The RDX Shows Acura Is Heading in the Right Direction, But Not There Yet

The RDX Shows Acura Is Heading in the Right Direction, But Not There Yet

Acura is trying to find its way back. The company has held onto its practical side, earning customers on reliability and value, but they’ve long since drifted from the attainable enthusiast cars that won the brand its most die-hard fans. The RDX PMC Edition won’t reclaim that ground, but it does take a step in the right direction. The RDX Shows Acura Is Heading in the Right Direction, But Not There Yet

See, Acura has a definition problem. Strong brands center themselves on a value, a mission statement. Acura’s motto is "Precision Crafted Performance," which a spokesperson defined to me as "a commitment to expressive styling, high performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability." But its past ten years of comfortable yet forgettable family cars don’t quite live up to the "high performance" or "innovative engineering" part of that manifesto The RDX Shows Acura Is Heading in the Right Direction, But Not There Yet

Acura’s newest generation of vehicles is trying to change that. The company has re-introduced the A-Spec performance trim level and just launched a Type-S version of the TLX. The NSX forms the halo and the rest slowly fall in line.

The RDX is where the revitalization started. The 2019 redesign introduced an all-new interior, updated exterior styling, a new platform, and lots more bona-fide luxury touches. They fitted it with more real leather, metal, and wood, along with what is probably the best stereo in any car under $100,000. It finally seemed like a model Acura actually cared about. The RDX Shows Acura Is Heading in the Right Direction, But Not There Yet

That effort has been rewarded. The RDX is not only leaps and bounds ahead of any Acura that came before, but continues to be a sales standout. The TLX and MDX that followed have also been well-received, proof Acura is on the right track. That’s obvious from behind the wheel of the new RDX PMC Edition. It’s also obvious that there’s a lot of ground left to cover.

The PMC Edition is named for its assembly location: Acura’s tidy Performance Manufacturing Center, founded as the factory for the NSX. Slow sales of that model left some unused capacity at the Marysville, Ohio complex, so Acura started hand-building special editions on site, first the MDX, now this. Acura normally makes you choose between the performance-oriented A-Spec package and the more luxurious Advanced package; the PMC Edition combines both for a true flagship trim level.

So The RDX Shows Acura Is Heading in the Right Direction, But Not There Yet