yojcboy

Hi there,

I noticed that the new RDX has a better fuel efficiency compared to the old RDX although they have a bigger engine. I really like the new RDX but also worry about the gas since the gas price keeps going up higher and higher.

Does anyone know how many km can I drive in a full tank of gas? I am currently looking at the TSX & RDX right now. Does TSX has a much better fuel economy compared to RDX or just a little bit?

Thanks,

JCBOY

weather

JCBOY....I just did about 670km on my first tank of gas and just filled it up this morning but you got to realize the vehicle is not fully broken in yet. Let me put it to you this way, I rented a Ford Focus who is suppose to give me less than 5l/100km on the highway 2 days ago, I came back from a highway trip (all highway) and I was averaging 7.8l/100km. My 2012 TL AWD with 305HP get an average of 9.8-10.2l/100km when combining 50/50 highway and city. Trust me, if you like the RDX, get it as it will reward you time and time again. The TSX was a great car for me too and that I4 was great but at the end of the year, you will not spend that much more. Take an average 500km per week, over 52 weeks, we are talking 26 000km. If the difference between the RDX and the TSX is 2l per 100km....that means that 26 000 / 100 = 260 extra litre X 1.25l (here) = 325 a year (or $6.25 a week). When you put the numbers in perspective, it does help doesn't it?

ALSO...Life is too short. Get what you want! Imagine if 3 years from now, you get diagnosed with a terminal disease....Will saving 300$ a year be worth it then? I am not saying you should buy more than you can afford but don't let a few dollars a month get in the way of what really appeals to you. The cost of fuel is pennies compared to the cost of the vehicle itself.....

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

oh dont' forget we need premium fuel too.

i would think an I4 TSX would get better MPGs than the RDX. then again fuel efficiency is not a top priority when considering a vehicle. between my MDX and TL...my MDX is thirsty and heavy.

your mileage capacity will also be dependent on the size of the gas tank in addition to the MPGs. my TL has a 17 gallon tank while the MDX is 21.

weather

I lfet that factor out of the equation because whether he gets a TSX or an RDX, the premium fuel will come into play anyway In canada, the RDX has a 60 litre capacity while my TL has a 70 litre tank

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^i just find it funny when people bring up MPGs and fuel prices, when considering the purchase of a "luxury" vehicle. just sayin' i think your TL has a slightly larer fuel capacity than mine ().

OP-FYI premium fuel is only going to be about $200 more a yr overall. gotta pay to play!

weather

^^^ I agree with you fully. I am not a big fan of paying for gas but its never a "OMG I can't afford the gas anymore and will have to sell my vehicle"

As far as the fuel tank capacity...you are correct, it seems that 70 litres = 18.5 US Gallons

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

the sticker shock at the gas station is lessened for the MDX when i fill up at the halfway point. waiting for the light...then the OMG reaction comes out...then i get over it. lol.

weather

Are you a virgo? I swear I read your post and see myself in you! LOL

I do the exact same thing with my TL...it seems putting 35$ at a time is less painful than putting 90$ in one swoop

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

nope....i'm a LEO!!!!

hawkeye62

I couldn't agree more! Gas is cheap at twice the price. I think about it every time I see one of those "lawn mower" cars. They get 50 MPG, but suffer every mile they drive. I am always tempted to ask them if they would cut my lawn.

Jim

markrogo

At below 400 miles total, I'm already getting 23+ MPG in mixed driving (mostly highway). I was lucky to get 19 on the previous generation RDX ever.

yojcboy

Hi Weather,

Thank you for your comment. Your equation is good and does make sense to me. I went to check out the RDX at Acura today and I really like the car. The interior looks quite nice and has more room compare to the old one. The spec shows 10.7l/100km but I think it will never be accurate and probably 11.0L/100 km..... I would appreciate if someone can share his/her experience on the 2013 rdx gas mileage.....By the way, 1.25 is a good gas price there? Is it premium or regular?

rdxm

You can check my fuelly.com here where I post all my fill-ups.


