Cars.com's Dave Thomas takes a look at the 2010 Acura RDX. It competes with the BMW X3 and Land Rover's LR2.
Transcript
<v Narrator>Cars.com Auto Review. Hi, I'm Dave Thomas of cars.com, and this is a 2010 Acura RDX.
Now, the crossover remains relatively unchanged this year, say for some styling changes, but we're gonna show you why it's still a great value and a really competitive class. There's nothing really wrong with the previous generation's looks, but actually decided to slap it some corporate grill on the RDX anyway. It's actually the last mile to get it and well, it's a bit polarizing. A lot of people don't like it, but it does dramatically alter the look of the front end of the RDX. They've also added these new fog lights and surrounds some new headlights. But otherwise, the car looks almost identical to the previous generation. when it comes to pricing and options, Acura keeps things pretty simple. It comes really well at crypt standard. So, when you get the base RDX for about $32,000, you get centered leather seats, they're heated, you got a centered moonroof, USB, Bluetooth, and a rear view camera, and all that again is standard. Now, the only option package it has is what they call it technology package. So, you get an upgraded stereo and navigation with that. One thing that makes the RDX unique in its class and even among other Acuras, is there's a turbocharged four cylinder engine, and it's pretty powerful too. You've got 240 horsepower. And when you talk about turbos, we'll talk about torque and it's got 260 pound feet of torque. So, that means it's really fast. Now, some other companies and other cars are making their turbos really smooth like BMW. Really, you don't even know you're driving a turbo, but at the RDX, it's not that smooth. Actually, there's quite a bit of turbo boost kick. That means it actually when engaged, it just kinda kicks you back in the seat a little bit. Now, some people might not like that feeling, but others might find it a lot of fun. Turbochargers do affect mileage. The RDX with a front wheel drive system gets 19 miles per gallon, city, 24 miles per gallon, highway. If you get all wheel drive, it takes off two miles per gallon in each of those ratings. However, most of the competition comes to six cylinder standard and about the same mileage. And how does the RDX hold up in the cargo department? Pretty well. It's 28 cubic feet, that means it can easily fit a couple of golf bags. Now, it also has this part, the cargo cover, which is a little unusual. Most of the time, they're soft covers that roll up into another device, which you then have to remove. And this part cargo cover removes as well. But instead of taking it out and leave, forget it in your garage, you just put it flat in the floor and it fits flush. Now, even though not much has changed with the 2010 RDX, there's still a lot to like, especially when it comes to value and pricing. Now, there is some new competition out there, namely, the Volvo XC60 and Land Rover LR2. Make sure you check out those videos before you go shopping. (upbeat music) <v Narrator>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog, kickingtires.net.
