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Just read the Motor Trend comparo between the RDX, QX50 and XT4 (the RDX won!) but was, again, surprised at how slow the RDX is in the 0-60 run:
Samples from Motor Trend:
RDX: 6.6s (4044lbs)
QX50: 6.3s (268hp, 4084lbs)
XC60 T5: 6.2s (250hp, 4077lbs)
NX300: 6.9s (235hp, 3811lbs)
Samples from Car and Driver
RDX: 6.6s (272hp, 3997lbs)
Q5: 5.8s (252hp, 4180lbs)
X3: 6.2s (248hp, 4297lbs)
XC60: 6.4s (250hp, 4107lbs)
The RDX has the best power to weight ratio of all of these cars and Honda usually underrates their motors a bit so I'm puzzled why the RDX is turning in such slow 0-60 times - it should be sub-6 seconds (The Accord with the the 252hp version of this motor turns in a 5.5s run despite being traction limited). When I test drove it a couple weeks ago it sure didn't feel that slow - 6.6s is what I figure the CX-5 Turbo I drove will turn in. Is it the shit tires (Eagle RS-A) or really heavy 20" wheels that's holding it back?
Yea it's weird, it sure feels faster than that. And it actually feels faster after the break-in period. I think one issue is that the car doesn't really allow for brake torquing. This is massively important in a small displacement turbocharged car with an automatic transmission. Not sure if you have tried launch control in other German brands like in Audi, but it would allow you to build up so much turbo boost and launch rpm that as soon as you let go of the brake, the car would rocket out. Not having the initial lag off the line is key to 0-60mph.
Yea it's weird, it sure feels faster than that. And it actually feels faster after the break-in period. I think one issue is that the car doesn't really allow for brake torquing. This is massively important in a small displacement turbocharged car with an automatic transmission. Not sure if you have tried launch control in other German brands like in Audi, but it would allow you to build up so much turbo boost and launch rpm that as soon as you let go of the brake, the car would rocket out. Not having the initial lag off the line is key to 0-60mph.
Good call on the launch technique, here's the C/D data using their rolling start 5-60 test which more closely resembles regular usage:
These numbers definitely look better but still not quite what I would expect. Curious to know how the 10-speed is geared on the RDX - on the Accord it seems to help but wonder if it's hindering in this case (doubt it but still wondering).
I never hardly use 0-60 speed in normal driving unless I'm trying to get ahead of vehicles from a light to cross lanes. I would be more interested in comparing the 30-50 mph and 50-70 mph times with the 10AT with the same group since I pretty much use that more often to almost daily.
'19 RDX A-Spec ties my '18 Odyssey in 0-60 mph launch and 5-60 mph rolling start. Yeah it is a minivan, and it takes work to get all 4,600 lbs of it off the starting line, with power going only to the front wheels it is easy to have wheelspins without much trying; it offers little in terms of "handling", but as far as 30-50 mph and 50-70 mph times are concerned, my lowly minivan beats all six of those listed above in Car & Driver's instrumented tests.
....but a more accurate comparison between these two vehicles should occur at the same time, same place to factor out as many variances as possible. To this end, TFLcar drag raced them fender to fender:
According to Motor Trend the RDX should lose. Although it lost the dig, it caught up and nosed out the Ford, pulling ahead slowly. The TFL track is only 1/8 mile, so an RDX pulling ahead at half track should end up a couple lengths ahead in a proper quarter mile race. .
These numbers definitely look better but still not quite what I would expect. Curious to know how the 10-speed is geared on the RDX - on the Accord it seems to help but wonder if it's hindering in this case (doubt it but still wondering).
I'm not sure if others feel it, but it seems like there's a bit of a pause between each shift in the RDX. It's like the car was designed to be very protective of the drivetrain. On other cars, the power flow is smoother and you get a constant pull. It almost feels like after each shift up, the boost needs time to be built again, losing precious tenths of a seconds each shift.
I wonder if this is something Hondata or KTuner can fix when they come out with their tunes. I feel like the RDX does pull pretty hard in each gear though.
They are all within 1 sec of each other. Does it really matter that much? Also HP can be misleading. Someone would have to put the RDX on a dyno to see how much power it's making at the wheels since many car makers underrate their engines--BMW is notorious for doing that.
1 second is quite significant but ya a few tenths for a CUV is fine for me.
The K20C4 + 10AT combo is very potent the Accord with really good performance numbers. It's just a little odd that the performance numbers for the RDX doesn't seem as fast as expected based on what the Accord has achieved. The Accord does 0-60mph in 5.5s and 1/4 mile in 14.1@102mph. It did it with 252hp while being about 3500lb. The RDX makes 20hp more but also 500-600lb heavier with AWD. I'd have expected the 0-60mph to be close since there's AWD traction to help with the first bit, but the added weight means it would not accelerate as fast after the launch. I was kinda expected the 1/4 mile time to be 14.5@97mph or so.
