Inflation Alert: Acura Prices the 2019 RDX

Set to appear on dealer lots within the next few days, Acura has released pricing for the newest version of its compact crossover, the RDX.

Now in its third generation, the trucklet, contending in the savagely competitive compact luxury crossover segment against such heavies as the BMW X3 and Lexus NX, will make an opening bid south of $40,000, even for customers that want all-wheel drive.

Absent of power going to all four wheels, the new entry-level RDX is priced at $37,300, representing a $1,300 hike from last year’s base price. However, that machine required an option package to equip itself with the AcuraWatch suite of safety nannies, features which now come standard on all RDXs regardless of trim. The cost of that old package? You guessed it: $1,300.

All-wheel drive is more dear, however, in 2019. Such an expenditure would have vacuumed $1,500 from buyer’s wallets; now it will cost an extra two grand. That still puts an entry-level RDX with four-corner grip under $40,000.

We will likely be writing stories in the next 12 months about the RDX trading at a higher average price than in years past. In addition to all-wheel drive being more costly, other trims have hiked their prices as well. The mid-range “Tech” trim will now cost $40,500, an extra eight hundred bones, while the top-spec “Advance” model stickers at $45,400 in 2019. That’s a full $2,700 walk from last year.

It seemingly all adds up to a push by the manufacturer to move the RDX slightly upmarket. Top-spec X3s and GLCs can easily park themselves north of $50,000. The new Acura does offer some natty features as standard equipment for the extra simoleons it commands this year, including a panoramic moonroof and adaptive cruise.

This new RDX cribs some styling cues from the company’s Precision Concept vehicle that made the rounds on the auto show circuit, including a version of the family diamond-esque five-sided grille and the snazzy jewel-eye headlights. This author is glad Acura binned the old grille that looked like a guillotine or a really bad chrome overbite.

A-Spec trim visits the RDX for 2019, bringing the total number of trims to four. That model, imbued with a couple of unique colors including an extroverted Apex Blue Pearl, is priced at $43,500. It’ll be an extra two grand if you want all-wheel drive, of course. All models get a 2.0L turbo making 272 horsepower but the A-Spec gets a few unique interior and exterior treatments including 20-inch wheels, black accents, different trimmings inside, and a tachometer that reminds this author of the gauges found in the RSX of my youth.

We’ll have a full first-drive review of the 2019 Acura RDX later this week.

[Image: Acura]