Love the white orchid interior, wish it was available in Performance Red Pearl. Interesting to hear he feels the sub is too strong - all the feedback I've heard is that it's too weak (that's my experience too - I have had to turn it up a fair bit for balanced sound). That sound deadening should have been there in the first place - for a luxury/premium car I find it way too loud. My brother's CX-9 is much quieter.

Other than the space I'm not sure there anything here that makes it a better buy than a GV70 though.

 

Listening to that guy was painful lol

 

SavageGeese is an acquired taste - I used to find him hard to watch but now he's my favourite. Low key, gets into the technical bits, reviews a car in context (for it's intended purpose), and not showy at all. Also, great production values.

 

Agree 100% on the interior. Acura does a nice job of mixing black pieces into it to keep it from being over 'white'. Also agree on the sound. (We have a 2019). We rode in our son-in-laws 2021 Ford Ranger a couple of nights ago, and it is much quieter inside, which is surprising, I suppose, for a pickup. And, in continuing agreements....the sub. I generally find it 'OK' but I wish it had, like our LR3 did, a separate control for the sub volume along with the equalizer, bass and treble controls.

 

Bottom line for me: There is no perfect vehicle. If you're looking for perfection in a vehicle, you'll never stop looking.

I love to see positive reviews on cars I own, but what I find more valuable is something honest, and I consider savagegeese to be reputable in that regard. I might not agree with everything he says, but it's helpful - and his 2019 RDX review helped me when I was choosing a vehicle. For instance, in the most recent review he mentions the engine being a little "rackety" (@10:10) and the interior center console being outdated. I haven't experienced/observed either of those qualities, but I also recognize that he drives many vehicles - some of which are at a much higher price point. Everything is in the eye of the beholder. I drove a ton of vehicles multiple times during my search (X3, GV70, Q3, Q5, GLC, GLB, GLA, Evoque, RX, NX etc...) and chose the RDX. I love my 2022 Tech, but I've only put 800 miles on it so far. Ask me again in 2-3 years.

Enjoy your vehicles. Nothing is perfect. Life is too damn short.

 

I agree, no perfect vehicle. BUT...I DO enjoy the hunt. And I hope I am never forced to stop looking!

Enjoy your new RDX!

 

This guy is a gem! He is technical, and cuts all the BS. Also, his production value is top notch.

In terms of perfect car??? What's a perfect car? I think you will never find one....even if you pay $500K! Every car has its pros and cons and it depends on the needs of the end user. What do you want from a car? We can say a well balanced car but never perfect car or it may be perfect for you but not for me. Car manufacturers try build vehicles for masses and vehicles that will sell and bring money. That's all!

On this topic of RDX: RDX is one of the bets vehicles out there. It's well balanced and for that price you get a lot of features and Acura/Honda's reliability & great resale value unlike Germans and Koreans.

 

A fair and honest review, Having had a LOT of cars over the years, This one is more well rounded and really hit the majority of the marks I set for a decent vehicle.

 

Yeah, most of my beefs with the RDX are to do with my enthusiast needs and not my family man needs - as a family vehicle it's pretty terrific and I'd recommend it to anyone in the market but for the enthusiast side of me it's a strong LIKE but not LOVE.

 

I agree - I've watched a decent amount of his videos and I really appreciate how he is neutral and does not just pump up a manufacturers product if it has flaws. To me, they are easy to watch and he doesn't have the annoying in your face antics of some you-tubers screaming at you to smash the like button and hit subscribe and throwing in random movie clips out of nowhere.

 

I always learn a lot when watching SavageGeese, regardless of which vehicle he's talking about. I don't always agree with his findings, but in the case of the RDX, he gives me pause to think. IS the sub too high or low? IS the center console outdated? Etc. I love my '22 A-Spec, SavageGeese is very bullish on the RDX overall, and of course it's not perfect. But it's a lot of fun to drive and, for now, that's more than enough.

 

The beauty about his reviews are that he doesn't sugarcoat. He is honest and he is not trying hard to pleasure you and I to gain more subscribers.

He is harsh on RDX but you know what at the end of the day he said, it's one of the best vehicles out there.

 

This is one of the reasons I watch him, I don't want a reviewer reading the press notes, I want an honest review of the vehicle without any sugarcoating.

 

He surely didn't have the same praise for the model year 2022 as he did for the 2019.

 

You don't buy a German vehicle for resale or long term reliability. German vehicles are as reliable as any within warranty. It's after warranty when the $$$ fly out of your pocket.
For a first time experience I purchased two new model year 2021 German vehicles. A BMW and a Mercedes. They are unique and special. They're screwed together better and feel so much more solid and refined than other vehicles. I still don't understand why the Asian manufacturers can't equal the powertrain performance of the Germans. The 2.0L turbo in my entry level GLC 300 which is marketed as a ho hum crossover was far quicker than my current 2021 RDX. If I was a rich guy, I'd buy nothing but German and suck up the maintenance, after warranty repair costs and the crash in resale value.

