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Hey everyone. I have been lurking for about 6 months. I am going to buy a RDX soon. I drive a Q50 now. I test drove one about 6 months ago and a few issues with the infotainment kept me from buying one. I am terrible with just the track pad. I cant drive and operate that thing real smooth like. And I keep my music on a USB and it got hot on the test drive. The dealer told me they dont recommend using a usb. So I have been watching and waiting for a mid cycle refresh. I knew they would do one for 2021 just did not know what. I will post a few links to the articles I have read. One thing they are adding is a Type-S version. It will have a twin turbo V6. The other is a update to the infotainment center. The screen will now be a "touch screen" with the track pad. I have just seen a few post where others are saying they are changing nothing for 2021 and I dont think that is correct.
Those articles read like they were generated by bad AI or Chinese copy farmers. I wouldn’t view any of what’s written there as reliable.
That said, I do think signs point to a RDX Type S with a 6 cylinder turbo. For those considering buying today who have the extra $5k to spend on a type S over an Advance, and who are willing to wait, it might be worth it.
As for touchscreen... maybe. It would be trivial to add that (though without moving the screen it wouldn’t be very usable). Personally I’m happy with the trackpad. There’s a learning curve but it works well for me now that I understand how to use it. And I like the fact that I don’t get my screen all smudgy. And I love the dual screen setup, though I can understand why some don’t.
Last edited by Waetherman; Apr 25, 2020 at 07:07 PM.
Those articles read like they were generated by bad AI or Chinese copy farmers. I wouldn’t view any of what’s written there as reliable.
That said, I do think signs point to a RDX Type S with a 6 cylinder turbo. For those considering buying today who have the extra $5k to spend on a type S over an Advance, and who are willing to wait, it might be worth it.
As for touchscreen... maybe. It would be trivial to add that (though without moving the screen it wouldn’t be very usable). Personally I’m happy with the trackpad. There’s a learning curve but it works well for me now that I understand how to use it. And I like the fact that I don’t get my screen all smudgy. And I love the dual screen setup, though I can understand why some don’t.
I had the same reaction to that. There are generic, forward-looking websites like this for most brands. My clickbait meter is near redline. Agree too that Type-S is safe bet.
I went from a Q50S AWD to the 2019 RDX. Trackpad took about 5 minutes to get used to - now I love it. Power is also great. I'm glad I went ahead with the swap out and this thing takes me way more places than where I'd have gone with the Q50.
Last edited by chappyja; Apr 25, 2020 at 07:34 PM.
Thanks for the info guys. I will keep an eye out. Chappyja my car is the same color yours was. I love that graphite shadow metallic. When I get a RDX im shooting for that color... I am wanting the v6 turbo so if there is a chance I will just keep waiting.
I just got a 2019 RDX Tech last year, but if the RDX Type S comes out and is something really reasonable like $50k, I might be very tempted to do a trade-in for the first time in my life.
I just got a 2019 RDX Tech last year, but if the RDX Type S comes out and is something really reasonable like $50k, I might be very tempted to do a trade-in for the first time in my life.
The TLX Type-S will be unveiled on the 28th, maybe you'll hear more about upcoming RDX too. Or, maybe not...
The TLX Type-S will be unveiled on the 28th, maybe you'll hear more about upcoming RDX too. Or, maybe not...
The TLX is a sedan, right? Pass.
People don't want sedans anymore. IMHO, Acura should put their money into improving what needs to be improved (hint, infotainment on RDX) and making segment leading vehicles that people want.
People don't want sedans anymore. IMHO, Acura should put their money into improving what needs to be improved (hint, infotainment on RDX) and making segment leading vehicles that people want.
I agree they should have released an RDX Type S model first not a sedan. But maybe there is purchasing data that support “Sport/higher performance versions” sell better in the car segment?
The TLX Type-S will be unveiled on the 28th, maybe you'll hear more about upcoming RDX too. Or, maybe not...
Would be nice. With that said, I'd probably wait until December/January before buying, hoping for some sort of good holiday incentives.
Side note - does Acura have a good loyalty program? I've never traded in a vehicle since you can pretty much always make more through private sale, but I'm wondering if it might be worth it to just save the hassle.
People don't want sedans anymore. IMHO, Acura should put their money into improving what needs to be improved (hint, infotainment on RDX) and making segment leading vehicles that people want.
I still like sedans, if simply for no other reasons than their look, and for the fact they can move faster with less. In fact - unless the Type S is amazingly priced and I'm tempted into getting one - my next car will likely be a Tesla or an AMG C43.
If you want to put down performance numbers, a sedan is the best way to lead. The numbers will always be better for 0-60, track times, etc for a sedan, and reviewers will compare it to other performance sedans like class-leaders like BMW M, Mercedes AMG, Audi S/RS. When the brand is established, it can move up to include less performance oriented cars like crossovers. Remember when BMW first put an M on a crossover? There was much hue and cry.
