Majofo

Yeah, but what 10 year old obsesses over a Honda crossover.

RSX_Takashi

Actually when we were 10 years old we will be obsessed about BMW, Celica, Mustang, Trans Am, or DMC-12 and NOT our parents' Chrysler Minivan or Plymouth Station Wagon.

cu2wagon

I missed that the first couple times reading through here!

snorf, I'm certainly glad you went with the RDX instead of a Cessna; it has been immensely more entertaining here than over on the plane forums, I'm fairly certain.

I hope you and your wife are enjoying the care none-the-less. Think of it as a Honda+. Not quite luxury but a bit more "premium" than the typical Honda offerings.

Or, take the other route and pry all the Acura badges off and replace them with Honda badges... I hear people do that.

Majofo

You're one weird dude

snorf

You're right cu2wagon. I retired from the Air Force, but pretty much keep to myself on those issues. We are enjoying the RDX. The wind noise really bothers me so I moved up my appointment to next week. I'm counting on them to take care of it. As to the music.... I know iTunes music doesn't have the same bit rate as CDs, but I can handle it. The music is fine. I did, however, go to the library and borrow a couple CDs to see if there was a difference in sound. I think it was noticeable, but I can live with the USB or iPod. I did contact acura about it and got what I considered a non-answer answer. I sent them a couple messages, but this is a copy of the last one I sent:


Please disregard my request for instructions on how to manually record to the acura hard drive. I am not trying to be nasty, but it's clear that manually recording on your hard drive will be nothing short of a PITA. The sound on the ELS system is phenomenal. The software on the ELS is horrible. Perhaps antiquated would be a more adequate description. We are retired and it appears that it would be a part time job to load CDs onto the hard drive and probably a full time job to manually do it. Are there not enough distractions while driving that acura had to make such a complex method of recording music? It seems that a software update (and getting with the times with technology) is well past due for acura.


It seems that the posters on here have a good sense of humor and there is some valuable information as well. The RDX as a chick magnet is rather funny, though. I thought about picking up a chick (can only handle one at a time at age 58) and bring her through the gate at the entrance to our community and impress her with the hangar on the back of the house... as if the RDX wouldn't do it on its own! But then I remembered that my wife packs and she's pretty good with the Glock so I passed on the idea.

ceb

This is the Acura RDX

yesrdx

Okay, I lol'ed.

snorf

After about 7 weeks and 1500 miles, I believe that the acura is not a premium vehicle, certainly not a luxury vehicle, but basically a Honda-plus. I took my car in for wind noise and was told that's just how they are. I rode in another new one at the dealership and he was right - that's how they are. The service tech has been with acura/Honda for 20 years and knows it's always been an issue for them. (My neighbor's TL and friend's TSX have the same noise.)
It's nice that they finally put a passenger seat in that will go up and down (about 4-5 years behind Hyundai/kia, GM, etc.), but I had the opportunity to sit in the passenger seat for the first time and I agree with my wife - it's too low. When raised to the very top level it reaches where the bottom should be. (I am guessing they never thought of having it the same elevation as the driver's seat - like other "non-premium vehicles".)
Nice to see they put vents in for the rear seat (something our 2010 Toyota had, but in doing so they removed the heated rear seats - like found on hyundais, etc.) Excellent sound on the stereo (better than my son's Mark Levinson in his lexus), but they missed the boat here, too. Chrysler (and others) have allowed you to download music to the HDD from a USB or mp3s for a long time. On the RDX, you have to do it one CD at a time and it's very time consuming. (It takes a lot longer if you want to do it manually because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't).
We driver rather conservatively and with 1500 miles have averaged 20.3 mpg using 93 octane. Our 2010 6 cyl venza (epa 19/26 on 87 octane) gave us 22.5 mpg. The venza (with it's cheap, hard shiny Toyota plastic interior) is larger than the RDX, but it had the same power (albeit smoother - buttery smooth drivetrain was how one magazine described it) without the hard shifts between gears and the ride was better (probably due to it being larger).


