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.

2010 Acura MDX Test Drive

With a base price of just under $52,000, Acura’s MDX mid-sized crossover is the third-most expensive model in the brand’s line-up behind the RL sedan and rakish ZDX. Yet it is also the brand’s best-seller, by far: new-vehicle buyers snapped up nearly 6,000 MDXs in 2009, which works out to more than one-third of Acura’s total sales last year, and it’s already well on its way to the same result for 2010.

Mechanically, the most meaningful improvement is the replacement of last year’s five-speed automatic transmission with a six-speed, which the MDX shares with the flashier, new-for-2010 ZDX. That makes these models the only two in the Honda/Acura portfolio to move up to a six-speed auto; this, in a segment – nay, an entire industry – that began embracing six- (and seven-, and eight-) cog gearboxes years ago.

I’ve been of the opinion all along that five gears is enough, but the bigger-better-faster-more demands of the market dictate otherwise. In any event, suffice it to say that the new transmission works well enough that I didn’t notice the extra gear until I got the car home and looked at the specs.

The 3.7-litre engine is the same as the MDX has used since that 2007 redesign. Like Honda/Acura’s other V6s, it’s a gem, with good power and a great soundtrack when under the pressure of a heavy right foot. If the new transmission’s extra gear brings any direct benefit, it’s in lower rated fuel consumption. The 2010 MDX’s Natural Resources Canada numbers are 13.2/9.6 L/100 km (city/highway), compared to 13.8/10.0 in 2009. My tester returned an average of 15.3 in mostly city driving, just about matching a 2007 model I tested.

Reviews the 2010 Acura MDX

The Acura MDX could be seen as the standard-bearer of the luxury crossover segment. Since its introduction, though, competitors have made every effort to overtake it. Cars.com senior editor David Thomas reviews the 2010 MDX and explains why he’s come to expect so much from it, as well as what changes can be found for the 2010 model year.

2010 Acura MDX Road Test Review

2010 Acura MDX

According to Acura, MDX is an acronym for "MultiDimensional luXury." We usually dismiss this type of jargon as marketing gimmickry, but in the case of the 2010 Acura MDX, we're inclined to label it as justified. Unlike many of the luxury crossovers from domestic and Asian manufacturers, the MDX will satisfy a wide variety of drivers on many levels, a feat we usually equate with European brands.

Our 2010 Acura MDX test vehicle, in Advance Entertainment dress, represents the fully loaded trim level, and rings in about $11,500 more than the base model. Priced in the mid-$50,000 range, this MDX competes against the elite luxury crossovers from Germany. Fortunately for Acura, the latest improvements to the drivetrain and upgrades to the interior and technological gadgetry have the MDX giving the lofty competition a run for its money.

In terms of price, performance and features, the 2010 Acura MDX compares favorably against the Audi Q7, BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne. At this level, brand equity figures into the equation quite heavily, and in this arena Acura comes up a bit short. However, the smart shopper should note that when you outfit any of these German utes with the same features as this MDX, the price begins to climb farther out of reach. For those who can do without the countless bells and whistles, the price-to-benefit ratio swings authoritatively toward the multidimensional 2010 Acura MDX's favor.