2025 Acura ADX: Everything We Know About the New Entry-Luxury SUV
Acura is getting a new small SUV to welcome buyers to the brand alongside the Integra.
After first being teased months ago, we're getting a fresh batch of official teaser images of the 2025 Acura ADX compact SUV. The ADX was previously given a very brief mention during a preview of upcoming Honda products and business developments, but not much information was provided beyond that. We know that the ADX will slot beneath the compact RDX, midsize MDX, and all-electric ZDX as the entry point to Acura's luxury SUV offerings. So expect it to be smaller than the RDX, though we wouldn't expect it to be cheaper than the Integra, which is currently considered the entry point for the brand.
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It Will Look Familar
We only have one teaser image of the ADX's exterior (above), but abstract as the photo is, we can easily tell that it will follow Acura's current design language. We only see the rear of the vehicle, which has the same taillight design found on the RDX and MDX, along with a hint of a similar roof spoiler. We know that the ADX in the teasers is an A-Spec model, so chances are that spoiler may be unique to that sportier-styled trim, as it is on other Acuras. Also confirmed? Features like a panoramic moonroof, ventilated front seats, and a Bang & Olufsen audio system will be available options. Expect some of those features to be standard on the A-Spec trim.
We haven't seen the front of the ADX yet, though we have no problem assuming that we'll see the same pentagon grille that Acura has adopted across its product line and similar headlight design. It obviously can't just be a shrunken RDX so Acura will likely play with some aspects like the A-pillars and hip line to switch things up.
It's almost guaranteed that this SUV will be based on Honda's entry-level HR-V crossover (pictured below), itself related to Honda's Civic and the Acura Integra. In China, Acura sold a CDX for years that is a lightly restyled version of—you guessed it—the last-generation HR-V, so there's already been an entry-level Acura SUV following that Honda-to-Acura path.
So, the 2025 Acura ADX is most likely going to be spun off the Honda HR-V's platform. There's precedent at work here beyond that Chinese-market CDX—the Integra is a heavily revised take on the current Honda Civic hatchback, with unique exterior styling and a more upmarket interior and powertrain combinations not available on the workaday Civic. The HR-V is, essentially, the same thing, a Civic-based small SUV, albeit with chunkier looks and available all-wheel drive. We see no reason why Acura wouldn't turn to the same well for the also-entry-level ADX, given how decent a starting point the excellent Civic family is for the class-above Integra.
We've rendered what the ADX could look like, using the HR-V's body shell as a basis, and the results aren't bad. The newest HR-V has a longer, lower appearance than its dumpling-shaped predecessor, with its only major styling sins being longish front and rear overhangs and a mouthy grille. The interior is pleasant enough, thanks to its classy Civic-derived dashboard design and nice switchgear. Look for Acura to pull off the same stunt with the ADX that it did with the Integra, taking the HR-V's basic structure and elevating it with pointier, Acura-specific headlights and taillights, the brand's pentagonal grille, and unique wheel designs. As with the Integra, expect more HR-V to carry over inside, at least in general terms; Acura will dress up the Honda bits with nicer materials, a better stereo, and more.
More Power?
In a release following the teaser images, Acura confirmed that the 2025 ADX will have a turbocharged engine. Our guess is that the 200-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter I-4 from the Integra (itself borrowed from the Honda Civic Si) is likely what will sit under the hood. We doubt Acura will use anything but Honda's continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) here; though the Integra offers a six-speed manual option, it's a safe bet few if any shoppers in the market for a subcompact luxury SUV are looking for one.
As cool as it would be for Acura to install its torque-vectoring Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) in the ADX, color us surprised if that happens. That setup, available on the RDX and MDX SUVs, improves handling by directing torque sent to the rear axle to the outside rear tire during cornering, helping power the rear end out of bends and the driver forget those SUVs are front-wheel-drive-based people movers. It's also pricey and takes up space in the rear axle area—and space isn't something the small HR-V has a surfeit of. That said, Acura prides itself on sporty handling and edgy design, so there's a chance it goes full ham sandwich on the ADX in a bid to win new-to-the-brand buyers over. Either way, front-wheel drive is likely to be standard, while all-wheel drive (some kind of AWD) will be optional.
When Will We See It?
Acura says the North American debut of the 2025 ADX will take place "later this fall," so perhaps the small SUV will debut at the LA Auto Show or in an adjacent stand-alone event. Expect to pay a little over $33,000 for an entry-level ADX when it appears—that's slightly more than an Integra costs, but given the two are said to share the "gateway of the lineup" for Acura, they'll probably be priced similarly, with the ADX earning the usual SUV price bump over the Integra hatchback.
A lifelong car enthusiast, I stumbled into this line of work essentially by accident after discovering a job posting for an intern position at Car and Driver while at college. My start may have been a compelling alternative to working in a University of Michigan dining hall, but a decade and a half later, here I am reviewing cars; judging our Car, Truck, and Performance Vehicle of the Year contests; and shaping MotorTrend’s daily coverage of the automotive industry.
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