Video: 2016 Acura RDX AWD Review

The inside is refined and comfortable. It's also got new tech and safety features. Will that help give the inside an edge too? The RDX is fun to drive. It handles like a smaller vehicle, it's nimble around corners, and it's got really good putt from a stop, especially if you pop it into sport mode. A new 279 horsepower, 3.5 liter V6, make six more horsepower than last year. And fuel economy is up too, with the 29 mile per gallon highway rating. It's the same as the Lincoln MKC and slightly better than the Lexus NX 200t, two of its main competitors. What's really impressive is that the Lincoln and the Lexus come standard with four cylinders. Shifts from the six speed automatic are prompt, but not especially smooth. Again, something more noticeable in sport mode. On the highway, the ride is fairly smooth and it's also pretty quiet. There's really good isolation from the wind noise and road noise. My only complaint is the steering. It has a solid weighty feel, which I like, but has trouble staying on center at highway speeds and needs near constant correction. So I don't love the small time media system. There's a lot going on, visually. The panel is cluttered. There's a lot of screens, buttons, panels, knobs. It's just kind of visual overload. It's also kind of complicated to use. The bottom screen is a touch screen. The top screen is controlled with a central controller knob. I do like that the two screens are separate, so you can have your navigation on the top, and your audio on the bottom. Using the audio, however, isn't very easy. There's a nice, clear volume knob, but there isn't a tuning knob. So you really have to kind of just keep pushing the touch screen. It's just a little bit annoying. This RDX is pretty loaded and is around $43,000. And though the interior is pretty nice, it doesn't really say $43,000 to me. The leather is nice, the brushed metal trim also nice, but it doesn't really scream luxury. There are some top of the line features that I appreciate. There's heated and cooled seats, which is really nice on a hot summer day. Backseat comfort is really good. These seats are nice, and leg room and head room are generous. Standard this year, are rear climate vents. Couple of annoying things back here, however, the seatbelt for the middle passenger comes down from the ceiling, which blocks visibility for the driver. One other annoyance is if you're installing a forward facing car seat, your top tether anchor comes down from the roof, another thing that blocks the driver's visibility, Overall, cargo room is good. In front, there's a large center console. In front of the shifter, there's an additional covered bin. In back, spaces is again generous, but the lift floor is a little bit high. So loading bulky items can get a little awkward. By the numbers, The RDX has 26.1 cubic feet of space, that's a bit more than the MKC, and much more than the Lexus NX 200t. The Acura RDX starts around $36,000, which is a little bit higher than the Lincoln MKC, and the Lexus NX. But again, the RDX comes standard with the V6, the competitors have the four cylinder. What's nice about the Acura, is that you can get advanced safety systems like lane departure warning, and forward collision alert on the base model in an option package. With the competitors, you have to jump up to a more expensive trim level. However, if you want leather and navigation on the RDX, you have to opt for those in a very expensive package instead of as standalone options. Overall, if you can get past the annoying multimedia system, and the expensive option packages, the RDX is a great choice. It's comfortable, refined, fun to drive.