Anyways, seems like Hondata will be releasing Flashpro for the RDX soon based on what's been shown at the PRI show:
I was watching this review and boy these times seem highly disappointing. I get that that are discrepancies between driving ability, elevation, vehicle, and equipment measurement but this seems way too high. It also has noticeable lag when he hits the gas it takes what seems like 1 sec to actually engage drive. Does anybody else notice significant gas pedal response/lag from a dead stop?
It also has noticeable lag when he hits the gas it takes what seems like 1 sec to actually engage drive. Does anybody else notice significant gas pedal response/lag from a dead stop?
This almost stopped me from buying the car. However, I've only found this to be the case in comfort or snow mode. Sport or Sport+ and it's fine. I've been driving a '19 TLX around and found the same thing.
I was watching this review and boy these times seem highly disappointing. I get that that are discrepancies between driving ability, elevation, vehicle, and equipment measurement but this seems way too high. It also has noticeable lag when he hits the gas it takes what seems like 1 sec to actually engage drive. Does anybody else notice significant gas pedal response/lag from a dead stop?
As you said, the elevation is a factor. But more important, Dave's not doing torque-brake launches like most of the traditional media outlets do. Launching from 0 RPM's is always going to result in higher 0-60 times. It's a more realistic number, though, and the reason I focus more on 5-60 numbers as well as 30-50 and 50-70 passing times when evaluating a car's performance on paper.
I'm not sure if others feel it, but it seems like there's a bit of a pause between each shift in the RDX. It's like the car was designed to be very protective of the drivetrain. On other cars, the power flow is smoother and you get a constant pull. It almost feels like after each shift up, the boost needs time to be built again, losing precious tenths of a seconds each shift.
Originally Posted by Gtclav
I agree. It's probably torque management to protect the transmission and drivetrain.
You two hit the nail on the head. According to a Honda rep I spoke to at a press event last year, torque management is the answer - especially in first gear. The relatively high first gear ratio allows for good acceleration off the line before boost builds, but the drivetrain isn't designed to withstand 100% engine torque at at that level of torque multiplication while achieving durability goals.
You two hit the nail on the head. According to a Honda rep I spoke to at a press event last year, torque management is the answer - especially in first gear. The relatively high first gear ratio allows for good acceleration off the line before boost builds, but the drivetrain isn't designed to withstand 100% engine torque at at that level of torque multiplication while achieving durability goals.
That's interesting as I'm guessing it's specific to AWD cars as the Accord seems to have no trouble with this and launches pretty hard - it's significantly faster than the RDX with the same basic drivetrain despite being traction limited. I'd be interested to see what a FWD RDX does in the 0-60 as all testing has been with the AWD model.
I was just thinking about this yesterday. When I take off it doesn't have that pin you back in the seat feel. Initial tests said 5.6-5.8 but now I'm seeing 6.5-6.8. That means its slower than a Honda Pilot?
I dont get how Acura official numbers say 0-60 5.6/5.7 seconds but these test videos have a totally different number. It sure doesnt feel like 6.5 seconds.
I just don’t ever go WOT. Didn’t in my mid 5s car, and don’t in this mid 6s one. I have never felt power limited whenever I needed it.
I just looked at the above video, and it was the laps that interested me the most. An SUV within a couple of seconds of a little hot hatch? That is pretty incredible, IMO.
I couldn't imagine needing to go any faster.....this seems plenty good enough. Heck, my Land Rover is about 11.5 in the 0-60...so compared to that it's a rocket.
I dont get how Acura official numbers say 0-60 5.6/5.7 seconds but these test videos have a totally different number. It sure doesnt feel like 6.5 seconds.
This video by Alex on Autos says that they did their own tests and found the time to be 5.7. He states that when they did the test at Whistler, they got 5.9, but that was at 2400 ft ASL and the video was done at 100 ft.ASL. I suppose that air temperature is also a factor. Also FWD models weigh less, which should give better times, but they could also experience more tire spin at launch, resulting in slower speeds than the SHAWD models.
thats the problem with turbo cars each one can respond differently due to vary factors like temps, elevation, heat soak etc, etc ....... an NA car will be more predictable across the board
Keep in mind small turbos spin up fast on the front end but lose steam on the top end. That's why it feels punchy when you drive around town (around 30 mph) but may feel lacking on the highway pass. They tuned the rdx for a lot of good torque right from the beginning, but it only mildly rises in hp after the torque drops off.
I think the engine is fine, but there are some issues with how the engine/transmission control software has been tuned for this application. I find the claim credible that "torque management" is being imposed to protect the drivetrain.
Every once in a while I feel like the thing just needs to DO IT ALREADY! Like, NOW! Dunno for sure if that's turbo lag or transmission indecision, or some combination, but when I'm trying to dart across traffic I would appreciate more predictability .
I agree with those who don't care about 0-60 times. Those are great when you are shopping and comparing. The vehicle has all the acceleration I need and then some. Plus, it accelerates so effortlessly. I have yet to experience turbo lag or the transmission lag some people are complaining about. Hell, the RDX has less lag than the 6 cylinder 3.5 liter Ford Edge I traded in.