I encourage other 2013 RDX owners to share their gas mileage there.

rdxm

It is actually 260 liters x 2 = 520 liters difference. Also the premium gas in my area is 1.44/l which brings the difference in value to $748 a year. There is also a difference in purchase price RDX/TSX.
Your point is still valid, but I just wanted to express it more accurately so buyers are better informed. I should point out that I am the owner of the 2013 RDX and I'm very happy with it.

rdxm

You can check the TSX fuel economy here:

http://www.fuelly.com/car/acura/tsx

yojcboy

Thanks a lot!

weather

On the first tank of gas which was 80% on a very windy and driving rain day, plus the rest was all city, I averaged 8.8l/100km! Which is phenomenal given the road condition on the trip down plus the fact the vehicle is so new still. I am talking premium gas here

RDXM...Thanks for the correction....I was going to quick in my math. Bottom line is that its still relatively minor in the whole scheme of things.

pickler

hey rdxm, i checked yours fuely.com log and i noticed that i get very similar results ~25mpg highway and 19mpg city. is your rdx 4wd?

rdxm

Yes, it's 4wd. Also the city was rush hour busy. The highway was at high speed.

yojcboy

Hi RDXM,

It is very nice to hear a feedback from a new RDX owner. Do you like the car overall? What are the pros & cons about the new rdx?

rdxm

I will start by saying that I love my 2013 RDX. I've got the awd base model, no navigation. My previous car was a 2008 MDX and I have to say that the new RDX is way better than the MDX, at least for me. The MDX was too big and it felt that way. The RDX is very smooth, the engine is very quiet, the whole ride is very quiet and confortable. The car feels very nimble and it reacts very fast to acceleration or steering. Some people complained about the steering, saying that it feels disconnected, I don't have that problem. I find the steering just perfect. The steering in my old MDX was so 'connected' that you could barely turn it in a parking lot, it was that hard. The fuel economy is OK for a car of this size and for the size of the engine. I enjoy the fact that the fuel economy indicator onboard is pretty much accurate (max 3-5% difference). That was not the case with the MDX where real fuel economy was way worse than the one displayed.
There is one thing that bothers me related to my RDX: the front passenger seat. It is not height adjustable and is really low. I did not notice it before buying it, so I'm letting everyone know to check this before buying. I would have probably still bought the car even if I had noticed it, but I still think it's a major problem.

mrgold35

Hey 2013 owners, do you feel the cylinder deactivation working or is it entirely seamless? I live at high altitude (5200ft in Albuquerque) and drive anywhere from sea level in Cali to 11,000 feet in Colorado and drive around 70-85 mph depending on the speed limit (only 5mph over posted speed).

Has anyone have anything to report on their overall MPGs in high altitudes and/or hilly terrain for the 2013?

Thx

rdxm

Cylinder deactivation is totally seamless.
For high altitude, turbo engines are recommended because of the extra pressure coming from the turbo fan.

mrgold35

That is one thing I love about my 08 RDX (with Hondata) is the high to very high altitude driving with minimal loss of power.

I will be in the market for an upgrade vehicle in about 18-24 months and it will be another RDX or the all new MDX (with improved MPGs). I was just curious how the 2013 RDX performed MPG wise in high altitudes and/or hilly terrain.

pickler

hmm interesting. my uncle is an aero engineer and i remember him talking about cesna aircrafts and early WW2 aircrafts not being able to reach +20k feet due to lack of super/turbo chargers turbos definitely help you in high altitudes. wow imagine people with low displacement NA engines in places like colorado xD must be pain to go uphill with those.

hawkeye62

High altitude may be a problem for 4 cylinder engines without turbo, but my experience with V6 engines is that I can't tell any difference at high altitude. I drive at 4,000 - 5,000 feet all the time and during winter when I ski, I drive to 8,000 feet almost every day. And in the San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado, the passes are 10,000 feet. Neither my 2001 MDX nor my wife's 2007 Eclipse has ever shown any noticeable loss of power at high altitude. (Of course, I am not timing 0-60 mph sprints or 1/4 mile trials.)

Regards, Jim

weather

I can also attest to the fact the cylinder deactivation is SEAMLESS! I will also agree with rdxm in that it annoys the crap out of me that a vehicle in this price range does not have a height adjuster for the passenger side! And why did it make it so low?

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

the MDX is no longer than a TL, but it is a bit wider by 6 in. (at least comparing to my 3G TL).

the RDX vs MDX...two different animals. the RDX will be a lot more responsive since it's smaller and lighter relative to the MDX. it's also newer so there are refinements from a looks and interior stand point.

it sounds like you're looking for sports car handling and feel in an SUV based pkg. i will agree that the MDX lags in trying make passing on a hwy swift. i get my kicks driving around in my TL for that.

everyone will have different needs and wants in a car...glad you found it in the new RDX. i'm sure the RDX would suit my needs....BUT....i just can't see myself in a cute ute.

weather

...and exactly the reason why I am so happy....I have the RDX for the utilitary person in me, and the 2012 TL AWD for the crazy kid in me

Life is sweet at 40....

