dailycommuta

Hi to all again,

As already mentionned last week, my mission was to convince my wife to get rid of her escalade and consider a 07 MDX. Let me say at first it was a lost cause since all her friends thought it was a 'cool truck'. Sunday morning, I took her for a test drive at my local Acura dealership. She drove the car and her impressions were that the Acura had a more upscale interior feeling than that of the cadillac's. I drove it myself and it's handling surprised me very much since I was expecting a somewhat heavy body roll in tight turns. Probably expecting too much from this car I ,sometimes ,had the impression that the engine was struggling to accelerate but became more punchy over 3,500 rpms. The exterior styling won me over right since the day I first saw it. With a 50 grand admission price for the fully loaded edition, it is worth it to taking a look at what the FX35 had to offer. The looks were very aggressive at first but I learned over the years to like it. The engine sounds like a dream just like a G35( I know it's an suv but damn!!). The newly introduced next generation cayenne offers similar pricing with about the same amount of hp.
Now my question is, does anyone here own a 07 AWD MDX with tech package and if so, can I receive some feedback please?
Or if you own or know somebody that owns any of these please say something.

I know she could look into the Range Rovers but it's just out of her pricing range and apparently it's not pretty!

I know it's not my car but since the RL guys are so nice, I didn't really bother.

P.S Is there any MDX community on this website?

I actually congratulate my self to have convinced her to get rid of that big piece of *hit the call the ESCALADE . I hope I don't offend any owners but to me it's just a Tahoe or Suburban with chrome and a Cadillac badge.

Thanks in advance and best regards

daemonicus

you forgot the fake wood trim the escalade has too anyways, you mentioned acceleration with the mdx. let me tell you, i've driven the base model cayenne (if that's what you're referring to) and i honestly could have walked faster than it accelerated. it is an absolute dog in that category. you said it offers about the same price and the same hp but you have to remember that it weighs as much as that escalade. also, it's overpriced for what you actually really get, not to mention it drove like an actual tank. gas mileage is awful, the ride is harsh, the only thing that's really good about it was the fact that it had the porsche emblem on the front but sorry to say, it's just an embarassment to porsche (not including the turbo or turbo S because those things are like a bat out of hell).

also, i dont know how you could have even considered a range rover at one time seeing as how it's the worst company in any consumer ratings test out there. i do like the look of the range though, but for the price they ask, and the crap they produce, it's not even worth it.

i do like the new mdx though...inside. the outside to me is just not what it used to be. it's too space age-ish looking and i cant get over spending $40k (which is $6k over the price of what my mom paid in 2001 when it was brand new) and having that obnoxious, plastic grille on the front. it's tacky and it's cheap. the inside though is a different story. i love the new seats on it, especially the back ones because it feels like you're sitting in an actual chair, rather than a flat park bench. like you mentioned too, the handling is lightyears ahead of what it used to be and the ride is firm, but it's a nice firm.

just throwing another idea out there, have you considered the new cadillac srx? the inside is a lot better than the past years and it looks really nice on the exterior too, although that's really subjective. also the new mercedes ml350 would be in that category too. i drove one of those and it was quite impressive actually.

Infamous425

http://acuramdx.org/

jz-97-c7

we had an 07 mdx for about a week for a loaner (it had 2000 miles, so i don't think it was beat to death) while our 04 got a new tranny, and we honestly dindn't like it. the interior comfort wise was alright but not enough to make us want to trade up, i can't comment on the back seat because i don't sit back there. the power was there but it didn't feel like a night/day difference from ours. the tranny and the way it acted may have been the killer for us, i seemed like it didn't know what gear it needed to be in. it lugged alot and the sport shift was sloooow. about the only thing my wife loved were the hid's.

it's a nice rig but not enough to where we'd want to pay the $50k+ price of entry for a fully loaded one.

BstonBruin

How about the Ranger Rover Sport supercharged? How is money an issue with the Ranger Rover if you currently own:

06 BMW M5 Sepang Bronze
07 Porsche 911 997 Turbo

bgsm1th

baboya96

well may be he's cheap when it comes to his wife's car...... plus he said she doesn't find it 'pretty'... haha that's almost as bad as my gf wanting to drive PINK H2... i just laughed at her face for that...

baboya96

Does size matter? b/c I would think FX35 is significantly smaller than other two... wouldn't hurt to try another japanese brand considering you already got Acura and you have experiences with porsche.

