AcuraGuy2016

I previously test drove a 2019 RDX FWD Tech and was disappointed, thinking a SH-AWD would improve performance. I was wrong. I recently test drove a 2019 RDX SHAWD Tech and it was more of the same.

The car does get some things right: Updated tech, decent looks, great space, cargo, handling OK for what it is, seems comfortable enough.
Here is where it fell short: Sluggish acceleration vs. expectations. 0-60 no better than outgoing RDX. It felt slightly slower to me. However, 40-65 was NOTICEABLY MUCH SLOWER than outgoing 2G RDX. That is unacceptable.

Here is where it really fell short: ROAD NOISE WAS TERRIBLE - UNACCEPTABLE for a "LUXURY" Vehicle. This was most pronounced on concrete paved highways at highway speeds, which would be >70% of the way the vehicle would be driven. The outgoing RDX was NOTICEABLY MUCH QUIETER in that situation.

I'm extremely disappointed that all the new 2018 RDX Advances are gone. I wish I would have gotten one when I had the chance. Even with the outdated tech, it was a great vehicle. There are still new 2018 Techs, but the features I want are only offered in the Advance, and the CPO deals on 2016-2018 RDX Advance are terrible values.

The TLX and the MDX both have a very quiet and comfortable cabin. Since Acura can make such vehicle, I was hoping they would make the 2019 RDX more like the current MDX. I was totally wrong. The TLX and MDX are great, except for one thing: ZF 9 speed. I would have happily had both vehicles in my garage, but Acura totally botched up this key part, alienating an entire generation of vehicles I otherwise like almost everything else about.

I have been loyal to Acura for many years, but am so turned off by this brand's recent actions that I will likely jump ship. I'm not sure where, though. Lexus is even more expensive, and while the vehicles are very quiet and comfortable, they do not perform well until you get into stratospheric prices. Audi is looking the most promising so far. They are quiet, comfortable, and perform better than Lexus and Acura, and seem to get more for your money than MB or BMW. Acura was my go-to brand, but they have not delivered. Disappointed as they used to be a sweet spot for value and performance. Now I have to spend a lot more. Ticked.

TacoBello

TacoBello

KeithL

If you look at my quick observations post I just put up in my wife's RDX I tend to agree with you. I don't know if the tires are just noisy or the cabin lacks enough noise deadening materials, but her old 16 RDX Advance was noticeably quieter. I notice road noise on all by the smoothest of roads. My TLX even with the ANC disabled is very quiet and far quieter than the 19 RDX. Add to that the raspy rough feeling 4 banger and I not as impressed as I should be with the RDX.

KeithL

While I agree about tires and size, my 19 TLX ASPEC has 19 inches rims and low profile tires compared to the RDX and is dead quiet compared to the RDX and I have my ANC disabled.

Stew4HD

I just had a Q50 as a rental over the weekend, on concrete surfaces, the road noise was awful and then quiet as a church mouse on pavement. It's been the same issue on every other vehicle I have driven over those surfaces.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

just curious; what does performance have to do with luxury NVH levels?
it's quiet the opposite, actually. the more performance you have in a vehicle, the noisier and harsher the car.

just curious as your first sentence calls out the performance aspects of the SHAWD, but then is annoyed by the NVH.
were you thinking that the SHAWD would be more "cushy"?? just curious.

TacoBello

There’s a ring road that goes around my entire city. It was built in stages, over a period of about a decade. There’s a section, maybe 25% of it, that is concrete. The rest is asphalt. I feel my old as balls TL is quiet on the asphalt surfaces, but as soon as I hit the concrete, the noise goes WAY up. That, and the asphalt is smooth as a pair of shaved balls, but the concrete is abhorently bumpy for the whole stretch. You feel and hear everything.

While a 2G RDX might be quieter... it’s still going to be loud AF on concrete.

Also, what’s the width of the TLX A-spec 19s, compared to, say the 19s on the 3G RDX? Even a little bit of extra width will help with comfort and noise. You have better weight distribution across a wider tire... from what I can tell, the TLX has 10mm wider tires. That will help a little bit.

HotRodW

You got that backwards. All else equal, wider tires increase road noise due to the larger contact patch.

Stew4HD

And. extra height increases comfort.

KeithL

The road noise and engine noise I hear is regardless of concrete roads. Anything other than buttery smooth roads and the noise is obvious to me. Both her 16 RDX and both my TLXes were quieter overall. Likely tread patter and low cabin noise isolation.

Acura604

mebbe the cheap dealership put regular gas in their demos causing the sluggish acceleration.

pnoi521

Madd Dog

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

We've got a ton of the new RDX's on the road in Utah. Apparently they're getting plenty of approval from folks here.

Madd Dog

mcrompton

I was hoping that mine would be the first I saw in the area (Cary/Raleigh) and was a little worried that wouldn't happen with my shipping delay. Fortunately, I saw none before finally getting mine. Since getting mine, however, I've seen about for or five around the area.

