Compare the2024 BMW iXVS 2024 Acura RDX

The iX’s 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.

Both the iX and RDX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The iX 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 iX’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the front seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The RDX doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The iX has a standard PostCrash iBrake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The RDX doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The iX has a standard Active Park Distance Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The RDX doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the iX and RDX have rear cross-traffic warning, but the iX has Cross Traffic Warning with braking function (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 iX’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 iX and the RDX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 and available around view monitors.

The BMW iX weighs 1601 to 1755 pounds more than the Acura RDX. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The iX’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the RDX’s (12 vs. 5 years).

BMW pays for scheduled maintenance on the iX for 1 year and 12000 miles longer than Acura pays for maintenance for the RDX (3/36,000 vs. 2/24,000).

There are over 30 percent more BMW dealers than there are Acura dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the iX’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that BMW vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. With 15 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks BMW higher than Acura.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Acura is rated below average.

The iX xDrive50’s standard electric motors produces 244 more horsepower (516 vs. 272) and 284 lbs.-ft. more torque (564 vs. 280) than the RDX’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The iX M60’s standard electric motors produces 338 more horsepower (610 vs. 272) and 469 lbs.-ft. more torque (749 vs. 280) than the RDX’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the BMW iX is faster than the Acura RDX:

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

The iX can travel with zero emissions for 274 to 307 miles (dependent on model). The RDX can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the iX’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 BMW iX higher (10 out of 10) than the Acura RDX (6). This means the iX produces up to 12.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the RDX every 15,000 miles.

The iX’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s at 60 in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The RDX doesn’t offer launch control.

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

The iX’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 iX stops much shorter than the RDX:

For better traction, the iX’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the RDX (275/40R22 vs. 255/45R20).

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

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

The iX M60 has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The iX’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 iX’s wheelbase is 9.8 inches longer than on the RDX (118.1 inches vs. 108.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the iX is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 2.5 inches wider in the rear than on the RDX.

The iX’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (48.2% to 51.8%) than the RDX’s (57% to 43%). This gives the iX more stable handling and braking.

The iX xDrive50 handles at .88 G’s, while the RDX A-Spec pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The iX M60 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.2 seconds quicker than the RDX (25.5 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the iX has a greater minimum ground clearance than the RDX (8.8 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the iX to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the iX 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 iX has 1.9 inches more front headroom, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.2 inches more rear headroom, .5 inches more rear legroom and 1.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the RDX.

The iX has a much larger cargo volume than the RDX with its rear seat up (35.5 vs. 31.1 cubic feet).

The iX’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.

Laser headlights, optional on the iX, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the RDX’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the iX has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The RDX doesn’t offer cornering lights. The iX also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The iX’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The RDX has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The iX 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.

The iX offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the RDX.

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

The iX’s optional Automatic Parking Assistant can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Parking Assistant Professional will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The RDX doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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

J.D. Power and Associates rated the iX first among upper midsize premium suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The RDX isn’t in the top three.