Acura ADX test drive video.
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This is just a quick video I filmed during my week with the new Acura ADX. I will be posting a full, much more detailed review in a few days.
The Acura ADX is a pleasant compact SUV from a near-luxury brand. However, it is still heavily based on the much cheaper Honda HR-V, and it shows. This is basically what Acura did with the Integra. An all-new design on top of the Honda Civic. However, many interior parts are still very similar.
Of course, the main difference is the standard 1.5 Liter Turbo in the Acura, with more power than the 2.0 Liter in the Honda. But in reality, it is hard to feel a big difference. This is mostly due to the CVT transmission that really zaps away most of the extra power from the Turbo engine. That engine is also not as smooth and quiet as the 2.0 Liter.
The Acura ADX is mostly very quiet except for a strange booming sound that appears at almost exactly 60MPH. Which is probably due to some CVT weirdness.
It is trying very hard, often too hard, to look and feel more upscale than the Honda HR-V, but doesn’t succeed often.
The video is about the car but, as usual, brings back some memories of a distant past. When I wasn’t driving or writing about cars. A past life on the fringe of the crazy Hollywood dream machine.
What can I say…
I find Acura’s Aspec interiors tacky. The red suede. The any color suede. The lack of finish on plain black doors. The low end plastic that say this isn’t even good enough to be called fake wood. Just look at their exterior styling. Garish is their wheelhouse. One of the many reasons Acura is failing to win against the Germans.