First Drive: 2025 Acura ADX Arrives Heavy On Premium Level Value

For 2025, the Acura ADX is an all-new sub-compact crossover designed as an entry point to Acura's premium lineup. Starting at $35,000 excluding delivery and ranging up to $45,350 through several trims (ADX, ADX A-Spec and ADX A-Spec with Advance Package) with all-wheel-drive available for each, Acura believes it has a crossover that will attract young buyers. The key ingredients for that, Acura believes, is to provide an engaging driving experience, a feature-rich interior, a premium cabin, and enough cargo space to support active lifestyles.

From our experience, targeting younger buyers as customers to premium brands with a small crossover priced over $35,000 usually results in sales to the 55+ demographic. To escape that trap and get those younger, eager-to-spend buyers to take their first step into the brand, we believe the ADX needs to be as quick as it is sharp looking, and deliver on the dynamics promised by the A-Spec brand as well as get the cabin and technology right. Here''s how it held up in our first experiences with it.

What's New From Acura

The Acura ADX is a new model from the brand that serves as an upmarket equivalent of the Honda HR-V, but it doesn't share the same engine. Instead of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine making 158 horsepower, the ADX gets a turbocharged four-cylinder making 190 hp. It also gets a more sophisticated interior based on the Integra's cabin, complete with Acura flair in the color and stitching departments. A nine-inch touchscreen is standard and integrated with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster.

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Style: Sporty Crossovers Are Hard To Perfect

The ADX starts to deliver on its promised sporty looks with a wide stance, a low belt line (the line representing the bottom edge of a vehicle's glass panels), and curved rear fenders. The base model comes with 18-inch wheels while ADX A-Spec models come with 19-inch wheels. Even with the large 19-inch wheels, however, the large and heavy-looking front overhang negates some of the ADX's sporty look. LED headlights are standard and include the distinctive daytime running light signature, and with the Diamond Pentagon grille, the ADX exudes a sharpness to its styling.

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Interior: Space And Style

Inside the ADX, there's more room than it appears from the outside. Acura says there's enough room in the back for three adults, but we don't quite agree - two large adults will be fine and, unless they're particularly tall, won't be cramped for leg space unless it's a particularly long journey. A moonroof is standard along with dual-zone climate control and Acura's excellent Body Stabilizing Seats. When we previewed the ADX, we worried that the nine-inch screen was mounted too far forward, but out on the road and being able to set the seats back along with the steering wheel, it wasn't much of an issue.

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There are three color combinations available for the interior: Ebony, Red/Ebony, and Orchid/Blue. The Orchid Blue looks so much better in natural light rather than under studio lights. How well the light color will hold up after facing a driver that wears blue jeans a lot is a concern.

The vehicle we spent the day with was an A-Spec model with the red interior, meaning it was upgraded with Ultrasuede seat trim, a panoramic moonroof, ventilated front seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel, ambient LED lighting, stainless sport pedals, red gauge needles, and sportier chrome shift knob.

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Infotainment: Wowed By A Sound System

The nine-inch touchscreen is an inch smaller than we consider ideal, but had no issue with visibility following a navigated route. The system is quick to react and easy to navigate and find the settings needed. With Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard along with a wireless phone charger, and Google Built-In as an upgrade for A-Spec models, we found nothing to fault as modern systems go. The digital gauge cluster manages to pack in all the info a driver could need without being cluttered, and the pairing shows how much effort Acura is putting into user interface design.

What entranced us, however, was the 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system. Acura has a brilliant track record when it comes to working with sound companies and letting them influence the car's design to allow the best sound possible. As an entry-level model, though, we worried that the same care and attention to detail might take a backseat due to price. However, the B&O system is categorically excellent. The separation between bass, mid-tones, and treble is superb and gives the system an audiophile-friendly level of clarity. The highlight is the bass, which manages to be controlled yet powerful while retaining texture. There's no wooliness we often find in sound systems trying too hard with the bass. It's as punchy and visceral as it is deep and boomy - which is no mean feat in a car, let alone a small one.

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Engine & Driving: 55+ Power

Let's start with the downside, which is the ADX's engine and transmission. The ADX's 1.5-liter turbocharged engine makes 190 hp, which is what you would expect in an entry-level compact crossover in the affordable class. From 0-60 mph, it's disappointing for a premium sporty crossover. There's enough there to get up to freeway speed comfortably, but that's about it. The power delivery is smooth, but that's about it. It's not slow enough to consider dangerous getting into fast-moving traffic, but there's not much in reserve. On the freeway, it's happy to maintain and pick up speed for overtaking, but again, there's nothing in reserve.

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The good news is that if you're not heavy-footed, the ADX is a lovely little crossover to get around in. The suspension in Normal and Comfort mode is nicely damped and merely shrugs at a rough California road. The steering is light and easy, and it doesn't want to lean through corners. Around the city, it's also perfectly lovely to drive, although the engine and transmission don't urge you to hustle anywhere. However, it's also an Acura, so it's supposed to be sporty, and we were driving the A-Spec version which is supposed to be the sportier version.

Switch it into Sport mode, and the little ADX is agile and generates decent grip through the wider tires and continues to feel agile and confident, but the engine and transmission rain on that parade. The engine is too lethargic to pull it out of corners with any zest and the CVT does an awful job of pretending to be a regular transmission with gears. To be fair, every automaker that tries this also fails, but the unnatural feel of the stepped CVT is exacerbated by piped-in engine noise to compliment the natural sound of the intake. However, the sound is over-smoothed and sounds completely unnatural – to the point we found it disconcerting.

Where the ADX shone brighter than we expected was on the freeways around San Diego. The suspension started to show off by smoothing out a particularly horrible piece of road, the engine settled down and did what it needed to, and Acura's cruise control is one of the smoothest we've used in a while. Acura touts it as natural-feeling, and it's pretty damn close with how it brakes and accelerates in response to traffic.

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Verdict & Pricing: We Want To Love The ADX

The Acura ADX starts at $35,000 in front-wheel-drive form, and upgrading to all-wheel-drive in each trim adds $2,000 to the price. The ADX A-Spec is $38,000, and the ADX A-Spec with Advance Package is $42,000. The starting price makes sense to us, given the ADX delivers when it comes to ride, style, comfort, and quality. The engine and transmission give us pause when it comes to the A-Spec, although it's hard to deny that the extra $3,000 adds some key premium features like ventilated front seats, four-way power front passenger's seat, and the panoramic moon-roof - but the rest is mainly aesthetic improvements.

Move to the ADX A-Spec with Advance Package and you get luxury features like leather-trim seating, the addition of a configurable individual drive mode, the multi-view camera system, rain-sensing wipers, and remote start. However, the big sell for the top trim is the Bang & Olufsen sound system. If you enjoy music, that alone is justification for the upgrade. It's that good. This is a rare case where we're not sure the middle trim is the best value on a car. We would suggest going for the already well-equipped base model, or splurging on the top trim.

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Mostly, the ADX delivers as an entry-level premium crossover but the engine and transmission does let it down as a sporty choice in the segment. It certainly looks the part, however. The interior is excellent, the feature set is weighed nicely, the tech is great, and the ride quality is what we expect from Acura, so it may serve to bring in some new younger buyers. The lack of power won't help there, but it's fine for those that want something that looks sharp and feels premium. It has a few competitors but the starting price weeds out a few, so we would cross-shop the Buick Envision at the base model price and the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 at the higher end for more power to go with an agile chassis. What we can't think of is another crossover that comes in under $45,000 with the ADX's ride quality and style and with such a wonderfully potent sound system.