vegasandre

First time poster here.
Just got back from a test drive on a A spec with FWD(they didnt have the AWD yet)In white.

First off. I have been looking for a mid size SUV to replace my 2008 LR3 Land Rover with now very high miles.
Have been looking for a couple months and and have test drove a lot of other competition.

Also- I am only looking at Non soccer mom versions of all said SUV's

Here is my Synopsis on the RDX compared to looking at pictures and videos for past 2 months.
I was looking for one in Blue., AWD loaded etc.

Exterior looks: Pretty good. Couple things like the back tail lights , Large Acura emblem on front grille(hides the sensers) I would of liked something different. Tires are average.. = ABOUT AS EXPECTED
Interior Looks- Red and black looks great , seats are great. Lot of room in 2nd row . seems like a lot of cargo space = BETTER THAN EXPECTED
Infotainment- Looks good with lot of features. going to be difficult learning curve. (and I am a techie). I would say it may even keep some people from buying this car only because of this - WORSE THAN EXPECTED
Other features- 16 speaker sound=BETTER THAN EXPECTED

The drive- It is better than expected, lot of pep, quick. Not as much as Stelvio but quick. Like the gear shifting, transmission. lane assist, cruise assist.


Here is what I have looked at:
XC40-too small for me.
XC60- Dont like the exterior at all - squashed it...
XC90 -love the bursting blue R design - way higher pricing...cant seem to get a good lease deal on one.

X3- Hate the outside just average
X5 I like the car and considering. however they are redoing the whole car this fall and not sure about that but can get a good deal on 2018 leftovers

Q5- I like the car but with what I want in it - I dont know- there are 5 of them on my block..
Q7- I had one of these in 2008-2011 I dont want another one.

AR Stelvio- great driving car. great deals (they are not selling) Inside is lacking, stereo is lacking. room is lacking. looks great.

RX350 f sport- was considering it but there are a million lexusRX out here in so cal and they are all older realtors who drive them ...

Infinity Qx50- Not a bad car but I hate the Infinity's back exterior half of the car.

Fpace- I like the car- Just too much for what I wanted (the 70k one) and no deals...
E PAce- I also like this car- just smaller and no deals.

So that is where I am at.
I have really narrowed the search to 3 cars with the RDX being probably the best deal out of all of the, But I would rather have a xc90 R Design. Just not willing to pay 800-900 mo vs 400-500 mo.. X5 would be 650-700 mo 36/15k lease...

still not sure what I am going to do yet

ultramart

Looks like you did your homework!

Thanks for your review.

A little out of subject but since you looked at some higher-end vehicles, why didn't you consider Porsche? Just curious. The Macan and the Cayenne are usually cross-shopped with some of the vehicles you mention.

vegasandre

I would love to have a Porsche, had a 2005 Cayenne S.... But I do a lot of fishing and surfing and stuff so I need something more flexible and less $ ...

The Stosh

​​​​​​If you're the type that cares about the badge on the front of your car then maybe the Mazda isn't for you but here me out. My wife does care and that's why she drives the X5. I don't care so when I went shopping for an SUV I test drove a lot of the cars you mentioned along with the Highlander and Pilot . Compared to the Acura, BMW, Infiniti and Volvo I'll state the following. The Mazda is quieter, gets better MPG, handles better, is more responsive around town, has more space than the X5 and RDX, costs less, has more standard features and is significantly less expensive with an interior that's just as luxurious. Give it a test drive. I suggest you look at the Grand Touring and Signature models .

vegasandre

thank you. I used to care about the badge and lean somewhat still that way but not as much as before probably about 50% or so
I mean I do a lot of outdoor stuff so you would think I would want a Tundra or 4 runner or something but I have crossed those off the list for various reasons.

The Mazda C5's look like a monster success. There are like 500 of them where I live. I have seen a couple sported up nicely. The C9 is a bigger version.
I actually considered it as the first time I saw one I thought "hey that kind of looks like a F pace" . Maybe I will stop by and test drive one or both of them.

Actually stopped by VW yesterday too. didnt drive any but looked at the Tig and the Atlas. The Atlas is huge. Anyone who needs a big family car should consider that thing. Funny was the dealer drove a 5 series and based on my conversation with him said I should try to go the X5 route with the coming model change

On another note the dealer of the RDX called me last night and gave me the quotes for the 36/15k on a awd A spec and with it being new there were really no incentives yet. MF was .00131 and Resid was 59% $600 plus... I can get an X5 for a little more. .
The RDX loaded only makes sense to me sub $500 ish...

GTF

Agree that Mazda great value and strong dynamics. However, Mazda suv's for some reason have below average resale....residuals fall into GM/Ford comps. Not a factor if you keep the car 6+ years.
I trade often, and look primarily at total ownership cost, of which resale is dominant factor.
I also would be reluctant to buy new car based upon old platform....X-3, for example, more attractive than X-5 at present.
Both the Q-5, GLC and Q-7 are relatively new, vs. MDX, X-5, RX350 which will soon be revised.

vegasandre

On a quick Update note:
The Acura Dealer gave me a "Final" Lease price on An A-Spec AWD RDX yesterday for a 36/15k lease.

$680++ Month.

LOL . I found that pretty funny. Guess it is still so new and it will be a few months before real deals kick in .

NightWriter

15k is pretty generous. (I see ads for a Maserati Levante lease advertising only $689/month, then you read the fine print and it's basically $9k down and only 5k miles / year.)

Anyway, yeah, I put down $5k on an Advance SH-AWD and will be paying ~$695/month (finance), so $680 just for a lease does not really make sense.

vegasandre

Congrats on your Purchase. Yes for Financing , your deal sounds about right. Upper 600's with 5k down for a 48k ish car.

Most leases are 10k/12k per Year. Basically upping it to 15k adds about $30-40/mo depending on Make and Model.

On the Leases, when I am comparing right now: I can pretty much get an X5 for same amount with same mileage(though last year of old design).
BMW is a 65k car and RDX is a 48k car. That is 17k difference in price for the same monthly lease.

NightWriter

That's a pretty good rate for an X5, though I'm guessing it's relatively lightly optioned. I'm coming off a 340i lease right now, and asked my dealer about lease rates for a ~$68k (MSRP) X3M40i and a ~$55k (MSRP) X3 30i with $2k down and 10k miles/year. He told me $953 and $771, respectively. Hence the RDX.

DWG

Thanks for sharing those BMW lease numbers. Gives me some....perspective.