2009 Acura MDX Review and Prices

by Chuck Giametta

2009 Acura MDX buying advice
In a market segment preoccupied with ostentation, the MDX is a breath of rationality.

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The Acura MDX is an outstanding
blend of style, performance, and comfort.
You won’t be disappointed with the entry-level model at around $41,000. And $3,000 or so isn’t too much to add for an MDX with the engaging Technology package.

Families will find another $2,200 well spent to get the DVD Entertainment group, which includes heated rear seats and power liftgate, the latter a feature that ought to be standard on a vehicle like this. Don’t bother with the Sport group; its trick suspension doesn’t add measurably to an already fine driving experience.

What you’ve got to know about the 2009 Acura MDX
The 2009 Acura MDX is like one of those enviable folks with the smarts to compete in the boardroom, the wit to charm at a cocktail party, and the resources to stay warm at the campground.

Indeed, the 2009 Acura MDX defines the modern premium midsize SUV, a creature expected to behave properly in virtually any company. It’s powerful but no gas hog, roomy and comfortable but not oversized, and able to navigate most terrain using smart technology instead of brute force. It’s sensibly priced, too, in a class than can get mighty costly.

MDX is Acura’s top-selling vehicle – car or truck – and the release date for the 2009 Acura MDX is autumn 2008.

What’s changed about the 2009 Acura MDX
No changes of significance are expected for the 2009 Acura MDX. The 2009 MDX is part of an MDX design generation introduced for the 2007 model year to replace the slightly smaller, less-powerful 2001-2006 generation.

No change to the 2009 Acura MDX will significantly alter its performance or passenger accommodations from those of the 2008 model. Statements in this review about performance and accommodations are based on detailed test drives of the 2008 Acura MDX.

What you can expect from the 2009 Acura MDX
The 2009 Acura MDX will remain an upscale, seven-passenger SUV with all-wheel drive and a 300-horsepower 3.7-liter V-6 as its sole engine. Acura is considering a second engine choice for the 2010 or 2011 model year, a diesel V-6 that would improve fuel economy and likely increase the MDX’s trailer-towing capacity from the current 5,000-pound limit.

The next Acura MDX design generation isn’t due until the 2012 or possibly 2013 model year, so the 2009 MDX will remain fresh in basic looks and technology until then.

2009 Acura MDX competition
In sales of premium midsize SUVs, the MDX consistently ranks No. 2 behind the perennial volume leader, the Lexus RX. The other top-sellers in the class are the BMW X5 and the Mercedes-Benz M-Class, with the new-for-2008 Buick Enclave making a sales splash as a bargain-priced entry with premium aspirations.

The Lexus RX pioneered the midsize-luxury-SUV segment back in 1999 and remains not only the best-seller by far, but the top-selling Lexus. The RX starts around $38,000 and delivers a kid-gloves experience befitting the Lexus brand. It seats five, has a V-6 engine, and is alone in the class with a gas-electric hybrid model. The RX was last redesigned for 2004. Its next major change is likely model-year 2010.

The BMX X5 is smaller inside than many in the class, but does seat seven, offers V-6 and V-8 power, and emphasizes sporty on-road performance. It was last was redesigned for model-year 2008 and won’t change drastically until 2013 or so. It starts around $46,000 with the V-6, $55,000 with the V-8.

The Mercedes-Benz M-Class spreads its blend of luxury and performance across a wide range of price and power offerings. Its lineup consists of gas and diesel V-6 models and two burly V-8 versions. All seat five. Base prices range from around $44,000 to $87,000. X5’s last redesign was for 2006, the next is due for model-year 2012 or 2013.

New on the scene is the Buick Enclave, a gussied-up version of an SUV sold with different styling as the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, and the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse. Enclave seats eight, has a V-6 engine, and is alone on this list of MDX competitors with a two-wheel-drive model. Enclave is pretty and refined, but doesn’t boast the brand prestige or the baked-in quality feel of the MDX, RX, X5, or M-Class. Still, a starting price under $35,000 for the all-wheel-drive model has premium-minded shoppers considering a Buick for the first time in years.

Driving the Acura MDX
Responsive, composed, quiet – this is what a premium midsize SUV ought to feel like. Some rivals use V-8s, most have automatic transmissions with six or even seven speeds. But few deliver more usable daily performance than the MDX gets from its smooth V-6 and alert five-speed automatic.

Efficient engineering is also the hallmark of MDX’s clever all-wheel-drive system, a setup Acura calls SH-AWD. SH stands for “super handling,” and the system does indeed enhance dry-road cornering behavior by spinning the rear outside wheel faster than the average of the two front wheels, in effect rotating the MDX through a turn. The MDX tackles the road in a manner befitting a sport-oriented premium sedan.

