Wheel sizes are either 19 or 20 inches, depending on the trim level and options chosen.

The RDX’s new top trim level, the A-Spec Advance, features the sportiest styling offered both outside and inside the vehicle, and has an exclusive Orchid leather interior option.

For a compact SUV, cargo space is impressive in the RDX, at 31.1 cubic feet with rear seat up, and 58.9 cubic feet with rear seats down. And the sharp interior design with its standout seating design looks and feels better than many competitors, and seats five people comfortably. The quality of the interior will be instantly recognizable, across all trim levels.

Up front is a well designed center console that includes a push-button shifter setup, plus a convenient phone charging pad. The only downside is the touchpad controls (more on that later).

Other interior features include heated and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, dual-zone climate control, power folding side mirrors and more.

HOW’S THE RIDE?  

While it’s not the sportiest SUV available, the 2022 Acura RDX is no slouch either. You get decent speed, including a 0 to 60 time of just over 6 seconds, but it’s not quite the powerhouse some of its competition can claim to be.

All in all, though, the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine is still a fun vehicle to drive, offering an extremely smooth ride. It also handles quite well and keeps out road noise well due to an upgrade in sound-deadening material and acoustic glass.

Horsepower clocks in at 272 horsepower, and torque at 280 pound-feet, and the turbo engine is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. This is the only engine offered on the RDX. Paddle shifters are included for those who want to make more of a contribution to the ride quality.

Choosing the Sport driving mode offers the best experience. A center dial conveniently lets you choose Sport, Normal, Comfort or Snow mode, depending on your situation. Choosing between these driving modes will adjust factors such as throttle response and steering. Snow mode is best for low traction situations, Comfort is more relaxing of a drive, and the fun level rises as you move up to Normal and then Sport

Its adaptive suspension handles well across various levels of road smoothness and roughness. The RDX comes in either front-wheel drive or SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive).

TECHNOLOGY, SAFETY

Tech is a big focus of the latest RDX, and there’s a couple different tales to tell in relation to the infotainment setup in the 2022 model, which is centered around a 10.2-inch touchscreen.

On the plus side, voice commands are great, as they work extremely well for navigation, music and phone calls. But I’m not a huge fan of the touchpad control setup, which was not very easy to use, especially while driving.

This touchpad trend in luxury cars is one that needs to go away quickly, as I've never seen it designed effectively. I was grateful for the voice commands, which allowed me to almost never use the touchpad, which was erratic at best, and quite unreliable. If I had to go to a touch command, I preferred to touch the screen itself, even if it was farther away.

The 12-speaker sound system in the RDX was quite impressive, especially with bass. Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, offering smartphone integration with wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi hotspot is also available in the RDX, and you get wireless phone charging and LED ambient lighting.

The Navigation system worked effectively, and SiriusXM satellite is available (and free for the first three months).

Moving on to safety, Acura delivers well in this regard, too, starting with its five-star overall government safety rating. There’s a ton of safety features included on the RDX, but some are overly sensitive at times. The lane departure warning system was showing too often, for example.

Among the safety elements on this ride are: A full complement of airbags throughout the vehicle; Vehicle Stability Assist; Anti-Lock Braking System; Electric Parking Brake; Tire Pressure Monitoring System; and a LATCH System for Child Seats.

The standard AcuraWatch safety features included on all models are: Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Mitigation Braking, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assist System and Road Departure Mitigation

Among new safety features available in 2022 are: Traffic Sign Recognition, Blind Spot Indicator with Lane Change Assist, Rear Seat Belt Reminder, and Low Speed Autonomous Emergency Braking, plus a Surround View Camera System and Head-Up Display.

MPG

The official fuel mileage numbers on the RDX are 21 city/26 highway/23 combined.
In real-word driving, I averaged 19.5 mpg, which is low for the segment (which also features compact SUVs from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lincoln, Mercedes, Genesis, Cadillac and others).

PRICE

The 2022 Acura RDX I tested came in at just under $53K, and its base price starts about $41K. While not exactly a bargain, compared to similar-sized luxury SUVs from more prominent brands, this is actually one of the more affordable options — often by many thousands of dollars. If you are comparison shopping for luxury rides, price will be a positive on the side of Acura’s RDX, whether you opt for a base model or the top trim levels. And you’re not really giving up much to save that money.

Warranties include a 6-year/70,000 mile powertrain warranty, and a 4-year/50,000 mile Limited Vehicle Warranty. No scheduled maintenance is covered, however.

One factor some may consider is that the RDX has been designed, developed and manufactured in the U.S. (designed in L.A., developed and built in Ohio).

BOTTOM LINE

SUV buyers seeking a luxury ride without the extreme pricing of many luxury brands will find a stroong candidate for their next ride in the 2022 Acura RDX. Between its attractive and sporty redesign, roomy interior, and boatload of tech and safety features, it hits all the key marks and should continue to draw new fans.

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Matt Myftiu can be found on Twitter @MattMyftiu.