2019 Lexus RX vs 2019 Acura MDX vs 2019 Audi Q5 vs 2019 Cadillac XT5--Comparison

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For the 2019 model year, I will be evaluating the 2019 Lexus RX350, the 2019 Acura MDX, the 2019 Audi Q5 Premium Plus, and the 2019 Cadillac XT5 Luxury. Though the tiny SUV segment is the fastest growing segment in America, these 4 luxury bruisers are still selling like hotcakes. Before I start the comparison, however, note that I use a numerical points value system at the end of the article for the final evaluation of every vehicle. With that being said, let’s get started with our first area of competition: value. The 2019 Lexus RX350 is the sales champion of the four vehicles we are comparing. The Lexus with the Luxury Package starts at $47,650. A pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, radar cruise control that can adjust speed to the car ahead of you, and lane keeping assistance are standard. The Lexus also has an 8-inch color infotainment system above the center console. Rain sensing wipers, heated outside mirrors and push-button start round off the standard features on every RX model. With the Luxury Package, the RX350 adds leather seats, wood interior trim, a memory function for the mirrors, steering wheel and seats, and the outside mirrors gain a power-folding feature and automatic dimming. The steering wheel is heated, and LEDs dot the interior as well as illuminate the doorsills. However, the biggest upgrade is the 20-inch chrome wheels. Next is the 2019 Acura MDX, to which I have added the technology package. All in, the MDX costs $48,600. Standard features include a power tailgate, moonroof and heated mirrors. Additionally, the MDX also has heated seats and a lot of technology advancements relative to the RX. An 8-inch touch screen in the dash comes in every MDX. Among notable features for the MDX are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability as well as Sirius XM. All MDXs come with a wide array of safety features such as lane keeping assist, collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control and road departure warning. The package also brings an upgraded sound system, remote engine start, a blind spot information system, a rear cross traffic monitor, 20-inch chrome wheels, and a navigation system. That isn’t all, however: the mirrors also gain a power folding feature, the wipers can tell if rain is falling, and the MDX gains rear door smart entry. Compared to the RX350, the Acura is loaded for only about $1000 more. Let’s see how that lines up against the Audi Q5 Premium Plus, which starts at a conservative $45,500. The Audi comes with a 7-inch touchscreen, a similar audio set-up to the MDX, Android Auto and Apple Car Play and Sirius XM. It has keyless entry and a hands-free tailgate, as well as rain-sensing wipers. It has a park assist system, and side exit assistance which is where the car warns you before you open your car door into a cyclist or passing car. It has rear cross traffic alert but is missing a very advanced cruise control system and other safety systems. It has heated leather seats with a driver-side memory function. It has wood inlays in the interior, and a panoramic sunroof. The outside mirrors are power-folding, auto-dimming, and heated, as well. The Audi is optioned better than the RX but not as good as the MDX is. However, it manages to retain 80% of the Acura’s features for over $3,000 less. Our final contender, the XT5, is the surprise sales success from Cadillac, only being bested in sales by the ever-popular RX. The XT5 Luxury starts at $47,590. It has rear-cross traffic alert, parking assist, a power sunroof, a power liftgate, and keyless entry and push-button start. A heated steering wheel is also included. Sirius XM is available through the Cadillac’s 8-inch touchscreen. Notably missing from the XT5 are standard safety features like adaptive cruise control and collision mitigation braking. They are optional but stick out like a sore thumb relative to the RX and MDX. Next let’s evaluate safety. All four of these small luxury SUVs score very well in all tests, earning ‘Good’ ratings in every category save headlights. However, with the trim specced in these models, even the headlight rating should be good. Every vehicle is a top safety pick except for the Cadillac XT5, probably because it gets an ‘Acceptable’ rating for the child seat anchors, where the other vehicles score better. Overall, pretty similar, though as mentioned before, the MDX and RX have more active safety features than the others. Moving on to fuel economy, the Lexus RX350 front wheel drive model achieves 20 miles per gallon in the city and 27 miles per gallon in the highway. The MDX is similar at 19 in the city and 27 on the highway. The Audi gets a solid 23 in the city but can only muster 25 on the highway, while the XT5 splits the difference at 19 and 26, respectively. As for styling, this is of course a subjective category. The RX is polarizing, to say the least. Whether or not you like the design is up to you, but personally, I like the MDX the best, exterior wise. The Audi is kind of plain, and the XT5 isn’t bad looking. The interiors are also a very close race, with the RX350 being my favorite, followed by the Lexus and MDX. The Cadillac is clean but I don’t find it as much to my taste. The next category in which these SUVs will compete is performance. The Lexus comes with a 3.5 L V6 with 295 horsepower and 263 pound-feet, routing power via an 8-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Test numbers indicate that the RX350 can get to 60 miles per hour in 7.5 seconds, running through the quarter mile in 15.7 seconds at 91.1 miles per hour. The Cadillac has 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque from its 3.6 L V6. The XT5 is similarly equipped with an 8-speed auto with paddle shifters. The Caddy makes do with its power advantage, with a solid 6.3 second 0-60 and a 14.7 quarter mile. The Acura MDX has a 290 horsepower, 267 pound-feet 3.5 L V6, mated to a new 9-speed automatic with paddles. The Acura is quick, at 5.7 seconds to 60 and 14.5 seconds in the quarter mile. The Audi is the odd one out in terms of powertrain, coming with a 2.0 L turbocharged four-cylinder. The engine is capable of 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet. It is connected to a 7-speed tiptronic automatic transmission. The Audi is the only vehicle here with AWD, as it comes standard on every Q5. With this set-up, the Q5 can blitz 60 in 5.8 seconds, tearing through the quarter in 14.5, nearly matching the Acura perfectly. Reliability is always something families are concerned about, and seeing as families are the primary demographic for these vehicles, I have compiled the statistics from Consumer Report’s most recent 2018 buyers guide. The 2019 Acura MDX’s predicted reliability is rated at average, as is the Cadillac’s. The Audi and RX350 managed to score better than average. Well, that about wraps it up for this year’s 2019 showdown. Here are the results from each category the SUV's were evaluated in on a scale from one to ten. The Audi won by a small margin, not the outcome I was expecting. Turns out it is a jack of all trades and a master of none, which was enough to give it the upper hand versus its competition.

