Name: 2025 Acura ADX
Brand: Acura

2025
Acura ADX

EPA MPG: NA

Acura ADX First Drive

Summary

Introduction

2025 Acura ADX Compact SUV Targets Younger Buyers

Based on a platform shared with the Honda HR-V, Acura's new SUV has a starting price in the mid-$30,000s and optional all-wheel drive

Overview

With the 2025 Acura ADX, Honda’s luxury brand is selling a more affordable model to grab more market share among compact luxury SUVs. It’s basing the newest model on a platform that underpins several Honda and Acura vehicles, though the announced dimensions and provided images line up closely with the existing Honda HR-V subcompact SUV, giving the brand good bones to start with.

Acura didn’t reveal much about pricing, only saying that the base, front-wheel-drive version of the ADX will start in the mid-$30,000s when it goes on sale in early 2025.

The SUV will come standard with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive is optional on all trims. Other standard features include a 9-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless phone charging capability, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capability, and a full complement of active safety features.

The ADX slots in at the bottom of the lineup, below the RDX compact SUV, and it competes with SUVs like the Audi Q3, BMW X1, and Lexus UX. It will likely be built at Honda’s plant in Mexico and is slated to go on sale in early 2025.

We haven’t driven the all-new ADX yet, but we can help you decide whether you should wait for one if you’re in the market for a new entry-level luxury SUV.

Here’s what we know so far:

It competes with the Alfa Romeo Tonale, Audi Q3, BMW X1, Buick Encore GX, Lexus UX, Mercedes-Benz GLA, and Volvo XC40.

Impressions

Outside

Looking like a baby Acura RDX, the ADX features the same key styling cues as its bigger siblings (including the three-row MDX). It has a frameless, oblong five-sided grille that is flanked by thin, angled LED daytime running lights and headlights. Active grill shutters and a front lip spoiler are claimed to aid fuel economy.

The ADX has slightly more flare to its front and rear fenders than the HR-V, along with sculpting toward the bottom of the door panels. While the upper portions of the vehicle remain the same, the ADX gets the angled rear-third window treatment that is common for the Acura brand.

At the rear, the same basic styling of the HR-V carries over to the ADX, with the biggest changes coming in the shape of the LED taillights on the rear fenders, some slight aerodynamic modifications toward the bumper, and a standard dual-exhaust in place of the HR-V’s single exhaust.

The ADX comes standard with 225/55R 18-inch all-season tires on gray alloy wheels. The A-Spec gets 19-inch wheels with 235/45R19 tires on gray alloy wheels, while the A-Spec Advance gets the same 19-inch all-season tires on glossy black alloy wheels.

Inside

We found that the HR-V has a good driving position and plenty of headroom for the front and rear seats, and we don’t expect any major changes to that in the ADX. The biggest issue we found was how the center console cut into the driver’s right knee space.

Fortunately, the physical climate controls and much of the HR-V’s clear, straightforward cabin design carry over to the ADX. Expect nicer materials to be used for the dash, door panels, armrests, and standard seats than in the HR-V.

The ADX will come standard with a 10.2-inch digital instrument display (i.e., the “gauge cluster”) along with a dashboard-mounted 9-inch color infotainment touchscreen. Acura notes the system will feature a physical volume control (hooray!) along with a simple hard button to exit back to the home screen. There’s even a small “finger rest” at the bottom of the touchscreen in an attempt to make it easier to adjust the screen while the ADX is in motion.

Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity is standard, along with a wireless phone charger. The base ADX gets two USB-C ports up front, while the other two trims get two USB-C ports for the rear-seat passengers, too. The top Advance trim gets a 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system along with “Google Built-In” technology and a complementary 3-year data plan. This allows use of the Google Assistant, Google Maps, and other apps in the Google Play store.

The base ADX features a moonroof, dual-zone climate controls, and heated front seats. The A-Spec swaps in a panoramic moonroof, adds ventilated front seats, a flat-bottom perforated-leather steering wheel, ambient LED lighting, and red contrast stitching. The top-trim ADX gets full leather-trimmed seats with suede inserts, a heated steering wheel, and a surround-view camera.

What Drives It

Power comes from a 1.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with a continuously variable transmission, a variant of the powertrain found in the Acura Integra sedan. In that application, the engine produces 200 hp.

Front-wheel drive is standard, with AWD available on all trim levels. This system can send up to 50 percent of engine torque to the rear wheels when needed.

The ADX gets additional cabin sound deadening in the form of spray foam insulation and sound-absorbing fender liners, sound-insulating carpet, and active noise control, addressing the noisy cabin we found in the HR-V. Versions with 19-inch wheels and tires also get special resonators on the insides of the wheels to help reduce noise.

Active Safety and Driver Assistance

The standard AcuraWatch suite includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assistance. All trims get a driver attention monitor that will issue a warning when the system determines the driver is not paying attention.