Tom_D

We went from a 2016 X3 to a 2019 RDX Advance. The VIN of the BMW is 5UXWX9C57G0D71475 if you want to check the options.

We are still learning about the RDX and remember how frustrating some of the X3 features were to figure out when we first got the car. I thought I would post some differences, good and bad, that we notice as we go along for comparison for anyone shopping between the two brands. Many of these will be small points and things others won't find important. Some are things we knew about prior to leasing the RDX and some we found out after.

The biggest annoyance with the RDX so far is the need to change the connected phone as the driver changes. In the BMW both phones were connected by Bluetooth any time both phones were in the car. A call on either phone went through the car system. The phone that outgoing calls were made on changed automatically as the driver changed. This was all tied to the fob/remote that unlocked the car. We will probably leave my wife’s phone connected as she is the primary driver of the RDX butthis will be a frustration on longer trips when we are both traveling with our phones.

In addition to the phone issue, the BMW remembered many more settings in the car and did it all seamlessly. Seat and side mirrors went back to where they were the last time that person was driving. In addition, entertainment source and volume were also remembered. There are customizable buttons, like radio presets, that could be set for many different features of the car and these also were unique to each driver.

Each BMW dealership has a BMW Genius who takes you through the features of your new car and then is available over the phone or an in-person appointment to answer questions and help solve technology issues. With our X3 the BMW Genius knew the car and was very helpful. Acura relies on the salespeople to instruct and answer questions and our sales person does not know the 2019 RDX. He has given us incomplete or wrong answers to our questions which I have had to research online or in the PDF full manual to get the correct information.

We like the driver's seat moving back when you shut off the car. A feature our Lexus had that the BMW did not.

I like the ride and feel of the RDX better. My wife is coming around to that the longer we drive.

The RDX headlights are better and the auto high beam feature works well.

The heads-up display adjustment buttons are easier to get to than going through the feature menu. I adjust the display between night and day and with different glasses. In the same way the dash brightness is easier to get to, add the steering wheel heater to that.

Playing music from a USB thumb drive is very iffy and a disappointment. This is something that should just work with any car.

B25Nut

"Seat and side mirrors went back to where they were the last time that person was driving."

If the driver of the RDX makes a change to his seat or mirror settings, they have to push the Save button on the door for these settings to be remembered. Are you saying that the BMW doesn't require the changes to be saved?

Tom_D

Yes, automatic when the car was shut down. It took us a while, with misadjusted side mirrors on starting out, to figure out we had to press save and then the driver #. Another thing not explained by the salesman.

B25Nut

If my RDX had that BMW feature, I wouldn't let anyone else drive the vehicle except my wife. When I let my son drive our RDX to test it out, I told him he could adjust the settings to his preferences since they would automatically come back to mine the next time I drove it. It sounds like this wouldn't be the case with the BMW.

Tom_D

Yes, we very seldom had anyone else use the car so it wasn't an issue. I can't remember now if you could turn the feature off.
There is a workaround. We had the display show which "profile" the X3 was set to on startup and at that point you could choose guest and not change one of the other settings.

Madd Dog

Njbrandon

Any issues with the X3? Did it get better gas mileage? I was thinking about trading my Rdx for one. I like the touch screen and physical buttons, it just seems a lot easier. The Rdx infotainment is a mess.

Tom_D

No issues at all. Too early for gas mileage comparison yet and we leased a 2016 X3. The car was all new in 2018 so not a comparison to current X3.

Tom_D

Drove to Vacaville today to a restaurant about 35 miles from home. The voice system could not find BJs Resturant, Vacaville, California. We tried 5 or 6 times with no results. This would happen sometimes with the X3 and we subscribed to the Concierge service for the 3 years we had the car just for this kind of situation. The service is also good if you remember something about a place but can't remember the name, the real live person cand do some searching and often find it for you. We used the service and the first person found the restaurant but only sent Vacaville, California to the car. The second person got the full address to the car but I asked if she could see our current destination and she said no. and she could not see our navigation or location. In the X3 the concierge could see our location, current navigation location and could add a new location before, after or as a new location, replacing any current navigation. Also, there is an extra step with the RDX in that the new address comes to the right display and you have to scroll up and select to open it in navigation.

Anthony Johnson

I have been reading up on the J35 swap for my 2003 Tl Type-S. This is the first time I have seen anything like Skirmich's reply and would like to ask a question about it.
Which one of these
V
J32 Block + J35 Crank/Rod = 3.5L with Higher Redline.
J32 Block + J35 Crank/Rod + Milled down J32 Heads = 3.5L Type-S
J32 Block/Head + J35 Crank/Rod + 3G TL Pistons = 3.6L Type-S
J32/J35 Block + J32 Heads + J37 Crank + RL Pistons and Rods = 3.7L Type-S Ultimate Extravaganza..

is the best for a fledgling car enthusiast as myself?
I personally like the idea of the 3.5L Type-S or 3.6L Type-S but do these add any noticeable gains and performance. Also which one would be cheaper in terms of labor, or could either one of them mostly be done at home before tuning and milling?

Anthony Johnson

Sorry somehow I accidentally changed threads.

anoop

You were probably a victim of infinite scrolling.
https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g.../#post16372655