getakey

Looks like we be moving to a place that gets some snow next year.

Will want a 4WD car. Thinking about RLX SH or the new MDX SH.

Disappointed that the MDX will have a lesser ICE than the RLX, but I like the utility part. Also surprised that the highway mileage is something like 27 in the MDX. I guess the aerodynamic footprint is much bigger. Clearly attracted to the performance of the RLX SH.

Had some thoughts about the BMW X5 hybrid. Its plugable.

Thoughts?

fsmith

Last year's winter (2014-15) in New England with my RLX SH-AWD was a weather nightmare but a driving delight. I found no circumstances on the highway or in the driveway, and even mid-snow storm, in which the car did not perform like an AWD champ. (Well, there was the mile-deep pothole that took out a tire and a wheel, but that wasn't the car's fault.)

hondamore

My two cents...If you need a lot of cargo capacity, get the MDX Sport Hybrid. If you don't need the cargo capacity and want more luxury and more performance, get the RLX Sport Hybrid.

My RLX Sport Hybrid with dedicated Winter tires was a PLEASURE to drive in the snow. Period.

getakey

Agree - that definitely is the trade-off between the two.
Lifestyle will probably change to more outdoors than city, so the cargo might ultimately sway the decision

neuronbob

Get the MDX Sport Hybrid if you need more cargo room. The 12 cu ft of the RLXSH may not be enough for your needs.

We don't yet know whether the MDXSH will have the same performance boost over the regular MDX, that the RLXSH has over the RLX (or any other Acura, for that matter, other than the NSXSH. And believe me, the RLXSH is quite a powerful car.

Either will rock in the snow.

getakey

They posted projected specs and the MDX SH did have a boost. Not as dramatic as the RLX, but better than regular MDX.

My biggest disappointment if I go with the MDX will be that the Advanced does not have Krell

neuronbob

^^^^
Is the lack of Krell in the Advance MDX a cost-cutting measure to keep the MSRP lower than the RLXSH? Or to keep an RLXSH-exclusive feature? Have to wonder.

Luckily, the ELS is pretty competent in the MDX, based on my drives in loaners. Not Krell-fantastic, but good enough to live with.

neuronbob

PS, I think it's nice that the SH hardware takes up no passenger/cargo space in the 2017 MDX. Good news if you need room! Maybe the next iteration of the RLXSH (if it comes) will have a similar change.

getakey

The car and driver review said cargo room was reduced from std MDX
not sure how and where it is reduced

Battery capacity is getting better. The new i3 can go 113 miles versus 80 miles in ours. Same volume size, more capacity

neuronbob

But Acura's site on the 2017 MDX says there is no impact on interior space.

2017 Acura MDX: Redesigned and Reengineered | Acura.com

Hmm. Will have to find that C&D review now. Thanks!

TampaRLX-SH

I believe the under floor storage compartments in the rear cargo area of the MDX yield to the battery pack.

And why not get BOTH? Will the wifey's BMW serve well in the winter climate?

getakey

interesting - hope you are right
I can't find the article right now, but pretty sure I read something like that

getakey

Tampa always providing wisdom
Wifey's 3series convertible and i3 EV are not ideal for winter for sure
but the convert is a manual that we want to keep for fun

Tampa - hate to tell you this, but I sold the boat last week and
should have enough $ to buy both

TampaRLX-SH

Owning a boat will make you never worry about automobile resale value!

Here are the captains chair rear seats of the MDX SH. It appears the battery unit is under the seats and center console. Likely why they went to captains chairs for rear seats.

getakey

Re Resale - you got that right!
Still sad to see it go

George Knighton

[QUOTE=getakey;15758611]
Thoughts?[/QUOTE

In Virginia this past winter, we lived through two storms that amounted to days on end of blizzard conditions.

I didn't have any problems at all.

You can forget about the "Sport" part of SH if you're using it in severe weather, however. You've only got a total 72 HP on the rear and you can't do anything about that.

George Knighton

Right.

And the captain chairs are an option.

The only thing I can think is that you don't have the same size batteries that we have.

I suppose that by now it's possible to get more amperage into smaller batteries, that run cooler and don't need the vents we have, and maybe the control units got a lot smaller.

We always knew the KC2 was a sort of new, beta-plus kind of thing.

George Knighton

Or they overestimated the provenance of the Krell name and the value it presented. :-)

A lot of people who've noticed the Krell name in my car seem never to have heard of it.

pgeorg

[QUOTE=George Knighton;15760982]Could you please explain this statement George? I drove in very bad weather here in NY a few times, and i did not notice any difference. I did have dedicated snow tires on though......

sooththetruth

[QUOTE=pgeorg;15761852]
Very strong reproducible evidence that snow tires are more important than all-wheel drive for winter driving, even on DRY (but cold temperature) roads. There is just adjustment in the composition of the tire to give better traction. All wheel drive is really a compromise for better safety all the time. It's insurance, really, expensive and heavy. It seems clear it would be economically better paying for snow tires on cheap wheels, than all wheel drive with all season tires. But the benefits to performance are another consideration, of course, and the main reason for the SH-AWD in the hybrid.

hondamore

If you are quoting the study that I think you are (the consumer's report test), they compared an AWD vehicle with all season tires to a FWD car with winter/snow tires and the snow tire shod car performed better in snow especially under braking. What they failed to do was compare those vehicles to an AWD car with snow tires - the best option - benefitting from the shorter braking distances of the snow tires AND better acceleration and control during handling of the AWD.

My experience, living in a climate where there is snow on the roads 6 months of the year, is that AWD with snow tires is by far the best solution. Even BETTER YET is SH-AWD with snow tires because it adds the torque vectoring that greatly enhances control in turns on snowy, icy , slippery road conditions.

My two cents.

TampaRLX-SH

[QUOTE=sooththetruth;15764370]You just gave reason as to why SHAWD has value to those not in the snow belt. The consumer market is slowly understanding this, but the marketing of AWD is now a benchmark for premium / luxury brands is taking hold faster (to fill the vacuum created by engine downsizing).

This will be even more challenging for SH SHAWD to be understood. Most of us really did not appreciate SHAWD in the RL until AFTER we acquired the car. It was not obvious in a typical test drive. And now I would say the same for SH technology. Initial impression was wow - more power! But learning this car's behavior of SHAWD was different from the RL. The RL required you to get on the gas in a turn (at a somewhat unnatural point), whereas SH SHAWD is torque vectoring constantly, even when decelerating or coasting through a mild curve.

Where SH SHAWD takes it to the next level, is not only more instantaneous / real time vectoring but also the negative torque. Above other systems which only use braking to create the yaw, SH SHAWD does both (e-motor braking and brake applications). And capitalizing on the negative torque is energy regeneration. That is where Honda is unique. (aside from somewhat similar concept with the $800K Porsche 918.)

I look at it as AWD + ( positive and negative ) torque vectoring + brake assist + dynamic power regeneration. IMHO Honda's orchestration of those attributes in a near seamless manner is quite a unique and sophisticated achievement in a pedestrian (if not niche and premium) sedan.

All of that has benefit without snow.

George Knighton

I can't really argue with what you said. :-)

While I can say that I did okay in the blizzards of the 2015-2016 winter season, I know that I'd have done much better with dedicated winter rubber.

pcloadletter

Does the MDX hybrid have a spare tire and dual rate dampers?

The driving dynamics are a huge compromise in SUVs.

I tend to get stuck behind SUVs slowing down on corners I would coast or accelerate through. My vote is for the sedan.