By J.T. Hills

TOP

• Sports sedan handling
• Tons of techno-gadgets
• Luxurious interior appointments

BOTTOM

• Disappointing fuel mileage
• Love it or hate it styling
• Controls to Nav are a bit complicated

New for 2007, the RDX is Acura’s first foray into the small premium crossover market. The RDX includes another first for Acura, a 2.3 liter Turbo charged 4-cylindar engine that produces a remarkable 240 hp and 260 lb ft of torque. In addition, the RDX has the first adaptation of the super handling all wheel drive from the RL. The RDX balances sports sedan driving performance with the functionality of an SUV. After a week with the 2007 Acura RDX I’ve compiled a brass tacks list of highly technical scientific data based upon observations, experimentation, tabulations, inspections and so forth. Here we go:

Near luxury crossover aimed at urban professional childless Gen-X-er’s.
As Acura puts it; “the RDX is designed for high energy urbanites—young, upwardly mobile city dwelling city dwelling people who work and play hard.” Imagine, a TSX on Tina. In addition to its very sophisticated Super duper all wheel drive system, and new from Acura turbo charged engine, the RDX comes loaded with every conceivable techno-gadgetry and ADD Ritalin Star Wars loving Gen-X-er could think of. You can even talk to it, and ya know what… it talks back. The RDX is not only the crossover that strokes you ego, but validates it too. It’s the kindler gentler kid un-friendly (no rear DVD player here) crossover that fits into any parking space and you can take it camping on the weekends. Little know fact, the urban gays like camping, especially if there is a hosted bar and a sauna.

The 240 hp turbo charged 4-cylindar is something to behold. The engine is packed with torque (260 lb ft of it), and is combined with a 5-speed automatic transmission with sequential sportshift and paddle shifters. Although I just put it into sport mode, and never really got into the whole paddle shifter thing. Out on the roads the RDX performs much like a sports sedan with crisp handling and a firm ride. City driving is also a breeze with a tight turning radius and excellent sight lines for parallel parking. It is also equipped with a standard backup camera that makes getting into tight spaces easy and saves bumpers. It’s also a great safety feature for not running over small children, something I hope all crossovers and SUV’s will come equipped with standard. The one big draw back though is the disappointing gas mileage. True, what do you really expect from a crossover? The Acura RDX though gets an estimated 19 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. Which begs the question, why didn’t they just put a more efficient V-6 in it?

The interior of the RDX is well though out with plenty of leg and headroom and storage capacity. Interior appointments are also top notch with standard features such as leather trimmed seating, DVD navigation system, and a 10 speaker surround sound system. The Navigation system works well, although not as intuitively as one would like. But I guess that’s what the voice command system is for. The Nav also give real time traffic conditions which I found to be extremely useful.

Stylistically, the RDX is traditional Acura conservative. The front looks sporty and young, and from the rear it looks chopped off and fat. So overall I liked it, but I wish it had a more sophisticated look to it like the new Honda CRV.  
 

OK, for a before tax price of $37,165 what do you get?
The 2007 Acura RDX comes with a base price of $36,495, and comes with an impressive list of standard features that come as options on many of its competitors. A quick look at the favorites includes:

Performance

• 240 hp 2.3-liter Turbo charged 4-cylindar engine
• 5-speed automatic transmission with sequential sportshift and paddle shifters
• All wheel drive
• 4-wheel independent MacPhearson strut front and rear multi-link suspension
• Drive by wire throttle system
• 18” alloy wheels

Safety

• Driver and front passenger front airbags, side curtain airbags with roll over sensor
• Anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control
• Active front head restraints
• Side impact door beams
• Flat tire monitor
• Fog lamps

Comfort and Convenience

• Acura Navigation system with voice recognition and rearview camera
• Acura link communication system with real time traffic
• Dolby Pro Logic II 10-speaker surround sound system
• XM satellite radio
• Dual zone climate control
• Heated leather seating surfaces
• 8-way power drivers seat
• Hands free telephone interface
• Sunroof
• Power windows, locks and mirrors

Additional Charges

• Destination and Handling ($670)