Husker4the

Hello all! I previously owned a 2005 RX and we currently have a 2014 Acura MDX. I have been Jonesing for a new RX lately (loaded 450h F Sport likely) and was wondering if anyone could give me any opinion on the cargo area size. Does it seem big enough for a family? We are expecting our first child shortly and I'm just worried I would be giving up too much cargo space by trading in our Acura. I'm thinking road trips with a Pack and Play, Stroller and suitcase maybe could be tough in the new RX with the slope etc?

Any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks!

tomtom74

I had 2015 Toyota Highlander and cargo floor is about same size when 3rd row seats are down on highlander ,but it will definitely loose space for tall stuff, because of cargo door slope.

john221us

I think it is comparable to an MDX. My GF's parents just bought a new MDX. I'll take a look in the next couple of days. In any case, many years ago, when my son was a baby, we managed fine in a Subaru wagon and we didn't pack light. I am sure you will be fine in an RX.

Husker4the

Thanks for checking! I think the Acura is a little bigger just from my visual ... maybe a little deeper too. The MDX isn't so tall inside the cargo area though as there are the 3rd row seats tucked underneath. Worried we might miss the 3rd row for the few times we have used it as well.

miawheels

We have an MDX and a new RX. I think you'll be fine with the RX with one of the seats in the back folded down. We use the RX as our primary family car and have never missed the extra space.

RXOwner

The MDX has a good bit more cargo area. Likely near 30% more.

There should be some specs that give cubic footage somewhere on the respective sites.

coolsaber

Family of 4 with their stuff is ideal. Anything bigger you need to step up to a bigger vehicle. The RX is almost the same lenght of an MDX but due to the drop offf in the rear hatch height is compromised in the back.

I think the only vehicle that is really spacious in this class is the XC90. Alot of swede engineering in making the rear floor panels low and thethird row has leg room plus space behind the third row while up

Macs4RX

Husker - I think you'll be fine with the new RX, especially with one child. I had a first generation 2001 RX300 (which is considerably smaller than the current generation) and we managed just fine when my two kids were small. However, back during that time period, we tended to take long weekend vacations (3 or 4 days) when I could get away from work. I found that I did need to buy a Thule cargo box for the roof which I attached to the crossbars. After faithfully serving us for several years though, we did need a larger car and the 2008 MDX fit that requirement perfectly.

Husker4the

Cargo Dimensions:

Behind 2nd Row:
Acura MDX - 38.4 cubic ft
Lexus - 18.4 cubic ft

All seats down:
Acura MDX - 68.4 cubic ft
Lexus - 56.3 cubic ft

That's quite a difference! I suppose the Lexus behind the 2nd row is the measurement below the cargo cover?

coolsaber

This was a common concern when the NX launched and it had nearly half the cargo capacity of the X3 Q5 type vehicles. However after an owner measured it, he or she found that the cargo capacity was measured with the tonneau cover. I could assume that its probably the same case here, at least for the "2nd row" specs

