pet connection

My esteemed co-author, Dr. Marty Becker, was coming to my home town for a daylong series of events. So instead of just waiting to see what the car gods might deliver for me to test drive that week, I grovelled a little and asked for something special: The new Acura RDX.

It did not disappoint.

In fact, I’m thinking that a new way of evaluating Dogmobiles would be by how much I hate driving my own aging minivan when I have to give the new cars back. By these standards, no car made me loathe my own more than having to give up the Acura RDX. (Although quite honestly, it beat out the Volvo only by a whisker.)

The RDX is the answer to the question: What do you get when you cross a sportscar with an SUV with a Blackberry with an iPod? The answer, in longer form, is a splendid cute ute that zips around town like it owns the place, with enough high-tech gadgetry to keep the most sophisticated geek in heaven. That’s with the tech package, of course, which adds a few Ks to the sticker price, but still gives you everything including heated seats — yeah, I admit it: I have a thing for heated seats — for a pretty darn reasonable $37K. (By “reasonable,” I mean as compared to other luxury-equipped SUVs, most of which jump into the $40K range and climb from there.)

But is it a Dogmobile? Tricky, tricky question, that.

The seats fold down flat in the back, and the cargo space is ample. But like many of the cute-utes, my side-by-side crates don’t fit as they’re intended — that is, side by side. That was the case here, where I figured with the help of a measuring tape that I could get them in in a “L” formation — one facing the back door, and one facing the rear side. That would work, and the tie-downs are accessible in that position. It’s not ideal, but … well, OK, one must make compromises for a driver seat that caress your back like a massage therapist, and a voice-activated control system that will do everything but wipe your nose for you.

Yes, I’m back to the land of compromise. I admit it: I love the comfort, the handling, the acceleration and the gee-whiz gadgetry in this car. I love the fuel economy of the smaller all-wheel-drive vehicles (even though this isn’t a Prius by any means, the fuel economy is more than respectable at 19/23.) The looks aren’t as much head-turning as reassuringly clean and tidy, although this is the first car that had people stop me in parking lots to ask if it was really the new Acura.

The larger SUVs — like the Volvo XC90, or the Ford Explorer — fit everything in, with room to spare. Side by side crates? No problem! But the RDX is perhaps the first of the SUVs I’ve driven that doesn’t handle like a land yacht in any way. The other cute utes are fun and lively to drive, but the RDX is … hot.

I can’t imagine any SUV short of the Porshe Cayenne that’s going to offer sports-car handling with room for dogs, and at a price, it must be noted, that’s thousands less. Toss in the RDX’s astonishingly fun and helpful technology — the voice-activated climate control and a nav package with all the bells and whistles (including real-time traffic and accident reporting) — and it’s really not that much of a compromise.

The RDX is a winner, and the crates can fit where they may.

Coming up: I’ve been off the vehicle review lists for a while, because of book promotions and some out of state travel. But starting next week, I’m back on track. Here’s what’s coming up:

• Nissan Murano
• Toyota FJ Cruiser
• Ford Edge or Chrysler Aspen
• Nissan Quest
• Land Rover L2

As always, let me know what you want to know about these vehicles, and feel free to offer your own comments on the reviews.