2012 Volvo Xc90 Fwd 4dr on 2040-cars

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Comparison test: 2019 Acura RDX vs. compact luxury SUV competitors

Truth be told, if we were to compare the all-new 2019 Acura RDX with those compact luxury crossover SUVs it would most likely be cross-shopped against, you'd be looking at a different list. Even Acura admits that Lexus and Infiniti are the most likely bogies, but with the 2019 RDX, Honda's luxury brand is attempting to attract those customers who think as much with their hearts as with their heads. And for the most part, those folks have been buying from German brands: the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class. So, to show how the new RDX compares to them, Acura actually provided examples of each during the recent press drive along with a Volvo XC60. All were determined to have greater emotional appeal than the last RDX, and we would certainly agree. For, as much as the previous-generation RDX made sense on paper, it was really hard to get excited about it. And when you're paying extra for a luxury vehicle, shouldn't you get a little excited? Well, as luck would have it, Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and I were on hand in Whistler, British Columbia, for the press launch. We didn't have an abundance of time in each RDX competitor, but in conjunction with our usual comparison chart, our impressions should provide a good first taste of how the new RDX compares. Performance and fuel economy Contributing Editor James Riswick: On paper at least, the RDX is gutsier than its comparably powered European rivals. It also weighs the same or less, which logically should mean it'll be the quickest in a straight line. During my brief drives, though, I'm not sure it really stood taller than the three Germans. It at least matches them for smoothness, which is something that can't be said about the Volvo. Fuel economy is lower than them all when you consider all but the Mercedes come standard with all-wheel drive. It's also worth noting that all the competitors are available with engine upgrades, and unless Acura's forthcoming resurrection of Type S models includes the RDX, it should stay that way. Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: Line 'em all up in a drag race, and I have a feeling the Acura would squirt away to victory. A good bit of that, though, would be due to its 10-speed automatic transmission, which offers a huge spread of ratios and fires off extremely quick shifts. In the real world, I'd guess fuel economy will be similar across the board, so I'm willing to call that category a draw.

Volvo XC90 successor EV might have been outed in patent images

Motor1 found a trademark application Volvo filed at the EU Intellectual Property Office on June 13 to reserve the name "EXC90." A month later, the Worldscoop Forum for European car fans posted these images, sourced from the same government agency. We can't be certain the two filings are related, but circumstantial evidence points to this being the full-sized XC90's battery-electric successor that will be called the EXC90. Another circumstantial log for the fire is that Volvo ex-CEO Hakan Samuelsson said the coming family transport would start with a vowel. Based on yet another trademark filing from last year and Samuelsson saying Volvo would "give cars a name as you give a newborn child," we've been looking out for the name Embla. But hey, EXC90 Embla would cover all the bases, and it could differentiate the battery-electric XC90 from the hybrid version we know will continue to sell. Rolling with the possibility, the drawings show a crossover taking clear cues from both the current XC90 and the Volvo Concept Recharge design study from November of last year. The headlight design, sold grille and vertical lower intakes look traced from the Concept Recharge. The hood is much more upright, a la the retail XC90, as are the horizontal roof and full-figured sides. In back, the drawings diverge from the XC90 and the concept. The backlight is more raked than that on the XC90, meaning it's far more angled than the upright hatch on the concept. The C-shaped lights are more like units on Volvo sedans, unconnected to the upright light elements beside the hatch glass in the same way the XC90's and concept's are. Below that, there are no visible exhaust outlets, but the ICE-powered XC90 hides its outlets, too. Not long after posting these exterior shots, Worldscoop posted interior shots as well. These represent designs that differ from every Volvo interior save for the inset where the portrait-oriented infotainment screen goes. The left and right steering wheel spokes feature floating inserts. The instrument panel stretches a single vent across its width, removing the vertical vents next to the infotainment screen, and might be reminiscent of the unit in the Polestar in placing the HVAC controls at the bottom of the touchscreen.

Volvo will replace C70... eventually

Volvo has already announced the end of production for its C70 hardtop convertible, a handsome but seriously dated offering that was last refreshed in 2010. Volvo won't be abandoning the two-door coupe-convertible market for long, though, as news out of Australia claims that a replacement, based on the striking Concept Coupe, will join the Chinese-owned, Swedish brand's ranks, although it's unclear precisely when we'll see it on the road.
"Eventually yes... as soon as possible," Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo's CEO, told the Drive, before adding, "when we are ready."
"The Coupe Concept car, we can put that into production and it will have an exposure on the brand. But at the end it's the cream on the cake and at the end you need the cake first before you put the cream on it," said Volvo's Senior Vice President of Product Strategy and Vehicle Line Management, Lex Kerssemakers.