By Corey Herscu
In the last year and a half, I've had the opportunity to review some great cars. Some were sporty, others were pure luxury, but the final group, the cross-overs and SUVs, the ones that are as much focused on comfort as they are performance, that's the group - like a pefectly aged scotch - that has always left a great lasting impression on me.
When I talk about extensive reviews, nothing could be more accurate than the time I have spent with Honda's line-up (under the Honda or Acura brand) of various SUVs, crossovers, and pick-ups. Moreover, nothing has been a more enjoyable experience than driving the completely redesigned 2014 Acura MDX.
Read on to find out why:
The Insides:
If you remember the predecessor, MDX, it was as gorgeous as it was confusing; a polished, hand-crafted dash/panel that had too many buttons and too many options. Nothing was concise enough to figure out, and the voice activation didn't work consistenly enough to make it worth using full-time. As you can see from above, Honda listened and implemeted the constructive criticism.
Two crisp screens, one touch-friendly for audio, one big and friendly for GPS and menus; one center button for navigating through options, six secondary buttons for one-touch access to everything you need - that's it, that's all. Of course, all aforemetioned options come scaled down as well on the steering wheel, they're simply icing on the cake.
Speaking of the experience inside, let's talk about that navigation/camera screen.
It's actually beautiful, akin to the Infiniti FX37 SUV that we previously reviewed. Regardless of lighting conditions, the screen adjusts to your needs and displays a full 360 of the MDX, plus high-res 'let's see what's happening as you back-up' cameras.
Overall Experience:
Acura claims 9.6-litres / 100 KM's as its average fuel economy. I can't say I experienced those numbers, but then again, I was driving the SUV a little harder than the average person would - and what do you expect? It has a 290-horsepower, 3.5-litre V6 engine, it practically begs to be driven hard.
For 50k base, it's a great truck with a lot to offer. Kudos to Acura on still being able to reinvent the wheel.
Learn more or pick one up for yourself here
