Acura blows it
January 18th, 2006We’ve been watching the progress of the upcoming Acura RDX carefully, mostly because it will feature the brilliant SH-AWD system developed for the $50K RL.
Acura’s released details on the RDX prototype and we’re surprised to see it includes a turbocharged engine. (Honda – like BMW - has been reluctant to use turbos in the past and now both are doing so to compete for ever larger horsepower numbers without increasing engine weight. Interestingly both companies have resorted to variable vane turbo units for less compromise than usual between response and power output).
The new 2.3 liter engine’s 240 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque compare favorably with the 205 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of the 2.4 liter currently used in the TSX, an engine that Car and Driver points out is
down substantially in torque versus [VW’s 2.0T motor], 164 pound-feet compared with 207. Moreover, getting the i-VTEC cam lobes to assert themselves requires twirling the tachometer needle north of 6200 rpm. From there, it’s only 900 rpm to redline, a rather narrow power band that requires lots of rowing with the gearbox to exploit.
On short, we’re excited about the RDX because it signals two things: 1) an end to overpowered front wheel drive Acuras and 2) an end to torqueless Hondas. (Or so we hope).