Similar to the NSX as a halo car for Acura, the Type-S will give a shine to all Acuras.
Sedans are lighter, I think the TLX type-s will have an extremely high value to cost, and I think it will be a great competitor.
Also whatever they reveal for the engine/tranny specs for the TLX type-s is what will most likely will be put in the RDX Type-s, maybe with a slightly different Tune.
also this infotainment system is here to stay, but I think I saw a knob by the track pad as possibly another option to control it when they showed the leaked interior tlx pics. All you would need is rotate and push down to scroll through the menu and select things.
But they will be using the current infotainment design in there future cars, which is great for current RDX owners as we should continue to get whatever updates they push out for all cars in the future. Acura is on a great path, they just need a bit more QA going on with software and with fixing problems in design, but style wise I think they are doing great!!!!!!
also that tlx twin turbo V6 better be 400+hp, I would think with the same HP per liter as a civic type r, if it was 3liter, we should be seeing about 450hp, I’ll be probably trading in my RDX for the RDX Type-s
Last edited by Dereileak; May 22, 2020 at 05:55 PM.
I’ll be probably trading in my RDX for the RDX Type-s
It'll be so damn tempting... it kills me, because I'm typically pretty frugal with money, and the idea of trading in (less value than I could sell for probably) to essentially reset my car loan makes me feel dirty... but those potential 450 horsies...
Details on TLX Type S are just around the corner. It will be a shame to quench the rampant speculation as to engine output, etc. Don't count your ponies just yet.
And in other news, apparently Honda is retiring the RLX as its so-called flagship model in the USA, and elevating MDX to that role. Not a huge surprise, IMO. But nobody asked me.
They will only do RDX Type S if they think they can sell enough units. They are not going to make a different configuration just so couple of enthusiasts buy it. They are probably experimenting with TLX type S first, and based on market demand they might expand it to RDX. I think in the past they stopped making Type S because there was not enough demand, and Honda is actually looking to reduce number of configurations available so they can focus
on quality (as per their CEO)
Last edited by russianDude; May 24, 2020 at 08:22 AM.
They will only do RDX Type S if they think they can sell enough units. They are not going to make a different configuration just so couple of enthusiasts buy it. They are probably experimenting with TLX type S first, and based on market demand they might expand it to RDX. I think in the past they stopped making Type S because there was not enough demand, and Honda is actually looking to reduce number of configurations available so they can focus
on quality (as per their CEO)
They've all but officially confirmed that the RDX is getting a Type S through two points:
1. They said all "core models" would get a Type S. The RDX is their best seller so I'm gonna say that it's a "core model"
2. They said the RDX's front end was reconfigured to ensure it could accommodate a V6, no reason to do that if you're not sticking in the new V6 into it (the J35 is replaced by the 2L turbo)
They've all but officially confirmed that the RDX is getting a Type S through two points:
1. They said all "core models" would get a Type S. The RDX is their best seller so I'm gonna say that it's a "core model"
2. They said the RDX's front end was reconfigured to ensure it could accommodate a V6, no reason to do that if you're not sticking in the new V6 into it (the J35 is replaced by the 2L turbo)
I agree that they made plans for RDX to accommodate v6 engine, but they are going to wait and see how TLX type S is selling. If its a hot item, yeah they will make it available everywhere. Rdx is a best seller, but people that buy RDX are not exactly into horse-power, didnt they say that median age was 50-60 for RDX buyers?
Id buy type S rdx, I will need another car as kids will be driving in couple of years
Acura wants to get the average age of driver down - that’s the reason they’ve tried to reposition the brand as sporty. I think a Type S RDX is guaranteed as they try to go head to head with the performance divisions of the European brands. That said, I don’t know if we’ll see it this year; we haven’t heard any specific announcement date (like there is with the TLX) and Acura will want the TLX to have its moment in the sun before turning the press’s attention to something that will probably sell in higher volume...
I agree that they made plans for RDX to accommodate v6 engine, but they are going to wait and see how TLX type S is selling. If its a hot item, yeah they will make it available everywhere. Rdx is a best seller, but people that buy RDX are not exactly into horse-power, didnt they say that median age was 50-60 for RDX buyers?
Id buy type S rdx, I will need another car as kids will be driving in couple of years
Chicken and the egg, maybe the median age is so high is because there isn't an exciting option for the RDX to attract younger buyers. While I prefer the "normal" RDX over the "normal" X3, Q5, and GLC300, the RDX is not on my consideration list because I want more power, which BMW, Audi, and Mercedes all have an option for. An RDX Type-S would immediately put it back at the top of the list for me.