yermolovd

I also had a little bit of concern for RX being able to handle bunch of crap loaded up for road trip/camping. This is just my opinion, we have 11 month old boy now:
- my minimum requirement was that I can fit in our folded stroller (i'd say is medium bulky among them - https://www.babygizmo.com/wp-content...gbookpopup.jpg), and 2 green bins used for shopping, approximate dimensions 22x12x12. RX is able to handle that fine. This is our regular flow, go for a walk and do shopping with our son.
- the 2nd row slides and you can gain probably another 5-7" inches of depth. The regular depth I believe is around 38". I found this very cool and smart, you still have enough space in 2nd row, because there''s so much space with seats in full-back position.
- yes the shape of the hatch makes anytthing above the cover pretty much useless, but in a pinch you can stuff some soft stuff in there, for example for camping I'd put sleeping bags or pillows in there. And yes, they started measuring cargo space differently as of about 2015 models, its below the cover, same thing for Porsche Macan, there was a discussion why does it have less space than the Q5 that its based on, well, its measured differently. Most importantly I think is width and length of the cargo space, then go for the height measurement. As long as height below cover meets your expectations, its good, I don't think you are stacking things to the roof too often.
- if you happen to have 2 kids, do not kid yourself that you can pack regular and go for a road trip. You could do it, but be smart about what u take. Day to day stuff, daycare, shopping or walk with 2 is still doable, just a guess .
- third row vehicles, while I keep telling myself it should work, I just keep coming back to reasonable logic that if you use third row more often than once a every couple of weeks, van is your best bet. I know, van, right, no one wants that (my wife is totally not cool with one), but she got the RX, I think I'll get a van if we have a second baby - roadtrips no problem, we can stuff granma and granpa in there too probably on rare occasion. Extra cargo capacity is just a bonus too. Sliding door is also very practical with kids and loading them in. I'm just waiting to see what the new Sienna will be like and probably get that in a year or two. I don't have to sacrifice practicality for a family car, because I have the Scion FR-S for the fun driving, otherwise I'd probably compromise like most people who try to mix family and fun/sporty driving in one vehicle.
Disclaimer: I have not looked at MDX or any other 3rd row S/CUV in person, but based on numerous reviews and owner opinions I came to my conclusions. Before RX, I was really stuck on Volvo XC-90, but research showed that few owners have really horrible experience with it, in addition our local dealer is not all that good either, so I didn't feel like risking it. Even latest Car and Driver comparison of 3 row vehicles pointed out that XC-90 is best suited to 3 row duties among the group. Alas, not going to happen for me.

I hope my input is useful.

penga25

i am shopping an RX for a family car (2 kids under 2). my wife has a CRV and we would keep that still and i would replace my honda fit. its difficult to compare space since some manufactures (i think lexus falls in here) measure to the cargo cover and other measure to the roof. my understanding is the RX is bigger than the CRV but "spec" say otherwise. compared to the MDX i think you would lose a little space compared to the lexus. is the 3rd row important to you, do you plan on having this car long enough to grow with another baby or 2 in the future? if not i think you will be fine in the lexus. my family of 4 do pretty good in the CRV which is smaller (assumption)

wasjr

Don't mean to hijack thread, but since comparing to MDX storage area, I have a 2011 MDX and considering RX as an option. In the MDX, golf clubs fit perfectly across the storage area, against the back of the second row seats. Will golf clubs fit cross-ways in the RX? If not, do they fit long-ways?

Husker4the

Very useful ... thank you! We are just expecting our first so i could get away with the RX for a while. I think your point about a 3rd row seat is spot on ... if you're actually using it often you're better off with a van. The only problem is getting rid of the Acura now that we have it. The two cars aren't that different and giving up the extra space and cargo room is kind of tough to rationalize.

I just get the hankering for something new too quick!!

Thank you to everyone for the input. I really appreciate it. Still pondering

sg021

With one kid you have a lot of flexibility. They don't take up that much room in the second row so you can stuff things in there. My daughter is a little over two and we've gone on a few 3-4 day trips in my mid size sedan, and even used our IS250 once. Got the stroller, pac n play, suitcase, and everything else in there. Tight fit in the IS though.

With the second kid coming soon, the second row is really not available for storage, and amount of stuff to take along goes up a little. Sedan is not going to cut it for trips of any kind. You can pretty much do any vehicle with a roof rack and be able to go on any trip if you buy a cargo carrier. Most people should be able to make an RX sized vehicle work.

We are planning a third (and final) kid as well, which really changes things. Three car seats across the second row is tight, and the hump isn't exactly an ideal place to sit on a long trip. You're pretty much in three row territory. Wife doesn't want to drive something huge, and neither of us wants a minivan. I admit the van is the most functional, but ugly, slow, and often getting stuck in snow coming up the hill we live on. Most luxury SUVs with a third row are tight, 193" is the ballpark for MDX, XC90, and X5. QX60 is slightly longer, still has the minivan power under the hood though. On the x5 in particular the third row is neither comfortable or terribly safe looking. These seats are often flimsier and put your kids at greater risk in a significant rear end accident. The only one I would have bought was the xc90, but they've had a lot of teething issues, and the complexity of the power train worries me. I ended up settling on a GL. It's larger at 201", with most of that space going into third row leg room. The seats themselves have more bulk, too. It has a ton of room, but even then I'll need to use the rack for a while as there's not a lot of room behind the third row. Short of a suburban or extended escalade there's little rear room in any vehicle with the third row up.