When looking at car reviews, I just realized you rarely see the MDX compared against the Palisade or Telluride.
I was wondering if anyone cross shopped the MDX and palisade/telluride (and if anyone test drove them) and can discuss how they compare?
The obvious question is what makes say, the 2022 MDX advanced, worth the premium over the other two?

You do lose some smallish (?) things with the MDX - 3rd row room, vented second row, blind spot camera. I think it's a smoother/quieter ride?

The obvious (?) pluses of the MDX are:
Sporter ride/better handling - I haven't test driven it but I feel like the MDX should have less body roll/etc?
I saw a review that said it drives kind of like a sedan rather than a large suv?
Better sound system (by far, looks like)
Dealer network - Better, mor courteous sales/service (YMMV)
Better AWS system

Just wondering what else is of note?

 

My understanding is the highest trims of the Palisade/Telluride definitely puts it in the premium class (next to MDX) and hints of Genesis GV80 (luxury).

The biggest thing for me besides the audio system would be "am I comfortable going to Hyundai/Kia for servicing or going to Acura?" I totally agree it's very dealer dependent. A nicer Hyundai/Kia service department would beat a crappy Acura dealer that may not differentiate much from the next door Honda dealer (the cheaper maintenance probably doesn't hurt either).

If I was cross-shopping these cars, I'd like to know if the Palisade/Telluride has wireless CarPlay/AA that can work simultaneously with a USB stick bc we know the MDX won't.

 

I love the look of both. More the Palisade, than the Telluride. Haven't really explored anything on either beyond external aspects, as I am not in the market. Sort of holding out hope Acura will bring back the hybrid MDX post 2020. As for the service department experience, the hope is I wouldn't be there much. I had a Genesis back in the day when they first surfaced, and before the split Genesis off on their own. I had nothing but pleasant experiences when I visited the Hyundai dealership for routine service. It wasn't ritzy a al Lexus, or even as nice as an Acura shop. But I knew what I was dealing with and my expectations were met.c

And yes, the feature comparison would matter, especially those that one may have over the other.

 

So after doing some research, there is a lot to like about the Palisade.

One huge thing though: The highest trims only have captain chairs, and I think that's a dealbreaker for us.
I can easily see, in the near future, the need for two car seats and mom sitting between them to babysit.
(Edit: need to see what you miss out on if you fully option a base level)

If not for that, it certainly has a lot of nice stuff.

A couple more things I noticed:
has good mileage, and takes regular gas (again, at the cost of the sportiness)
under-floor storage for the cargo tray. (mdx has more under floor storage though)
ceiling vents for 3rd row

 

If you expect heavy usage from the 3rd row, you will want these vents for the extreme temp seasons (winter/summer).

 

Welp, Only palisade's lowest trim has bench and you can't add ANYTHING to it except AWD.
Telluride EX trim has bench seats, but you lose a lot of stuff compared to SX.
It's comparable to the tech package, but a bit worse.

 

The interesting / beneficial part about the current crop of near-luxury and luxury SUVs is that there are so many to choose from and a lot to like about each. Our 2018 MDX lease is up in a few months and we're doing our due diligence to cross-shop and not just "get the next MDX" (the 2022 would be our 5th MDX).

A lot of this boils down to personal preference and what you value in a vehicle. As my color thread dictated, I'm extremely unimpressed with Acura's color schemes for the 2022 MDX and am tired of choosing between white, grey, and black exteriors. We checked out the Performance Red (which we really like) MDX this weekend, but that Parchment interior is just way too light for my kids. We really want the Espresso interior...hence the white, grey, and black exterior limitation.

The VW Atlas Premium is intriguing but no way am I buying a VW, so leasing is the only option for us...but VW does not lease well like Acura does.

I had a Hyundai Veloster and vowed to never own another Hyundai or Kia, so I can't speak to the Pal/Telluride, but there are indeed many options out there and it's best to explore them all.

 

The Edmunds site seems to imply the bench 2nd row is available for the higher trims but only as a special order. Considering these cars are commanding close to MSRP anyway, a special order may not be the worst thing in the world if you really want that bench arrangement.

 

Special orders? What an idea! Hint hint Acura!

