The RDX is Acura's best attempt at a driver's SUV, the SH-AWD torque vectoring really does make it corner like a sedan, and the cabin feels genuinely luxurious for the money. But the third-gen 2.0T drinks gas like a V6 (20-22 MPG in the real world), the 2019-2024 models have a rear glass shattering problem that keeps coming back even after the TSB fix, and the 2025s suffered complete power steering failures at low speeds, now under recall. If you want the handling and can live with the fuel bill, a 2022-2024 makes sense; skip the 2025 until the recall work proves durable, and know that Acura is killing the line in 2026 with no replacement for two years.
The RAV4 is the sensible choice that everyone makes and nobody regrets, proven reliability, hybrid efficiency that actually works, and resale value that borders on absurd. The catch is you're paying luxury money for economy-grade materials and putting up with dealer markups that would make a used-car lot blush, while the 2026's overeager safety tech yanks the wheel and slams the brakes at ghosts. Buy it if you want a vehicle that'll outlive your mortgage and you can negotiate a fair price; skip it if you expect $50k to feel like $50k inside, or if the CR-V's refinement matters more than Toyota's bulletproof reputation.