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2019 Acura RDX crossover gets turbocharged power, A-Spec version

NEW YORK — Calling the RDX that Acura showed at this year's Detroit Auto Show a "concept" was stretching that term to the limits of credulity. The production version of the 2019 RDX is here, and this turbocharged crossover with available AWD looks darn near identical. While it offers all-wheel drive like its Lexus NX and Audi Q3 competitors, Acura's next-generation SH-AWD should be a serious selling point. Let's cover that "Super Handling All-Wheel Drive" system for a moment. It takes power from the 2.0-liter, 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque engine and routes it up to 70 percent rearward, and there's real torque vectoring (rather than brake-based faux vectoring) to shift 100 percent of that rear axle power to either wheel. The broad strokes are similar to the outgoing model's system, but there's much more available rear power bias — in the 2016 model, up to 40 percent could be sent to the rear. And that was up from 25 percent for pre-2016 models. The takeaway is that the RDX should handle a lot better on both dry and slippery pavement, and feel a bit sportier doing it. A new engine may help as well. The outgoing 3.5-liter V6 is replaced by a turbocharged four-cylinder, almost certainly related to the unit in the Accord and Civic Type R, and tuned somewhere in between those cars (252 and 306 horsepower, respectively). We expect the new engine to be lighter than the old V6, and less weight off the front end should improve steering feel and handling. For those keeping track, the new engine is down 7 horsepower but up 28 pound-feet in torque, and thanks to turbocharging the torque band starts down low and is relatively flat, so more oomph from a stop and on through the rev range. The six-speed automatic is gone, replaced by a 10-speed automatic. Most of its competitors use six- or eight-speed units, so that'll be a marketing focus. As you'd expect, the individual ratios are closer-spaced but the total ratio spread is, according to Acura, 62 percent wider than the outgoing automatic. There are steering-wheel-mounted paddles if you'd like to shift yourself. Since the styling is very much a lightly retouched Prototype RDX from the Detroit show, it's nice to be able to give a sense of the new car's proportions with hard numbers. First of all, it's riding on a 2.6-inch longer wheelbase. Overall length is 187 inches, up from 184.4, and width is unspecified.

This is why Acura hasn't yet announced its EV strategy

Despite parent company Honda's green and friendly brand image, luxury marque Acura hasn't made a grand statement about electrifying their lineup. Even as brands like Jaguar, Land Rover, Bentley, and Infiniti pledge to entirely electrify their lineups in the coming decade, Acura has held back. The reason, according to Acura head honcho Jon Ikeda, is that it's focusing on reestablishing itself as a performance brand. In a wide-ranging interview with Automotive News, Ikeda says Acura came out of the gate strong in 1986 and did well for the first 20 years, but when the bottom fell out of the market in 2008 the brand experienced "growing pains." That spawned a period of self-reflection and, as Ikeda puts it, "What are we about?" The decision was made to go back to Acura's roots as the performance division of Honda. "That's what Acura is. That's what I fell in love with," Ikeda says. Ikeda joined Honda in 1989, but his promotion to Acura boss in 2015 was a surprise to many, including himself. That's because Honda had a tradition of putting engineers at the helm, and Ikeda was a designer, responsible for the looks of such cars as the FSX concept, 2001 Civic Coupe, and beloved 2004 Acura TL. 2021 Acura TLX Advance View 38 Photos When asked by AN whether Acura is worried that luxury competitors are putting stakes in the ground to claim EV brand identities, Ikeda says no. "For us as a brand, we needed to kind of refocus and reestablish ourselves as a performance brand... We want everybody to understand where we are, what we're about first. Even if we go electric we will continue to be a performance division of Honda and performance will be our focus." To earn its performance street cred, Acura poured resources into the second-gen NSX hybrid supercar, which served as testbed for how electricity can work harmoniously with performance. They will continue to campaign IMSA race cars to earn trophies as proof, and Ikeda also wants to bring more Type S models to the lineup. Ikeda says Acura is still in the process of rebuilding its foundation, but when he's done he expects people to associate Acura with performance. That sure seems ambitious to us, but products like the new TLX are a helpful stepping stone. It also explains why Acura is investing in different platforms to differentiate itself from Honda. To be clear, Ikeda isn't ruling out electrification.

The future of Acura is coming to Detroit

What you're looking at here is a teaser of the Acura Precision Concept – a showcar that will introduce the new design language for the brand. Acura is determined to inject some a larger performance aura into its brand, and for now, it plans to do that with stronger design language. "The Acura Precision Concept will serve as the inspiration for the styling and proportion of the next-generation of Acura vehicles, especially for our sedans," says design director Dave Marek. We like what we see, too. The showcar has a long hood, short rear deck, and very strong character lines down the side. Those are classic rear-wheel-drive proportions, but as we know, that's kind of a long-shot for a new Acura. We'll see the full concept at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Here's hoping it looks awesome. Acura Precision Concept to Debut at 2016 North American International Auto ShowCreated by Acura's U.S. design team, Acura Precision Concept points to performance focus of future Acura design TORRANCE, Calif. (Dec. 18, 2015) – Acura will unveil the Acura Precision Concept at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 12 at 8:00 am ET, the brand announced today. Created by the Acura Design Studio in California, the Acura Precision Concept will help set the direction for future Acura design; in particular, the next generation of performance-luxury sedans. "The Acura Precision Concept will signal the stronger and sharper focus of Acura styling on our core DNA we call 'precision crafted performance'," said Dave Marek, global creative director for the Acura brand. "It is our intention to more strongly express performance through design and the Acura Precision Concept will serve as the inspiration for the styling and proportion of the next-generation of Acura vehicles, especially for our sedans." Acura today also announced details of its launch plans for the next-generation NSX supercar, coming to market next spring. Acura is on track to post its fourth consecutive year of U.S. sales growth in 2015, and best sales since 2007, with sales up 6.9 percent through November.