The MDX’s sophisticated all-wheel-drive system
enhances on-road handling.
Like most in its class, the MDX isn’t designed for severe off-roading, but it gets along well enough on unpaved or snowy surfaces. The MDX compensates for its lack of low-range gearing, adjustable-height suspension, or hill-descent control with the ability to automatically distribute power among its wheels to find the best traction available.

Riding in the Acura MDX
Acura takes the unusual step of using the same exceptionally comfortable shaping employed for the MDX’s front bucket seats and repeating it for the outboard positions in its second-row seats. The result is first-cabin support and lots of room for four adults. The second-row middle rider doesn’t have it quite so well, and third-row passengers are best served if they’re under five-foot-six.

Acura shapes the MDX’s rear seats to
mimic the contours of the front buckets.
No one will complain about a suspension that strikes an outstanding balance between firm control and bump-absorption. Accelerate rapidly, and the hi-tech V-6 answers with an aggressive purr but otherwise, you’ll hear little from engine, wind, or road.

Fold-down second- and third-row seats open up lots of cargo space on a nearly flat floor, though shorter folks will have a long stretch when they much reach in from the rear to raise those third-row seatbacks; power operation would help. MDX’s broad cargo hold accepts 4-foot-wide panels, and various cubbies, bins, and pockets attend to small-items storage.

Acura MDX dashboard and controls
No gauge or control is obstructed from view or reach, but the center portion of the dashboard contains nearly 50 separate buttons. It’s a bit daunting.

The MDX interior is a beautifully assembled high-fashion statement.
A navigation system is optional. It doesn’t usurp any audio or climate functions, and its screen is within the driver’s line of sight. Not so for its main control knob, situated low near the center console. Mastering the interface between the knob and the system’s functions takes some time, so drivers unfamiliar with the setup find themselves glancing from screen to knob and back, diverting their attention from the road.

Thankfully, the navigation, audio, and climate systems respond to voice-activated directions, though learning the appropriate commands, and getting the system to understand your pronunciation, can ignite a little human-machine dialog that’ll have you reaching in frustration for one of those 50 buttons.

Acura MDX fuel economy
Drive it with a light throttle foot and MDX will average 16-17 mpg in mixed city and highway travel. That’s not bad for this level of performance. Lots of stop-and-go commuting or spirited acceleration make 14-15 mpg averages a reality. Every true premium SUV is tuned for premium-grade fuel, and Acura recommends it for the MDX.

Acura MDX safety
The Acura MDX comes standard with a full array of standard safety features, including head-protecting curtain side airbags along all three seating rows. The bags deploy in the event of a side collision or an imminent rollover. Rollovers are a leading cause of fatalities in SUV accidents.

The MDX earns top marks – five starts out of five – in government tests of frontal and side-impact protection. No SUV tested has attained the full five stars in the government’s calculation of rollover resistance, but the MDX, with four stars, is among the top scorers.

Acura MDX price and features
The 2009 Acura MDX likely will start around $41,000 and continue to include as standard some features that cost extra on rivals. Among these are a power moonroof, front and rear air conditioning with tri-zone automatic climate control, and a power tilt-and-telescope steering column. Also included are leather upholstery, heated power front seats with memory, and xenon headlamps.

An MDX with the Technology package is priced around $44,000 and includes the navigation system and its attendant rearview camera, which projects on the nav screen an image of what’s behind when the transmission is shifted into reverse. The system also provides real-time traffic reports in 77 metropolitan areas.

Priced around $46,000 is the MDX with Sport package. This combines the Technology package with special shock absorbers that automatically adjust firmness to suit road conditions and can also be set to provide a “comfort” or “sport” ride via a dashboard button.

For another $3,000, a Technology- or Sport-package-equipped MDX can be outfitted with a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, heated second-row seats, and a power liftgate.

Acura MDX quality and reliability
Acura is Honda’s premium brand and its parent company’s reputation for quality and reliability shows up in the MDX’s healthy resale values. However, paying more for their Acuras than Honda buyers shell out for their cars apparently makes Acura owners a bit more demanding.

Honda usually scores well above average in surveys by J.D. Power and Associates, the leading customer-satisfaction ratings firm. The Acura brand, however, tends to be rated about average for such things as initial overall quality and longer-term dependability. MDX owners follow the pattern, judging their SUV average for overall quality and dependability, and finding most fault with the workings of some of the many accessories.

The MDX nonetheless feels rock-solid and rattle-free. And though some of the cabin shapes and contours are exaggerated, there’s no arguing the top-grade quality of the leather upholstery and soft-touch panels or the value evident in the real wood and aluminum trim.