jrasero

In a odd twist of events I leased a 2016 Base AWD RDX almost three years ago and loved it's powerful smooth and quiet ride, but was not a fan of the lack of features or the size since my current garage is very tiny (in NYC). I surprisingly had equity only after a year and traded it in for a 2016 ILX Premium for its size and gas millage for a 24 month lease. Fast forward and my wife and family (brother and sister in law) hate the ILX, they find it too cramped, loud, and rough. Personally I don't mind it since it's a great commuting or city car but not having AWD and the lack of a substantial trunk sucks. So my local Acura dealer recently offered to buyout 2 of my lease payments and Acura has offered to buyout the additional 3 as long as I lease a new Acura. I first looked at a 2018 TLX V6 SH-AWD Tech but the ZF9 issues, AWD rattling issues, and the fact that the TLX only has .5" more rear legroom compared to the ILX was off putting, plus the car with only 7.5K miles per year had a low residual of 53%. So my dealer Smithtown Acura informed me of the new RDX prototype which looks awesome and has a lot of missing features that would catapult the current gen into a real luxury car, however the car has become even more bloated adding 1.2" in width and 2" in length. A course since this is a prototype there is no pricing and no lease info and most people are estimating early Summer for pre-orders and Summer for delivery. My dealer confirmed they would be getting initial stock probably in June right when my lease ends but like with any hot selling new car they probably will sell for MSRP for the first months.

I am a little over 10K under my allotted miles and it would be nice to transfer them to another lease. I only drive 8K-9k miles a year so my salesman offered a 7.5K mile lease 33K total w/ my rollover, $3000 down, 36 months, for a 2018 RDX Advance AWD for $389 a month. A couple reasons this seems promising is that the negotiated price around $39K and the MSRP w/ destination is $45K. While soon to be dated, the Advance is top of the line and provides all the features I want besides Android Auto and rear heated seats. Leasing a new car early would almost make this a 31 month lease. My lease payment and insurance combined actually stays the same since for some reason the ILX's insurance Premium is substantially higher even with the same coverage as the proposed RDX. Also hopefully in the next 2-3 years my wife and I will be buying a house and or having kids and the ILX is a super tight squeeze if not impossible to fit a rear facing baby seat

so what do you guys think?

RDX-Rick

I am also concerned that the new 2019 RDX may be too large for my garage, Although my garage is plenty large enough to hold an RDX, my space is limited because I also keep the lawnmower and snow blower against the back wall of the garage. My 2016 RDX only leaves about 3" of space at the front and rear. There have already been some minor "fitment" problems when I have guesstimated my position incorrectly.

The only thing I have heard about the size of the 2019 model is......

"The new RDX Prototype boasts more athletic stance and proportions with
a wider track (+3 cm), longer wheelbase (+6.3 cm) and shortened front over
hang, with wheels pushed to the corners"

I'm hoping that the longer wheelbase is obtained by reducing the overhang, and not by extending the length of the overall vehicle.

colt427

I think so.
Other than the lack of the V6, I feel it will be a much better more luxurious RDX.

jrasero

3cm is basically 1.2" which doesn't seem like a lot but that makes the RDX almost 75" in width now compared to the 73.7". For me the second gen was a tight enough of a squeeze width wise since I had to fold both mirrors to get the car in my garage properly.

Without a doubt the 3rd gen looks very impressive luxury wise but like most new Honda products have become very bloated. I was hoping the CDX was going to be brought to North America since that would have been a better fit for us but for now I think we are going with a 2018 Advance. It's more than enough car for us and again the only thing that I truly want and can't have on it is Android Auto and rear heated seats.

bmllr8

I bought a 2017 RDX and while I enjoy the power the V6 has to offer (radio is pretty decent too) most of the other features are behind the competition. The 2019 appears to correct all that and looks pretty luxurious as well.

RDX-Rick

I'm not saying your wrong, but until the actual specs are released, we don't know if the 2019 RDX is getting longer or wider overall.

The only information released was .....
"The new RDX Prototype boasts more athletic stance and proportions with
a wider track (+3 cm), longer wheelbase (+6.3 cm) and shortened front over
hang, with wheels pushed to the corners"

The longer wheelbase (+6.3cm) could be the result of simply moving the front wheels forward to reduce the overhang. The wider track (+3cm = 1.18") could be due to moving each wheel outwards .6" closer to the fenders, which should improve handling.

Personally I'm with you and I hope the RDX doesn't increase in exterior size.If the changes are only the result of moving the wheels, forward and outward, the result could be a larger interior without any increase in the exterior dimensions.

Nates NJTL

Honda Passport launching in early 2019 and positioned between the CRV and Pilot. Rebadged RDX?

jrasero

The prototype is pretty much 98% a finalized car, maybe the only thing that will change will be the rims and mirrors
But if the 2016 CR-V went from a reasonable 71.6" width and 179.4" length to the current 73" 180.6" length I don't see the RDX getting any smaller or even staying the same size.
The RDX has always been a slightly bigger CRV, so I am confident in the projected dimensions.

EDIT: RDX-RICK Acura has stated interior space has been maximized by eliminating overhang so you might be on length with, but as per width wise I feel confident Acura will push out a wider car since the Audi Q5 74.5", Volvo XC60 74.4", Mercedes GLC 74.41", BMW X3 74.47" all hover around 75" width. It wouldn't surprise me if Acura hit 75" since this is an all new RDX and a lot of the aforementioned models are riding on older platforms.

Yeah without a doubt the 3rd gen looks amazing and offers a ton of missing luxury features, but from a lease stand point I don't think residuals will be anything 2%-3% higher than the 58% residual now, plus being one of Acura top sellers I see the demand to be pretty high and I'd imagine that dealers will sell these at MSRP or even slightly above. Also with a complete redesign with new standard features I also expect the price to increase. Now if you pay cash or finance this will not matter as much, but for a lease getting 11% off MSRP is a pretty good deal, plus probably in 28 months I will get another call from Acura asking to trade in again. Also while there doesn't seem to be any problems with the 10 speed I am always weary of buying any new gen products in their first year.