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Acura MDX

Audi Q7

Acura MDX

For this holiday week we're driving a fully loaded 2007 MDX (Sport and Entertainment packages), finished in Formal Black with a Bordeaux leather interior - the color scheme seems a little bit Goth, if you ask me.

It's been 5 months since the first and last time I drove the '07 MDX, so I wanted to spend more time with it on familiar roads. It's interesting because it already feels a bit different than what I remember from my first drive. Since I knew I'd be getting the MDX this week, I capitalized on the opportunity to drive an Audi Q7 last week. Unfortunately the Q7 wasn't exactly a directly comparable model - the one I drove was the 4.2 Premium S-Line model, stickering at around $65k. That may seem like a lot, but it's a true luxury vehicle. The Audi's 4.2L drivetrain is very responsive and felt and sounded great too, and the interior was quite impressive as well, and though I wasn't able to fully test it out on a variety of roads, the chassis felt pretty responsive for a 5000+ lb vehicle. While it would be unfair to directly compare the MDX to this particular Q7, the Q7 4.2 starts out right around where the MDX tops out and they are targeted at similar markets. The MDX's interior is very nice for an Acura, but there's still a discernible gap between Acura's best efforts and Audi's, particularly when you're comparing the detailing between the two.

Back to the MDX, I've noticed a few peculiarities. For one, the trip computer functions only seem to be available on the MID (multi information display). Most navi-equipped Hondas and Acuras also have a trip computer mode on the Navi display. And there is no instant fuel economy readout that I can find in any of the MID menus. Secondly, I know the MDX's press kit mentions an MP3-input for the stereo, but I can't find one anywhere on the dash or in the glovebox or center console. Perhaps that's something you lose with the addition of the rear entertainment system? I'd RTFM but there's no owner's manual in this vehicle to reference. For now, I just burned a CD-R with some MP3s and WMA files. It's nice to have a 6CD changer that swallows discs in this format, as you can potentially stuff over 70 albums into your changer and the sound quality is on par with CD for 99% of the time. The MDX's stereo uses ProLogic II circuitry to simulate surround from stereo sources. I wouldn't say it sounds like surround sound to me but toggling back and forth between stereo and ProLogic II, I generally prefer the ProLogic II. Update: I was curious if the 6-disc changer would read DVD-Rs that were filled with MP3s and WMAs and to my delight it does. Now I guess the only thing left to try is to see if it will read dual layer DVDs - If so that means you could potentially fill up your changer with over 50GB of music.

While the MDX is here, we'll be putting some quality miles on it, taking it on a family road trip, joining the throngs of L-tryptophan junkies who are clogging the nation's freeways this holiday weekend. Our route is one that we've covered many times in a wide variety of vehicles, so we should get a pretty good idea of what it's like to live with it.

Sometimes when we request these press loaners, they arrive with several thousand miles on the odometer, which means we get to test a fully broken-in machine. Not this time - the MDX was delivered with just over 200 miles on the odometer, so it's pretty green and won't likely deliver its best in terms of fuel economy or acceleration. We'll still measure both and report our findings. As for acceleration, this MDX feels a little stronger than the ones we drove in Pennsylvania, but then again the atmospheric conditions are far more favorable now that the temps are considerably lower. So far in strictly local driving , the trip computer is reporting an average fuel economy of 16.4 mpg, but that's not too bad considering the average speed over the same period is only 19mph.

I'll be pretty busy visiting with family this weekend, but if I get a few moments I'll post some updates. For now here are some photos.