Deity711

In that territory I'd also be looking at the Lexus LX and GX.

LuvMyTSX

I like the looks of the MDX, but wouldn't bother with a Range Rover.

Did you try an RDX? No interest?

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

man looks like u can afford the maint on a porsche... my g/f's father has a Cayenne and her bro has a Cayenne S and i would make love to them...

csmeance

Have an 07 MDX sport ENT and its is great, styling on the inside is much more modern than the FX35 and also now has light white illuminated switches with blue ambiance lighting. As well, the motor is really good and the SHAWD is phenomenonal. SInce I have the Sprt the Active damper comes with it and boy doe sit mae a difference in driving. Only problem is that it is in break in so I am babying it so it does well, as soon as 600 miles pass, hopefully, i can heit VTEC (or is it disabled until 1st oil change?)

JediMindTricks

but to some, the mdx is a pilot with an acura badge

but i really like the mdx. i even like the grill now.

i'm sure you've considered other options, but what about the new x5 or q7?

baboya96

Good choice.... unless you are concerned with low gas mileage with V8 engine. Seeing that you own those other cars, obviously MPG isn't your main concern.

dailycommuta

What can I say..first of all no, I'm not cheap when it comes to my wife's car. She just doesn't see why she would spend more than that on a daily driver(which is why I bought an RL). Let's just say she doesn't like cars as much as I do and her mid-life crisis car is the M5 she bought last year that we currently own.

Mokos23

Go for the a slightly used QX56

dailycommuta

Thanks for all the input you guys have given me. Looks like the MDX opinion is divided here. ML350 will be an option now but damn,there's so much of them. As for the X5, I really like BMW but maintenance costs are deadly. Not to mention the M5's second tranny after only 4 months of ownership. Q7 styling isn't really for me and I've heard just as much Audi horror stories like I've had for BMW.

Lister00169

I say go with the MDX. The ML350 has been receiving major complaints with it's overall quality. I'm not saying the other options are worry free, but the MDX has been a good one since its release.

Plus, for at least 10-15K less, you can get a fully loaded MDX, plus with better gas mileage and lower emissions.

Moog-Type-S

The MDX is

ZtotallynakedZ

The current soccer mom car of choice in my town is the supercharged Range Rover

Infamous425

free maintanence on BMW's for the first 4 yrs/50k

dailycommuta

I should know... I think the free maintenance warranty doesn't cover it all...may be I should have chosen another word instead of maintenance...why don't we all settle on a Saturn Vue GreenLine

daemonicus

the base MDX before taxes starts at $39,995 and the ML320 CDI starts at $44,455 so basically $4500 more. for a similarly equipped MDX and CDI, the MDX runs $45,618 and the CDI runs $50,563 with the benz having more options over the acura due to option packages.

also the mdx barely gets 23 mpg on the highway whereas the CDI has been recorded at it's highest at 30 mpg highway which is an absolutely huge difference.

dailycommuta

I have never owned a diesel though. Any experiences anyone?Also does it drink at a normal gas station like all the others?? I've never really paid attention. The GL450 is starting to look like it real contender now that I've been on the M-B website.

daemonicus

old diesels were a pain in the ass but new diesels are a joy to drive. i drove the regular ML350 and the ML320 CDI and the difference was amazing. i turned the engine on the CDI and i didn't even know it was on. it was even smoother driving than the standard 350 and the torque on it was crazy.

MB can give you a list of all the available gas stations in your area that have diesel or if you order the navi package, the system will show you which gas stations have it which is a really nice feature but almost every gas station i've ever visited had a diesel option so it's not like you'd be stranded anywhere without it.

dailycommuta

Can you tell me more about your driving experiences? I hear it has a lot of torque too! 4Matic which is a must have for winter is costly but is worth it I hear from others.

