[josechaney]

I was about to purchase a 2019 RDX. But at the last minute, literally, my wife and I looked at a Passport and went on a test drive... then left the Honda dealership and drove straight to the Acura dealer. We decided right then and there that the RDX was just a bit too "tight" feeling and didn't have quite enough cargo space for our comfort.

 

[josechaney]

This may sound funny, but I was tired of luxury cars, luxury pricing, luxury dealerships and paying for Premium gas for the last 16 years, so I was looking to simplify and the Passport had all the luxury I needed...

I don't really consider the Acura to be a true "Luxury" car -- at least not compared to other luxury brands. I see it more as a "Premium Honda" vehicle.

 

[josechaney]

To the OP... I'm not sure what has been fixed or changed in the 2020 RDX but here are some of my reasons for buying the Passport instead of the 2019 RDX:

I much prefer a Touch Screen over the Touch Pad in the RDX.
No Android Auto in RDX.
Much larger cargo area in Passport.
Premium fuel recommended in RDX, Regular gas for Passport.
V6 engine in Passport.
Passport comes with a spare tire and it's inside the car. The RDX only gets a spare tire if you buy AWD and it's underneath the car.
Better back-up camera picture quality in Passport, RDX camera looked blurry in comparison (at least in the Advance model RDX).
Better visibility out of the side and rear windows in Passport, harder to see out of the RDX.
Remote start is included on the FOB of the Passport at no extra charge. You have to pay for this on the RDX.

How's that for a few reasons?

 

[josechaney]

That is a $8k repair.

Ouch.

 

[josechaney]

We were debating whether to get an RDX AWD Advance or the Passport AWD Elite. We like the look of the RDX A-Spec more than the Advance but the A-Spec was missing some features that the Advance had which were more important to us than appearance.

Same boat here... I preferred the look of the A-Spec but wanted the features of the Advance. It's partly why I own a Passport instead of an RDX since I hesitated to buy the RDX for this reason. The longer I waited, the more problems I read about... and the more problems I discovered the more I hesitated to buy. Eventually the Passport was released -- and the rest was history!

 

[josechaney]

By the way... the "blacked out / no chrome" look of the Passport is similar to the A-Spec version of the RDX. So getting an Elite Passport gives us all the features AND the A-Spec type of look. Best of both worlds. Take a look:

 

[josechaney]

However, the 'Super Handling' AWD on both the RDX and MDX is better than i-VTM4 AWD in the PP and P.

Only slightly.

 

[josechaney]

I came REALLY close to buying an RDX before getting the Passport so I totally understand. The RDX is a very nice car. A week or so ago my wife and I went on a trip. We had to load up the Passport with A LOT of stuff and we really needed to take it all. It all fit, but just barely. My wife and I looked at each other and both realized that there's no way we would have gotten it all in the RDX. No way. So, for us, we made the right decision. But everyone's different of course.