I’m less concerned with the 0-60 benchmark but the slow time (relatively) doesn’t match the drivers impressions I see in most reviews. The part that I see in the above review and was hinted in Redline reviews as well as straight pipes is that the RDX is soft at the bottom. Essentially the most important part of the power curve this thing is a corpse. In every review from a stop or near stop when someone punches the gas pedal there is almost a full second hesitation before the power kicks in. This would piss me off!
If I’m at a stop light or trying to make a left turn or want to merge on a highway on ramp I want the power to be immediate not spending time for the power train to say OMG what do I do....
6:50 - You can hear when he says full send, punches the gas and the look on his face for a second is like WTF is the power. He normally gets most excited in the full send portion of the video and he was like meh it’s fine.
From the Acura perspective, you have to look at the buyer demographics. If the median age of the RDX buyer is in their 40s, how much money do you want to put in the engineering of the vehicle to carve a second off the 0-60 time to improve that ranking compared to spending on the other features of the vehicle? 0-60 time meant more to me on a GTO that I owned in the late 1960s. But each to their own evaluation criteria I guess.
From the Acura perspective, you have to look at the buyer demographics. If the median age of the RDX buyer is in their 40s, how much money do you want to put in the engineering of the vehicle to carve a second off the 0-60 time to improve that ranking compared to spending on the other features of the vehicle? 0-60 time meant more to me on a GTO that I owned in the late 1960s. But each to their own evaluation criteria I guess.
Not just Acura's perspective. Unless you plan on drag racing, a tenth (or 2) of a second is essentially meaningless. The 0-60 times provide a good overall measure of how well a vehicle accelerates, but it's really about tiers of performance rather than stacking them up 1,2,3.
I have around 9K miles and around 8 months in this car. I have never felt power limited in my over-the-road driving, and I come from a BMW 535i, in which I also never felt power limited in the way I drive.
I’m less concerned with the 0-60 benchmark but the slow time (relatively) doesn’t match the drivers impressions I see in most reviews. The part that I see in the above review and was hinted in Redline reviews as well as straight pipes is that the RDX is soft at the bottom. Essentially the most important part of the power curve this thing is a corpse. In every review from a stop or near stop when someone punches the gas pedal there is almost a full second hesitation before the power kicks in. This would piss me off!
If I’m at a stop light or trying to make a left turn or want to merge on a highway on ramp I want the power to be immediate not spending time for the power train to say OMG what do I do....
6:50 - You can hear when he says full send, punches the gas and the look on his face for a second is like WTF is the power. He normally gets most excited in the full send portion of the video and he was like meh it’s fine. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mMhIVJp15Ng&t=606s
I haven't even passed the break-in period (no full throttle acceleration) and I haven't even remotely experienced what you described.
Motortrend puts the passport 0-60 at 6.2 seconds and I have seen reports as low as 5.6 seconds. I have driven the RDX and the Passport rather extensively and the RDX does feel quicker with better low end grunt which is really more practical in day to day driving. Anyway if you push that RDX turbo too hard or for that matter the 3.5L in the Passport you will drastically affect your fuel economy.
Just finished my 1000 mile break in. I experience the ‘from start’ lag about 1/3 the time I come off the line aggressively. My first couple weeks of driving I was taking a left at a light, a car was coming towards me a little fast, so I gave it a bit of gas to take the left, then it choked, maybe second or more...then moved along. Felt like I could of been killed if it hadn’t moved along. Very concerned. I have since been trying to get a scenario happens so I can prepared. I plan on logging a complaint with Acura (I know, good luck)
one solution, if you are taking a high risk left like that, just push the D/S that will get you by. I am experimenting with tapping the left paddle, see if I can get a reaction faster, things like that that are easy to do. As we all know, the inputs drive the software.
i don’t think it has anything to do with high torque concerns on he tranny. They need an update that will make that initial 123 quicker.
Just finished my 1000 mile break in. I experience the ‘from start’ lag about 1/3 the time I come off the line aggressively. My first couple weeks of driving I was taking a left at a light, a car was coming towards me a little fast, so I gave it a bit of gas to take the left, then it choked, maybe second or more...then moved along. Felt like I could of been killed if it hadn’t moved along. Very concerned. I have since been trying to get a scenario happens so I can prepared. I plan on logging a complaint with Acura (I know, good luck)
one solution, if you are taking a high risk left like that, just push the D/S that will get you by. I am experimenting with tapping the left paddle, see if I can get a reaction faster, things like that that are easy to do. As we all know, the inputs drive the software.
i don’t think it has anything to do with high torque concerns on he tranny. They need an update that will make that initial 123 quicker.
This lines up with what I've been hearing. Acura needs to programs the tranny better. I hope they do this for 2020.
This lines up with what I've been hearing. Acura needs to programs the tranny better. I hope they do this for 2020.
There very well could have been other factors at play. Was the engine shut off because the auto idle shutdown was on? If you are planning a quick acceleration you have to have that shut off. Was it in comfort mode or sports mode? That will make a big difference as well.
12-03-2018, 10:43 PM
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