Acura’s ADX A-Spec AWD – SKIN GAME

Acura’s ADX A-Spec AWD

SKIN GAME

It’s GM’s Alfred Sloan that is commonly credited with the marketing pyramid now common in the auto industry. At GM the young, struggling families started with Chevy, and with their first promotion moved on to Pontiac or Olds. And when the attorney made partner or the banker made VP, the husband, wife and three kids would converge on a Buick showroom. If wondering why it’s relevant here, know that in the mid-‘80s the team at Honda was looking for a Buick, and beginning in 1986 Honda’s Acura supplied it. The midsize 4-door Legend provided the comfort and luxury the bonus will buy you, while the entry-level Integra gave youngsters a small(er) share of their parents’ success. 

With the new ADX, built on essentially the same platform as Honda’s HR-V, Acura offers what the EPA classifies as a small station wagon for both youngsters and oldsters; really, it’s there for anyone with $40K (and up) to spend on an upgraded HR-V, which – notably – starts in the high $20s.

In the walkaround, I’ll hand it to Acura for creating a compelling shape, breaking free from the relative anonymity that permeates much of Japanese design. There’s more than a little of the larger MDX visually, and while I’d take issue with the excessive front overhang (common to most FWD/AWD crossovers) I like the sheetmetal creases, the relatively generous greenhouse, and the easy ingress and egress for those younger or older attempting to access the cabin. My mom spent a lot of years climbing into a CR-V with a short inseam and arthritic hips, and I think she would have liked what the ADX has to offer.

Inside, our A-Spec offers leather-trimmed seating (in Orchid!), nine inches of touchscreen, ten inches of digital instrumentation, along with dual-zone climate control, 12-way driver’s power seat and wireless CarPlay and Android auto integration. There’s also an auto-dimming rearview mirror, if – you know – Lady Gaga shows up in your rearview mirror. 

Thankfully, the screen size is proportional – this isn’t a dash dominated by a laptop. Within the infotainment screen controls are largely intuitive, while HVAC is beneath the screen in an analog presentation. 

For a small crossover accommodation is quite good, both front and rear. Like most rear seats, the middle seat is compromised, but head, leg and shoulder room for two is comfortable, and the greenhouse – as noted previously – quite generous. For a crossover with a decidedly urban footprint (its color is Urban Gray, forgawdsake) good visibility reduces a number of sins.

With that, the ADX’s biggest sin is under the hood. In the descriptive, 1.5 liters of turbocharged four with 190 horsepower and 179 lb-ft of torque sounds wholly adequate, but two things are working against those 190 horses. First is the Acura’s CVT transmission, which is ostensibly there to improve efficiency, but brings with it a wheezy character inappropriate to the purchase price. 

The second is the ADX’s curb weight of 3,600 pounds. In a world full of 6,000 pound Suburbans, 3,600 pounds doesn’t sound like much. But its Honda-branded sibling, the HR-V, weighs just 3,300 pounds, and the Acura-branded stablemate – the 4-door Integra hatch – weighs just under 3,200 pounds. Less weight means better acceleration with the same turbocharged four in the Integra, and similar acceleration with 32 less horsepower in the HR-V.

Finally, there’s the price gap between Honda’s HR-V and Acura’s ADX. In base trim you’re looking at a window sticker difference of $10K – roughly $27,000 vs. $37,000. And when checking all the boxes, the HR-V EX-L tops out at about $32K plus destination, while the ADX is $44K plus destination. As much as I like what Acura purports to do, there’s no way my mind or wallet can close those gaps.

If a Honda loyalist (and Honda enjoys millions of them) you’re better served by Honda’s HR-V if desiring something for the city, or a CR-V Hybrid if living in the ‘burbs and commuting to the city. That CR-V Hybrid offers a combined EPA rating of 37, while the ADX sits at 27. Rather than getting to 60 in a sleep-inducing 8.7 seconds (per Car and Driver testing) the CR-V Hybrid does it in just over 7 seconds. And in top spec Sport Touring trim, the CR-V Hybrid does it for about the same money. 

With a showroom offering very few options, Acura’s product team needs to get to work. While they’re doing that, I’d get an Integra. With a hatch and a stick. Different skin. More game.