We basically bought the RDX because it had a passenger seat that would go up and down and my wife wanted another SUV/Crossover. (It was a birthday present for her and she wanted a premium car this time, but not the RX350 because it was so much like the venza and she wanted something different this time.) I know that no car company will be best at everything, but I'm not sure acura is best at anything. (In the past, I would have said that acura needed some adult leadership, but I won't say that as I know I'll get firebombed here ) They certainly aren't leaders and don't appear to be particularly good followers either.




I think the major difference between the lexus and acura is this: Toyota places a high priority on their lexus line while Honda does acura as a sideline. (It's like acura is Honda's unwanted stepchild.) We like the RDX, but I believe the Kia Sorrento and Hyundai Santa Fe, to name a few SUVs, are better and nicer cars.

cu2wagon

snorf, you're not alone in a lot of your assessments. There are quite a few of us that feel the same way.

I've maintained from day 1 that Acura == Honda+. I went in to my purchase knowing that, and without extraneous expectations. And you know what? So far, no complaints.

For what it is, it is quite good. But for what it's sold as (and I'd argue, what the nominal price tag is), perhaps not so much.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Rocky is embarrassing himself here too?

snorf

I think you are right on the mark. I plan to keep the car for 5 years (or more), but it is NOT what I expected. This sounds nasty, but I say this on my own behalf. My wife bought a badge on a grill - pure and simple. It wasn't a money thing (was a cash purchase), but a prestige thing to her. I guess people who've never owned acuras dont' know.

rockyboy

Let me give the people out there my impressions after driving for 600 km. If you're thinking of buying the 2016 RDX Elite AWD Canadian, overall I think you'll be very pleased.

Regarding this vehicle vs the Toyota Venza a la a previous post. I have a Toyota Venza parked right beside my 2016 RDX in my driveway. It is about the same size as far as I can tell with some differences: the Venza has bigger rims (20 inches) but thinner tires. The RDX cabin feels more spacious especially the 2nd row. The RDX seats are much more comfortable. It drives wayyy smoother than the Venza (the Venza is not very good for a non-luxury car). The acceleration of the Venza AWD (rated at 268 horsepower) does not compare to the RDX AWD. The RDX feels much more powerful. When I drive the Venza, it feels so much weaker than I remember (after having driven the RDX). The technology in the RDX is amazing, can't compare with the Venza. The Kia and Hyundai you can't put beside the RDX. Why? The RDX surpasses the Venza, and the Venza surpasses the Kia and the Hyundai. The Venza is the best value non-luxury crossover.

The HDD I haven't really used yet so can't comment. I've been listening to music on the satellite radio and CD's. But the ELS sound is absolutely incredible!

As for Lexus, which Lexus SUV is overall better than the RDX? There is none. Some might have a more quiet cabin but overall feature for feature, dollar for dollar, the Acura wins. On top of that, the 2015 RDX is the best looking crossover in its class. Man this thing is gorgeous!!

Honda recently invested at least $1 Billion in Acura and it is showing with the 2016 lineup. Let's be clear: Acura is a high end luxury brand that offers you the features of competitors at a higher reliability than most and at a better price than all for comparably equipped models.

rockyboy

And regarding gas mileage: I've been averaging from around 9.5 to 10.5 L / 100 km city driving (usually I drive around 70 km/h and haven't hit the pedal hard, still breaking in engine). The Venza gets around 12 L/100 km. On one tank of the Venza I get about 500 km range. In the RDX I'm getting over 600 km range. I have 340 km range left on half a tank of fuel as of right now.

rockyboy

Oops sorry I meant the Venza is very food for a non-luxury vehicle.

rockyboy

Oops sorry I meant the Venza is very good for a non-luxury vehicle.

snorf

I had to get rid of the venza because it was a babe magnet. I haven't had that problem with the RDX.

rockyboy

Hmmm must be something in the water where you guys live. Here in Toronto, Acuras are highly regarded.

hand-filer

This is so true. If not for the road noise, wind noise and the rear shock noise, I could have lived with the lack of amenities.
I was under no delusion that the RDX was a luxury brand but I was expecting a premium vehicle.
I haven't written the brand off entirely but they need to step up their game if they want to be relevant.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