 

Well, the upper trim levels on the Palisade don't even allow Wireless CarPlay - one of the deal killers for me.

 

At least with how Acura incorporated it the latest MDX, Wireless CarPlay is not a big draw for me now.

Hoping other makes do a better job incorporating Wireless CP with HQ audio through USB.

 

Does seem strange with that limitation. The tech is moving fast now through the auto industry - seems to be making big strides over the last year or so. So we'll see.

I pretty much live in CarPlay and it does everything I really need. Would love to leave the key fob behind and just use my phone as a key. We'll get there eventually.

 

Just got to this forum as I bought a 2022 SH-AWD Advance today. I did a lot of research on the Pallisade, Telluride, Highlander and X5. Briefly, the BMW is $20k+ more than any of these for the same options (AWD, Heads-up, lane-keeping etc). The BMW is probably the best driving car but interior isn't that much nicer than the Acura and there are a 'lot' of features that require you to pay for extra or as part of a package. When you really get the BMW loaded, it's easy to push into the 80's.

I liked the Toyota's value but couldn't see a top trim version and it was a bit spartan compared to the MDX.

My wife didn't like the interior of the Pallisade and I thought the exterior was a bit dated. The ride was just OK. The Tellurides are nice, though the interior is cheaper than the Acura and the MDX feels more planted, heavier and I think corners and steers better. For sure the power delivery of the MDX is smoother where the Telluride feels more twitchy with much shifting. It just feels like a cheaper car, The inside ceiling and pillar material is sort of a fabric that is not nearly as nice as the Acura's and I don't think will wear well.

However, it the Kia's were being sold at MSRP, it's a nice round $10K cheaper for the top trim comparison and that would be hard for most people to resist given its accolades this year, but the dealers are marking them up from $6K to $18K; my local dealer was asking for a $15K added profit, so it was actually more expensive than the $62K that I paid for the MDX.

I see electronics is being discussed here. I'm an android guy and I did pair my phone to pull up android auto and it seemed to work fine; didn't do much beyond that, just want to see google maps come up as most all car manufacturer's maps are trash compared to google.

My trade-in was a '14 Explorer Limited and it's nice to have the more modern tech like heads-up display, adaptive cruise and lane-keeping.

 

Sorry for the late bump but I just began shopping 3rd rows and between considering Kia/Hyundai (this would be a first for me) or going with an Audi/Acura/BMW which I've traditionally owned, the MDX (Tech or Aspec trim) seems to cross off most of the boxes. The removable center seat in the 2nd row especially is something that leans me toward the Acura and it settles the debate of me choosing captain or bench for my family setup.

Only thing I wish it had was the surround view camera on the Tech/Aspec trim. Can only get it on the platinum elite trim here in Canada.

If all things were equal and you were able to get the Telluride at MSRP, would that have swayed you? Or was the overall fit and finish of the MDX, along with the better performance/handling worth the premium? Last MDX I owned was a 2011, and I did enjoy it outside of the NES graphics of the display unit, lol.

Over here you can still get the Telluride at MSRP or *slightly* lowered if factory ordered. It's the used ones with mileage that are being sold at astronomical prices. Delta here would be $9,705K CAD, basically 10K also (Telluride SX Limited Trim vs MDX Aspec)

 

Just remember that with the center console removed on the new MDX, you lose your captain's chairs because the armrest in the middle is gone.

 

Yes definitely. I think I was okay with that as half the SUVs I was looking at didn't even have pull down arm rests on their captain chairs, lol ie: Explorers pre-2020 refresh.

In Captain chair mode I think both seats would still be occupied by child safety seats anyway. Removing the middle would allow myself or Wife (whoever isn't driving) to sit back in the 3rd row while one of the Grandmas are riding shotgun. Atleast removing the middle center will free us up a bit of legroom and easier to rich the little ones.

 

I spent the past 4 months cross-shopping 3rd row SUVs. I was moving on from a 2017 Honda Pilot Elite and frankly was taking advantage of the crazy used car market to trade “up” to a newer/nicer car. I paid $40K for the Elite in 2017, put 40K miles on it in 4 years, and sold it to Carmax for $35K a couple weeks ago.

