That's Interesting that you dropped the Wheel & Tire size to 20s! Did that affect the Air Suspension on Type Ss? Curious? This reminds of a experience whn I had a 2019 MDX Advance which had 45s tires OEM. When I took a loaner some months later, the model MDX they gave me had 50s and I felt the ride difference immediately - just enough to make it a bit more comfortable with the same handling as far as I could determine. I even wrestled with changing the 4 tires to 50s - but the cost didn't justify the action.

 

Interesting?? It's done a lot by car guys. I've done it MANY times. Always as long as the outside diam. is equal to the factory...is how I do it.
And yes, you get more sidewall thus offering a little help in the ride quality. Some would say..."but, Oh, you are giving up handling!" NO...not at
all. This is NOT a track car..or SUV. Handles very well esp. with the tires I choose. No, it does not cause any issues with the suspension system.
Again, the KEY is: Same diam as factory. I dropped my TLX Type S to 19's. Mainly for more sidewall..and yes, got a better ride quality. I've
owned over 12 Acura's, and 45 new vehicles....and over 70 vehicles of all sorts. Yes, I buy a lot...trade often...and I'm OLD. LOL! Older sounds better
actually. Just a "car crazy guy" as Barry Meguiar used to say when he did the commercials.

 

I agree. I don't know why Acura removed the Hybrid version. That's in fact a huge miss on their part. I heard once it was due to the 10 speed transmission. It wasn't compatible.

 

Tony Pac, That could be possible. IMO, the 10 speed tranny (in current MDXs) is good tranny, seems to be in the right gear with little gear "hunting". But the 9 speed Tranny in my 2019 was also excellent. With the Movement s by all of these automakers rushing full Blast into EVs - although Honda has produced an excellent new CRV Gas/Electric Hybrid in 2023 and 2024 - it would appear Unlikely that Acura reverts back to a Hybrid MDX ... We will see, maybe if they Slapped In The Face the way many others are (Ford & GM) for the Rush to EVs, their thinking may change.

 

Prediction: zero emission targets for states will be rolled back maybe a decade or more.

The horror stories of battery range anxiety coupled with EV stations w/damaged or non-working chargers far outweigh the good publicity ones.

There's a scene in the Apple TV+ series "Invasion" where a family is waiting in a queue for their Tesla to charge while at a convenience store. The family decides to steal someone else's ICE car to make a quick getaway (what else are you going to do in an emergency, wait for your EV to fully charge?!!!).

 

ELIN< You could not have said it Better my Friend... Battery Range Anxiety Disorder (BRAD) has already been entered in the Psyche Books as an Anxiety Disorder that Psychologists will need to treat with and without Meds! It's called Gasoline. IMHO, there is room for alternative sources of energy to put a Dent into Fossil Fuels... Little by Little you get there. Rome was Built in A Day. Only Fools Rush In. The BRAD will become worse as the Lithium Batteries live out their useful Rechargeable Lives. Or Worse, the Lithium Battery in your EV gets wet (particu;a;ry with Salt Water) and it catches Fire which cannot be out. Look to Hurricane Ian in Florida last year the last on a few weeks ago. EVs caught Fire, Burnt the Owners House down (if the EV was stored in the Built in Garage). But we are digressing on this Thread. Sorry.

 

I know the brand MDX is very strong and no other car in this segment has ever beat it. QX60 is a strong competitor but still failed to surpass MDX's sales numbers. Q7 is nowhere close....

But there is one car that is coming that will give MDX a hard time: the TX. the brand Lexus is strong and with the great success of RX, Lexus TX could be the car that can beat MDX in sales. What are your thoughts?

 

Considering the Highlander outsells the Pilot almost 2:1, and the ES outsells the TLX by the same margin, I would be shocked if the TX doesn’t at least match MDX sales, assuming supply meets demand. The only saving grace is that the Grand Highlander and new GX might cannibalize some of the TX sales.

 

There is a possibility the sales of the TX may cut into MDX sales but I truly believe they each have their own lanes. Based on perception, the MDX will always be "Sporty Spice" and the TX will always be "Posh Spice" (especially w/the 4-cylinder engine).
By every useful metric, the TX is going to be bigger than the MDX. However, it will slowly plod along on the 4 cylinder and/or hybrid engine. On the other hand, no one should be buying Acuras looking for great fuel economy.

The most interesting TX trim will be the 550h+, which has 3.5-liter V-6 engine and a plug-in hybrid system to generate 406 horsepower (probably w/double the MDX's fuel economy!).
Speculation is this top model will cost close to $80k!

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...exus-tx-drive/

 

The problem is that the lane for a sporty 3-row crossover is a one-lane country road whereas for a luxury 3-row crossover it's a 6-lane interstate highway. The MDX is the driver's car of the bunch, no doubt, but just how big is that market segment? I'd venture most MDX buyers bought it because they wanted a premium Japanese 3 row crossover, and not because they care a lick about the driving experience.

