2022 Acura MDX A-Spec: Test Drive Review

Hey my good friends, Sam Haymark for Test Driven TV. Today we're test driving the all new, completely redesigned Acura MDX. And this is the sporty A-spec. So we're going to show it to you inside and out. We're going to take it for a drive. And I'm going to tell you what I really think. Alright my dear friends, before we get out on the test drive, let's talk about what we've got here. And you'll have to forgive me for rushing through this a little bit. It's 108 degrees out here today and it's smoky air because we have wildfires here in the Phoenix area. So it's a pretty yucky place to be today. But nonetheless, the worst that's done for the car is put some ashes on it. This is the Acura MDX A-spec, the sportier of the trim grades as tested. We're priced out at about $58,000 and some change. Now they've completely redesigned this, the fourth generation Acura MDX. It has a 2.8 inch longer wheelbase and it's 1.4 inches wider. Overall length around 2 inches longer. The big change in the design profile is they've gone to a more cab rearward profile. There's actually four additional inches now between the front axle line and the base of the windshield. They've pushed it back and given it more of a rear wheel drive like stance. As we look at the styling, a lot crisper, a lot more athletic I think. In my opinion, this is probably one of the most handsome Acura faces I've seen in a long time. About 10 years ago, they were off in the woods someplace doing all sorts of bird beak things I didn't quite get. But nonetheless, as you look at the grill, some nice artistic sculpting going on there with the Acura symbol in the middle. Headlights on this, of course, LED and some very nice jeweled ones with LED daytime running lights that really light up well when you're driving around. Down in the lower fascia, of course, LED fog lights. You definitely get a high-tech look here for your money. The wheels on this one with the Ace Becker 19-inch alloys with a charcoal metallic finish. As you look down the side, you can see that they didn't just throw some black plastic on here. They've given us some nice sculpted trims including some gloss black along the lower door line. Coming down the side, a few things have really jumped out at me. When it comes to styling, the first thing is, is look at this shoulder line here. Looking at that profile, this really has some contouring and some shaping that gives this vehicle some visual pizzazz. It just has a nice athletic stance. Looking at the rear, LED taillights, of course, built-in spoiler at the top. And this is, of course, the power liftgate. You'd expect that at this price. Down in the lower fascia, very simple design, but look at those exhaust tips. Those are actually real. Those are functional. Air flows through them. One thing I do want to point out is, kind of a surprise, the fit and finish when it comes to body fit and alignment on this vehicle actually isn't the best that I've seen. Certainly not that I expect from Acura. You can see that in the rear deck. You can also see it up in the front hood line where it wraps around. They just could have done a better job of making everything go together. That's something we've always expected from the Japanese brands. Before I say anything, you just need to look at this interior. I mean, look at this. I just love me a red interior. And this is a very well-done one at that. The craftsmanship, the design has really been elevated for this generation of the MDX. There is soft stitching everywhere you look, everywhere your hand runs. And I'm talking about multiple levels on the dash, the center console, the door panels, and the quality of the materials is up as well. There's aluminum trim with a nice pattern in it. And it just has a nice look to it, much better than the previous generation. Now, the MDX starts out with a pretty high level of feature content when you get the base model. But up here in the A-spec, obviously, there's more. There's heated and ventilated seats, power tilt and telescoping steering wheel, panoramic moonroof is standard across all trim grades. And then there's these seats. Honda and Acura have always made some of the best seats in the business. These are exceptionally comfortable. They look great. And with the suede trim in the center and this heat, they're working pretty good at keeping me from being sweaty and uncomfortable. As I sit here and look forward, a digital instrument cluster that's very attractive to look at, very easy to tune to what you want to see. And it reads very nicely. Paddle shifters, they control the 10-speed automatic transmission. And all of the buttons and controls in the steering wheel are right at your thumbs. And they're designed in such a way that you don't easily hit them when you're turning and maneuvering the car. They work very well. Looking at the center stack, HVAC controls right in the center. Drive mode selector is the big round knob that has a machine look to it. And in the center of the console, instead of a gear lever, we have a push-button gear selector. Not my favorite. In fact, I don't like them much at all, especially in a vehicle that's marketed to performance enthusiasts. I would expect a lever. A little more intuitive, in my opinion. There's power ports that flip up. And down in the center, a nice place for your phone. In this case, it has a wireless charger. The controls for your infotainment center are in the center. And the cupholder's off to the side. The center console, down in the bottom, has about a little bit bigger than a Kleenex box worth of storage. And it has actually a bi-level with a little bit extra storage in the lid. Sitting in the second row, the first thing I can tell you is that this is not the largest second row in the class. And that's because we actually have a third row back here. So oftentimes, design is compromised such that you can provide a little bit of room for everybody. Now, there is adjustment here. So you can slide this. And there's also a back rake adjustment as well. So that does help quite a bit. And this also has an interesting feature. This center seat is actually removable. So you can have a center pass through to get to that third row. Or getting to it can be pretty easy by simply pressing a button on the side of the second row seat. And it slides forward, tilting forward, letting you in pretty nice. And that third row, the space back there is what I would call a little bit better than just for kids, but not really set up for full-size adults. The third row folds down in a 50-50 split. And the second row folds down in a 40-20-40 split. It is a higher than normal load floor, but it's pretty flat. Underneath the load floor, you'll find some extra storage