I spent a lot of time driving the Telluride as it was initially my target. Frankly, I probably would’ve bought it if my wife hadn’t been involved. But she was right. The Telluride drove like the Pilot. It was a little nicer, definitely flashier interior and exterior design, but essentially the same ride. It’s a minivan dressed as an SUV. We found the MDX because we drove an RDX (we briefly considered trading my wife’s Rogue in instead) and really liked the latter. Once we started looking at the RDX, I got her to take a ride in an MDX and the difference (between the MDX, Telluride and Pilot) was pretty dramatic, IMO. She hated driving my Pilot because it felt big (it IS big). She noticed right away that the MDX feels and drives like a smaller car, in spite of being roughly the same size.

No doubt a loaded Telluride (or Palisade) is a very nice car if you can get it around MSRP. Good luck though. And if the 3rd row is important, it’s fair to point out that it’s much roomier than the MDX’s. But we have two kids who love the 2nd row and when they get a bit bigger will be happy to have the middle seat removed so that they have their own captain’s chairs. We’ll almost never use the 3rd row. I can count on one hand the number of times we used the Pilot’s in the 4 years we owned it.

I only have 1,000 miles on the MDX but it’s a really nice car to drive. It’s not that fast but it just hugs the road and there’s very, very little body roll compared to the Pilot and Telluride. And as others remarked above, it’s absolutely a more premium feel on the inside. The leather seats are as comfortable as any others I’ve sat in. The ambient lighting is a nice touch. And the audio system’s quality is incredible. It’s literally as good as anything else on the road unless you’re willing to spend close to $100K, in my opinion. The touchpad gets tons of criticism but I’ve found it to be intuitive and don’t miss the touch screen. I often struggled to hit the right spot on the Pilot’s touchscreen and the software was slow/laggy to boot. The Acura’s 12” screen is beautiful and is placed perfectly high on the dash so you barely have to move your eyes from the road to look at it. (I have the Tech, so no HUD display on mine.)

Good luck with your search.

 

I’ve shopped between the MDX and the Telluride since the summer. I was impressed by the improvements Kia/Hyundai have made to their vehicles and after researching decided a Telluride was for me. In the NYC area Tellurides have been steadily flying off the shelves since they came out and never showed signs of slowing. Dealers are asking $10,000 above sticker and they were occasionally getting it from buyers. That brought a fully loaded Telluride right in the neighborhood of fully loaded MDX which ultimately led to my decision.

Pulled the trigger on an ASpec a few days ago and I’m not looking back. MDX is way more premium feeling inside IMO. I love my tunes in the car and the biggest factor for me was the sound system. The two can’t even be compared in this department.

In the Kia you must choose between captain’s chairs in the second row, and now I have the versatility for both options.

Kia famously advertises 10 year/ 100,000 miles but this only applies to powertrain coverage. Their basic warranty last only for 5 year/ 60,000. Also, after spending a generation as a ‘bottom of the barrel’ car maker, I question their dealer network and how great their service would be when something does go wrong. Especially with the influx of new customers they’ve been receiving as of late. Would they be able to deliver?

MDX definitely feels more nimble on the road, despite be roughly the same size. Coming from a manual VW GTI (I know quite the transition) I was used to that level handling and made the switch a little easier.

Lastly, the Kia nameplate. In recent years Kia has changed their image and have stepped their game up immensely, but we all know having a Acura in front of your house gets you WAY more driveway points than a Kia any day.

I love the sleek look of this new gen MDX. Sporty lines without being too bold. The design I think will age well and won’t look out of place in 10 years, while the poser Range Rover look of the Telluride might. Although I did like those rectangular amber DRL on them.

 

The thing I haven't seen anyone else mention; when I test drove the Telluride and Palliside, while they were both loaded with tons of features and were nice, the NVH and overall feel of the car was still undeniably mainstream. Ditto with cars like the Pilot, Highlander, Atlas, etc. They can be equipped to have the same features and tech (or better) as their more premium/luxury counterparts (e.g. MDX, RX, Q7, etc.) but they certainly don't drive like cars of that class. Most buyers may not notice, but I suspect people coming from premium/luxury cars would.

 

I test drove the Palisade. It was nice but not impressive. After 5 minutes I had seen enough.