My sport hybrid was in the shop for its 10k service consisting of an oil change with Mobil 1, twin motor unit flush and fix an xm subscription issue that was tough to diagnose. They gave me a 2019 MDX FWD that I was thankful to have for 3 days and 125 miles. Some thoughts:

The FWD is a great deal. I think you could get one for 43k if you push hard. That’s 7k less than what I paid for my 2018 tech and I got a good deal. It’s far worth buying over some Acadia, Explorer or Pilot for the same price.

The FWD got really good gas mileage. The 9 speed helps it run at lower rpms on the interstate than my 7 speed. If you are primarily interstate driver, just get the FWD. I drove with stop start and the same hypermiling techniques (see my MPG post) as in the sport hybrid and averaged only 4 mpg less. Granted, I didn’t just get my car for the MPGs.

The 9 speed in fine. I left it in sport mode because that’s where I leave mine. Decent shifts. It does lurch a bit sometimes but nothing most would notice. It blends into the background and that’s what you want in a transmission. No complaint here at all.

The sport hybrid is far more composed in everything it does. Starts stops better (obviously). Much less body roll due to adaptive suspension and better over bumps due to said suspension. Honestly the suspension was what I missed most. It transforms the soul of the car and turns it into a tall sport sedan. Last week, I had to drive through traffic fairly quickly to pick up my son. I would guess I normally push my car 10% of what it is capable. That afternoon I drove 60%. It was pretty exciting and I could have thrown way more at it. Accelerating through corners. Instant torque from the electric motors to hit a gap. I felt like I was in my old slightly modded TSX that I traded in. I didn’t even try to throw much at the fwd but it never felt like it could really take it. Last thing I want is understeer plow in a 4300 lb loaner and hit a barrier.

Overall, if my wife wanted a mdx, I would definitely save 7k and purchase the fwd. It does everything well. I am just very pleased that I got the hybrid for myself.