The categories, ranked.

2019 Audi Q5, via allcarseverday

2019 Lexus RX, via allcarseveryday

2019 Cadillac XT5, via allcarseveryday

2019 Acura MDX, via allcarseveryday

2019 Cadillac Escalade vs 2019 Lincoln Navigator--Comparison

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2019 Cadillac Escalade, via allcarseveryday

2019 Lincoln Navigator, via allcarseveryday

The Lincoln Navigator and Cadillac Escalade have been huge rivals since their conception, even though the Cadillac always seems to come out on top in terms of vehicle quality and sales. In fact, in previous years, there was barely any contest, as the Cadillac was redesigned in 2015 and the Lincoln had only received minor updates over the years and was still based on the aging Expedition. 2019 is different though, as the Lincoln was freshly updated in 2018, so it is time to compare the two to see if Lincoln has finally made a better luxo-barge. With that being said, let me give you a little information on how I do my comparisons. First, I use a numerical points value system to evaluate each vehicle on a scale from one to ten Now, let’s start with our first category that I will be evaluating, which is value. 
The 2019 Escalade Luxury starts at $80,295. All 2019 Escalades come with key-less access, a hands-free lift-gate, full LED headlights and tail-lamps, heated and power folding mirrors, and 20-inch aluminum wheels, along with rain-sensing wipers. On the interior, it has an 8-inch infotainment system housing Cadillac Use Experience, or CUE for short. The screen is also the display for the navigation system. The audio system is a 16-speaker Bose unit with surround sound. The gauge cluster is a 12-inch color screen that is reconfigurable, and the vehicle is push-button start. Additionally, the steering wheel is heated and leather-wrapped. All seats in the 2-row Escalade we are comparing are leather, and all come heated. The front two captain’s chairs are also cooled, though. It also has a tri-zone climate control system, with the driver and front passengers having separate climate controls as well as the rear passengers. The Cadillac also comes with GM’s OnStar system, 4G LTE WiFi connection, park assist, and a novel gimmick called surround vision. It’s a glorified back-up camera that gives the driver a bird’s eye view of where the vehicle is in space using a variety of sensors, to aid with parking. I have added the Luxury package to the 2019 Escalade, which comes with upgraded 22-inch wheels, a heavy-duty theft-deterrent package loaded with sensors, and a camera feed where the rear-view mirror is. Other big options include a power sunroof, and second row captain’s chairs. The Luxury package also adds a head-up display, which is essentially a pop-up hologram in the lower portion of the windshield that displays key information to the driver so he or she doesn’t have to keep looking further down toward the dashboard. The Escalade also gets a ton of adaptive safety features: the seat will vibrate if you are drifting out of your lane, and the SUV also has rear cross traffic alert, lane keep assist, forward collision alert with automatic braking, and a smart high beam on/off feature. Let’s move on to the Lincoln, which starts at $81,705 with the Reserve package. It has rain-sensing wipers, a blind-spot information system, a leather and wood trimmed steering wheel, a 4G LTE WiFi hotspot, remote start, and the same tri-zone climate control system seen in the Caddy. In the dash is a bigger 10-inch color display that houses SYNC 3, Lincoln’s in-house infotainment system. Additionally, the new Navigator comes with Apple Car Play and Android Auto capability, something the Cadillac is still lacking. The audio system is a 14-speaker Revel unit, and Sirius XM comes free for 6 months, a 3-month upgrade over the Cadillac. The Navigator comes with standard voice-activated navigation, with a pre-paid 6-year Sirius XM traffic subscription. The driver looks at a 12-inch reconfigurable instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, like the Escalade. The rear view