The MDX is equipped with a fairly luxurious interior, featuring the usual host of appointments that one would typically associate with a premium vehicle. That means power everything, memory functions for the seats and mirrors, leather-trimmed seats, (faux) wood trim, 7-speaker (base model) or 8-speaker (Touring model) stereo, automatic climate control, available in-dash navigation system, auto headlights (Touring model), rain sensing wipers (Touring model), and the list goes on.

The center stack is dominated by a large color LCD screen, which serves as the primary interface for our test car's optional voice-activated DVD-based GPS Navigation system. The LCD screen for this system incorporates some of the climate control and audio system controls, reducing the number of buttons on the dash, but increasing the complexity of some tasks. The display automatically switches to a wide-angle color video shot of the area behind the vehicle when you shift the transmission into reverse. The camera for this is mounted in the rear license plate frame area. It would also be nice to be able to turn the camera on without having to shift into reverse, especially if the cargo area is overloaded or you have something inside the car obstructing your rearward view.

The climate control system is dual zone (front/rear) allowing rear seat passengers to dial up their own temperature and fan speeds if the driver chooses to relinquish control. This is fine, but many of the MDX's competitors offer dual temperature zones in the front seat too, allowing the shivering spouse to dial down the frost factor on her side of the car.

The MDX's seats resemble those found in the TL Type S. This means they are reasonably comfortable, yet they fall short (no pun intended) of the current benchmarks set forth by the latest Accord and TSX seats. The seat cushions seem a little short, somewhat lacking in thigh support. The other minor annoyance (in my book) is that they're upholstered in perforated leather, which (by the condition of several of the press cars I've had) seem to wear poorly. I'm not sure if the perforation is actually to blame, or if it's simply a matter of grade of materials.

Rear seat passengers ride in relative comfort, so long as they're residing in the 2nd row. Occupants of second row seats get their own AC registers and the ability to adjust the fan speed and temperature. The 3rd row is best reserved for occasional use. You can carry four (or 5, in a pinch) adults in the front 2 rows and leave the 3rd row for small kids. When deployed (they fold flat into the floor when not being used), the 3rd row seats eat up most of the cargo area, leaving a little bit of room in the rear for small items such as grocery bags or a small cooler. Thus, the MDX makes a great traveling vehicle for a family of 4, but unless you employ a cargo trailer and/or roof top carrier, don't plan on hauling 6 people anywhere if there's luggage involved. A minivan makes a lot more sense for moving people.

The DVD-RES (Rear Entertainment System) is a godsend for parents of easily bored children (IOW, ALL children). Every time we get in a Honda or Acura with the DVD-RES, my kids put on the infrared wireless headphones and their eyes remain riveted to the flip down LCD screen for the duration of the journey. Our job is reduced to periodically feeding requested DVDs into the dash mounted player. If you travel a lot, this system is worth its weight in gold for the relative silence and serenity it buys.

The only drawbacks I would associate with the MDX's DVD-RES include the price ($1500) and the placement of the "aux-in" AV jacks, which is provided so you can plug in an external AV source, such as your X-Box or PS2 game console. The "aux-in" jacks are located underneath the right armrest for the 3rd row seats. It seems logical that if you're going to be using those jacks, it's likely that you're on a road trip, and the 3rd row seats are most likely going to be folded flat, so now you must string your A/V wires from the game console (which would likely be situated on the floor in front of the 2nd row seats) to the AV inputs in the cargo area. The designers of the Honda Pilot had the right idea, and conveniently placed the AV jacks so that they face the 2nd row seats, located in the rear portion of the center console between the front seats. Also, for the $1500 price tag, the DVD-RES option should also provide a couple of 120V plugs as well. In our testing, I hooked up my kids' XBox console, and had to use an inverter to power it (resulting in more cables crisscrossing the cargo area - the rear lighter plug is on the left side of the cargo hold). This inverter had an internal fan which I suspect induced noise in the AC voltage, and then corrupted the video signal quality, leading to poor image quality on the LCD screen. I would have tried other inverters, but I've purchased three different types and this last one was the only one that wouldn't blow the 15amp fuse in the accessory socket circuit.

Finally, a minor quibble of mine for past Honda and Acura models has been interior lighting that is best classified as barely adequate. In a premium luxury model, this should never be a concern, but the MDX's interior lighting still falls a little short of the standard set by most of its competitors. Better illumination of the footwells and even "puddle" lights would be a nice touch.