Great: Remote Engine Start
Here in Southern California, there’s no real need to remote start the ADX’s engine. I still do anyway. I like to know it’s warmer than if I otherwise fired it up and immediately zipped away, but an actual benefit is how it can simultaneously precondition the cabin.
Using the AcuraLink mobile app, I configure my preferred climate temperature and seat heating or ventilation settings before I get in. Those activate whether I use the app or key fob to activate remote start. The key fob is more reliable than the sometimes-slow app, but the app works from farther distances and isn’t exclusive to the A-Spec with Advance trim.
Annoying: CarPlay Connectivity
Sometimes, the ADX’s infotainment doesn’t automatically establish a wireless Apple CarPlay connection with my iPhone. I have to go into the devices menu and select my iPhone manually, at which point it loads CarPlay just fine. This issue is sporadic but happens more often than makes sense. I’ll get it checked when I take the ADX to an Acura dealer for its first service soon.
Great: Capless Fuel Filler
It’s the little things, right? Not having to unscrew a gas cap when I refuel eases the process ever so slightly, but I’ll take it. Now, the alternative seems so clumsy.
Annoying: Honda Paint
Our ADX’s Urban Gray Pearl paint looks great, especially when sunlight hits at the right angle to illuminate the warm, brassy tone in it. That effect isn’t diminished much even when the body is slightly dusty.
But it’s grating to see a Honda in the same color. When an Urban Gray Pearl–painted Civic, Accord, CR-V, or—worst of all—HR-V passes by, I’m reminded of how much the ADX shares with those mainstream vehicles. No one driving a so-called luxury car wants that, even one at the entry level. What’s more, those drivers got Urban Gray Pearl for a better deal: Acura charges $600 for it, Honda only $455.
If it were up to me, I would’ve ordered our car in Acura-specific Double Apex Blue Pearl paint, which would nicely match the ADX’s chic, blue-accented interior.