to tuck away some things that you want to keep put away more often. And the spare tire you're going to find underneath the vehicle. There's a lot of amenities back here. Controls for HVAC. Vents, of course. And a lot of charging ports, both for USB as well as a 12-volt outlet. Here on the doors, some nice window shades. And of course, the airiness of atmosphere provided by this panoramic moonroof. It's pretty nice. Overall, this interior is exceptionally crafted. I like the design. It's very appealing to look at. Much better than before, but I still think it can use some improvement in a number of areas. This interior gets four out of five stars. Now we have to talk about this infotainment system. Look at this big, huge screen. That, that's dynamite. It's very easy to see, except when there's a little bit of glare on it. And that does come in because it's not shrouded. But the graphics are very crisp. It's very nice to look at. It's easy on the eyes. This has the 3D Studio Sound, which is absolutely phenomenal. These are all the good things. It also has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as of this year. Where it really fails, in my opinion, is the controller. This is not a touchscreen. The only way you can control this is via the touchpad down on the console and a single knob. There's a few other little buttons. Some of those are duplicated here on the steering wheel, but this touchpad is absolutely awful. And I hate to say it, I hate to say it, but it doesn't have a cursor like most touchpads. Absolute positioning is what Acura calls it. And it's so easy to use that they had to send me a special email and a special video link for me to go learn how to use it before I got this car. If you have to send somebody a YouTube video, or a couple of them, to teach them how to use the controls for your radio, you're doing it wrong. The other thing that's really missing here is the fact that it only has a single fixed backup camera. We don't have a 360 degree view. I've test driven $25,000 Nissans that have the around view monitor. When we get into this range, in a big SUV that costs nearly $60,000, that should be standard. The fact that we only have a single view backup camera in this is, it's missing. It's missing. So when it comes to rating this infotainment system, I have to give it a hard three. Alright, my friends, now it's time to take a drive. So the first question I always like to ask is, how does it go? It's got a nice sound. So what we've got under the hood here is a pretty, well, it's been around for a while, the 3.5 liter single overhead cam VTEC engine from Honda Acura. It's connected up to a 10 speed automatic transmission, and I have paddle shifters here. And with the drive modes, I can switch between a number of different ways that it behaves. It's rated at 290 horsepower and 267 pound feet of torque. And of course, it has an auto start stop system, which is not my favorite in the world. So I get to a stop, engine shuts off, the air conditioner stops blowing cold. Off I go, cold air again. Now you can turn it off, of course, there's a button down here on the console, but you have to turn it off every time you get in the car because it defaults to on. So this engine, I find that it actually has adequate power for this SUV right around the 300 horsepower range. And when you use the paddle shifters, they mostly pay attention to your whims. And power comes on pretty good because it is a naturally aspirated V6. The power curve is actually pretty predictable. But 267 pound feet of torque isn't the most available out there. That said, this being the A-spec, this isn't the fastest, most powerful version of this you can buy. So if you want more power, you can step up to the Type S. Fuel economy in this is rated at 19 city, 25 highway, and 21 combined. In my week with it, I got about 20. Although in fairness, the air conditioner is on 100% of the time here in Phoenix. I don't use the auto start-stop system most of the time, and I'm driving mostly city. I do find that this engine does tend to work pretty hard and get a little bit thrashy when you really push it. Outside of that, this is a pretty competitive powertrain. I give it four and a half out of five stars. On the topic of handling, this is a completely new chassis. They've given it a longer wheelbase, it's wider, and well, what that generally gives us is better handling overall because those two metrics help reduce the amount of fore and aft rocking and side-to-side corner roll. So this thing actually appears to sit lower to the ground more like a car than it used to, but in reality, it's just as tall. And pushing the front axle forward and pushing me and the cab back also gives us a little bit more of a sporting feel overall. Big thing is that they've actually added a double wishbone front suspension for this year. That is the first time that's ever been in an Acura MDX, and it is something that you don't find a lot of in this class. So that does really contribute to a lot of additional chassis athleticism, let's say, especially when you're on a windy road and you're pushing that. That allows better wheel control and therefore better contact with the road, and they can better tune the suspension and the steering to give you a sharper feel and better handling response. So always a good thing when they step up and spend the money for that kind of suspension. It's a stiffer chassis, and it's a pretty quiet, composed, refined ride inside. So chassis comes in at five out of five stars. They've really nailed it here. All right, my friends, now it's time to talk about value because we've talked about everything else. Now, $58,000 as equipped, I think that's a pretty good price for this. It's very competitive in that way. This is a vehicle that I think they've finally gotten up to the level of the Lexus RX 350, in this case would be the F Sport, to compete with. The interior on this thing, dynamite. I love a red leather interior and a nice level of craftsmanship in there. I think they've really done well. And so the level of feature content here, although Lexus does offer more in a lot of areas, I think we're at a good space. Options pricing, not really any options here, but everything's included at that price. So I think value is pretty good. And add that into a warranty that's longer than some of its competitors. And I put the value score at four and a half out of five stars. Now, when you put that in with everything else we've already talked about, we're at a total review score of four out of five stars. Pretty good. I like it. So if you like the video you just saw, I invite you to see my latest one right there. Or better yet, subscribe to my YouTube channel right down there. Either way, stay tuned.