So my wife and I are quite happy with our base TLX and I've begun early research for a 2nd car.
This one is gonna be a family hauler. New around the 35-38k range (any higher and my wife wants the minivan)
I'm hoping to carry over the same basic creature comforts from the TLX like leather and heat seats.
Two must haves are a power lift gate and rear unlock door sensors (so I can put the child in the car first without having to reach out for my keys).

We have some time before we can decide...2019 if we stretch our survival skills on just 1 car upon which the redesigned RDX will be a strong contender I hope.
I'd love to hear what other Acura owners have done to balance out the family fleet. Meanwhile I'm gearing towards doing the remote starter install come summer.

 

Personally, I would go for a Certified MDX. I know you said brand new, but the RDX does NOT offer the features where you can grab the rear doors first. MDX does when you get the technology pkg at $49,000 so I would find one CPO and hop on that.

 

By family hauler I am assuming you mean crossover? Well to start off you will not find a better ramily hauler than a minivan to be honest. But if you really want a crossover (and I don't blame you) not many mainatream brands will offer smart key sensors on the rear doors (actually quite rare in general). I noticed the toyota rav4 mentioned smart key sensors added to the rear doors as part of the limited package which I thought was cool, I believe ford products also have them in the rear. I'm not sure about the buick envision but it's really cool to me.

One other thing to note though is that even if you don't have buttons on the rear doors, she can easily press the button on the front door twice to unlock all the doors. You might want only the rear door to open with the button and I'm not sure they make them like that, I am wondering if cars with rear door sensors also unlock the other doors.

 

Based on the requirement, the CR-V is out. No rear door access as you described. Too bad, though, it's a great crossover. Also, the power lift is only available on Touring, I believe.

 

I looked up the RAV4 manual to confirm this is the case thanks. I find it hard to believe this is such an obscure feature I have to dig deep to find out.

Originally I thought of adding the rear sensors myself to a car of my choice. Test it on the TLX since I know the Canadian TLX Tech offers it thus parts are available then repeat the process perhaps on the RDX. Now I'm just conforming to adding remote start instead and force myself to reach for the fob for that added benefit. Plus I figure we're bound to loose a key or two in the sleepless chaos anyways.

 

What are the leftover new 2016 MDX's (pre-facelift) going for? You might get a chance at one of those in that range since they want to dump them.

 

Moved to Cartalk.

Didn't have the requirements for the power lift gate, or rear door sensors, but our MDX has both, and we are very happy with it.

 

The number of cars that offer it are small and they're almost never standard.

 

No rear door sensors, but we've been very happy with our Ford Flex for a family hauler.
$35-38k should get you into a used Limited with AWD & EcoBoost. New, puts you in the 40's.
Alternatively, Explorer Sport, likely similar priced, bit more truck than car compared to the Flex, IMO.

 

Sensors on the rear doors is typically reserved to very high end cars and is more rare in general even on premium cars. I'm surprised the our Canadian market TLX has them, I know the RDX doesn't and I beleive the lower end MDX's do not either. But I'm wondering why you feel you need that? You do know that for cars that have a button you can press it twice to unlock the rear doors? Like press the button once and it unlocks one door, press it twice and it unlocks all the doors. On cars where there is no button on the door handle but just simply touch (like how acuras are) I think you just have to put your hands twice on the sensor portion of the door? Not sure how it works to be honest with you for cars that don't have buttons. On my Kia sorento I press the button once and it unlocks my door, press it twice and it unlocks all doors.

 

You just have to change the settings to unlock all doors with one touch. Then all you'd need to do is touch the front door handle before opening the rear. It's not the end world imo. The MDX offers touch sensors on all four doors if you get the tech package as others have said.

 

I believe Audis have them as part of the convenience package, but those start at the top of OP's budget.

 

The bottom line is a comparison of apples and oranges really. I grew up in the midwest so I don't undermine the value of the minivan, especially if you cover a lot of distance, but where we live now size is actually quite a hassle. What's more the little trips we do take are towards the mountains where we could use some extra ground clearance. Heck I don't even want AWD. Having said that, rear door keyless entry is just a nice to have just like the power lift-gate that a lot of young parents I know have clamored to be essentials. I used to think they were just spoiled but now that I'm their shoes I'm learning that every little detail are really there just to make parenting a little more bearable or just less insane haha.

 

The only thing about minivans I understand is the sliding doors. Kids are constantly swinging out regular doors and hitting cars, walls, whatever is there. Sliding doors are compact and efficient.

That being said, minivans are about my least favorite mode of transportation.

 

When we have our 2nd child, I'm picking up a Sienna SE as our 3rd car. Love minivans. hahahaha

 

2017 Mazda CX 5 Grand Touring with 5 seats-- it'll be less than your budget, but has the comfort features without a lux nameplate.
My wife got a 2016.5 CX 5 GT, which has everything but a power lift gate; the 2017 is a new model with power lift gate, new body work and more refinement.
I still prefer the minivan for carrying passengers, though.
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The CX5 has smart key sensors on the rear doors too? That is very surprising and impressive, wow.

 

2017 Honda Pilot EX-L is ~$37k MSRP, not sure if has the rear door sensors but has the power tailgate.

Our 2003 Pilot is at 291k miles, dependable, runs well, and trouble free.

 

2017 Honda Pilot EX-L is ~$37k MSRP, not sure if has the rear door sensors but has the power tailgate.

 

What about a Jeep Grand Cherokee? I test drove a couple recently, and while I don't remember if it has the rear door sensors, I do know it has front door sensors and power liftgate. Heated seats and steering wheeling were nice too.

 

I don't think the GC has rear door sensors, not even on the highest trim, but I suppose I could be wrong. I know the 3G RX350 (2010-2015) for sure does have sensors on the rear door handles.

 

I was driving past a Buick Verano and the front/rear doors both had smart key sensors, so I would check out the Envision OP.

 

Ground clearance for what? Will you be leaving the paved roads for more than a gravel path? If so, none of the options in this thread (other than maybe the JGC) are going to get you all that far lol. If you want something to make parenting a little less insane, buy the vehicle that is designed to do just that. The new Ody has a freaking intercom system for talking to your kids without yelling let alone all the other gadgets and gizmos designed to move your brood as efficiently, comfortably, and reliably as possible. If you want ground clearance (you probably don't need it but I don't know what you do or plan to do), the Sienna AWD has more ground clearance than the others on the market.

 

It's more of a lifestyle choice. We just don't cover a lot of distance (less than 10k/year) and the only outing my wife and I have made from DC since we got married has been to WV cabins. So far we have been fortunate enough to borrow her parents pilot to manage the gravel roads but that's out of the picture now. Would have been nice know if the kids will like the outdoors instead of guessing but so far we're inclined to think we'll be doing more outdoor-ish things...

Also a lot of the decent restaurants here just require tight parking. Not that we'll be in the right mind to hit trendy restaurants... bottom line is that unless I switch jobs we can't move away from DC and affording a 2nd car in itself much less a gargantuan on wheels is just a hassle. Truth be told I may settle for a 2nd sedan... a civic in MT... still haven't been able to convince the missus of letting me just get a Rebel500...

 

My 2015 Explorer Sport has power liftgate, leather, heated/ cooled seats, etc. As far as rear door sensor, it does not have it, but not a big deal to reach over and touch the front door handle first to unlock the doors and get my daughter in the back. For your price range, you can pick up a pre-owned one. Mine was about 45k new. Plus, you can throw a tune on it and really wake it up.