daemonicus

well both the ML350 and the ML320 come standard with 4matic so you wont pay any extra for it which is nice. and i know what you mean about must have for winters, i live in WI and the snows just keeps on coming . honestly, the 350 was nice to drive but after driving the 320 right after it, i'd take the 320. even though there's a premium of about $1000 for it, it's a very nice car and it's lightyears ahead of what the old ML used to be. it's a firm ride, like all mercedes tend to be but the interior comfort makes up for it. also the backseat room was surprisingly nice and comfortable and the back end storage space was a lot more than i had expected (slightly smaller than the mdx, but not by much). also i'm big on gas mileage and the 350 barely gets 21 mpg on the highway and the 320 can achieve 30 mpg highway and on the ML's 25 gallon tank, that's another 225 miles per tank! sometimes i get JUST 225 on a full tank of gas so that's pretty damn incredible.

and yes, the torque was great. the standard 350 comes with 268 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque and the 320 comes with 215 hp and...wait for it...wait...398 lb-ft of torque . even though it lacks horsepower, i really didn't care because it felt so much stronger driving than the 350.

dailycommuta

If 4matic comes standard than hell what she waiting for? I'm going to try to arrange a test drive this week if possible. Thanks a lot for your input. You remind me why this website is one of the bests! and you talked about the lack of hp, I guess you don't feel while driving when those 400 pound-feet of tq kick in. How was the acceleration...drivers down here tend to be greedy to let one in the highway so you have to 'floor it'

I just showed her a black ML320 and apparently it's nice. I now have to pray she'll never have a problem with reliability on long term. Now it's up to her to choose. If you say there's plenty room in the back than that's great. We have 3 kids! 2 yrs, 5 and 13

ZtotallynakedZ

The new diesel ML intrigues me, and im seeing a lot on the roads. Diesel can be tricky to find, depending on your area. For example, my dad is the only person in a 25 mile radius that offers diesel, and if you don't have an account set up, you're screwed if the office isn't open. Similar situation at my apartment for my boyfriend's diesel truck-if he doesn't fill up by work, which is more argicultural, he's got a bit of a drive to find diesel or wait until we go to my parent's house.

daemonicus

well the CDI does 0-60 in 8 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 16 so it's obviously no speed demon but it had plently of power to pass people and it felt very strong and composed. i took it on a really rocky road, flat twisty road, and the highway and i very much liked how it handled itself. on the rocky road the car seemed to stay flat rather than bouncing around in the potholes. on the flat, twisty road, it was very smooth riding and it turned in very well considering the size of it. on the highway, i was doing 80 and i barely even know it. it's such a quiet and smooth car that the speed tends to get away from you without you knowing.

and yes, you'll have plenty of room for the kids, the middle seat is kind of narrow but it's hard to find any car/SUV these days with a comfortable and functional middle seat. i think the reason i found them so nice was because, like the mdx, it's not a bench seat, the bottom cushions are made like a single seat so it feels like you're almost sitting in the drivers seat.

daemonicus

with a maximum fuel tank capacity of 750 miles, i dont think distance would be an issue

dailycommuta

you're the man

dailycommuta

I can't really go wrong with any of these trucks. While no speed demon, it seems like it is a good family car to drive kids to ballet classes and basketball games. The MDX would be slightly cheaper but we're accepting to pay more to have a well built and safe car.

BstonBruin

I guess I wouldn't mind driving that type of "soccer mom car"

ZtotallynakedZ

Fuel tank capacity has nothing to do with it if you have to drive 25 miles to fill it up

peter97

It's been about a week now since we traded in my wife's 05 MDX for an 07 Mdx w/sport (nimbus grey w/taupe interior). It's kind of nice for me to have similar features in her car as I now enjoy on the RL. Compared to the 05 MDX we traded, the ride is significantly better as is the performance.

daemonicus

you bought it and traded it after 2 years? or did you lease it?

dailycommuta

Anything that deceived you or everything is perfect for you? Also how much did you pay for it or was it a lease?

peter97

The 05 was under a 4 year lease. It cost me 2700 difference to get out of the lease. The 07 is a purchase. Final tab was about 54k total. We paid half down, financed the balance. Purchased a 4y extended warranty contract also. I'm anticipating keeping this one for awhile. The car feels rock solid, and I don't doubt mechanically the car will be OK. I worry about the cost of electronics if they start to fail.

peter97

Dailycommuta, looking back we probably could've been patient and wait for a better deal, but we didn't. The identical (acura care) extended warranty could be purchased cheaper online.