A day trip, weekend adventure or a week or more of vacation time, I
love to travel. It’s all good — getting away, investigating a new area
or returning to the scene of great memories.
In some respects,
I’m the same way with cars. I’ve experienced good and bad memories in
the past decade test-driving all kinds of vehicles. I’ve learned I
gravitate heavily toward mid-sized sport utility vehicles like the
Acura MDX, among others, since what they offer is usually a good fit
for my needs.
With that in mind, I revisited the MDX, one of my
favorite vehicles, several weeks ago. My only further cemented my like
of this stylish SUV and its wonderful handling, powerful engine, high
safety scores and solid fuel efficiency.
Two years ago, I took a
pleasant day trip to San Francisco, where the MDX effortlessly climbed
many of the famed city’s steep hills, cruised over the Golden Gate
Bridge and provided great handling in both the over-crowded city
streets and a serpentine drive along Highway 1.
Last year, I
headed up Interstate 80 with a group of anxious snowboarders in the MDX
on a brutally cold, windy day. Long lift lines and freezing conditions
were a bad combination that afternoon and evening at Boreal. Yet the
smooth ride and comfort of the MDX, aided by a superb rear DVD
entertainment system, made the trip worth taking. The ride was probably
better than the time on the hill.
There wasn’t a memorable trip
with the 2008 Acura MDX, just an average
week of navigating streets and
freeways of Placer County. But it still provided the type of pleasant
driving that may one day have me shopping for this upscale SUV.
Following
last year’s first redesign since the MDX was introduced in 2001, not
much has changed. No complaints here. The only thing I found wrong with
the MDX was the limited third-row seating, and extremely common trait
among the mid-size SUV crowd.
A 3.7-liter, V6 engine with plenty
of torque and 300 horsepower made the MDX feel more like a powerful V8.
The horsepower was increased a year ago and so was its towing capacity,
now 5,000 pounds.
Acura’s stiff chassis and its
electromechanical all-wheel-drive system (called SH-AWD) made its debut
in the RL sedan. It shifts torque front to back and side to side,
allowing for increased stability and traction.
The MDX has a
long list of standard features and likewise a long list of expensive ex
cesses. The MDX starts at $40,195, a decent sticker price for the
classy crowd this Acura hangs with — the Lexus RX 400, BMW X5, Infiniti
FX, Porsche Cayenne and Volvo XC90.
Standard Features — power front seats; memory driver system; center
console; 6-disc, CD/MP3 changer, satellite radio; wireless cell phone
link; automatic headlights
