Video: 2019 Acura RDX First Look

We got up close to the production version of the third-generation Acura RDX last week at the 2018 New York International Auto Show. The small SUV has been completely redesigned for the 2019 model year, and the New York Auto Show was the first opportunity we’ve had to do a deep dive into the interior. (We previously got a good look at the exterior when the pre-production “prototype” version appeared at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.)

Related: More 2018 New York Auto Show Coverage

The redesigned Acura RDX retains its predecessor’s symmetrical dashboard and prominent center stack, but pretty much everything else is different. Gone is the two-screen setup; now there’s just one screen atop the center stack with what Acura calls its True Touchpad Interface. What that means is that the 10.2-inch multimedia display is not actually a touchscreen; you have to use a touchpad at the front of the center console. Acura says it tried to iron out some of the headaches we’ve had in other cars with similar setups. I’m not yet sold; it still kind of requires some meandering around looking at it, but we’ll have to have some more time with it before we render a final judgment.

There’s a lot of real estate taken up along the center console with a dynamic mode selector and push-button gear selector — the latter of which we haven’t been huge fans of in other products from Acura and parent company Honda, though we’ll see how we feel about this one when we get more seat time in the Acura RDX.

Despite a very large, prominent center console, there’s lots of storage space and places to toss things for safekeeping while you’re driving.

For more on the production version of the 2019 Acura RDX, watch the video above.

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