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2019 Acura ILX gets a makeover with more standard safety features

The 2019 Acura ILX compact luxury sedan has finally been redesigned to fit the look introduced by the TLX and RDX. According to Acura, the entire nose from the A-pillar forward and the whole rear fascia have been changed. Up front the car has the pentagonal grille and angry LED lights that are Acura signatures, and they're complemented by crisply creased sheetmetal across the rest of the car. The results are a far sportier, far less anonymous machine. The car will continue to be available in normal and A-Spec versions, with the latter consisting mainly of appearance items such as 18-inch wheels, dark trim and lights, and a rear spoiler. Exterior enhancements are the primary change to the new ILX. The interior is nearly unchanged except the A-Spec has some stylish sport seats similar to those in the RDX A-Spec. Acura also says the infotainment system has been upgraded to be faster, and it has fresh graphics and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. But this is not the system found in the completely new RDX, just an updated version of the current infotainment. The last big upgrade to the ILX is the inclusion of the complete AcuraWatch suite of safety features on all ILX models. This includes automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control and road departure mitigation. Aside from these changes, the ILX is still pretty much the same as the old one. Under the skin is the same naturally aspirated 201-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder as the current model. It's still coupled to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and powers solely the front wheels. The 2019 ILX goes on sale in October, but pricing has not yet been announced. Related Video:

Lincoln Aviator vs Cadillac XT6 | How they compare on paper

There have been big, three-row family crossovers for quite a while now, but until recently the luxury market hasn't fully embraced them. Sure, you could literally get one with a third row, but unless you were a kid, chances are the term "dungeon-like" was going to be tossed around. Things are changing now, however, as new and redesigned entries are starting to hit the market. We've recently had a chance to get our first drives of the 2020 Lincoln Aviator and 2020 Cadillac XT6, two all-new three-row crossovers from American luxury brands. We also got a turn behind the wheel of the updated 2020 Volvo XC90. However, since none of our editors have yet to drive to drive them all, we wanted to see how they compare on paper, examining their engine specs and interior dimensions. We also included the 2020 Acura MDX, the original three-row luxury crossover, which continues to sell well despite approaching the end of its current generation. That it offers a hybrid model makes it that much more applicable given the Aviator and XC90 also offer gasoline-electric powertrains, albeit of the plug-in variety. 3 Row Luxury Crossovers Powertrains View 1 Photos Non-hybrid MDX has a 5,000-pound max tow rating. How do their performance and fuel economy compare? This one is absolutely no contest. The 400-horsepower Lincoln blows away its competitors despite having a price tag that's similar to the 310-horsepower Cadillac and in between the XC90's T5 and T6 models. At least the Acura is considerably cheaper. Besides the eye-popping output, the estimated 0-60-mph time of 5.5 seconds (gleaned from the mechanically similar Ford Explorer ST) is appreciably quicker than the others. Now, fuel economy is a bit lower, but the efficiency of Volvo's four-cylinder engines are likely more susceptible to varying due to driver differences. It should also be noted that the Cadillac gets the same combined fuel economy estimate as the Aviator despite having 90 fewer horses and 144 fewer pound-feet of torque. Just one of the ways where the XT6's prospects dim in the presence of its cross-Michigan rival. The Cadillac is also not available as a hybrid model. The others are, but are disparate. The Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring and Volvo XC90 T8 are similar in concept: range-topping models that are as much about adding performance as they are fuel economy. Their hefty price tags certainly reflect that as well.

2019 Acura RDX crossover gets turbocharged power, A-Spec version

NEW YORK — Calling the RDX that Acura showed at this year's Detroit Auto Show a "concept" was stretching that term to the limits of credulity. The production version of the 2019 RDX is here, and this turbocharged crossover with available AWD looks darn near identical. While it offers all-wheel drive like its Lexus NX and Audi Q3 competitors, Acura's next-generation SH-AWD should be a serious selling point. Let's cover that "Super Handling All-Wheel Drive" system for a moment. It takes power from the 2.0-liter, 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque engine and routes it up to 70 percent rearward, and there's real torque vectoring (rather than brake-based faux vectoring) to shift 100 percent of that rear axle power to either wheel. The broad strokes are similar to the outgoing model's system, but there's much more available rear power bias — in the 2016 model, up to 40 percent could be sent to the rear. And that was up from 25 percent for pre-2016 models. The takeaway is that the RDX should handle a lot better on both dry and slippery pavement, and feel a bit sportier doing it. A new engine may help as well. The outgoing 3.5-liter V6 is replaced by a turbocharged four-cylinder, almost certainly related to the unit in the Accord and Civic Type R, and tuned somewhere in between those cars (252 and 306 horsepower, respectively). We expect the new engine to be lighter than the old V6, and less weight off the front end should improve steering feel and handling. For those keeping track, the new engine is down 7 horsepower but up 28 pound-feet in torque, and thanks to turbocharging the torque band starts down low and is relatively flat, so more oomph from a stop and on through the rev range. The six-speed automatic is gone, replaced by a 10-speed automatic. Most of its competitors use six- or eight-speed units, so that'll be a marketing focus. As you'd expect, the individual ratios are closer-spaced but the total ratio spread is, according to Acura, 62 percent wider than the outgoing automatic. There are steering-wheel-mounted paddles if you'd like to shift yourself. Since the styling is very much a lightly retouched Prototype RDX from the Detroit show, it's nice to be able to give a sense of the new car's proportions with hard numbers. First of all, it's riding on a 2.6-inch longer wheelbase. Overall length is 187 inches, up from 184.4, and width is unspecified.