Acura's third-generation RDX impressed us on our test track and on the road. It has agile handling, a powerful turbocharged engine, a modern interior, and standard advanced safety features.

It wouldn't be accurate to say that an Acura RDX is just a luxury-model Honda CR-V. The two vehicles do not currently share any engines, and the RDX is a ten-speed automatic while the CR-V runs a CVT.

Two of them, the RDX and MDX (Acura has long since binned fabulous real model names like Legend and Vigor), cover a swath of the market nearly as wide as the turnpikes they are designed to drive upon.