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

love my TL. the MDX has it's place.

dont' stress over the MPGs boys and girls....just drive the car and enjoy it!!!!

if you wanted the MPGs...there is always a prius or a volt.

gtgt

My first tank on the 2013 Rdx awd was approx. 650 km. that's about 80% highway. Cost me $61 to fill it up vs $85 on the 2010 Rdx I had. (2010 would get about 460 km per tank)
Seemless cylinder deactivation, and the passenger seat is way low. Wife is not to happy about not being able to adjust it. You get use to it though. Not a deal breaker.

weather

[QUOTE=TLtrigirl;13774742if you wanted the MPGs...there is always a prius or a volt.[/QUOTE]

Or as I did....the same day I bought the RDX, I bought a 2012 Hyundai Accent (as base as they get) to get me around when it rains or when I need to go places where I may worry that people ill ding my doors or scratch the vehicle (i.e mall). I told you guys that I was anal (lol)

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

new car beater...nice. why do you have so many cars? just wondering.

gbrucken

I've had my 2013 RDX (AWD, Tech) for about a month now in Cleveland, OH. I have been getting, on average, 25 MPG, using premium fuel. About 85% of my travels are highway (at least 50MPH) and none is in rush hour stop and go traffic.

weather

*lol* A co worker of mine gets upset when I refer to a brand new car as a beater so I guess I will have to change my choice of name calling and maybe use the "daily driver" instead. To answer your question - its that my TL is my pride and joy (well, I am re-evaluating that now) and it has never seen a drop of rain. I am a car fanatic and love to keep my cars in top shape and reduce the exposure to the element (the winters here especially are so harsh on cars with salt/sand). Having a little Accent allows me to drive it when weather conditions are adverse and keep my Acura vehicle in pristine shape and also makes me appreciate them even more....going from the Accent to the RDX/TL is quite the drastic change although, for the money, that little Accent is getting some well deserved respect from me....

I am going to wash/wax it when I get back from my business trip but this car will not get the TLC that my Acura are getting...not that it will not be kept clean and in great condition but I can never seem to take my TL to an event downtown and leave the car unattended for fear it will get dinged or bumped so when I take the TL and RDX somewhere, its within eye sight or at a place where I feel safe (freind's driveway etc.)....The Accent, well, it the door gets dinged, I will not have a meltdown if it happens

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

weather-i totally understand!!!!!

having my two car rotation is nice so i get whre you are coming from. if we go anywhere like into DC...or anywhere else, running errands...we take the accord (his). he knows how anal i am about where i park the acuras. he even looks out for prime spaces too when we drive the MDX. he respects the OCDness of how meticulous i am with the cars.

supera

I was curious why the 3.5 in the accord,pilot,and odyssey all run fine on reg but the rdx calls for prem.

GRDX

While it is not the recommendation you can infer from the below that you can use regular 87 octane fuel.

From the Owners Manual:

Fuel recommendation

Unleaded premium gasoline, pump octane number 91 or higher
Use of lower octane gasoline can cause occasional metallic knocking noise in the

engine and will result in decreased engine performance.
Use of gasoline with a pump octane less than 87 can lead to engine damage.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

most likely b/c the cars are tuned differently. the honda's you mentioned are all single overhead cam V6 engines while the RDX V6 is a double overhead cam engine. what the difference is....i 'm not certain of the technical stuff, BUT i do know that all acuras run a high compression ratio engine which needs higher octane fuel for optimum performance. run regular fuel in an acura the engine will knock and possible cause damage as well as lower your fuel efficiency which will cost you more at the pump with more frequent trips (this has been tested by folks here....check those gas threads).

BTW: premium fuel will only cost about $200 more a yr over regular gasoline. gotta pay to play.

maybe someone with more engine saavy will chime in to explain the difference between SOHC and DOHC.

bh9712

I've got about 900 miles on my 2013 in the Denver/Boulder area of Colorado. I'm averaging 23.4 MPG - probably 70% city 30% highway - the average speed is 32 MPH.