Review: 2010 Acura MDX

Think sport utility vehicles are dead? Check out the latest sales statistics at Acura and you may change your mind. The redesigned Acura MDX luxury SUV is the top-selling product at Honda's (HMC) luxury division, well ahead of the Acura TL sport sedan. MDX sales were nearly two-thirds higher this May than in the same month a year ago and soared 51.2 percent, to 16,683, during the first five months of this year.

There's a reason for that. Dollar for dollar, the 2010 MDX is probably the best luxury SUV on the market. It has three rows of seats and a maximum capacity of seven, yet handles like a smaller, nimbler vehicle. That's partly because the MDX comes standard with Acura's terrific "super-handling" all-wheel drive system. Like other Acuras, it's also packed with performance, safety, and convenience technology, much of it standard (and much of it also found in the new Acura ZDX crossover vehicle).

Even so, the MDX's price remains relatively low. The 2010 sells for an average of about $45,000, according to the Power Information Network (PIN)—about $3,300 less than the average premium crossover SUV. Even fully loaded, the 2010 MDX tops out at a little under 55 grand.