Compare the2018 GMC AcadiaVS 2018 Acura RDX

The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The RDX doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the GMC Acadia’s middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Acura RDX doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Acadia are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The RDX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The RDX doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Acadia Denali offers an optional Surround Vision System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The RDX only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Acadia and the RDX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the RDX:

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Acadia the rating of “Top Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 110 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The RDX was not even a “Top Pick” for 2016.

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the RDX’s (6 vs. 5 years).

GMC pays for scheduled maintenance on the Acadia for 2 years and 24,000 miles. GMC will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance (up to 2 oil changes). Acura doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the RDX.

There are over 6 times as many GMC dealers as there are Acura dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

The camshafts in the Acadia’s engine are driven by a hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs. The RDX’s camshafts are driven by a rubber belt that needs periodic replacement. If the RDX’s cam drive belt breaks the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 150-amp alternator (170-amp - Acadia V6). The RDX’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Acadia has a standard 660-amp battery. The RDX’s 550-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2017 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC 16th in initial quality. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Acura is ranked 19th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2016 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC fifth in reliability, above the industry average. With 9 more problems per 100 vehicles, Acura is ranked 8th.

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 31 more horsepower (310 vs. 279) and 19 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 252) than the RDX’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the GMC Acadia V6 is faster than the Acura RDX:

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Acadia 4 cyl.’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) The RDX doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the GMC Acadia uses regular unleaded gasoline. The RDX requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 3.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the RDX (19.4 vs. 16 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 5.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the RDX (21.7 vs. 16 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The RDX doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the Acadia’s brake rotors are larger than those on the RDX:

The Acadia’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the RDX are solid, not vented.

The Acadia stops much shorter than the RDX:

For better traction, the Acadia’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the RDX (245/65R17 vs. 235/60R18).

The Acadia’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the RDX’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Acadia offers optional 20-inch wheels. The RDX’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Acura RDX only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The RDX doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The RDX’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 6.8 inches longer than on the RDX (112.5 inches vs. 105.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Acadia is 1.4 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than on the RDX.

The Acadia’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56.5% to 43.5%) than the RDX’s (59.8% to 40.2%). This gives the Acadia more stable handling and braking.

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the RDX AWD pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The RDX doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Acadia Denali AWD is quieter than the RDX AWD (68 vs. 69 dB).

The Acadia has standard seating for 7 passengers; the RDX can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 40.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the RDX (143.8 vs. 103.5).

The Acadia has 1.6 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 1.4 inches more rear legroom and 1.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the RDX.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Acadia’s middle row seats recline. The RDX’s rear seats don’t recline.

The front step up height for the Acadia is 1.2 inches lower than the RDX (18” vs. 19.2”). The Acadia’s rear step up height is .5 inches lower than the RDX’s (19” vs. 19.5”).

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the RDX.

The Acadia’s cargo area is larger than the RDX’s in every dimension:

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Acadia Denali’s cargo door can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The RDX doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its cargo door, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Maximum trailer towing in the Acura RDX is limited to 1500 pounds. The Acadia offers up to a 4000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Acadia (except SL/SLE)’s optional easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The RDX doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The power windows standard on both the Acadia and the RDX have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Acadia is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The RDX prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Acadia’s optional front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches. The RDX’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to lower them fully.

While driving with high beams on, sensitive light sensors available for the Acadia (except SL/SLE) detect other vehicles which could be blinded and automatically switch to low beams. The RDX doesn’t offer automatic dimming high beams.

Both the Acadia and the RDX offer available heated front seats. The Acadia also offers optional heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the RDX.

On extremely cold Winter days, the Acadia Denali’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The RDX doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Acadia SLT/Denali has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The RDX doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the RDX because typical repairs cost much less on the Acadia than the RDX, including $134 less for a starter, $116 less for front struts and $381 less for a power steering pump.

The GMC Acadia outsold the Acura RDX by 55% during the 2016 model year.