2014 Acura MDX SH-AWD - Spring Update

[tokyodream]

2014 Acura MDX SH-AWD - Spring Update

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1404-2014-acura-mdx-april-update/

“This is a really good crossover because it toes the line between enthusiast desires and mainstream consumer appeal.”

No matter the season, our 2014 Acura MDX remains in nearly constant motion. As many staffers’ road trip vehicle of choice, the three-row crossover once again loaded up the miles last month.

The first to take the reins was staff photographer Patrick Hoey. Hoey has driven the 2014 Acura MDX thousands of miles of several photo shoots, visiting states as distant and South Carolina, Kentucky, and Indiana. On his most recent journey, Hoey loaded the MDX with camera gear to shoot our comparison test of a 2015 Chrysler 200 and a Honda Accord.

All that time behind the wheel has left Hoey lukewarm about our blue crossover. “The MDX is a really competent road-trip car, and it’s very comfortable,” he reports. “Even so, it’s inoffensive to the extreme. I don’t really get excited about driving it.”

Once the snow finally melted, we took the 2014 Acura MDX to our local Discount Tire to swap the winter rubber for the factory Michelin Latitude Tour HP all-season tires. The operation took less than an hour and cost us just $100.

Close inspection revealed that our 2014 Acura MDX had suffered during the winter. Road grime sullied the 19-inch wheels and dirtied the paint, and the carpets were encrusted with road salt. To make our luxury crossover shine again, we washed, waxed, vacuumed, polished, shined, and cleaned out the car during an office-wide spring-cleaning session. At the end of the day, the MDX was spotless, but given how often it’s used for long-haul trips, during which occupants regularly eat and drink while on the move, it’s only a matter of time before the Acura MDX needs another freshening.

In fact, the day after we hosed it down, the 2014 Acura MDX rushed off to Greensboro, North Carolina. Associate web editor Joey Capparella and his family drove there to attend a wedding and squeezed as many as seven people inside for short stints. He reports that the rear-seat DVD player had no problem blasting Disney’s Frozen and that the navigation system never gave a bum direction during more than 1200 miles of driving. Overall, he was far more impressed by the MDX than was Hoey.

“This is a really good crossover because it toes the line between enthusiast desires and mainstream consumer appeal,” Capparella said. “It stayed planted and responsive on twisting mountain roads in West Virginia, yet the ride was still comfortable and quiet.”

On the other hand, he doesn’t recommend regularly carrying seven passengers. "The third row is not a nice place to be for an extended period of time. You don’t get much air conditioning from the vents (which are located at the back of the center console), the floor is too high to get your legs in a comfortable position, and the backrest forces you to sit at a very upright angle," Capparella said.

Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1404-2014-acura-mdx-april-update/#ixzz30RsAwAIa

   
Body style 4-door crossover
Accommodation 7-passenger
Construction Steel unibody
Base price (with dest.)$57,400
As tested $57,400

   
Engine 24-valve SOHC V-6
Displacement 3.5 liters (212 cu in)
Power 290hp @ 6200 rpm
Torque 267lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
Transmission 6-speed automatic
Drive 4-wheel
EPA Fuel Economy 18/27/21 (city/hwy/combined)

   
Steering Electrically assisted
Lock-to-lock 3.1 turns
Turning circle 37.6 ft
Suspension, Front Strut-type, coil springs
Suspension, Rear Multilink, coil springs
Brakes F/R Vented discs/discs
Wheels 19-inch aluminum
Tires Michelin Latitude Tour HP
Tire size 245/55R-19 103H

   
Headroom F/R 38.1/38.3/35.6 in
Legroom F/R 41.4/36.6/28.1 in
Shoulder room F/R 61.1/59.1/54.7 in
Wheelbase 111.0 in
Track F/R 66.3/66.3 in
L x W x H 193.6 x 77.2 x 66.7 in
Passenger capacity 132.3 cu ft
Cargo capacity (behind r/m/f row)15.8/45.1/90.9 cu ft
Weight 4318 lb
Weight dist. F/R 57.9/42.1%
Fuel capacity 19.5 gal
Est. fuel range 410 miles
Fuel grade 91 octane (premium)

   
Standard Equipment

    Milano leather-trimmed interior
    Heated and ventilated front seats
    Heated second-row outboard seats
    115-volt power outlet
    Adaptive cruise control
    Forward collision prevention
    Lane keeping assist
    Keyless entry and ignition
    Remote start
    Rearview camera
    Bluetooth
    10-way power driver’s seat
    Power tailgate
    Power sunroof
    LED headlights
    Automatic tri-zone climate control
    Rear seat entertainment w/16.2-inch display
    Auto-dimming rearview and exterior mirrors
    Front and rear parking assist
    Navigation w/real-time traffic updates
    Blind spot monitoring system
    SiriusXM satellite radio
    ELS Studio 12-speaker audio system
    Roof rails
    Rear sunshades


Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1404-2014-acura-mdx-april-update/#ixzz30RsP4Quy

[tokyodream]

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1405-2014-acura-mdx-a-family-affair/

four seasons long-term tests
2014 Acura MDX SH-AWD - A Family Affair

"I found entering a new destination in the navigation system to be cumbersome, but playing Pandora Internet radio over a Bluetooth connection was straightforward."

