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<\/p>\n<\/div>Acura jump-started its brand at the Detroit auto show Monday with an all-new RDX compact SUV. Aimed at luxury\u2019s hottest segment, the RDX brings its trademark value \u2014 but wraps it in a more stylish package.<\/p>\n
Bowing at the North American International Auto Show — and culminating a two-year design exercise that introduced a supercar, a design concept, and interior concept at auto shows from coast to coast — the RDX for the first time brings together Acura\u2019s new design direction on an all-new platform.<\/p>\n
The show car is labeled “RDX Prototype,” but a spokesperson said little will change to the production vehicle, set to launch this spring.\u00a0\u00a0The debut trim will be a sport-trimmed\u00a0A-Spec model, showing Acura’s commitment to returning to its performance\u00a0roots. All vehicles going forward will feature\u00a0A-Spec and Type-S badges\u00a0— the latter a racy high-horsepower model.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeginning today, RDX will fully implement Acura design inside and out,\u201d said General Manager John Ikeda, with the RDX in stunning red behind him onstage. \u201cThe future for Acura starts here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gone is the controversial Acura chrome beak \u2014 also derisively called the bottle opener \u2014 which came to symbolize Acura\u2019s detour into passion-less vehicles that lacked visual separation from their Honda parent. Honda has come back from its own identity crisis with the critically acclaimed Civic and Accord \u2014 and with the RDX, Acura is poised to do the same.<\/p>\n
Though the midsize, three-row MDX crossover and TLX sedan had previously received the \u201cdiamond pentagon\u201d grille pioneered by Acura\u2019s Precision Concept at the 2016 Detroit show, the RDX is the first vehicle to apply the concept\u2019s new design language comprehensibly across a new skeleton.<\/p>\n
The RDX ditches the Honda-like gills on the front and rear fascias for a more singular\u00a0look derived from the hybrid NSX superccar. RDX engineer Steve Hansen says the dash-to-axle ratio has been increased, pushing the wheels to the corners of the chassis so that the dramatic fascia (complete with signature Acura \u201cJewel Eye\u201d LED headlights) flows comfortably into the RDX\u2019s sculpted flanks.<\/p>\n
\u201cDragon\u2019s tail\u201d lights punctuate the Acura\u2019s rear end underneath a tapered \u201cfloating\u201d roof design.<\/p>\n
Under the hood, a new, 2.0-liter VTEC turbo brings 40 percent more torque and is mated to a quick-shifting 10-speed transmission \u2014 a first for the segment. Acura\u2019s advanced SH-AWD, torque-vectoring-all-wheel-drive system promises good traction in Michigan blizzards.<\/p>\n
More dramatic than the exterior is the RDX\u2019s class-leading interior space and totally redesigned \u201cfloating console\u201d \u2014 echoing the Acura Precision Interior that debuted at the Los Angeles Show in 2016. The design is anchored by the distinctive trigger shifter seen in other Acura\u2019s like the NSX supercar.<\/p>\n
But most telling is Acura ditching\u00a0its confusing two-screen infotainment system \u2014 replaced by a remote screen controlled from a touch pad. Acura says the pad maps the screen 1:1 \u2014 so-called \u201cabsolute positioning\u201d \u2014 so your finger is always in the same place on the pad as the cursor is on the screen.<\/p>\n
For all its changes, the RDX remains a bargain with a suite of standard options that have made it consistently competitive in class \u2014 and racked up seven straight years of sales increases.<\/p>\n
Likely to start in the mid-$30,000 range, the RDX comes with standard driver-assist and safety systems like collision mitigation, lane-keep assist, and adaptive cruise control.<\/p>\n
Also standard \u2014 a panoramic sunroof.<\/p>\n
The 2019 model is the first RDX to developed in the U.S.\u00a0by designers in LA and an engineering team in Raymond, Ohio. All RDX models for the North American market will continue to be built in the company’s East Liberty, Ohio, plant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Acura jump-started its brand at the Detroit auto show Monday with an all-new RDX compact SUV. Aimed at luxury\u2019s hottest segment, the RDX brings its trademark value \u2014 but wraps it in a more stylish package. Bowing at the North American International Auto Show — and culminating a two-year design exercise that introduced a supercar, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21713"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21714,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21713\/revisions\/21714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}