Acura MDX is the serious driver's crossover SUV

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February 2, 1:24 PM

by , Behind the Wheel

 

 

Acura all but invented the crossover sport-utility vehicle market when it introduced the MDX a decade ago and now the luxury division of Japanese automaker Honda has gone and reinvented the MDX.

The big redesign came with the 2007 model but there are no significant mechanical changes for 2008 and only minor trim and convenience improvements. My MDX Sport with a sumptuous ebony interior was a 2007 but don’t hold that against it.

Essentially, Acura gave the all-new MDX a much more aggressive exterior look and a passenger cabin that may well be the most beautiful in any SUV, plus a wonderfully muscular and smooth V-6 under the hood and an extremely sophisticated computer-controlled handling stability program.

The end result is a crossover SUV that is quite capable of tearing around on twisting pieces of asphalt in the company of other seriously drivable SUVs like Porsche’s Cayenne and the BMW X5. That is good company to be in and in many respects the MDX not only holds its own, it bests those two European thoroughbreds.

The new look up front is heavier and more in-your-face, but is quickly recognizable as being of the original MDX’s design dna. What makes the redesigned MDX stand out in a crowd, though, is the sleek curve of its greenhouse as it heads rearward past the D-pillar.

The new shape not only reminds of the former MDX while giving the new one a fresh appeal, it also makes much less evident the greater heft that comes with the redesign. The MDX’s stance is authoritative, almost squat, and emphasizes that this is vehicle with purpose.

^{Knowing your crossover SUV has 300 horsepower under its hood is a handy piece of information to have.}

The 3.7 liter V-6 is Acura’s biggest ever and produces a handy 300 horsepower. If there is a more velvety V-6 on the market, I’ve yet to drive it. The MDX is swift, quiet and smooth, though its exhaust note gets a little more interesting above 4,500 rpm. A five-speed automatic is the only available transmission, but expect a six-speed anytime now.

Point the MDX down a curving road and it is ready to romp. Acceleration is carefully fierce, showing a 0-60 mph capability in the high six/low seven second range, despite the curb weight of 4,550 pounds.

Acura dubs its computerized stability control system the Super Handling – All Wheel Drive and it works together with traction control, anti-rollover control and careless driver control (Just kidding.). No 4,550 pound vehicle with a high center of gravity can ever be fling-able in the classic sense but the MDX Sport leaves no doubt that it is not intimidated by curves.

The MDX Sport isn’t cheap at nearly $50,000, but it is a comprehensively equipped, superbly performing illustration of just what a crossover sports-luxury SUV ought to be.

CHART:
ACURA MDX SPORT
Price-as-tested: $48,465
Engine information: 3.7 liter DOHC V-6, 300 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 275 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm.
Performance: 0-60 mph in 6.83 seconds (With five-speed automatic transmission)
EPA fuel economy: 17 mpg city/22 mpg highway
Safety equipment: Driver and front passenger front and side curtain air bags, Cooperative Vehicle Stability Assist, anti-lock brakes, tire pressure monitoring system, Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive      

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