Acura MDX

Acura MDX Models

The Acura MDX is the model of simplicity with many features but only two options. Standard are leather seating surfaces (first and second row seats) with leather door inserts; wood-patterned trim; keyless remote entry; power windows, door locks and mirrors, power tilt and sliding moonroof; cruise control, seven-speaker AM-FM/cassette stereo with in-dash CD player; power adjustable front seats; alloy wheels and a multi-function digital trip computer.

The engine (a 3.5-liter VTEC) generates 240 horsepower and 245 lb-ft of torque happily available from 3000 to 5000 rpm. The gearbox is an all-new five-speed automatic with gear ratios spaced to match the requirements unique to an SUV.

Though the full-featured line-up in the Acura MDX is one that generally appeals to women buyers, Acura expects 70 percent of the buyers to be male. (We think the safety elements and the environmental friendliness of the MDX will prove to be extremely attractive to women.)

The optional Touring package adds a keyless remote entry linked to the two-position driver's seat and mirror memory system; eight-way adjustable passenger seat; roof rack; an outside mirror that tilts to track progress while backing up; different alloy wheels and - this is the central core of the upgrade - a killer 200-watt, eight-speaker Acura/Bose music system with in-dash six-disc CD changer.

The optional Acura Navigation System with DVD needs only one disc to cover the entire continental US. Always our favorite among nav systems for its intuitive simplicity in use, the Acura system holds some 3.7 million points of interest ranging from ATM machines to restaurants and hospitals. If you want to pick up some cash, make a stop at the nearest Chinese take out and then locate an emergency room for your over-indulgence it is all at your beck. A novel addition to the nav system, uniquely appropriate for a vehicle equipped to seek out the uncharted outbacks, is a feature that leaves "electronic bread crumbs" on screen. No road visible under the little wedge-shaped marker that represents your vehicle? Not to worry. This nav system leaves a line that you can easily retrace back to where there be no more dragons.

The Acura MDX is produced at Honda of Canada Manufacturing in Ontario, Canada, and Acura expects to sell 35,000 to 40,000 of them in the first year of production. A problem not unknown to Acura and Honda has been production restraints. Demand often outpaces availability. A new plant is in preparation but will not be ready for 14 months. This may help put the MDX in strong demand.

Driving the Acura MDX

SUVs are the offspring of cars and trucks. Which side of the family they most resemble is a design choice. And how you use your SUV should determine whether you opt to favor Auntie Car or Uncle Truck.

If you are serious about your off-road adventures you are, firstly, rare. (Surveys say only 5 percent use their SUVs for off-road travel.) If, however, you do need to navigate over fallen logs, dried ruts and rocks of Plymouth size, then you need a suspension with long travel to maintain adequate contact with the trail's surface. You need a low, low "creeper" gear to take you down extremely steep inclines without having to touch your brakes (and thus maybe skid sideways.)

Unfortunately, all of that Uncle Truck stuff makes for poor highway going. High ride height and long suspension travel can lead to excessive lean in corners and a greater possibility of rollover should a curb or pothole get in the way. And the ride can be rough and lurchy.

Now Auntie Car is far smoother on paved surfaces, taking to corners with a quick turn-in and a secure grip. But she can scare you in the serious outback. Even strand you.

Every SUV is a compromise. Some have chosen to forego off-road competence with a more comfortable - and comforting - ride on city streets and highways. Their higher seating position and their four-wheel-drive capability makes them neutralizers of bad weather, which is what most SUV buyers really want.

Acura sees the MDX competition as the BMW X5, the Lexus RX300 and the Mercedes-Benz ML320. These are SUVs that tend to favor Auntie Car. (The Mercedes M-class does have a transfer case and a low range, however. The others, including the MDX, don't.)

Of all the SUVs in our experience the Acura MDX seems to balance Auntie Car and Uncle Truck traits the best. Its highway manners are excellent with secure cornering, though perhaps without the keen turn-in of the BMW X5. The MDX feels extremely stable and as untippable as a rhino.