It’s one of our closest races yet!
The 2019 Acura RDX is one of the company’s largest designs in the past decade. With new sheet metal and a new powertrain, the Acura RDX is ready to take the luxury crossover market by storm. And recent sales figures reflect it’s been doing just that, at least in the past month. However, there’s still one important question to ask. Is this $45,000 crossover faster than a Ford Fiesta…ST? In the latest episode of our game show series, we answer that all important question. Not only that, but you may be surprised just how close the results are!
Let’s start with the figures. In one corner, we have the upstart challenger: the 2019 Acura RDX. Acura’s newest crossover is packing a fashionable 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). It makes 272 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque, all of which is routed through a new ten-speed automatic transmission. The RDX also has torque vectoring, which pushes the outside wheels in the corners to make sure this crossover is light on its feet. However, speaking of light, that’s one thing the Acura is not. This all-wheel drive 2019 Acura RDX, with the A-Spec package, tips the scales at 4,015 pounds.
Power…or weight?
Now, in the other corner, we have the returning contender. It’s our long-term 2017 Ford Fiesta ST. It’s also packing a turbocharged engine, albeit a smaller one. The 1.6-liter turbocharged engine punches out 197 horsepower and 202 lb-ft of torque. All that is routed to the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. It’s down on power, but it’s also significantly down on weight. Especially with Geoff, our resident teddy bear, weighing the Acura down. The Fiesta ST is a featherweight against the 2019 Acura RDX, at just 2,720 pounds.
Check out the video above to see the results! Come back to TFLcar.com and subscribe to The Fast Lane Car and TFLnow on YouTube to see if more family cars are faster than a Ford Fiesta…ST!
