Here’s another indication, not that we need it, of just how thoroughly the Sport-Utility Vehicle has come to dominate American car sales: of Acura’s six products, four—66%—are now SUVs. This puts Acura ahead of the curve; in 2024, the SUV’s U.S. market share reached 58% of all vehicle sales. Pickup trucks, which in some regions seem nearly as common, constitute about 21% of our new-car market. 

So more than three of every four new vehicles sold in the U.S. now are SUVs or pickups, a trend that carmakers are happily fomenting. Both types offer close to 20% more profit than ordinary cars because they bring higher prices without higher manufacturing costs. Furthermore, a $100,000-plus SUV is commonplace today and Detroit has been gingerly nudging pickup truck prices to nearly the same levels, and reveling in the results. 

Early on, SUVs were pickup trucks. Both had heavy-duty frames with bodies attached; pickups had a front seat and a cargo bed, SUVs had full-length enclosed bodies—no cargo beds—and two or three rows of seats. We moto-journalists complained about the primitive (truck-like, one might say) handling and performance of these new family vehicles; to write that one of them ‘drove just like a car’ was the highest praise we could dole out.

Then came the great divergence. Pickups grew SUV-like extended cabs while SUVs began to be built on welded monocoque bodies that don’t require frames underneath. SUVs could now benefit from car-like suspensions, for better handling and comfort, more sophisticated drivetrains and ever-plusher cabins. Buyers loved the new vehicles for their size, utility, perceived value and status. Manufacturers loved them for their margins. 

Grudgingly, car reviewers came around too. We also have families and stuff to lug around, and today there are SUVs capable of staying with the best sedans and coupes out there, be it on a highway, a mountain road or even a racetrack. 

Forgive the digression, but it leads us back to Acura and its 66% sport-ute mix. The company has taken the Goldilocks approach—more or less the same SUV offered in four sizes in the hope that one will be just right. We’ve often covered the desirable two-row RDX and the pleasant three-row MDX, and we expect to see the inbetween-size battery-electric ZDX before long. The ADX, then, is the new kid, a subcompact SUV that looks like one of its siblings if it was left in the dryer longer. 

Everything on the ADX has been scaled down for empty-nesters, singles and anyone else who wants a deluxe SUV with a smaller footprint and price. The engine, for example, is a 1.5-litre Four turbocharged to 190 horsepower; and instead of the RDX and MDX’s 10-speed automatic transmission, the ADX gets a CVT, a continuously variable automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard and al-wheel drive is a $2,000 option. 

Elements of this drivetrain—the entire ADX platform, in fact—are shared with the Acura Integra small sedan and the Honda HR-V sport-cute, but the plebian Honda makes do with 32 fewer ponies and a more utilitarian cabin. Our ADX has the bordello-red leather interior beloved of Acura (or anyway its PR department) and, in range-topping A-Spec Advance trim, a full slate of luxe comfort, convenience, connectivity and safety features, all wrapped up in attractively sporty trim and priced relatively reasonably. 

Instantly noticeable is a traditional stick-type gearshift lever sprouting from the center console, where other Acuras have a somewhat confounding array of push-pull gear-selector buttons. But this is part & parcel with the ADX’s CVT, not a brand-wide redesign; Acuras and Hondas with normal automatic transmissions still have the pushbutton shifter. 

The ADX transmission has a sport setting and there’s also a Dynamic switch on the console that lets the driver choose Sport, Normal, Comfort, Snow or Individual drive mode. Alas, none of these compensates for the ADX’s lack of steam, its only weakness. The middling power output and the performance-robbing CVT can leave the ADX gasping for breath. Perhaps Acura has a Type S or even a Type R upgrade waiting in the wings? 

Currently there are three ADX trim levels. With destination fees, the Base ADX starts at $36,350, the better-equipped A-Spec at $39,350 and the A-Spec Advance at $43,350. Note that this is still slightly less than the average new-car price in the US today. Our sample ADX, with about every available factory option, including all-wheel drive, slightly exceeded the national average by topping out at $46,890. 

Next week: Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy Night Edition