 

Name another game in town for a 3-row SUV hybrid other than CX90 and XC90. Grand Highlander/TX is the size king and won't have a lot of competition. The fuel economy alone should separate the Lexus from the Acura buyers.

 

I think we’re on the same page… My point is that the MDX doesn’t have a defensive moat for being sporty, because the being sporty isn’t something most buyers in this space care about. It may have its “own lane” as you put it, but it’s a pretty narrow lane, and I hope they have plans to really knock it out of the park with the MMC

 

Note that I said the "perception" of the MDX is sporty. I had a '18 MDX SHAWD Tech that labored to go up any decent incline. The current gen is heavier and has the same engine so it is far from sporty (but it sure looks it). Similar to the TLX I gave up, the MDX is definitely slower than it looks!

And yes, folks are buying the MDX in droves not because it's "sporty"!

 

There’s more to sporty than power. Many YouTubers praised the current MDX for its sporty ride quality.

 

As anoop indicated, there's more to sport than power. But I do agree that power delivery is a slight step down from the 3rd gen. My then new 22 Tech definitely labored during our drive out west a couple of years ago, particularly in the Denver area with that high elevation. MDX buyers in that area are better served getting the Type S. That said, acceleration/power delivery is more than adequate in most instances particularly in Sport mode and the chassis is the most buttoned down in this version of the model. (As I've had the 09, 12, 15, 17 and 20 MDX all SH-AWD, I have a great feel for how this model has evolved over the years.)

Where the brand failed the MDX is in the area of fuel economy.

 

Nearly every week, you can count on someone being surprised by Acura's poor fuel economy since they are either coming over from Honda or aware of Honda's otherwise excellent fuel economy. You don't get great handling for free!

Due to Acura/Honda's lack of hybrids in their stable, I'm starting to understand why they're jumping straight to EV. Without hybrid sales bolstering the average mpg in their lineup, they need the EVs to bring up the average!

 

I have a 2023 MDX Advance (non Type S) and live in the Denver metro area. I find it to have plenty of acceleration for what it is. It doesn't have the low end grunt like a turbo but, the Type S for $75K is also no rocket. I think some people believe they're getting BMW acceleration performance when they buy the 3.5L N/A MDX and become disappointed after purchase. The 3.5L MDX Advance is a fine all around luxury midsize crossover for the money. If your worried about MPG's in a luxury car, you shouldn't own one.

 

Yeah, but there are cars out there that allow you to have your cake and to eat it too (performance and decent fuel economy)!

The combined 21-22 mpg in my much heavier (by nearly 1000 lb!) '23 GLS450 probably meets or exceeds your MDX Advance real-world fuel economy.

 

I'm getting 22-23 mpg around town and 24-25 mpg on extended Hwy. in my 2023 MDX Advance. I live at 5,800 ft in the Denver metro area. As you well know, you lose a bit of power but obtain better mpg at elevation. You are driving a (near) $100K MB crossover and you're concerned with "decent fuel economy" ??

 

Some of the most successful people in the world don’t get there by making bad decisions!

 

Tell that to the Trump family

 

HAHAH! Nailed it!

 

Everyone's definition of success is different. If he ends up going to jail, is that "success"?

 

You can be rich but still want to be environmentally conscious and not wasteful.

 

I thought "political Comments were not permitted on this Forum? I was scolded a few times for making some against the "other" guy presently in the WH.

 

Shouldn't you be asking the person who brought it up?

 

My Bad, Elin sorry.

 

I considered the TX 500h F-Sport, with the adaptive damping and 4 wheel steer. I may had well bought it, instead of my 2024 MDX Type S, is it wasn't for the hideous looking infotainment screen. I visited the Lexus dealer and didn't even ask for a test-drive because I just can't own a car with an el-cheapo looking screen. That was a show stopper. Also, despite its size, the TX 500h F-Sport can only be configured with captain chairs on the 2nd row, another huge miss by Lexus (what were they thinking? these cars are for families, not for CEO going to boardroom meetings). I want the flexibility of having 3-across carseats for my kids and a more usable trunk with the 3rd row down. The MDX's versatility of user-configurable 2 or 3 seats for the 2nd row is definitely win. Not to mention the likely better driving dynamics (although I confess I did not drive a TX, hence the "likely"), air suspension, and massage seats. The TX wins on mpg and space, the MDX destroys it on all other aspects for about the same price. Not a hard decision once I confirmed that 3-across on the MDX's 2nd row is possible.