 

The German motors do put out amazing performance for their size. The Japanese companies value reliability over everything. Honda/Toyota design/expect their powertrains to go 300K without major failures. They do not tune their motors to a higher state of performance so as to ensure they stay within those reliability/design parameters. I think the German mfrs know their owners either lease or dump their cars after the warranty expires, thus they feel liberated to design their motors to a higher state of tune. The result is buy what you value most. Look at the retained value of a 7 year old Lexus or Acura versus a 7 year old BMW/Mercedes/Audi. The market understands the differences and prices them into the equation.

 

I think this is a pretty fair review. I had a recent loaner just like the one he tested -- same trim, same color. It was a beautiful combination and got a lot of looks.

I'm not an SUV person at all, but this is the first that I've driven that I'd consider buying. It's gorgeous inside and out, has great features, comfort and space and in Sport mode, it goes and handles far better than a vehicle like this has a right to do. SG keeps saying the car feels "light" and that was exactly my impression as well.

The only downside for me is the same that SG noted -- fuel mileage is not good. The detuned, square bore/stroke 2.0 was designed to produce power (initially for the Type R), which it does quite well. But that square design is not usually associated with great fuel mileage. I'd think a reasonable standard for this car would be 25-30 mpg highway, but it sounds like it won't do close to that.

 

Thanks for your post and good insight. I usually get ridiculed when I praise German vehicles. I sold both my BMW & Mercedes and went back to Japanese vehicles for reasons you've pointed out.
My heart said keep them both but, being a common mainstream retired guy I knew I needed to do the correct financial thing and return to common mainstream crossover's.
There is a vehicle reviewing host on Youtube who's moto is "Life is too short to drive boring cars"

 

I think he kind of mislead on the transmission. In D. If you use a paddle, it will soon revert to auto. But if you put it in Sequential, once you use a paddle, it will remain in manual. Although it will downshift automatically if you slow down.

 

Its the transmission. The new GLC is way faster than paper numbers would have you think. As to more solid? Nah. My neighbor has a glc43 amg. Its no better screwed together than my RDX or cx5.

 

my lifetime average (5600mi) is 23.9, and climbing. Now that it's warm, Im averaging around 25-26mpg for my daily commute. Ive yet to road trip it, and likely wont until I drive to trade it in in a month or two.

 

Sorry..... your wrong. Have you owned a MB ? Because your neighbor has one doesn't count.

 

I was unaware that it had to be MY money paying for rattles and creaks for me to hear them accurately, lol!

 

What do you plan to trade the RDX in for?

Wow, your mpg is way better than mine and most other I’ve read on this forum. My lifetime average is 20 mpg @8600 miles in the books. Winter driving sucked the life out of my mpg, as super cold temps (was -10 one day, the rest between 0-20 degrees) and snow were not ideal for mpg (average 13-16 mpg). Trip mileage on the freeway with rolling terrain and wind @70 -73 mph gets 23-25mpg. City driving in stoplights is just awful at 15mpg.

 

It's how I drive, I'm convinced. Most people are so jerky. Rolling terrain with some 80mph highway thrown in for about 30% of it, rural highway for most of the rest, and maybe 10% city, like I said, 23.9 and climbing, with most of my current tanks being 25-26 average on the dash.

I am trading it in on an EV6 GT Line.

 

Wow! A year ago you had a CX-5, which you loved except for the power folding mirrors. You traded that in for a Rav4 Prime that you said was the perfect vehicle. A few months later you dumped it for an even superior vehicle, the RDX. Now, you're planning on going with this. What makes this Hyundai even more special? I hope you're doing your homework this time.

 

Variety is the spice of life. More power to him if it works for him! I'd change vehicles monthly if I could.

 

The rattles and creaks weren't coming from the German car. Do I detect a bit of jealousy from fellow member Unobtanium? I bet fellow member Unobtanium would love to own some German performance and refinement such a BMW M car, a Mercedes AMG or how about the grand prize a Porsche 911 Turbo S. Maybe one day Unobtanium may get there.

 

Lol, go drive one. Yes, they were. I was kindof surprised, to be honest. The performance is okay, but the image does zero for me, and the maintenance is insane. For what? Why?

Now, the 911 Turbo S, I cannot own. Wouldn't make it home. I've had my fun cars though, back when I was not near off grid. Got this one for my 25th birthday (It creaked a lot, btw, lol! Didn't like that.):

 

Each one has been better than the last (minus the Prime), and I love it!

 

Per your posts, it sounds like you have a creaking phobia. You're going to be miserable when your old bones start creaking.
Have you owned a Mercedes Benz, BMW, or an Audi? Tell me your personal experiences that are more intuitive than you rode in your neighbors AMG GLC 43 and you didn't like it or the maintenance is insane. You won't own a German vehicle but now your buying a Hyundai?

 

No, the German vehicles don't offer enough for me to put up with maintenance on them. $400 oil changes? No thanks. Even if they are at 10K mile intervals. And like I said, brand names mean nothing to me. I drive an Acura at present, in case you missed that.