and driver side mirrors are auto-dimming, and push-button start comes standard. With the Reserve package, Lincoln matches Cadillac’s bird’s eye camera, heated steering wheel, and power sunroof. The front seats are heated, and the driver’s chair can adjust 24 different ways. Lacking on the Lincoln are heated rear seats and cooled fronts, but it does match the Cadillac’s 22-inch rims. Next, let’s move on to safety. The NHTSA gives the Cadillac a 4-star overall rating, with the frontal test rating receiving a 4, the side-impact receiving a 5 and the rollover receiving a 3. The Lincoln received a 5-star overall rating, with 5-star ratings in all 5 categories save rollover, where it got a 4. As mentioned, the Cadillac has far more active safety features, but the passive safety features on both vehicles are similar. Next, let’s evaluate each truck’s powertrain. The Cadillac comes with a smooth 6.2-liter V8, mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. The set-up is good for 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. The suspension setup is coil-overs and GM’s fantastic magnetic shocks. One thing to note is that the Escalade remains rear wheel drive; all wheel drive is an option. The Lincoln does things a little differently, instead opting to use 4-wheel drive, and a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, good for 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. The Lincoln also uses a 10-speed automatic, and an adaptive suspension. Though the Lincoln’s engine is more modern, the Cadillac has a venerable and arguably better powertrain. Of course, Lincoln is downsizing in the hopes of winning the fuel economy battle, so let’s see if the turbos actually do what they were intended to. The Cadillac’s V8 manages 14 miles per gallon in the city and 23 on the highway for a combined 18 miles per gallon, whereas the Navigator’s V6 achieves 16 in the city and 21 on the highway, for a combined 19 mpg. A bigger engine working not as hard typically gets as good or better fuel economy than a smaller engine working harder, and it shows in the highway rating. It’s up for debate as to whether the V8 or the V6 was the better choice for fuel economy. Typically, people buying these SUVs won’t make their purchase choice based on gas mileage, but both Ford and GM have to raise their Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings, so the Escalade and Navigator aren’t immune. After fuel economy, let’s see which set-up is faster. The Escalade sprints to 60 in 5.8 seconds and takes down the quarter mile in 14.8 seconds at 93 miles per hour, where the Navigator only takes 5.5 seconds to 60 and 14.5 at 95 in the quarter mile. Looks like the turbos put in work at low speed—but let’s see if they can hang with the big-boy V8 in towing. The Navigator with four-wheel-drive can tow a maximum of 8,300 pounds, and the Cadillac can haul an identical amount. No variation here! Next let’s move on to our most controversial category, which is styling. Of course, this is subjective, but it’s still an extremely important part of testing the trucks. Personally, I like the exterior on the Cadillac the best, with it’s bejeweled LED headlights and long taillamps. However, the Lincoln is no slouch in this category, as it too is a looker on the outside, and I prefer the interior of the Lincoln to the Cadillac’s. Sure, the giant screen in the center of the dash sticks up like a sore thumb, but the interior exudes luxury and a modern-ness not found in the Caddy. I also prefer the Lincoln’s shifter placement, in the form of buttons instead of the steering wheel stalk. Finally, let’s look at reliability. According to Consumer Reports, the Escalade’s predicted reliability is much worse than average, which looks even worse compared to the Lincoln’s rating of average. Apparently, neither luxury vehicle is very dependable. Well, that about wraps it up for the 2019 luxury SUV comparison! I hope you enjoyed the article. Below are the ratings for each vehicle. The Lincoln finally took the throne, it looks like.

Scores for each category.