I agree that they made plans for RDX to accommodate v6 engine, but they are going to wait and see how TLX type S is selling. If its a hot item, yeah they will make it available everywhere. Rdx is a best seller, but people that buy RDX are not exactly into horse-power, didnt they say that median age was 50-60 for RDX buyers?
Id buy type S rdx, I will need another car as kids will be driving in couple of years
I think you're underestimating the engineering lead times that are involved with rolling out these kinds of products, if they wait till they know what sales volumes are of the TLX Type S they'll almost certainly miss this generation of RDX (we're two model years in and the lifecycle is 5-6 years). To get a reasonable ROI on releasing a RDX Type S they'll have been already working on it for a year or more already and we're likely to see spy shots of it in the coming months - considering the sales volumes of the SQ5, GLC43, X3 M40i etc I'm pretty sure the business case is rock solid for a RDX Type S. These high trim levels are always profit centers for car companies - the engineering and materials for a new trim/motor are small compared to the total engineering costs of the car.
So basically, old people make more money and are the ones who can afford new cars.
Fixed that for you. But for a lot of old people, their retirement and/or investment accounts just got kicked in the teeth.
The price escalation of new cars has exceeded the growth in middle-class household incomes for a long time. This unsustainable trend has been propped up by artificially low interest rates, but I don't think 8 year car loans are a particularly good idea. Call me old fashioned.
And now along comes COVID-19. I think we will see both consumers and manufacturers adopt a more "back to basics" mentality for quite some time.
For one thing, given the formidable challenges of conducting manufacturing in the era of COVID-19, car companies may have no choice but to streamline their operations. And that means concentrating their capacity on high-volume vehicles, not niche market specials.
But on the upside, you can get a heck of a deal on a gently used car from Hertz right now. Even a bumble-bee yellow Vette, or a BMW 740i.
Its a good point about economical impact of COVID-19, with people being out of work and incomes cut, new car sales will be suffering as more people will be looking to buy used cars. And for new car sales, luxury brands will be hit the most. I am sure they are evaluating all of those things right now.
It depends whether Covid results in overall recession. Generally speaking, upper income people are probably less affected by the pandemic than lower income ones. With Hertz going bankrupt and dumping (potentially) half a million cars on an already weak used car market, lower prices cars will probably be a bargain and new sales of low prices cars will be low. But the upper end cars may suffer less.
There will be lasting impacts -- both good and bad -- in many personal and economic areas. We can only begin to imagine the longterm changes we'll all see. I heard someone say that we may use an old abbreviation once again, only with a new meaning: BC. As in 2019 BC.
Hertz filed Chapter 11 which is bankruptcy protection, allowing it to restructure its debt. Debtors forced it to try to sell off a bunch of cars, and they may still do that but apparently they were getting so little money from the sale of cars that they had to file chapter 11. That's my understanding, anyway.
Their selling their real estate and cars? Or they just restructuring and letting another company take over?
It's a chapter 11 so restructuring and time to pay debts is typically the goal. But who knows at this point. They seem like they're in a bad place with crushing debt, so unless their business turns around soon (?) this could be more than a reorg can save. They need cash coming in.
It's a chapter 11 so restructuring and time to pay debts is typically the goal. But who knows at this point. They seem like they're in a bad place with crushing debt, so unless their business turns around soon (?) this could be more than a reorg can save. They need cash coming in.
Since so much of their revenue comes from airports I imagine they are screwed. The likelihood that air travel recovers in a meaningful way in the next 12 months is close to nil - especially in the US where it's basically doomed - and Hertz can't survive on 30-40% of its current self.
Evidently they beefed up the driveline enough to no longer have to dial back the torque (if their dyno graph is to be believed). If so, I wonder if that improvement will make its way to the RDX to address the torque dip in low gears.
Evidently they beefed up the driveline enough to no longer have to dial back the torque (if their dyno graph is to be believed). If so, I wonder if that improvement will make its way to the RDX to address the torque dip in low gears.
Please explain. The graph I've seen for the RDX seems very similar. Do third party maps show a different line?
Please explain. The graph I've seen for the RDX seems very similar. Do third party maps show a different line?
Yes, here's the Hondata dyno graph. You can see that there's a drop off in the torque at around 2300RPMs that doesn't come back on until 3500RPMs.
Compare that to the same engine in the 2.0T Accord where there doesn't appear to be that dip:
And before someone comes charging in with the whole "you can't compare two different dynos, it's apples and oranges", note that I am not comparing the measured numbers, but purely the shape of the graph, which absolutely can be compared against different dynos.
Since the graph I found was likely sourced from Honda, and it appears very close in form to the one in the Jalopnik article -- apparently also provided by Honda -- this could be another example of "flattening the curve".
While they are obviously a representative graphic, I imagine Honda marketing had considerable input beyond just the technical people.
