I don't wanna jinx anything but just wanna give a shout out to this great AWD system in the snow. So much confidence driving this CUV knowing each tire has its own mind giving enough power for traction. Heated steering wheel is the cherry on the top.

 

Has a lot to do with the tires too...Try snow on bald summer tires = best AWD in the world won't help much

 

That goes without saying.

 

Yeah, it's all about the tires. That's why they say " ...where the rubber meets the road ... ". My 1st gen Pilot with Goodyear TripleTreds was incredible in the snow. In 16 years, I never got stuck or even had to lock the VTM.

I haven't driven in snow a lot in the RDX but I wasn't impressed with the Continentals. They're good enough. I was going to swap them out for Michelin Cross Climate IIs before the winter but I think I can go another year on the tread.

I really like how the RDX SH-SWD handles in the rain. Try punching it coming off a cloverleaf getting on the highway in heavy rain. You see all the chevrons light up on the sport display and you can feel the rear wheels holding on. If you didn't think it's worth the extra two grand and extra weight, I feel sorry for you. You don't know what you're missing.

 

Indeed! SH-AWD is excellent in snow! Lesser slip-n-grip systems can be good enough for traction, but the variable delay just doesn't instill the same confidence.

"Snow" mode limits torque and applies (I believe) both mechanical and brake based stability control and is excellent at helping the car keep it's track and avoid lateral motion in heavy or slippery snow. "Comfort" loosens things up a bit and makes for some great but safe fun as you can push your tail out just a little. Both are highly predictable and controllable. Along with snow tires, the RDX is about as good as snow driving gets in a light passenger vehicle.

 

Stock tires on most cars aren't particularly great with snow. I have found the SH-AWD in snow has been pretty good. I haven't had it in any kind of deep snow yet, but I have found it pretty good company with the Subarus I have owned before. I'll still rank my Subarus as just ahead of SH-AWD simply because I've had more experience with them in deep snow on a sedan so far and the stuff I have been able to go through in it while having less than 6" ground clearance has been impressive. In the light stuff, they seem pretty equal. I also have experience with the Haldex based system used on a 2015 MY Volvo. The Haldex isn't too bad, but SH-AWD is def better than that.

 

I really enjoy putting the torque vectoring to use in snowy conditions - get to the apex, give the throttle a good squeeze and the rear comes around nicely and gets you straight real quick. Can't do that in most AWD systems.

 

100% This is my 3rd winter with SH-AWD - and the combination of Snow Mode with my X-Ice Michelins make it a very comfortable, safe ride. I have often wondered if the SH-AWD handling feature changes to something more tight or even more focused when driving in Snow Mode, but I haven't really noticed a difference or additions in the blue chevron display than with normal driving. At any rate, as much as I hate driving in the snow I feel I'm in good hands with our SH-AWD.

 

I previously had a Lexus rx350 and the sh-awd system ia a better system in the snow

 

Opening up a can of worms? I had the exact same system in my 2010 Toyota RAV4 V6 AWD. It was a FWD system that would engage the rear wheels after the front wheels slipped. That implies a delay in traction that does not exist on Acura’s constant AWD system. With the Toyota/Lexus system, you could press a button and lock the AWD. In that mode all four wheels worked together and it had amazing traction. However, it could only be used on snow or in dirt because those wheels were “locked” and provided no slippage during turns. On dry roads, the car would buck and hobble when locked in AWD. Not good. Also, that system would automatically disengage above 25 mph. It was not a sport AWD system. I agree it worked great in snow, but not better than Acura’s constant SH-AWD system.

 

I think his point was that the RDXs SH-AWD system is better than the Lexus.

 

My bad. Sorry. Thanks.

 

SH-AWD was why I bought the thing back in 2022. EXCELLENT AWD system, if a bit maintenance hungry.

 

Yep, although I dislike a lot, the S-AWD is really awesome in the snow. I like it on dry days as well, it really feels tight and lets you pull out of curves faster. The only issue is we haven't had snow yet this year!!

 

The SH-AWD is great, but to be honest, I feel much more in control of a sedan with SH-AWD than I do my RDX. I had a TLX SH-AWD (loaner) during our snow storm this past weekend, and I felt like I had better control of the vehicle. I'm not sure if that is a reality, or just me overthinking things. Either way, I've never had any issues with Acura's AWD, and I've always felt confident with it.

 

I would just like to comment that I recently had my first multi-day experience driving in snow and cold in my 2021 RDX that has SH-AWD and I was -stunned- at how good the Snow Mode was. I grew up with my Dad carefully training me in all the ways to be careful and drive very differently in snow. I've now lived in the south for a long time but was up in Cleveland during a spell of quite bad weather. I was quite worried about the driving situation. It was obviously the time to turn that big dial and try out the Snow setting. What shocked me was the palpable feeling - it was clear right away - that the car was -doing- all the things I'd worked on doing when I was young and it gave me immediate confidence that things were going to be ok. I really wasn't expecting it to be nearly that noticeable, but it was. In Boston, my brother uses dedicated snow tires. I'm still running the RDX on the "new car" tires and I'd not really thought about whether they'd be much good in snow. For this situation it didn't seem to matter, the car just seemed to not let me do much of anything wrong. Sorry if this seems a bit one-sided for many of you who are probably way more experienced than me with snow but I felt it all so strongly I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.

~~lanechange~~

 

Now match that with some genuine winter tires.....X-Ice One's, etc....I would guess, guess emphasized, that the SH-AWD is one of the top 2 or 3 AWD systems in play today....the others, maybe Subaru and...don't know.

 

Yes, since I have yet to get to the point of choosing my first set of tires that are my choice and not the "new car ones" I have no idea which ones the members here tend to like. Snow and ice will be a quite rare worry for me as we've clearly moved into the new stage of climate change where the southeast just gets soaked in rain most of the winter. I've been through enough decades of cars to know that it can be a task to find a tire that is a balance between "a little to hard and noisy" and "a little to soft and short-lived." In the past I was able to find that balance and stick with it through most of the life of a car. I assume the genuinely good snow tires deliver a few downsides for normal and summer use, right?

~~lanechange~~

 

My wife's 22 RDX and my 20 MDX both fishtail a lot in the snow in comfort mode, even on brand new (stock) tires. I think comfort might try to drag a rear wheel to prevent the car from leaning with its soft suspension settings, causing the tail to slip a lot on snow turns. She switched to snow mode (didn't know it existed at first) and whatever algorithm it uses has been night and day, basically like it isn't snowing. My 20 MDX doesn't have snow mode but I get a huge improvement moving from comfort to normal mode in the snow.

 

We put 'Continental WinterContact SI Polar Plus' on our ASpec when we lived in Reno. (We also put Michelin X-Ice' on our Accord)...both, winter tires. I was aware of 'all-season' when we moved there, of course, but did not know anything about 'winter' tires. In essence, I believe they are softer rubber than other tires, and are full of sipes. They exist for a reason...they are pretty incredible on snow/ice. Even the Accord turned into a bit of a goat getting around the sometimes steep, slick hills. To your question...."a few downsides". In that they are softer rubber, you do not get the miles you would from normal tires. They of course all vary, but I thought I read once some particular winter tire was good for about 25,000 miles. After moving back to the Las Vegas area, we left the Conti's on, and I would say they are maybe a little less 'stiff' than the Goodyears that came on it. The RDX now has around 18K miles on it and the tread still looks surprisingly good. I had expected there to be a lot more wear at this point. Not sure if they are any noisier. But if snow/ice is that rare for you, they probably are not worth it.