Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2023 Acura RDX

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the 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 has only front height-adjustable 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.

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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Acura RDX:

	Acadia	RDX
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	285	300
Neck Injury Risk	21%	26%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	262 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	129/383 lbs.	328/464 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	319	353
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	210/60 lbs.	362/441 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Acura RDX:

	Acadia	RDX
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	51 G’s	52 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	381	486
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	39 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

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

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.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Acadia third among upper midsize suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The RDX isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 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 above average in initial quality. With 30 more problems per 100 vehicles, Acura is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 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 With 52 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks GMC higher than Acura.

Engine

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 38 more horsepower (310 vs. 272) than the RDX’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Acadia gets better mileage than the RDX:

			MPG
Acadia
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
RDX
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/28 hwy
		A-Spec 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy
		A-Spec 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. The RDX doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The RDX doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the RDX (19.4 vs. 17.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the RDX (21.7 vs. 17.1 gallons).

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Acadia	RDX
Front Rotors	12.6 inches	12.4 inches
Rear Rotors	12.4 inches	12.2 inches

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 shorter than the RDX:

	Acadia	RDX
70 to 0 MPH	173 feet	180 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	133 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

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.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 4.2 inches longer than on the RDX (112.5 inches vs. 108.3 inches).

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the RDX A-Spec AWD pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the RDX AWD (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

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.

Passenger Space

The Acadia offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the RDX can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 39.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the RDX (143.8 vs. 104).

The Acadia has .4 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front hip room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, 1.3 inches more rear legroom, 3.4 inches more rear hip room and 2.1 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.

Towing

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

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The RDX doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its AcuraLink can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Acadia offers an optional 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.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the RDX because typical repairs cost less on the Acadia than the RDX, including $129 less for front brake pads, $163 less for a starter, $25 less for a fuel pump, $90 less for front struts and $83 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the GMC Acadia will be $4514 to $5242 less than for the Acura RDX.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the GMC Acadia and the Acura RDX, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The GMC Acadia outsold the Acura RDX by over two to one during 2022.