2025 Acura ADX Interior Review: Just an Integra SUV Inside?
We experience Acura’s new small luxury SUV in person and give our first impressions.
This small SUV could be absolutely huge for Acura. Just as the Integra four-door welcomes new car buyers to the luxury brand, the 2025 Acura ADX should do the same in the SUV space—if it’s any good. Buyers have tons of other small luxury SUV choices, though, so the 2025 ADX needs to make a positive impression.
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Is there enough of a luxury feel inside to compete with more established rivals? Does the 2025 ADX have the functionality buyers demand from SUVs? At the new Acura SUV’s reveal during the 2024 Los Angeles auto show, we decided to find out.
Good Bones
One of the best parts of the 2025 ADX’s interior is not something you can see: the Acura rides on the Honda HR-V's platform. Sometimes, luxury brands don’t want any association with their related non-luxury products, but we think it’s a win here. In a recent eight-way comparison, we said the HR-V felt substantial, with impeccable build quality and soft touch points in front.
At least with our early interactions in person, the 2025 ADX feels the same. Yes, anyone in a recent Honda will recognize the temperature knobs and the digital gauge cluster, but how many luxury SUVs can you name with a sub-$40,000 base price? Call the 2025 ADX entry-level luxury or HR-V plus; either way it fills a price-sensitive niche in a market beset by ever-higher prices.
Wait, Is That ... Blue?
Oh look, another black interior. Dark interiors are everywhere across the industry, but we appreciate that Acura is trying something new with the 2025 ADX. In addition to an Ebony option (black with red stitching), there’s a bright red option that won’t be for everyone. That brings us to the fresh take on a light beige interior, here called Orchid with blue accents.
The blue accents, which are new to Acura, are unmistakable on the seats and the front door panels. They’re just bold enough to add a visual point of interest without being so in your face that more conservative buyers would shy away.
In person, we noticed the rear-seat door panels are black and devoid of any visual flourishes, except for the red armrests if you go for the red interior. So that’s unfortunate. Also, those rear-seat elbow/armrests aren’t as cushy as those in the front seat. At least rear-seat passengers get air vents and USB ports.
Leatherette seats are standard on the base trim, leatherette with Ultrasuede on A-Spec, and leather with Ultrasuede on A-Spec with the Advance package. The Ultrasuede makes the interior feel more special, and we appreciate that it’s on two of three 2025 ADX trims.
Don’t Worry, It’ll Fit
Small luxury SUVs aren’t known for being especially practical, but the 2025 ADX aims to change that. Following in the RDX’s tire tracks, the ADX is one of the most spacious options in its respective segment. With 24.4 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, the 2025 ADX should be able to handle a weekend getaway for, two no problem. It sure feels big when seen in person, an impression helped by the fact that the cargo cover lifts when you open the liftgate; a helpful touch.
Compare that cargo figure to the 2025 Lexus UX at 17.2 cubic feet or the more expensive 2025 BMW X1, which comes in at 25.7 cubes. In the Acura, three small open compartments exist below the cargo floor: think a small blanket or a flashlight. Acura also notes a low-liftover height, which should make it easier to lift that heavy suitcase in the cargo area. A power liftgate is standard on each of three 2025 ADX trims: base, A-Spec, and A-Spec with the Advance package.
Rear-seat legroom is also a very unsexy but real 2025 ADX highlight. At 37.7 inches, that outdoes the top-ranked BMW X1 (37.0 inches) and Lexus UX (33.1 inches). However, when we sat in the rear seat at the auto show, we found the floor a bit higher than expected. We’ll need more time with the 2025 ADX to evaluate this.
Tech
Like other Acuras, the 2025 ADX is strong on features-per-dollar value. From the tech side, a 10.2-inch digital driver display and 9.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are all standard. That touchscreen size is just OK for the segment, but if we had one with it wouldn't be that it was larger, but instead tilted more toward the driver for better visibility at a glance.
A 360-degree camera is also included on the 2025 ADX A-Spec with the Advance package. That top trim also has Google built-in, but some owners may find themselves relying on Apple CarPlay or Android Auto after the three-year data subscription lapses. When we’ve experienced this system in other Honda products, we’ve liked it. Google Maps is easy to use, and voice commands can change the temperature, move ahead one track, or—if you’re bored—tell you a joke.
One change we hope Acura will make to a 2026 or 2027 ADX: Make the 10.2-inch digital display more flexible. There are many info display options, but we’d like to see more visual designs that don’t look like traditional analog gauges.
Such Great Knobs
With Google built in, a voice command to change the temperature isn’t really necessary, as the 2025 ADX has one of our favorite HR-V and Integra interior features: large, high-quality knobs. There’s an ongoing trend to remove physical controls for on-screen buttons, and we’re glad the ADX goes the opposite direction. Without looking down, the driver or front passenger can adjust temperature or fan speed.
Storage is pretty good, with one cupholder in front of those three knobs and another, deeper one farther back. The idea is that you can put your tall bottles in the rear one to avoid getting in the way of any controls. A convenient vertical phone holder sits near the front cupholder, and an open wireless charger (with a fan to keep your phone cool) sits at the base of the dash.
Speaking of physical controls, one toggle exists to open the dual-panel glass roof while another pulls back the cover so you can see the sky above. These are controls you could learn to find without looking away from the road.
A Winner?
Before we have a chance to drive the 2025 ADX, our early impressions on the interior are mildly positive. Keep in mind the Acura’s place as a wallet-friendly small luxury SUV and the picture comes together.
The BMW X1 offers more interior colors, a digital driver display with a few stylish designs, and upscale silver speaker grates on an optional sound system. No one needs any of these things, but they’re all signs of a top-tier luxury product in this space. But the X1 will cost thousands more than the ADX, and that’s a big deal in this segment. In fact, it means a loaded 2025 ADX may feel just as rich inside as a low- or mid-trim X1 at about the same price.
We don’t love that a power passenger seat is standard only on the A-Spec with Advance package, but there’s a lot of good here. As a luxury-adjacent SUV that’s relatively spacious yet still small, the 2025 ADX has potential.
I’ve come a long way since I drove sugar packets across restaurant tables as a kid, pretending they were cars. With more than 17 years of experience, I'm passionate about demystifying the new car market for shoppers and enthusiasts. My expertise comes from thoughtfully reviewing countless vehicles across the automotive spectrum. The greatest thrill I get isn’t just from behind the wheel of an exotic car but from a well-executed car that’s affordable, entertaining, and well-made. Since about the time I learned to walk I’ve been fascinated by cars of all shapes and sizes, but it wasn’t until I struggled through a summer high school class at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design that I realized writing was my ticket into the automotive industry. My drive to high school was magical, taking me through a beautiful and winding canyon; I've never lost the excited feeling some 16-year-olds get when they first set out on the road. The automotive industry, singing, and writing have always been my passions, but because no one seeks a writer who sings about the automotive industry, I honed my writing and editing skills at UC Irvine (zot zot!), serving as an editor of the official campus newspaper and writing stories as a literary journalism major. At USC, I developed a much greater appreciation for broadcast journalists and became acquainted with copy editing rules such as why the Oxford comma is so important. Though my beloved 1996 Audi A4 didn’t survive my college years, my career with MotorTrend did. I started at the company in 2007 building articles for motorcycle magazines, soon transitioning to writing news posts for MotorTrend’s budding online department. I spent some valuable time in the copy editing department, as an online news director, and as a senior production editor. Today, MotorTrend keeps me busy as the Buyer's Guide Director. Not everyone has a career centered on one of their passions, and I remind myself all the time how lucky I am.
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