2025 Acura ADX - Building On a Fantastic Foundation

When we tested Honda’s new HR-V, which debuted a couple of years ago, we were stunned by just how great it was. Except in one important way. It had an engine that just didn’t do it for us. It was sort of a knife to a gunfight scenario, where the engine would be fine if there were no competitors in the segment. But the Mazda CX-30 has a fantastic engine. The Ford Bronco Sport Badlands has a fantastic engine. The Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid has a very good engine if efficiency is your thing. So, we praised the HR-V, but concluded our positive review by saying, “Despite an engine that isn’t going to win any stoplight races, the HR-V is a new Honda that stole our hearts.” The good news is that Acura is going to do a version of the ADX, and it will fix the engine issue on day one. 

The new ADX will be a huge hit for Acura. I predict that in about two years, it will be Acura’s top-selling automobile. The ADX will steal some RDX shoppers, but what it will primarily do is steal Mazda CX-30 shoppers and maybe a lot of shoppers who might have chosen a German crossover if a decent and affordable one existed. 

The ADX will have a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. We know this engine from the Civic and other models. It’s great. We love it. Good torque, low in the RPM range, ample power, pretty efficient. Honda/Acura’s CVT is one of the best in the business, and it will send the power to an (optional) AWD system that can send up to 50% of the power to the rear wheels. That can be very fun if Acura makes that the default setting in Sport mode. We’ll see.

The rest of the ADX will follow Acura’s usual and outstanding formula. A great look on the outside that Acura says is “youthful.” Inside, premium materials tastefully selected will provide the right mix of price point and differentiation from the Honda line. We bet the Bang & Olufsen sound system will be best in class.

The very first thing we will do when we see on in person is see if the HR-V’s spare tire makes it into the Acura ADX. We already know that it will have wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The new ADX is debuting at the perfect time to give Toyota Crown Signia wagon shoppers an option. Sadly, Toyota killed the Venza, which would have been a perfect cross-shop vehicle for the ADX. We can’t wait to drive the new ADX and see if it will be as fun as we imagine it to be. 

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John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ Grammarly grammar and punctuation software when proofreading.

2025 ADX image courtesy of Acura.