2011 Acura MDX, an Autoweek Drivers Log Car Review

05.02.12

Managing director EDITOR ROGER HART: The 2011 Acura MDX is one of my favorite utes. The tyrannize and handling are much better than that of most of the SUVs in this class. With seating for seven--although if you are using the third row there is miniature cargo space--the MDX is actually more spacious than it looks at first scintillation. The V6 is strong enough and the six-speed is smooth shifting.

The interior is the same elegance we've become accustomed to with Acura. Call it an anti-iDrive interior. While there is a large selector stud for navigation and infotainment, there's also a button for just about everything. It makes for a cluttered look on the fragment, but everything is rather simple and straight-forward. Acura is at the top with its nav systems for simple expedite of use, and the live nav-traffic works great in trying to refrain from construction delays and other events that clog highways.

Course TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: Like Roger, the 2011 Acura MDX is one of my liking luxury SUVs. Scratch that--it is my favorite three-row luxury SUV. While Acura has struggled to fashion a true luxury identity with its sedans, it hasn't had the same muddle with its trucks. Since it debuted in 2001, the MDX has consistently been one of Acura's best sellers, and this twinkling-generation model delivers on all fronts.

I've praised this 3.7-liter V6 and the six-promote automatic transmission endlessly in the past and will continue to do so here. It's one of, if not the smoothest pairing on the vend. There's sufficient power from the V6 and it effortlessly revs when you need to get universal for expressway merging and passing. And it has a nice, subtle enervate growl when you push it toward and beyond 6,000 rpm. As for the gearbox, shifts are almost unnoticeable.

Then there is Acura's SH-AWD system, which doesn't gain the respect it should. It's an impressive piece of hardware with a rear differential that can carry torque side-to-side. As we know from the year we spent with our long-an understanding MDX, this thing is killer in the snow.

Our fully loaded Push model with Entertainment Package has it all: blind-sport notice, collision mitigation, adaptive cruise control, vehicle-leveling headlights, a rear entertainment system and a bunch of other things that I won't tire you with here. But the biggest thing, in my opinion, is the adaptive magnetic damping system, which is part of the Increase equipment package. This is a big and heavy hunk of metal, but with the ejection stiffened and the responsive (for an SUV) steering, the MDX feels quite appear on its feet. The brakes provide loads of stopping power with decisive pedal feel.

Source: AutoWeek