2023 Acura MDX

Acura adopts a wide, low presence with the MDX, with a shield-shaped grille pulled horizontally into LED headlights that wrap around the sides. A lower grille flanked by chunky air intakes on Type S models complement 21-inch wheels and twin dual exhaust pipes around back for a muscular presence that’s toned down but still present on other grades. The body and roof lines flow like European luxury, resolving harmoniously at the rear quarter window. 

The horizontal spread applies inside, but the harmony gets discordant at a wide center console busied with a touchpad for the infotainment system, a gear selector, and other drive functions.  There’s a lot going on there, which takes away from the otherwise lovely blend of clean tech displays, plates of aluminum or wood trim, and creamy leather upholstery on all but the base model.

Front-wheel drive is standard on base and Technology grades, but all-wheel drive is available for $2,200. Most MDX shoppers choose trims with AWD standard due to its sophisticated delivery of up to 70% power to the rear wheels and a torque split to either rear wheel for better cornering and improved grip. 

How fast is the Acura MDX?

The familiar 3.5-liter V-6 used throughout the Honda SUV family churns out 290 hp and 267 lb-ft of torque, good enough for a 0-60 mph time in the low seven-second range. A 10-speed automatic flicks through gears without much thought or notice from the driver, though paddle shifters might be called upon in the mid-range gears where it takes a beat to downshift from higher cruising gears. A drive mode dial in the center stack ranges from Normal, Comfort, Sport, and Snow modes that varies the cluster display as well as changing the shift timing and ambient engine noise. 

The MDX distinction comes from its dynamic suspension that modulates evenly between a soft cruiser to a spry whippersnapper that is most pronounced with Type S upgrades. A double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension team with springs and dampers that smother bumps yet it firms up enough to counter some of the inertia in turns. The steering is precise but light, but the brake pedal lacks a linear feel, so there’s not much response at first then too much response about midway through.  

MDX Type S impressions

The Type S with standard AWD rights those wrongs and buttons down the MDX thanks in part to an adaptive air suspension that can raise the ride height by 2.0 inches for loading or lower it by 0.6 inches in Sport of Sport+ mode. Stiffer stabilizer bars and other enhancements to make the large SUV more rigid don’t diminish the comfort on the highway, even with the standard 21-inch wheels on low-profile tires, and it also counters much of the body lean on turns before the torque vectoring on the rear wheels takes over. 

With a downshift on the paddles, the 3.0-liter turbo V-6 that makes 355 hp and 354 lb-ft powers out of corners in a way meant to induce grins and meant to forget that it’s happening in a three-row crossover. It shaves at least one second off its 0-60 mph time, and Brembo front brake calipers that grab larger rotors also have a firmer and more consistent brake pedal feel.

Three seats in the second row can easily be turned into two, with a clever mid-row seat that can be folded down for a console with cupholders, or it can be removed entirely to turn the outboard seats into captain’s chairs. With 38.5 inches of legroom in the second row, there’s plenty of space for adults, and the seats slide up to 5.9 inches for more or less room. That helps with carpooling the littles around.  

Push-button second-row seats tuck and slide forward for easy access to the third row, but it’s a cramped proposition back there.  

More than 16 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats helps stow youth sports bags or groceries, but fold the third row down for up to 48.4 cubic feet of cargo room, or a minivan-like 71.4 cubic feet of cargo room with both the second and third row flat.

The only point missed is more about the segment as a whole than the MDX itself. Rear headrests and thick rear pillars muddle the rearward view and make for large blind spots.

The base model satisfies the MDX experience, but the $54,945 Technology Package adds leather upholstery, a rocking 12-speaker 550-watt ELS audio, front and rear parking sensors, ambient lighting, navigation, and 20-inch wheels. 

For standard AWD and blacked-out trim pieces, as well as more firmly bolstered front seats that are heated and cooled, blacked-out trim, consider the $60,645 A-Spec. If we had to have AWD, this is the model we’d buy. 

The $64,195 Advance Package adds 16-way power front seats, a surround-view camera system, a head-up display, a heated steering wheel, and heated rear outboard seats. 

How much is a fully loaded Acura MDX?

The Type S tops the MDX performance and price range at $68,545. Adding the Advance Package to the Type S boosts the price to $73,895 and includes massaging front seats to a 25-speaker ELS sound system.

The front-drive MDX earns 19 mpg city, 26 highway, 22 combined, according to the EPA. All-wheel-drive models dip to 19/25/21 mpg, while the more powerful Type S drops to 17/21/19 mpg. Of its three-row luxury cohort, only the Infiniti QX60, Cadillac XT6, and Genesis GV80 lack an electrified option, for now.