Rocky, you know there is an edit button. We ain't sending no text messages.

snorf

I did have one woman come out of the water and rush toward the RDX (I live near the ocean). At first I thought it was a sea creature - perhaps a walrus (rare in Daytona) - but the closer it got, I realized it wasn't a sea creature but a woman who was interested in the RDX. I don't particularly care for large women, but even if I did, I didn't know if the cargo capacity of the RDX could handle the RDX-desiring babe.

rockyboy

In a few more weeks, I will fully test out my theory that it is a chick magnet. Will let you know how it goes.

hand-filer

There, I fixed that for you.

hand-filer

Was it Daryl Hannah?

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

Parking in front of DSW doesn't count either.

snorf

I think you hit the nail right on the head! I couldn't say it any better.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

Must be that water up in Toronto......


Got them bitches droppin they panties over the RDX..

snorf

I'm afraid it wasn't Daryl Hannah. My initial thoughts were a Walrus, but then I thought perhaps a manatee. It turns out that she was just a woman who apparently had a very long love affair with the buffet tables and making sure she got her money's worth, then camped out in the ugly forest for years! I'm hoping this doesn't become a regular event for me with the RDX.

rockyboy

Welcome to North America, my friend.

rockyboy

What is DSW?

Thuneau

Not a regular poster here. I'm just passing through this forum because I'm shopping for a new car and the RDX is one of the possibilities. I probably won't be back for a while so I'm not looking to engage in a discussion here.
That said, people who express an opinion about a sound system and refer to low audio frequencies as "base" have zero credibility right of the bat.

*It's bass. Anyone who has even "basic" knowledge of audio would not make that elementary mistake.

cu2wagon

rockyboy

Well, you didn't press tab for your paragraphs so there are some imperfections in your writing also, no? We should make room for one another's imperfections.

Thuneau

I hear you, but some imperfections are less perfect than others. I understand and look past misspellings in general, but one should really know the lingo of the given subject when trying to sound authoritative.

HondaOwnerForLife

Just thought I'd comment here. For me Acura is not luxury. It is, though, technology, performance, reliability, value, and quality. For me, that's what matters and why the 2016 RDX will be my fourth Acura.

To each his own, but I can tell you this: I like to drive, and often enthusiastically, and I am 100% satisfied with the enjoyment my Acuras have provided.

Comfy

Here you go again with the LED headlights. Closest to sunlight...? What bull.... are you talking?
Natural sunlight is a bit yellowish in color. I'm not quoting any scientific articles but it is my real life observation with naked eye. I check it myself everyday in the morning when I back out of my garage when the sun is shining from behind me onto the garage wall. I can perfectly see that regular halogen lights (3600K to 4300K) are closest to natural sunlight. The HIDs in my RDX are way too whiter and the LED light (which is more like 6000K) is almost bluish white.

We appreciate that you like your RDX very much (we all do too), but you need to wean yourself off the RDX Kool aid a bit.

rockyboy

The 2016 RDX LEDs emit very sunshine-like light. It's not bluish at all. Read this link:

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150725/PC2107/150729562/1136&

There are others you can find. Acura Jewel Eyes are the best in their respective class.

ceb

If they are both parked in your driveway, then you should know if they are both about the same size.

Yep, satellite radio really sounds incredible

Wait. I thought you dreamt that you had a 2016, not a 2015 - but you're right - Hotwheels probably doesn't have the 2016 toy yet.

Rocky's RDX

ceb

This just goes to show once again that all you do is repeat drivel spewed by dealerships.

Here is a quick little quiz just for rocky

1.What is the approximate color temperature of "daylight"?

2.What is the approximate color temperature of High Intensity Discharge bulbs?

3.What is the approximate color temperature of the LEDs used by Acura as headlights?

If 1 equals 3 then you are correct. But 1 does not equal 3 so you are wrong yet again.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

how many times do we have to tell you, we dont give a fuck.

rockyboy

That's all theoretical stuff. I'm talking practical, real world situations. For example, driving at night on a dark rural road and having the LEDs light up the road with very white light. The lights really make the lines on the road and the signs stand out.