When you've got a brood of four children, taking a trip from Michigan to Florida becomes a hassle. You could raid the piggy bank to purchase six plane tickets, or instead pack the family into a large crossover and hit the Interstate. Our friend Mike De Turris and his wife took the latter option, and borrowed our 2014 Acura MDX for a 2000-mile road trip.

De Turris soon fell for the 2014 Acura MDX as he headed south on I-75, activating the adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist systems to make the journey even easier. "The seats were very comfortable and there wasn't much road noise, helping the kids fall asleep quickly," he reported. "I found entering a new destination in the navigation system to be cumbersome, but playing Pandora Internet radio over a Bluetooth connection was straightforward."


The family used all three rows of seating, and even put the rear-seat DVD player to use so the children could watch DVDs rather than hassling mom and dad. When getting his kids settled in the MDX, De Turris noted that the third row of seats lacks a LATCH system, meaning it's not ideal for bolting in a child seat. He also found that with all three rows of seats raised and in use, there wasn't much space left in the cargo area for suitcases, leaving him skeptical his family could do a weekly grocery run with the MDX.

"I don't think this vehicle would work for a family of six on a daily basis," he said, noting that several smaller bags had to sit on the vehicle's floor.

All told, De Turris came away from his ten-day road trip impressed with the capability and comfort of our 2014 Acura MDX. "I really enjoyed driving the MDX, and it averaged 24 mpg on our trip," he reported.

Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1405-2014-acura-mdx-a-family-affair/#ixzz32QB1X2o4

[tokyodream]

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1409-2014-acura-mdx-sh-awd-vacation-mobile/

Four seasons long-term tests
2014 Acura MDX SH-AWD - Vacation-mobile

Miles To Date: 20,988


"Despite the upscale badge, the MDX doesn’t seem to have moved far beyond its practical, virtuous Honda roots."

Having driven the 2014 Acura MDX in Michigan and now here in New York, we’ve noticed what a common sight Acura’s SUV is on the road. It’s not hard to see why. This family-friendly SUV packs three usable rows of seats into a vehicle that doesn’t look like a bus and isn’t sized like a freighter.

After taking it on two vacations—a long weekend in northern Michigan and a week at the beach in Maryland—it’s clear that packing is the MDX’s forte. The fore-and-aft adjustable second row allows one to parse out the space between the two rear benches, creating a more hospitable third row when necessary or, alternately, a more spacious second row. Unfortunately, as is often the case with 3-row crossovers, when you’re using the third row, there’s precious little luggage space. On both our trips, we were only travelling four-up, so for us, both passenger and cargo space were more than adequate—although for our weeklong trip we made use of every available nook and cranny, including the underfloor stowage cubby.

Modest mechanicals

As is so often the case with Honda products, the engineers here have been able to wring very good performance out of this engine and transmission combo despite its seemingly mundane hardware. The 3.5-liter V-6 is normally aspirated, yet it develops 290 hp; the transmission is only a six-speed, yet its willingness to downshift to make use of all of the engine’s power band means acceleration is never lacking. Perhaps because we, too, didn’t hesitate to make use of that power, our indicated fuel economy was shy of the EPA’s 27-mpg highway estimate. Over the nine-hour round trip in Michigan our average was 26 mpg, while we managed only 24 mpg heading down to the Jersey Shore from the northern New York City suburbs. Still, even these lesser numbers are respectable for a large, three-row crossover.



Technology travails

Despite the upscale badge, the 2014 Acura MDX doesn’t seem to have moved far beyond its practical, virtuous Honda roots. For an as-tested price of $57,400 on this fully loaded example, one might expect a bit more luxury and style. In that sense, the 2014 Acura MDX trails such premium-brand competitors as the Infiniti QX60 and the Lexus RX.

Additionally, its infotainment system already seems out of date, which is surprising given the fact that this is a newly redesigned model. The two-screen format should afford the ability to display plenty of info simultaneously, but the satellite radio screen doesn’t show artist or song title; instead, it rather pointlessly shows the category. If you want to see what’s playing, you have to display audio info on both screens, but that wipes out navigation. The fact that the main controller knob operates the zoom function for the navigation system and can also move the map is definitely best practice. It’s annoying, however, to have a major climate control function like fan speed only accessible in the touch screen, and even then you first have to call it up via a tiny touch point—this is very distracting.

The 2014 Acura MDX has a solid foundation in engineering and packaging. Those practical virtues have made it a hit with families. If Acura wants to be seen as a full-fledged luxury brand, however, it needs to up its efforts in its interior style and appointments and in its presentation of technology.

Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/1409-2014-acura-mdx-sh-awd-vacation-mobile/#ixzz3De0qRrNo