Looking to purchase a 2020 hybrid. I have driven both the 2019 MDX and the Lexus. Very different cars and I am trying to figure out which one to buy. I am coming from a 2016 pilot and my wife and I are retired and do a lot of road trips.

Lexus is adding car play to the 2020, and I am aware that the MDX will be redesigned for 2020. I have driven the new RDX but we are not a huge fan of the cockpit style dash board. I am concerned that acura will incorporate it in the new MDX.

 

My 2018 Hybrid Tech is a joy to drive. Way much smoother to drive compared to our old 2006 Odyssey, and way more lots of goodies.

I am not sure how the drive on a Lexus Hybrid, but the non-Hybrid I drove several years back is too soft for my taste. It boils down to individual preference.

 

You might have some luck over on youtube.com with car reviews. I think the MDX Sport Hybrid has more performance but less luxury than the Lexus Hybrid. They are different enough to make a clear decision as to what suits your taste.

 

The MDX tech or Adv hybrid would be a good choice if you don't need to tow or add a rear hitch to the SUV. I find it easy to select comfort mode for long hwy runs and dial it up in Sport+ when I want to have a little fun in the mountains with switchbacks.

Looks like we will not have an all new 4th Gen MDX until the 2021 model year (it may come out sometime in 2020). There hasn't been even a peep of Acura making a 4th Gen MDX sport hybrid available in 2021. It might only be base, tech, and adv version for 2021 with sport hybrid, A-Spec, PMC, and/or Type -S version after the MMC in +2024. Might just be a 3rd Gen 2019/2020 sport hybrid only until +2024 MMC?

Once you use Carplay+Waze, you won't waste your time with Acura's (or Lexus) navi system. The only pain in the butt with Acura version of Carplay is no touchscreen functions (only knob function). I rented a Jag F-Pace in San Jose for a week with Carplay and it was 10X easier with my smartphone compared to the Jag's navi system. I like that Carplay looks and works the same in every vehicle if you need to rent a car instead of driving your own vehicle to your travel destination.

 

Cannot comment on the Lexus but the MDX Hybrid is a truly special vehicle that is an undiscovered gem. Other than not rated for towing it is a blast to drive and extremely fuel efficient. I have 19,000 miles on my 2017 and have a lifetime average of 29.1 mpg-really crazy for an SUV. it is very sporty to drive and fortunately for those looking to buy/lease is a steal at only $1,500 above the gasoline version.

 

Yup, totally agree the MDX Sport Hybrid is a great driver's SUV. At $1500 above ICE only model, it is a steal!
If you're concern about lack of Apple Carplay/Android Auto, you can add GROM Vline2 unit. They are beta testing right now for 3G MDX.

https://gromaudio.com/newsletter/may...-to-acura.html

 

I believe it's a very easy decision to make.

MDX is a pure joy to drive and powerful SUV with over 300 HP. It's more spacious than RX and exterior looks better.
RX is clearly more luxurious and wins when it comes to comfort, quietness, and reliability.

Now it's totally up to you which path you want to take. Sports vs Luxury

Good luck and with either choice, you will be happy. Two best SUVs in the market.

 

The new 2020 RX F-Sport comes with a stiffer suspension from recent years but even then their AWD system is light years behind Acura. I can take corners and turns in my Hybrid just as fast as my Lexus IS 350, its a fun SUV to drive. The driving experience is where its at IMO

 

I made a comment in another thread (mine is #38) sharing some thoughts about my family’s 2017 RX450h F-Sport vs. my 2017 Sport Hybrid. If you have any questions based on what I’ve written, we should chat.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-mdx-discussion-2014-414/mdx-will-face-tough-competition-2018-a-964914/

I did see that for 2020 the RX is getting some exterior updates as well as the addition of CarPlay...which I would love to have...in either of these 2017’s.

 

I read your comment in the other thread, thanks for that.
I have a 2016 pilot that has quite a bit of body roll in the mountains. Scares the heck out of my wife. We are retired and live in Wa state, with kids spread out from here to Tennessee so long road trips are a yearly event. How would you compare the two vehicles in my application?

