The Acura RDX is Acura

Acura

Acura is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. The brand has been available in the United States and Canada since March 1986, marketing luxury, performance, and near-performance vehicles. It was introduced to Hong Kong in 1991, Mexico in 2004, and China in 2006...

’s first compact

Compact SUV

Compact SUV is a class of small sport utility vehicles with a length roughly between . This class should not be confused with mini SUV, which refers to smaller vehicles.- Background :...

 crossover SUV. Originally previewed as the Acura RD-X concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

, the production RDX had its debut at the 2006 New York Auto Show and went on sale on August 11, 2006.

The RDX takes over from the MDX

Acura MDX

The Acura MDX, or Honda MDX as known in Japan and Australia , is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by the Japanese automaker Acura since the 2001 model year. The MDX was the first crossover SUV to have third-row seating. It is related to the Honda Pilot. The alphanumeric moniker stands for...

 as Acura's entry-level crossover SUV, as the MDX continues to grow in size and price. Although the dimensions of the vehicle are similar to that of the Honda CR-V

Honda CR-V

The Honda CR-V is a compact suv, now called crossover, manufactured since 1995 by Honda. It was loosely derived from the Honda Civic to satisfy a public demand for a sport-utility vehicle from Honda. There are discrepancies as to what "CR-V" stands for, with Honda sources in different markets...

, the RDX uses a unique platform

Automobile platform

An automobile platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of automobiles, often from different, but related marques...

 developed to handle the vehicle's advanced all-wheel drive system.

A facelifted 2010 model went on sale in August 2009, adopting Acura's power plenum grille seen on its sedan models.