Acura introduces its first compact SUV for 2007, a five-seat wagon powered by the company’s first turbocharged engine. RDX is 4 inches shorter in wheelbase and 10 inches shorter overall than Acura’s seven-passenger MDX. RDX’s only engine is a 240-hp turbo 4-cyl. It links to a 5-speed automatic transmission. RDX has Acura’s Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) that apportions power between the rear wheels to enhance cornering stability. ABS and traction/antiskid control are standard, as are front side airbags and curtain side airbags. Also standard are dual-zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery with heated front seats, and a 6.5-inch dashboard screen that displays audio and climate information. A Technology Package version includes wireless cell phone link and a navigation system.

If it’s not as radical as its concept forebear, the 2007 Acura RDX is still one of the most successful meldings of sport and utility yet. It’s close to the concept in many ways, even if the implementation is different and the styling much more mainstream. There’s no high-strung naturally-aspirated engine and clutchless manual gearbox or electric rear-wheel power, but the reality should get the job done just as well. Under the hood is a turbocharged and intercooled 2.3-liter engine with 240 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, and that power goes through a manually-shiftable five-speed automatic to all four wheels by the “Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive System”(tm), hereafter known as SH-AWD. The suspension is seriously sport-tuned, with very good grip and handling despite the tallish stance. The interior is like a tall compact wagon, with good room for four and/or plenty of “active lifestyle” equipment.

With five inches of ground clearance and a 1500-pound towing capacity, the RDX is more car than truck for any off-road use. But it wasn’t meant for the back-of-beyond crowd. It’s an urban multipurpose sport and utility vehicle, and driving is one of the sports involved. I’ve spent the last week driving an RDX with the optional Technology Package, a suite of high-tech information and entertainment features aimed directly at the contemporary urban techie. Stay connected and be directed, and get to your destination quickly in the RDX. And once there, it’s convenient size should make city parking less of a chore.

full-length curtain airbags are standard.

The RDX was designed specifically for the U.S. market and will be made at Honda’s assembly plant in Marysville, Ohio. The model — whose closest competitor is the BMW X3 — looks to be a niche model for those who want a utility vehicle with sporty  handling.

Speaking of looks, what the Acura RDX resembles a lot, particularly from the B-pillar forward, is its big brother, the MDX. However, that resemblance is familial rather than structural. Or dimensional. The RDX rides on a shorter (by 2.0 inches) 104.3-inch wheelbase, and at 180.7 inches long, 73.6 inches wide, and 65.2 inches tall, it is 8.0, 3.4, and 3.5 inches smaller, respectively, than the MDX. At just about 4000 pounds it’s roughly 500 pounds lighter, it seats five rather than seven, and towing capacity tops out at 1500 pounds rather than 3500, on the theory that high-energy urbanites aren’t likely to be fooling around with trailers.

What all this adds up to is a dedicated platform that shares nothing with the MDX. The platform is 95-percent all-new, according to Acura, destined to be shared with the Honda CR-V that’s due this fall. What won’t be shared is the RDX’s engine, a 2.3-liter i-VTEC (intake side only) DOHC 16-valve four force-fed by a turbocharger inhaling through a top-mounted air-to-air intercooler. Acura says all-new about this, too, but aside from its smaller (by 1mm) bore and reduced compression (8.8:1 versus 10.5:1), this is strongly reminiscent of the 2.4-liter four that powers the Acura TSX.

With five inches of ground clearance and a 1500-pound towing capacity, the RDX is more car than truck for any off-road use. But it wasn’t meant for the back-of-beyond crowd. It’s an urban multipurpose sport and utility vehicle, and driving is one of the sports involved. I’ve spent the last week driving an RDX with the optional Technology Package, a suite of high-tech information and entertainment features aimed directly at the contemporary urban techie. Stay connected and be directed, and get to your destination quickly in the RDX. And once there, it’s convenient size should make city parking less of a chore.

The styling is certainly contemporary but does little to elicit emotion. For that, one needs to check out what’s underneath the hood. Here lies an all-new 2.3-liter double-overhead-cam turbocharged inline four with i-VTEC. It produces…wait. Turbocharged? What you talkin’ ’bout, Willis?

For the Honda faithful, this must come across as a dramatic shock. Acura’s engineers say they went this route because new technologies became available that made a turbo four a better design choice than a normally aspirated V6.

2007 Acura RDX Models:

2007 Acura RDX 5-Spd AT 
2007 Acura RDX 5-Spd AT w/ Technology Package