The Beach Boys sang "Be true to your school," and life coaches are renowned for blazing mental passages with the motto "Be true to yourself." The Acura MDX would easily make both parties happy.
From the get-go, Acura has never tried to make the MDX sport-utility anything more than what it was meant to be - a sophisticated, luxury SUV. For this direct approach, the MDX has always held a fond place in my heart.
At a time when some luxury SUVs were trying to be sports cars or off-road mountain goats, the Acura MDX never claimed to be an off-road rover or a speed monger; it was simply a refined SUV with conservative good looks.
The Acura MDX SUV has had its share of critical accolades since its inception; winning the best luxury SUV award in 2005 from Car and Driver helped seal the deal. The newly enhanced 2010 model clearly sports Acura's latest look, a bold, silver horizontal topper for the grille that Acura calls "power plenum."
Acura gives its whole stable of vehicles this "plenum" look and the MDX gets it, too. I think it looks great and establishes a common design theme through the Acura line that is distinguishable and attractive.
Here, marketing form meets design function with great results.
With the introduction of the ZDX crossover, Acura smartly continues to let the MDX be an SUV that looks and acts like an SUV. If that's what you want with a luxury treatment inside the cabin, MDX is an outstanding choice. My tester had big 19-inch alloy rims, redesigned exhaust pipes, newly refined chrome elements and alterations to the headlights that give MDX a recognizably sophisticated appeal.
Inside the cabin of the MDX you get that really pleasant surprise that has made MDX such a great choice over the years for SUV owners who want real luxury and utility.
High-grade leather interior seating and accents, with impeccable wood trim, make this refined environment a great place to be for long rides. This is a classy, high-tech and highly functional cabin for driver and passengers.
Acura says the center stack controls have been reorganized for better ease of use, an important thought as there is a busy field of buttons and small knobs to learn, each with specialized functions. It is probably still too many, even though it does look nice and organized.
Acura is known for cutting-edge technology, and the MDX is no exception.
There is a collision mitigation braking system that aims to avoid or reduce accidents, radar cruise control, blind spot information system, GPS-linked climate control and a multiview rear backup camera. The placement of the navigation screen is perfect for the driver, and the unit was upgraded to an 8-inch VGA for 2010.
Front seats are extremely comfortable with heated and cooled surfaces and a posh, textured grip. These are designed to be firm but with plenty of key support placed in all the right parts of the seat.
I found the back seat to be quite comfortable with better than average legroom and headroom for this class. Acura places emphasis on the outer seating delivering the best experience possible (read: two passengers are better than three). These second-row seats have firm bolsters, similar to the front seats; this makes seating comfortable for long periods. The third row is easily accessible, although these seats are more for the kids than adults.
A classy, blue LED light illuminates the center stack and bright lights illuminate the interior when the vehicle is unlocked.
When the buttons for interior accessory lights are pressed these same lights fade on and/or fade off.
The ride of the MDX is enhanced by active dampening, a system that offers two settings activated by a single button on the center console. You may choose from a comfort mode or a sport mode, the standard setting for the car's suspension.
This is not just a marketing ploy; there is a real difference in the ride as it goes from a stiff sport setting to the more acclimated comfort setting.
The MDX offers an innovative Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive system setting, which is standard on every MDX. This system is so advanced it can easily adjust variable levels of power to each wheel. Driving the MDX is very non-SUV-like. It handles effortlessly with just enough feedback from the road to be helpful and not annoying.
The MDX is driven by a 3.7-liter 300-horsepower V-6 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. I found the MDX to be an agile vehicle that reminded me little of an SUV; it acted more like one of Acura's sedans.
My MDX tester was equipped to accept voice commands for the navigation system as well as other controls. Commands are specific words keyed to functions by the owner's manual. These words can be delivered by pressing a button on the steering wheel, followed by a beep. The navigation system offered excellent route guidance and the traffic rerouting feature worked exactly as we needed it to while driving Illinois roads in spring.
Overall, the MDX is really good at just about everything it tries to do. It drives impeccably and delivers outstanding fit and finish while providing true utility hauling if required.
The base model MDX starts at $42,230.
My tester was loaded and settled in at $54,565 when equipped with advance, technology and entertainment packages.
2010 ACURA MDXENGINE: 300-horsepower 3.7-liter V-6
TRANSMISSION: six-speed automatic
DRIVETRAIN: all-wheel drive
FUEL ECONOMY: 16 city/21 highway
BASE PRICE: $42,230
AS TESTED: $54,565
www.Acura.com