What is it?
A seven-seat Honda SUV named MDX. Only the MDX is not on sale in the UK, and it’s not really a Honda, it’s an Acura. You might have heard of this upmarket premium arm; Acura does for Honda in the US what Lexus does for Toyota, and the MDX is based on the Honda Pilot platform.
Acura claims it’s the best-selling seven-seat SUV of all time, with over 700,000 sales since 2000 putting it ahead of stalwarts including the Audi Q7 and gargantuan Infiniti QX50. There have been over a million Land Rover Discoverys produced since 1989, but not all have been fitted with three rows of seating.
Anyway, a recent trip to the US gave us the chance to see what all the fuss was about.
What’s the spec?
This being the US, you’re looking at a naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 as the only option. That’s a well-established unit, but MDXs of old – and even of this generation – used a six-speed auto, while this latest update takes that to a new ZF nine-speeder.
Standard specification is quite generous, and includes a reversing camera, power tailgate, LED headlamps, Siri Eyes Free connectivity (have texts read out to you and respond without taking hands from wheel or eyes from road), Bluetooth and digital radio. But there’s still plenty to fork out for: sat-nav, blind-spot monitoring, rear-seat entertainment, adaptive cruise control…
What’s it like inside?
It’s all very comfortable, nicely put together and has a suitably premium feel. The 10-way adjustable driver’s seat leaves you feeling fresh after long stints behind the wheel, and there’s so much space you’re not sure what to do with it – the MDX is 50mm longer than the previous model – but 33mm narrower and 16mm lower too – meaning acres of legroom and a 1277-litre (measured from behind the second row) boot too.
A key benefit is the fitment of a deployable third row of seats. They’re easy to quickly erect, access from row two is easy, and are actually serviceable for tall adults, not just kids. I’d happily spend a couple of hours back there.
Black marks for the infotainment, though: it looks a generation out of date, and operation is too unintuitive. The Germans are leagues ahead here.
How does it drive?
It’s okay. The last-generation MDX had a very cohesive feel, and managed to strike a great balance between everyday comfort and some very acceptable dynamics. The new car feels tilted more squarely at comfort. So, yes, it’s soft and comfort-oriented, rides nicely and snuffs out noise, and if that’s your priority then there’s no reason you won’t be happy. But if you’re interested in dynamics, you’d best look elsewhere. Perhaps most disappointing is the MDX’s electric steering, which is curiously weighted, lacks feel and further detracts from the feeling of interaction.
What’s slightly odd here is that, despite being larger, the MDX is a substantial 290kg lighter than its predecessor – a very light on-paper figure of around 1800kg, depending on equipment, according to Acura – and benefits from new construction methods that improve rigidity and therefore suspension tuning, but it feels like the larger, heavier car; the last model had a fleeter, more connected feel.
At cruisey speeds the V6 does a perfectly acceptable job, the gearbox smoothing over ratios with a slick gloss and responding to paddleshift inputs smartly. It’s smooth and quiet and moves things along at an adequate pace. But try to get a hurry on and the physics of an 1800kg SUV that makes its 267lb ft at a pretty high 4500rpm are hard to escape; you feel like you must thrash the MDX to extract its maximum performance, which goes against the easy-everything, comfort-focussed vibe.
We also had an alarming glitch with the auto braking system, which incorrectly judged we weren’t paying attention to traffic, sucked the brake pedal from under our foot while traversing the Bay Bridge in rush-hour traffic and extended the braking distance to a point that made us fear a rear-end impact was imminent.
Verdict
This is a highly comfort-focussed SUV that feels designed for cruising US interstates. For many, that will be all that’s required. But the last generation managed to both appease those drivers, while also keeping frustrated dads happier when the roads got twistier. We’d like more dynamic engagement.
That said, there’s much that means the new MDX will slot easily into your life: it’s spacious, versatile, comfortable and very nicely put together. We just wish it had a bit more personality, more torque and that blend of comfort and dynamics that define the best SUVs from the Germans and the Brits.
