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Hands-on with Acura's novel touchpad infotainment interface

After Acura's Precision Cockpit was unveiled here in LA, I sat in the, uh, driver's seat of the wheel-less interior mockup to get a feel for how this new touchscreen-free touch interface works. There are a lot of good ideas inside. Here are 11 things you should know. It's less like a trackpad and more like a remote-control tablet. So instead of letting you move a cursor relative to its last location like the trackpad on a laptop, each point on Acura's trackpad is mapped to a corresponding point on the center display. If you want what's in the upper right corner of the display, you touch and click in the upper right corner of the trackpad. Simple. I figured it out in two minutes. Maybe less. The whole thing is surprisingly intuitive. The ease of use is helped by the fact that the targets on the screen are pretty big – no tiny "buttons" to fiddle with. The clicks are real. The trackpad actually moves when you press down, so no need for simulated haptic feedback. In their research, Acura engineers found that accidental touches and presses are a real issue. We could have told them that – hit a bump while using a finicky remote interface like Lexus's all-but-abandoned joystick thing, and you select an item half-way across the screen from the one you intended. The placement of the trackpad in this concept interior also helps avoid unintentional inputs – it's not in the middle of the center console where it might get brushed or bumped, but instead in its own little cave at the base of the center-stack waterfall. (Acura's low-profile button-based transmission selector suddenly makes a whole lot of sense.) View 13 Photos Lots of cues cut down on distraction. You hover over the option you want before positively confirming the selection with a hard press. There's no cursor to find and reposition like in the Lexus trackpad system The red highlight gives the necessary visual cue that you put your finger in the right place. The pad is slightly dished to give you a tactile cue of where the center and edges are. It allows you to build up muscle memory, sort of like how you know generally where the "keys" are on your smartphone or tablet's virtual keyboard by now. Or at least I do on mine. You look at the screen, not what you're touching. The problem with touch screens is that they have to be low down in the car so you can reach them. That means you have to look down from the road to stab at what you want.

2022 Acura RDX Review | Value-packed and surprisingly sporty

The small luxury SUV segment is crowded with many strong choices, but if you're looking for value and prefer your SUVs sporty, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better option than the 2022 Acura RDX. It's made even better for 2022 with a plethora of updates to make the driving experience nicer, as well as adding technology features that have become industry standards. Although it was given a refresh for 2022, the basic RDX dates back to the 2019 model year. And the basics from then are still good. It has a gutsy engine, a responsive chassis, a quality interior and sharp styling. Not only that, it's incredibly spacious and it's packed with standard features from a panoramic sunroof to plenty of driver safety aids, all at a price lower than many of its competitors, including those from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and others. That's not to say it's a class-leader. If you have certain things you particularly care about, perhaps ultimate performance, hybrid options, or a fancier and more stylish interior, there are other options to consider. But the Acura is one of the most well-rounded options, doing most things well, and doing so at a reasonable price. Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Features   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features   What's new for 2022? The RDX received a variety of mild updates for the 2022 model year. Styling has been tweaked with new front and rear bumpers and grilles (pictured above left). The active suspension on Advance Package trims is tuned for a sportier feel in Sport mode and a more comfortable feel in Comfort mode. The drive modes in every RDX have been retuned as well, while extra sound deadening material has been added throughout. Technology updates include new standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Amazon Alexa compatibility and a USB-C charging port. Wireless charging and customizable ambient lighting are now available as options. A number of new interior and exterior colors are available, including a bright blue hue exclusive to the 200-unit PMC Edition (pictured above right). Furthermore, blind-spot warning is standard, automatic emergency braking now has pedestrian detection, and the chassis has additional reinforcements to improve crash performance. What are the RDX interior and in-car technology like? The RDX’s interior is a nice place to be.

Acura reveals performance EV concept called Performance EV Concept

After teasing a new EV concept for Monterey, Acura made good on its promise Thursday with the unveiling of its rather plainly named Performance EV Concept. Good news: Acura's first in-house EV will be a performance car. Bad news: It's not the one we all hoped it would be. Instead, we're getting another model in the grand tradition of the ZDX — pronounced front end and all. It seems that look is here to stay, so get used to it, because Acura says it plans to build a production model based on this concept starting in late 2025.  That's noteworthy not just because this is Acura's first in-house EV, but because it'll be the first production car to ride on any variant of Honda's new BEV architecture. The mainstream brand is planning to put something based on its 0 Series "Saloon" concept into production in 2026. That's quite the coup (no "e") for Acura, which spent most of the past two years talking about the Ultium-based ZDX project, which by all accounts will be the first and last Acura-badged product of Honda's tie-up with General Motors and its Ultium EV platform.  As you can probably surmise, Acura remains tight-lipped about specifics. Honda (and by extension, Acura) "concept" vehicles have a funny habit of being put into production almost exactly as they sit, so what you see here is likely pretty close to the mystery CUV's final physical form, but battery and motor specs remain nebulous for the time being. We expect a multi-motor setup engineered to mimic the behavior of the SH-AWD system Acura offers in its ICE vehicles. The concept's massive 23-inch wheels encircle a set of four-piston calipers and crossed-drilled rotors — the two most significant hints that we're looking at something meant to move quickly.  If you're in Northern California for Car Week, you can check out Acura's concept at The Quail. The company's presentation is scheduled for 10:36 a.m. local time (What is this, a train schedule?) on Friday.