The above is my opinion after very careful consideration of the Audi SQ7, the Lexus 500h F-Sport and the MDX Type S, it is not cheer-leading my purchase (all of these cars were in "play" a month ago : )

 

I'm not a fan of captain's chairs myself as I need max passenger space + max cargo space. Based on Edmund's latest review, I'm starting to think the TX is going to be for Lexus-fans only (and even then they may be turned off by the noise from the CVT entering the cabin).

 

https://carbuzz.com/reviews/driven-2...m_content=post

 

2024 Acura MDX Type-S Review - The Solution

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/cars/reviews/2024-acura-mdx-type-s-review-the-solution-44504875

 

The Acura MDX Type S Is So Close to Greatness

https://www.motor1.com/reviews/713011/2024-acura-mdx-type-s-review/

 

2024 Acura MDX vs. 2024 BMW X7 Comparison

https://www.kbb.com/comparison/acura-mdx-vs-bmw-x7/

 

I have a 22 MDX Advance, lease is terminating in August 2024. I pine for a Type S as a potential replacement / "Upgrade". I read this review and after 31 months of ownership, and concur with these observations. The TTIP is still somewhat maddening, with only the HUD & the steering wheel controls for the InfoT. system saving graces. Since the redesign for the 2022 model year (which I love overall), and all the Reviews that were issued, only a few mention the significant frustration of the TTIP when hooked up to either AA or CP. It is downright awful! When it that mode, the console USB is no longer operative to play USB Flash Drives, and the TTIP touch pad transforms into the SLOWEST Mouse Pad I ever used!. Come On Acura! You must Fix this with an upgrade. Ideally, Acura should include both - a touch pad & a Touch Screen. Then You ahve a Utopian SUV!

 

Agreed! These reviews are on point. The X7 and MDX comparison isn't fair as the X7 is way more expensive than the MDX. Except the 7 seater, I don't think there is much to compare. That said, it's a huge compliment to Acura MDX to be compared with a car which is 30% more expensive

 

There are a couple of inaccuracies in the review:

- For the X7 Alpina XB7, he wrote "you get a 631-hp twin-turbo version of the same 4.4-liter that will get you and your passengers from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds. That’s even better performance than the Acura MDX Type S." The baseline X7 xDrive 40i can already beat the MDX Type S by nearly a full second! The reviewer may be trying to be politically correct but he's repeating the same narrative that many long-time AZ members have been promoting: that you need to compare the "performance" Acura against a "performance" BMW. LOL!

- Writer states "Honestly, there are Swarovski crystals in the X7’s headlights." This implies that it's standard instead of a $2100 option (like a seasoned car journalist would have written).

There aren't too many <$100k 3-row SUVs to compare so they often get unfairly lumped w/each other. If we're being honest, the MDX 3-row SUV falls under a fairer comparison against the likes of the Highlander 3-row option, BMW X5 and GLE 3-row option (during its "me too" movement), and its ilk as the third row on these cars are meant for kids or people you hate.

The X7 has a third row for grown-ass adults so comps are more like the GLS, Range Rover, and even the CX90. What's the secret for comparing? You can see if the wheelbases are similar for a fair comparison!

If you ignore that the MDX has a nearly disposable third row, then a much fairer comparison is against the X5 (nobody at Acura wants that because the MDX Type S and base X5 are nearly the same price)!

 

The new Pilot definitely feels bigger inside than the MDX. The MDX drives much nicer than the Pilot. The fit and finish in both are good, but the MDX materials are nicer and the interior is just a much nicer place to spend time, IMO. Things like that and the old familiar SOHC VTEC engine are what made us choose the MDX over the Pilot.

As for the headroom thing, I'm 6'1" and have not had any issues, nor has anyone else taller than me that's been in the car. Maybe try lowering the seat? Unless you're over 6'6" I don't think you'd have any issues.

 

I've never heard anyone call the MDX a wagon! If you don't count the few choices like Subaru, most of the wagon choices are stuck over in Europe! Are you old enough to know what a real wagon is? LOL!

 

Looks are always subjective of course, But the 22+ MDXs a Wagon? I personally Love the exterior Muscular design of the MDX. When I first started to delve into reviews of the new MDX circa May 2021, it wet my interests immediately, and I continued to watch more reviews of different models and features. After getting a notice from my 2019 MDX Acura dealer of $1K Loyalty money for trade in for a new 22 MDX, I started the shopping tour. I visited the original dealer and 2 others. My 19 which was leased in 2019 had "Equity" principally because the Pandemic forced staying at home and I had 18K miles built in to my lease per year. I saw a Fathom Blue Pearl on this Forum (the posters name escapes me now) - the poster posted Pics, that was for me!. When I saw the Fathom Blue Pearl Advance MDX on one dealer's lot in August 2021 - test drove that car - made the deal that day!. And to boot, it was the the Best deal of the 3 - more equity was given toward the new lease deal, resuting in about $50 per month lower monthly payment, and 4 Free Oil Changes included.