Compare the2024 Jaguar I-PaceVS 2023 Acura RDX

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Jaguar I-Pace have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Acura RDX doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

Both the I-Pace and RDX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The I-Pace has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The RDX’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The I-Pace’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The RDX doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the I-Pace. But it costs extra on the RDX.

Both the I-Pace and RDX have rear cross-traffic warning, but the I-Pace has Rear Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The RDX’s Rear Cross Traffic Monitor doesn’t automatically brake.

The I-Pace’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The RDX doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the I-Pace and the RDX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and rear cross-path warning.

The Jaguar I-Pace weighs 726 to 1009 pounds more than the Acura RDX. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The I-Pace comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The RDX’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

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

Jaguar pays for scheduled maintenance on the I-Pace for 3 years and 36,000 miles longer than Acura pays for maintenance for the RDX (5/60,000 vs. 2/24,000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jaguar vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jaguar above average in initial quality. With 22 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 Jaguar vehicles are more reliable than Acura With 11 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Jaguar higher than Acura.

The I-Pace’s electric motors produces 122 more horsepower (394 vs. 272) and 232 lbs.-ft. more torque (512 vs. 280) than the RDX’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Jaguar I-Pace is faster than the Acura RDX:

On the EPA test cycle the I-Pace gets better mileage than the RDX:

The I-Pace can travel with zero emissions for 217 to 246 miles (dependent on model). The RDX can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Jaguar I-Pace higher (10 out of 10) than the Acura RDX (6). This means the I-Pace produces up to 12.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the RDX every 15,000 miles.

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

The I-Pace’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 I-Pace stops much shorter than the RDX:

For better traction, the I-Pace has larger standard tires than the RDX (245/50R20 vs. 235/55R19).

The I-Pace’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the RDX’s standard 55 series tires. The I-Pace’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the RDX A-Spec’s 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the I-Pace has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the RDX. The I-Pace’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the RDX A-Spec.

The front and rear suspension of the I-Pace uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the RDX, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The I-Pace has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The I-Pace’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The RDX doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the I-Pace’s wheelbase is 9.4 inches longer than on the RDX (117.7 inches vs. 108.3 inches).

The I-Pace’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50% to 50%) than the RDX’s (57% to 43%). This gives the I-Pace more stable handling and braking.

The I-Pace HSE handles at .90 G’s, while the RDX A-Spec AWD pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The I-Pace HSE executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.9 seconds quicker than the RDX AWD (24.8 seconds @ .77 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

The I-Pace is 3.1 inches shorter than the RDX, making the I-Pace easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the I-Pace 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.

The I-Pace’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the RDX’s (1653 vs. 1500 pounds).

The I-Pace’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The RDX’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the I-Pace to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The RDX doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The I-Pace offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The RDX doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The I-Pace has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the RDX.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Jaguar I-Pace has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the RDX.

The I-Pace’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The RDX doesn’t offer an automated parking system.