The New Acura MDX

Honda's luxury brand Acura wants it clear that the redesigned MDX sport-utility vehicle Acura's second-best seller, behind the TL sedan is racetrack capable and handles better on the track than some well-known and highly regarded European SUVs.

Acura’s MDX was excellent at running up and down the road leading to the track, a road that apparently had been used for artillery practice. That's where the MDX's new suspension and chassis really showed off in a way that likely buyers will appreciate. According to the September 2006 issue of Car & Driver, its handling was described as smooth, confident, serene, and firm but not hard-riding. The Acura MDX put some higher-price rivals to shame, like the Porsche Cayenne. The test vehicle had the optional sport suspension, meaning it delivered both racetrack delight and rough-road coddling.

Special merit award goes to the SH-AWD, Acura's acronym for super-handling all-wheel drive. According to the test driver of 07 Acura MDS, “on the track, once you got used to just when to nail the gas exiting a corner, you could feel the SH-AWD straighten the vehicle and send it smartly forward”. SH-AWD doesn't slow a wheel to pivot the vehicle in a corner, as do anti-skid systems and the all-wheel-drive setups that are based on them. Instead, SH-AWD feeds more power to the rear wheel on the outside of a turn to gently power-pivot the MDX into the right heading. What a treat to have a high-tech gadget actually help the driver do as he wishes, instead of preventing that, as other systems often do.

Acura thinks that sort of hotshot technology will turn the new 07 MDX into a sporty, nimble, powerful car that Dad will want to use instead of leaving it for Mom and the kids. The previous MDX has attracted the "stylish mom," says MDX chief engineer Frank Paluch. The new MDX is aimed at "driver dad who wants a sports car but needs an SUV." But it's not supposed to turn off "family mom".

The auto industry has decades of experience showing that a vehicle that appeals mainly to women won't attract many men, while a man's machine will attract women. The Acura MDX is meant for both men and women.