Yotrek

Maybe 2019 RDX not for you, just find the candy you like..

matman1215

I’m surprised to read this. I came from a ‘17 base AWD and picked up my new ‘19 Tech AWD last night. I am absolutely blown away by the performance. I think it is much quicker especially in the 30-50 range. When you throw it in Sport + mode, it feels like a sports car in my opinion. Everyone has their own opinions, I’m just surprised to hear.

oblio98

When I bought my A-Spec I had them replace the Goodyear's with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires and I honestly have not noticed any road noise at all, and these are 20" tires.

But I would suggest as others above have, just don't buy the car. PROBLEM SOLVED!

Me, I love mine.

Tomtwtwtw

Check tire pressures? I've seen comments on other threads that tires are often over-inflated on fresh dealers cars, and this can negatively impact ride harshness and road noise.

MyGuti

OP the car is going to be nosier on that type of roadway. Perhaps take your other vehicles and compare the noise (if they are running the same tires of course).
But road noise has a very minimal impact on the overall luxury feel of the car IMO. I could care less about acceleration as well. If your buying this '19 RDX, my hope would be the consumer is looking for a reliable, luxury and safe vehicle, not a performance oriented mid-size SUV.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

it has more power than the X3. it was built for performance. special adhesive steel along with another high tensile steel was used to make the chassis stiffer, than all of it's competitors..
it is a performance SUV.

stiffer chassis = harsher NVH.
sure, there are tricks to make the ride compliant...but dont lie to yourselves

MyGuti

I guess this depends on your definition of performance. A steel chassis doesn't make this a performance SUV......I would consider the jaguar f-pace a performance SUV

Madd Dog

Cazman

Tires have a lot to do with road noise. The Continental Cross Contact Sport tires that come on the RDX and RDX Advance are not the greatest. I find them to be quite prone to generating road noise. They have no milage warranty and we will be lucky to get 40K miles out of them My previous car (2008 Toyota Highlander) came with Dunlop Duelers which lasted less than 30K miles and were also noisy. From that perspective the RDX OEM tires are a little better I replaced the Duelers with Continental Cross Contact L20's which were much quieter and after 60K miles they still had plenty of tread left. I'll be replacing the Cross Contact Sports with the L20's long before I need to in order to get a better performing tire. Too bad that was not an option before delivery.

acuraada

KeithL

Madd Dog

AcuraGuy2016

This will be used mostly for high speed highway driving, and almost every highway here is concrete. I pay close attention to wind/road noise, since that is how we'll use the vehicle.

I know without a doubt that the 3G RDX is noticeably and significantly louder on concrete highways than the 2G, because we OWN A 2015 RDX AWD Tech and did the exact same test drive route multiple times with our 2G within a few minutes of the 3G RDX test drive. Both of us couldn't stand how noisy the 2019 was compared to our 2015. It reminded us of Honda CRV highway road noise. The 2015 did have some road noise, but it was acceptable. The 2019 dropped the ball with this.

We test drove a Base and Tech. We did not test drive an Advance, so we didn't compare, but we were suprised that Acura obviously didn't test/design the vehicle for those conditions.

Both the current gen MDX and TLX are luxury vehicle quiet on concrete highways, much better than the 2015 RDX. Since the TLX and MDX were so good, I had high expectations, which were not met.

As I mentioned earlier, I would have both the MDX and TLX in my garage, if not for one thing and one thing only: ZF 9 speed. That completely kills it for me. Everything else about those vehicles I like. Unfortunately lousy tranny is a deal breaker in MDX/TLX and high road noise is a deal breaker in this new RDX.

We are happy with our 2015 RDX. We wish it were a little more updated, had some safety tech, and had rear AC vents. We really wish we bought a 2017/2018 RDX AWD Advance when we had the chance - we would have kept it for a long time. Disappointed.

RDX10

Then why don't you buy a MDX hybrid? It has everything you like plus is probably even quieter with the smaller engine and electric motors and doesn't have the ZF9 but has a 7 speed dual clutch.

acuraada

Pearl77

Well all manner of Hondas and Acuras have historically been dinged for road noise by the testers (car mags, CR, etc). That the new RDX was built to try to minimize some of that is good, but beyond structure, tires are the single biggest thing that you can change out to reduce the racket. I have owned BMWs with run-flat tires which always were noisy and harsh and I changed them out for Michelin "go-flat" tires as soon as possible. Vastly quieter and smoother but with similar performance. They cost a little more, but are worth it.

