I am new to this forum but have a fairly lengthy history with Acura having owned 4 of them including the latest version of the RDX. For me, I have reached an inflection point and would like to share my experiences for what they may be worth to others:

Firstly, I think consumers have a heightened expectation when purchasing a "luxury" brand like Acura based on the long and storied history of it's parent company, Honda.
For reasons unknown to me, it does seem as though Acura has fallen off dramatically, in fact, the last Acura vehicle I owned that I truly enjoyed was a 2007 MDX, the first year of what was the "all new" MDX, at the time.
We remained loyal to the brand (which also included Honda vehicles) despite the early warning signs of a rather significant decline, and we were actually really encouraged that Acura was working to turn things around when we saw the "all new" RDX. We decided to purchase a 2019 RDX for a host of reasons including the tech, safety, esthetic, and even, to a certain point, performance.

Interestingly, to us, two of our neighbors purchased new RDX models within a week of us, and both have since traded theirs off. They have spoken to me of a litany of issues from the navigation system (which truly is horrendous), numerous electronic quarks, to a dangerous loss of power at highway speeds (which the dealer could not fix).

Having recently received an invitation from Acura to view the "all new" MDX, I took the time to look it over, as I too have had enough of the odd glitches with the RDX and the dealer's unawareness of issues that Acura owners seem well aware of.

When I opened up the link to the "all new" 2022 MDX, my first thought was that it was an RDX. It looks virtually identical other than being larger. Presumably this was done on purpose, though I have no idea why. The interior looks smart but not largely dissimilar to that of the RDX, and when the ads and literature speak to performance for their largest SUV, we are talking about a poultry 290HP and an underwhelming 267lbs/feet of torque--compare this to the RDX--there's very little difference!

When Acura released the new RDX it spoke of its refocus on the performance aspect of their business. If you are considering a new SUV whether larger or smaller, I would encourage you to take some time to explore your options before purchasing, and pay attention to what is hyped and what is delivered. Acura, honestly, has not delivered on the hype, and while their vehicles are ok, Honda makes nice vehicles too with better reliability, and lower cost, both purchase cost and ownership costs. I am not suggesting any alternative brands, I would just like to provide some information which may be helpful to others in making a vehicle purchase decision. Don't buy an Acura for performance, it's not there. Don't buy an Acura for luxury features, they are fraught with issues. Acura has a long way to go to, in my opinion, to live up to the qualities they espouse.

 

Acura is walking a very tight rope trying to make one model all things to many people. I think the MDX would still be competitive against similarly prices vehicles if you had a check box of 5-15 must have and like to have items. I would have probably skipped the 3rd Gen (and it looks like the 4th Gen MDXs) if it wasn't for the 17-20 MDX sport hybrid models. Acura is conservative luxury brand and the move at a snails pace sometimes; but, in the right direction. Acura still is top on my list if you compare 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Gen MDXs to each other and the competition at the time.

 

Due to the MDX's weight, just be glad it's not the turbo 4 in the RDX and TLX. The V6 sounds smoother and I think Acura made the right choice sticking with it.

Forgive me if I take your posts with a grain of salt. I often find myself needing to do that when someone claims to have owned multiple Hondas/Acuras yet only has 4 posts in less than 3 years.