goingcrazy12

hello RDX owners and others: I am a potential buyer of the RDX and having reservations pulling the trigger. That said, I am debating holding out (not because its a new release but other reasons) and may go 180* in the opposite direction and purchase a Wrangler JL. I am slightly over 6'2" and find the only seat that is comfortable is the Advance version with the hip extensions. with that little background:

1. Advance vs Aspec: Prefer the Aspec appearance but the seat is holding me back, necessarily enough to say no to the aspec. open questions:
a. anyone having troubles seeing the speedometer with the red dials? maybe just my eyes but both my wife and I found it difficult to easily read. the grey/blue color of the Advance was easier. Is there an option to have "numerals" show between the speedometer and the tach?
b. I thought the car was a little more "bouncy" in the Aspec compared to the advance which I thought was smooth. however, i drove the advance several weeks ago and none are around here to do a better comparison. was thinking the 20" tires would make a difference. would nto think the active dampers would make a meaningful difference, thoughts?
c. I will be taking the car off road (gravel and light trails), thoughts on how the 20" tires will perform vs the 19" on the Advance?

2. Hitch: I am also looking to add a hitch for my Thule bike rack. It would require an adaptor to fit the smaller receiver. anyone know whether the hitch will support 4 bikes with the adaptor? is the OEM hitch easy to install? dealer wants like $700 and seems a simple hitch (no electric) should not be that much.

3. can anyone refer me to dealers around St. Louis that are willing to negotiate price? Does not appear to be happening around here which is also driving me to wait or look at other options. by the time I add a hitch, roof rails/cross bars (purely for looks) and puddle lights the price jumps pretty quickly. dealer will sell those at their cost about best I am getting so far.

thanks in advance.

samiam_68

Red dials/pointers are always harder to read, especially with sunglasses. Had red gauge pointer needles on a car once, absolutely hated them.

MI-RDX

1.b. Adaptive suspension will have an effect. I can easily tell the difference in my Advance when switching between Comfort, Sports, and Sport+.

1.c. It will be more an issue of the tires versus wheel size. Check tirerack.com reviews for the relative ratings between the 2 different OEM tires. That said I'm betting neither will be an outstanding performer for any type of off road use.

goingcrazy12

thanks for the quick replies. I also forgot to ask whether the Advance has a deicer for the windshield wipers (either on the wiper -don think so or part of the front windshield defrost).

MI-RDX

Only on Canadian models.

37tzee

Sounds like you should be looking at a 4Runner or an Outback.

Don't mistake Temp All-Wheel Drive for Four Wheel Drive. BIG Difference.

I just cross-shopped a Wrangler, Outback and Tacoma Off Road. Bought the Tacoma as the best compromise between on and off road.

Wife is getting either an RDX or MDX next year.

mrgold35

I have the 1st Gen RDX and I was able to find an aftermarket 2" hidden hitch from etrailer.com for $130 +4 years ago. It was just 4 bolts and 15 minutes for my teenage son and I to add the hitch to our 08 RDX and the 4-way wire harness was plug-n-play. I wanted the Class II hitch to match my 11 MDX hitch and being able to switch the 2" bike rack between vehicles (only haul 2 bikes with the RDX and up to 4 bikes on the MDX). I would have needed to do the same with the RDXs 1 1/4" OEM hitch and adding an adapter to convert to 2" for my bike rack. This shorten the length my Saris SuperClamp Freedom 4 platform rack extended from the rear of the 08 RDX. The more the 4 bike rack extends from the bumper will lower the tongue weight you can hang from hitch. The tongue weight will also be reduced as you pack more people and gear in the cabin.

I looked; but, the 19 RDX might still be too new for aftermarket hitches in Class I 1 14" or Class II 2" sizes.

Are you planning on fwd or sh-awd? I take both my RDX and MDX with sh-awd off road and they perform very well as the dirt roads as tq/traction can shift from side-to-side and front-to-rear. I can see my front tires slipping a lot if I only had fwd on steep dirt road inclines.

Cazman

I had the dealer install the OEM hitch without the wiring harness for my bike rack. If you have the foot actuated tailgate then it is not simple. The hitch goes right through the path of the existing sensor harness and so that has to be replaced as well. There is also a black plastic piece that makes the install look professional. I was told that the wiring harness install requires a module and is not just plug and play, but I don't have first hand experience to verify anything about the wiring harness. you should be able to have the dealer install the hitch without the wiring harness for well under $700.

Be aware that after the hitch install the foot location to actuate the tailgate is VERY specific. You must be just to the left of center and no where else. An aftermarket hitch may block the sensor entirely.