Starts at $35,000
What's New for 2025?
Based on the Honda HR-V, the new Acura ZDX features the Integra's 1.5-liter turbo four-cylinder engine as standard, so we know it won't share the HR-V's power deficiency. Its interior is mostly a dead ringer for that of the Honda, though, aside from some fresh materials and a restyled center console, and its transmission will be, as in both the Integra and the HR-V, a continuously variable automatic (CVT). This doesn't sound like segment-leading stuff to us — we can't imagine the BMW X1, for example, is quaking in its boots — but the ADX may have a fighting chance given that it will start in the mid-$30,000s.
FAST FACTS
We don't have a high opinion of the Honda HR-V — it's ranked 11th out of 18 subcompact SUVs as of this writing — but Honda could easily win us over with an injection of power under the hood. The HR-V's major weakness is its pokey acceleration, which pairs with surprisingly mediocre fuel economy.
Wait, why are we talking about the HR-V in an Acura review? Because despite its tarted-up styling, the new-for-2025 Acura ADX is an HR-V underneath, which is the first thing you need to know about it. Yes, the ADX will be quieter and handle better, but its wheelbase length and structural bits mirror those of the HR-V. The biggest surprise dimensionally is that the ADX's relatively rakish styling treatment adds six inches from stem to stern, pushing the Acura's overall length to 185.8 inches — a tenth of an inch beyond the compact Mercedes-Benz GLC. Since the Acura RDX, at 187.4 inches long, already does battle with the GLC and company, we'll consider the ADX a subcompact for ranking purposes, but it's easily the longest subcompact luxury SUV on the market.
The second thing to know is that Honda — er, Acura — at least agrees that the HR-V's naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine isn't fit for luxury duty, because it's replaced in the ADX by largely the same 1.5-liter turbo four that powers the Acura Integra. That means you've got 190 horsepower on tap in the ADX (10 hp fewer than in the Integra), versus a weaker-than-it-sounds 158 hp in the HR-V.
So, the ADX will be a lot quicker than the HR-V. That's the good news. Unfortunately, it will also use a gearless continuously variable transmission (CVT), just like the HR-V and the Integra. No surprise there, but it bears mentioning that only one of subcompact luxury SUVs in our rankings has a CVT, and that would be the hybrid-powered Lexus UX. The others use conventional automatics with discrete gears, because the drive is much more precise and satisfying that way.
Well, it certainly has a competitive starting price. The CVT is perhaps the biggest question mark, as it certainly hasn't helped the Integra's cause versus its star luxury-brand rivals. Will subcompact SUV shoppers be more forgiving? We're not counting the ADX out, but it's not an obvious home run off the bat.
Publisher and Donkey-in-Chief
Josh has been reviewing cars professionally since joining Edmunds.com fresh out of grad school in 2008, personally driving most new cars on the market every year since. He also served as the project manager for Edmunds' expert vehicle rankings from their inception in 2018, building the product out from the back end to the front end. Josh is a card-carrying member of the Motor Press Guild and a lifelong car nut who has tested, compared and critiqued a ridiculous number of cars in his career.
Latest Reviews
Let's make it official!Be a good donkey and we'll deliver delicious car news straight to your inbox, spam-free forever.
