11 Jan 06
Video: Detroit 2006 Full Show Report
The Acura RDX Prototype previews Honda's plans for a sporty five-seat SUV-crossover, to go on sale in the US in the summer. It will come with a similar four-wheel-drive system to the all-new Legend and a turbocharged 2.3-litre, four-cylinder engine giving 240bhp and 260 lb ft of torque. It's the first turbocharged engine to feature in Honda's luxury line-up.
The so-called Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system (SH-AWD) gives automatic distribution of torque between left and right wheels as well as between the front and rear axles. It works with the car-type fully-independent suspension to give an emphasis more towards rewarding handling and sporting driving characteristics than off-roading ability.
Honda was one of the first manufacturers to take protection of other road-users seriously and the RDX includes a new front-end design intended to prevent this tall SUV from squashing smaller, lower-slung vehicles in the event of a collision, - or at least, reduce its impact. Front, side and curtain airbags are standard, as well as rollover sensors.
The RDX will go into production at Honda's factory in Marysville, Ohio, with sales starting in the summer. Although there is talk of the Acura brand - Honda's answer to Lexus in the US - coming to Europe, it's unlikely that we'll see this one for a while, if at all. However, it could well influence the next-generation Honda CR-V.
