For the 2021 model year Acura has introduced a very limited edition RDX PMC Edition. We say limited here, since Acura only plans to build 360 units and all of them are painted in Thermal Orange, a color that’s offered on the NSX. In addition to its bright orange exterior, the RDX PMC Edition also gets every option that’s available, since it features all the goodies from the Advance, Advance, and A-Spec packages.
The 2021 RDX PMC Edition is built at the same factory as the NSX, which is where it gets its name from. Since PMC stands for Acura’s Performance Manufacturing Center, located in Marysville, Ohio. The RDX PMC Edition follows the PMC Editions of the 2020 TLX and MDX, which were both painted in Valencia Red Pearl.
The current generation RDX has been around for a few years now and although it’s now older than some of its rivals, it’s still an attractive, small luxury SUV. The exterior is aggressive just enough to get your attention, but not over styled. The new orange paint on the PMC Edition does make it stand out even more. In addition to the Thermal Orange, the exterior also gets gloss black exterior accents and black painted 20-inch alloy wheels.
With the orange and black theme, the RDX PMC Edition is perfect for Halloween.
Inside the orange and black theme continues, but it’s more subtle, compared to the exterior. The black leather seats, steering wheel and door panels all get orange stitching. There’s also a small plaque on the center console to let you know that you’re driving 1 of the 360 RDX PMC Edition models.
since the PMC Edition comes with every option available, it features heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, a 10.5-inch head-up display and a 10.2-inch infotainment screen. Just like the standard RDX, there’s a touchpad to control the infotainment system. The good news is that the Acura Touch Controller is no where near as bad as what you get with Lexus, but we always think a touchscreen is the best layout.
Inside there’s plenty of room and even with its sporty pretensions, the RDX is a comfortable compact SUV. There’s also 29 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats upright, which is plenty of room for your gear.
Under the hood the PMC Edition is powered by the same 272 horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as the rest of the RDX lineup. The four-cylinder is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and the power is sent to all four wheels via the good Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system.
The RDX PMC Edition with its standard all-wheel drive is rated at 21 mpg city, 27 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined.
Punch the throttle and the RDX picks up speed fast and the transmission shifts through its 10 gears smoothly, but we do wish it would downshift a bit quicker. During hard acceleration the RDX pipes some fake engine noises into the interior to make it sound sportier. The PMC Edition also comes with adaptive dampers to let you adjust the ride quality.
The RDX’s suspension keeps body roll to a minimum and when the road gets a bit twisty, the RDX is up for the challenge, but at the same time its suspension is never harsh. The torque-vectoring SH-AWD system also does a great job at improving the RDXs handling and driving dynamics.
The 2021 Acura RDX PMC Edition is priced at $52,995, including destination. But if that’s too much for you, the standard RDX starts at $39,945.
The Acura RDX PMC Edition is the perfect version to choose if you want every option that’s available on the RDX. The only catch is that you have to love the Thermal Orange paint, but with only 360 units available, Acura will easily sell out of this special RDX.
