, turbo V6, and possibly a V8 and/or hybrid option. I. Can't. Wait!

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/01/24/...crossover-suv/

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...c1868e7af0.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...4bcc001629.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...82b9b77957.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...42e0b64e30.jpg

A separate dealer network is in the works. They tried to roll it out this year, and steps on their dicks in the process. It was a complete fiasco. They'll get there, but they're learning some hard lessons along the way.