 

Bigil47: That's what I love about my MDX Sport Hybrid, I can cruise the interstate in 'comfort' mode and hold a tight turn on my favorite mountain road in 'sport+' mode. It's two cars in one, performance wise.

 

We LOVE the MDX on road trips. And we have found that on the freeway, I get what feels like better gas mileage that I would in the Lexus. I like to do frequent road trips...Salt Lake to Vegas, Denver, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. I've had her for about 23 months and am at 38k miles. And through the Sierra Nevada on the way to the Bay Area I haven't experienced any excessive body roll that would be cause for concern...though to be honest I've never done it in a Pilot to compare. I've also taken it up Big Cottonwood Canyon here in Utah (which has a few hairpin turns) and it performs very well.

 

I have the 2013 RX 450hybrid now. I've been checking out the MDX Hybrid for some time . I just haven't bought one yet because I don't have the money to do the flip yet. I think MDX hybrid is the better car with one caveat that it's not as reliable as a Lexus RX which pretty much is quite boring in terms of repairs. The biggest repair issue (common stuff) are things like slow nav system, squeaking rear trailing arm bushings, and door lock actuators that go south after about 75K miles. There really isn't much else. I don't think there was a recall of any kind on my model year, and no TSBs that I needed to do on my car. But there are plenty of design flaws. Bad NAV, poor FM reception, thin seat cushions, poor handling - ultimate understeer machine, bad 4WD system - the torque going to the real wheels is really not that much, no A/C button, mediocre stereo. poor non-HID headlights, bad front seat belt attachment points that continues to get stepped on by rear passengers.

MDX could have had larger battery capacity. I think RX's capacity is 1.9kwh and MDX is something like 1.3 or 1.2Khw. I didn't think my car could be topped off that quickly (meaning it was charged up to full capacity by either braking, decelerating and such) but it happens all the time. Just slowing down from a long exit ramp tops up my battery and starts wasting energy because the battery became full. MDX, could have also used larger motors in the rear (still larger than that of the RX). Also the user interface of the MDX dash and nav system suck just as much as that of the RX.

 

I test drove 2019 Lexus 450H on back roads and highway.
On the highway when I pushed the accelerator it took few seconds for power to kick in.
I had driven MDX Sport Hybrid 2 days before so I knew what a good performance felt.
With MDX hybrid, I had to quickly merge into lane on the highway as right two lanes were exit.
This minivan was speeding up even as I gave signal.
With MDX it was in Sport+ mode and I pushed the accelerator and I went from 60-85 in few seconds and minivan was way back :-)
Given that Lexus didn't feel as sporty and yes interior felt better but not as quiet as people thinks.
I took wife for a test drive in the same MDX on Saturday and decision was made to purchase MDX hybrid.

 

The MDX Sport Hybrid is really a performance SUV that happens to get good mpgs. I really don't think you can put the MDX sport hybrid in the same category as other SUV hybrids? I wish they would offer the MDX sport hybrid with 3.5L engine+hybrid powertrain as an option.

 

I must echo the comments about the MDX Sport Hybrid. Have had my 2018 for 13 months now and it is simply special. Lexus gets you a bit more luxury for more $$, but the MDX Sport Hybrid is just about the best price/value SUV out there IMHO.

One thing that is rarely detailed is the handling of the Sport Hybrid. I had a 2014 MDX with SH-AWD that was a joy to drive; it handled like a car with minimal body roll in normal; driving and turns/curves were easily dealt with. With the use of the electric motors being controlled by torque vectoring and transferring power to the electric motors in turns/curves, my 2018 Sport Hybrid is noticeably improved from what was already pretty special.

I made a post in an MDX.org thread recently and asked why Acura doesn't just discontinue the 9-10 speed variants and just sell the Sport Hybrid.

 

One more negative things about Lexus RX450 = the luxury wood steering wheel looks great but terrible in hand feel. The darn thing is so thin that it hurts your hands after steering around some cars in the parking lot. Oh, it gets super hot in the summer. Better to stick with cow skin for steering wheel.

Other Lexus RX issues - not hybrid specific but same body

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...d-threads.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ine-sound.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...uidelines.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...d-threads.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...n-on-dash.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ps-system.html