KeithL

Wife has a AWD Advance. I don't care what the official measure says it is, it does not sound like a luxury ride. My TLX ASPEC with ANC disabled is far quieter. I am sure the engine bay sound deadening, V6 and Michelin tires are giving it a substantial edge. Her 16 RDX AWD Advance seemed noticeably quieter. It is her car, she loves it, I will stick with my TLX until a Type-S comes along or until I am swayed by a G70 Sport ofr next gen G80 Sport.

jimhanseng

What the heck are you comparing to? This car is rated #1 compact luxury SUV above the Merc, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Volvo...#1 . 5.6 seconds 0 to 60 is slow? The G2 RDX was only 6.2 0 to 60. I have no problem spinning the tires in this car. It beats the Merc GLC, the BMW X3, the Volvo x60, the Audi Q3 and Q5 and this list goes on. This car is AMAZING. All the professional reviews to the contrary of your review. This is one of the best cars I have ever owned.

chickdr

I have to completely agree. My wife also drives a 2016 RDX Advance. We are not in love with our '16 either and won't buy an Acura again, but as I was given a '19 RDX as a loaner yesterday (not sure what package it has as the window sticker in the glove box doesn't have a price - It just says it was built as a loaner). It is nice to be able to try one out for more than a test drive. I posted in another thread as well, but since you mentioned noise I will pass on what my wife said today as we drove about 100 miles on all types of roads today. She said the car was giving her a headache from the noise. I don't hear tire noise so its something else mechanical (possibly the exhaust, or motor). Kind of a drone. The transmission is pretty bad. Very hurky, jerky (equally as bad as the 6-sp in my '16) especially the 2-3 shift. We kept laughing as it has the same jerk every time we take off from a light and it shifts from 2-3. The electronics are pretty good. Certainly better than the old car, but with 6yrs of advancement under their belt, Acura better have stepped it up. AC is good (equal to our 16) but we are unhappy with the decision to not have on/off controls on the center stack vents (they are not on our 16 either). New panoramic S/R is nice. Stereo is great. Seats are comfortable and I like that they finally added the feature to automatically move the seat back when the door is opened.. We like the auto lock feature as you walk away from the car. Like the center adjustable armrest. Don't care for the center consoles high profile (very confining in the drivers seat). I also don't like the large character lines on the sides of the hood. Very distracting. Grill is also not liked by the wife. I don't care for the engines sound compared to the V6. It doesn't sound refined. Certainly way off my friends 2018 BMW 530i with a less powerful 2.0T and 8-sp. That car runs like a dream.

AcuraGuy2016

If you drive the vehicle around town or on asphalt surfaces, I completely understand the glowing reviews.

In many ways (size, proportion, features, tech, sound quality, seat comfort, surface materials, etc) it is an amazing vehicle. While I personally prefer the V6 or performance of an Audi, the performance of this is good enough not to be a deal killer. Unfortunately the noise on concrete highways is so bad, that is completely kills this for me. The MDX and TLX were amazingly quiet and the precious RDX was acceptably quiet, that it extremely disappoints me that they either clearly neglected this or actively chose to cut costs here (while substantially raising the price).

Someone mentioned the MDX Sport Hybrid. We LOVE that vehicle. We test drove an Advance. Unfortunately we need the bench row in the Tech, and I have yet to see one dealer in our market carry a single Tech MDX SH ever. At best I have seen maybe 3 MDX SH ever in my area. That is an amazing vehicle that we like every thing about, but our local deals do not carry them. How would we get one and get a reasonable deal?

Getting a good value is extremely important to us. We refuse to pay MSRP - the thought is painful. Plus Sport Hybrid MDX pricing puts us well within new Audi territory. So how would we get a good deal on a great vehicle that none of our dealers carry.

AcuraGuy2016

If you drive the vehicle around town or on asphalt surfaces, I completely understand the glowing reviews.

In many ways (size, proportion, features, tech, audio quality, seat comfort, surface materials, etc) it is an amazing vehicle. While I personally prefer the V6 or performance of an Audi, the performance of this is good enough not to be a deal killer. Unfortunately the noise on concrete highways is so bad, that it completely kills this for me. The MDX and TLX were amazingly quiet and the previous 2G RDX was acceptably quiet, that it extremely disappoints me that Acura either clearly neglected this or actively chose to cut costs here (while substantially raising the price).

Someone mentioned the MDX Sport Hybrid. We LOVE that vehicle. We test drove an Advance. Unfortunately we need the bench row in the Tech, and I have yet to see one dealer in our market ever carry a single Tech MDX SH-SHAWD. At best I have seen maybe 3 MDX SH-SHAWD Advance in my area since the vehicle was introduced several years ago. That is an amazing vehicle that we like every thing about, but our local dealers do not carry them. How would we get one and get a reasonable deal?

Getting a good value is extremely important to us. We refuse to pay MSRP - the thought is painful. Plus Sport Hybrid MDX pricing puts us well within new Audi territory. So how would we get a good deal on a great vehicle that none of our dealers carry in inventory.

jimhanseng

oblio98

You tell 'em Jim. Let them go buy their Audi's and leave us alone in our horrible, miserable excuse for cars!