I mean what’s not to love about our beautiful Canadian summers. I’ve always believed that we get so excited about summertime because it is such a fleeting event. Like the feeling of you get from a cold ice cream cone on a hot summer day, it is only momentary, so you savor every second.
Lucky for us the newly redesigned 2019 Acura RDX, I was testing was more than capable of delivering us in style to our destination. This is the third generation of the RDX and it really showcases the direction Acura is going. With a low wide aggressive stance and long sculpted lines, this SUV really caught our eye, and we loved the new styling. The look was accentuated in the exclusive new A-spec with a different front and rear fascia, dual oval exhaust tips, sharp 20” shark grey rims, and a diamond pentagon grille that is massive and just really in your face.
Our adventure started well before we actually left, as everyone knows the amount of stuff truly required to leave the comforts of home behind. I mean if I plan on sitting lakeside for hours on end in the sweltering heat, there better be some icey cold ones to keep me alive. However, with the Acura RDX’s class-leading 2,178 litres of carrying space and a full 881 litres of just cargo capacity, with handy underfloor storage, we fit everything we needed and way more comfortably in the backseats.
So, after a week of planning, preparing and packing we were set to go. We decided to try and beat the long weekend rush so Thursday night we took off towards the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Not leaving anything to chance we arrived well before our reserved sailing time and was surprised to see how many other people had the same idea. Thankfully our 2019 Acura RDX came loaded with the ELS Studio® 3D premium audio system, and those 710 watts kept us bouncing around, probably to the annoyance of everyone else around us. Yet having to use the all-new True Touchpad Interface (TTI), wasn’t something I was a fan of it right away, it took some getting used to and the 10.2-inch HD display was surprisingly missing touch capabilities. But after an hour or so of waiting, we started to board the ferry, it was one of those massive new ones and it looked like the whole parking lot, with even the horde of latecomers was going to get to go for a ride. We parked and rushed towards the top deck, there’s just something about watching the city get swallowed up by the horizon and seeing the surrounding blue ocean and the majestic coastal mountains take over your view. While I have never personally experienced it, I assume it must be a similar view provided by those cruise ships that people take up the coast to Alaska and back.
In what seemed like no time at all we were docking in the city of Nanaimo and with another hour or so of driving to go we were quick to get the RDX back on the road. Leaving the ocean behind we jumped on Highway 19 and really let this SUV loose. The new RDX was a real pleasure to drive, with its finely tuned turbo VTEC® engine producing 272hp and 280 lb.-ft of torque (peak torque at a surprisingly low 1600rpm) mated with a smooth shift 10-speed automatic transmission. Even more useful on the windy up and down driving on our coastal mountain highways was the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system (SH-AWD.) The onboard computer continuously directs engine power to match weight distribution, available traction, and other road conditions. It can determine the optimal level of power distribution between not only front and back but even between the rear wheels themselves. Changing power distribution based on an analysis of wheel speed, steering angle, lateral G-force gives the RDX the feel of high-performance cornering typically only felt in a high-end sports car.
Just slightly after dark, we finally arrived at our destination, and thanks to the 2019 Acura RDX the travel was almost as enjoyable as the vacation. Well not really because while the newly redesigned RDX was impressive on so many levels, nothing can compare to spending the weekend away, unplugged from the world with no cares or work to do. That’s exactly what we did, soaked up every ray, listened to every story, and savored every moment.
