Overview & Reviews

The Acura MDX is a midsize luxury SUV with a carlike unibody platform and three rows of seats. The original MDX bowed in 2001, at a time when most competitors still featured body-on-frame construction and the term "crossover" was but a glimmer in some marketer's eye. Since then, Acura has maintained the MDX's family-friendly packaging, including standard seven-passenger seating, while spicing up the recipe with various styling, performance and handling enhancements. In typical Acura fashion, every MDX comes well equipped, with options generally limited to a few choice features bundled into packages.

New or used, the Acura MDX stands out for its comfort, versatility and refinement. It's one of our top recommendations for a family-oriented luxury crossover SUV. In reviews, we've found the MDX to be a polished performer, as it remains one of the more engaging luxury crossovers to drive and also provides a commendably supple ride. Weak points include cramped third-row accommodations for adults and less sumptuous interior appointments than in some rivals, though the MDX's strong resale value offers ample compensation.

User Reviews:

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  Buyer Beware... - 2012 Acura MDX
  By pwr1 - January 11 - 8:39 am

  I spent over $50,000 on an SUV that is all talk and no walk. Everything about this vehicle exudes quality and detail - until you try to go up a steep hill like your driveway. WTF. The vehicle shifts up immediately, then slows down almost to a stall, then shifts down hard, goes 20ft then shifts up again. I was embarrassed as hell, and as soon as I can dump it Im going to. Dont waste your time or money. Im headed straight toward a real SUV like the new Yukon Denali etc... this was a wast of time and money and reputation on Acuras part. The dealers know about the shift problem, but they wont discuss it with you (I know an out of town dealer srvc rep that confirms this). Angry now.

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  LOVE LOVE LOVE this 2002 ACURA MDX TOURING - 2002 Acura MDX
  By grammyjan1978 - January 6 - 10:55 am

  I drove this, loved the looks of it, and it has 187,000 and counting. I would buy another one just like it...got it at 54000 at dealer certified and have had no issues whatsoever. I love my Acura. My only question...I just drove to work and for the first time I clicked the four wheel drive VDX button, how can you tell if it goes off...I clicked it and no change...got me to work in 13 inches of snow...

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  Love our 2014 MDX - 2014 Acura MDX
  By david1965 - January 4 - 8:34 pm

  Bought our 14 MDX in October and have driven about 5,000 flawless miles. We have had a lot of winter weather lately and the MDX does great on snow and ice. We are pleased with fuel economy for a vehicle this large. This is my wifes car primarily and she drives like shes running from the law - still averaging about 22 mpg in mix of city/highway. Only complaint is that touchscreen seems difficult to use as compared to simply having a knob or a switch. But all cars seem to be going the touch screen direction. Also wish Acura didnt do quite so much bundling of packages. Would have purchased the tech package but I am not a fan of the navigation system. Overall, very pleased.

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  someone will sue Acura - 2005 Acura MDX
  By unhappykris - January 2 - 9:35 am

  second MDX, 7th Honda vehicle, last one had tranny issues, this one had the tranny noise slightly. 2012 I get a letter saying transmission software upgrade, so I took it in. Especially in case I had tranny issues in future they would say that I had not done this upgrade they suggested. The upgrade made the 5th gear come on at 45 MPH instead of the original 40 MPH. This removed the noise, but, the gas consumption is terrible now as 90% of my city driving is below 45 MPH! The should fix bad designs, not make us pay for it. Also, I cannot prove this yet, but another "recall software upgrade" has disabled my Vehicle Stability Assist". This is NOT how a luxury make should do things!

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  great bang for your buck - 2014 Acura MDX
  By stegrin - December 28 - 9:22 am

  love the MDX..i do a lot of hwy driving..only thing i am disappointed with is that i am averaging apprx 24.8 mpg on hwy..a little less than advertised..but not terrible...i looked at many of its competitors, i.e mercedes, infiniti, bmw to name a few..mdx is def cheaper than its competitors for a comparably equipped vehicle...

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  Great value and decent features - 2012 Acura MDX
  By sebring95 - December 7 - 8:56 am

  Weve had this for a little over a year and 30k miles. It was really no more expensive than a loaded Honda/Ford/GM SUV. Normally I wouldnt buy a "luxury" brand for our family hauler given the 25k-30k miles per year we drive, but operating costs on an Acura are a fraction of the Euro brands. Depreciation also appears to be significantly more favorable. Transmission is relatively lazy and you have to keep after it to capitalize on the 300hp. Backup camera is terrible at night. Gas mileage is as expected...averaging 19.5 and 21-22 on long trips at 75mph. Unless youre comparing it to something significantly more expensive or smaller, this is a great overall vehicle.

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  Great midsized SUV - 2014 Acura MDX
  By gra_jr - November 24 - 8:58 am

  Had the MDX SH-awd Tech for a little over a month now. Third Acura but first Acura SUV. Coming from the 12 TL SH-awd Advanced it is taking a little getting used to. The TL had much more "spunk" but it was a luxury sports car if you will. Overall it is a great car. Ride is silky smooth. We do get a little noise from the Direct Injection from the outside but cant hear it all in the cab. Strongly considered the RLX but couldnt justify the $6K cost since this is virtually the same interior dash layout, engine, and Tech features as the RLX tech. Also considered resale value. As popular as the MDXs are compared to bad reviews of the RLX it was a no brainer.... Go for the MDX!

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  Great car, lousy Nav/Ent/Voice System - 2014 Acura MDX
  By danrhiggins - November 16 - 9:50 pm

  I have had my 14 MDX (white Advance) since June and now have over 13K miles. I love the way the car drives. But the Nav, voice command and entertainment software is sub-par and of poor quality. Poor support for Apple products. Poor voice command (fewer commands then other vehicles, some commands dont work, etc.), very poor Nav display (not clear, doesnt work with polarized glasses.) Again, for a vehicle of this size it handles well and is fun to drive. Good use of interior space. Comfortable enough though the driver seat could use some more adjustment options. LKAS, AAC, CAS, BSI pretty cool. Nav/Voice/Entertainment very disappointing.

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  Unacceptable noises - 2014 Acura MDX
  By buchem - November 9 - 4:43 pm

  Soon after delivery we took a long road trip. Would have been enjoyable with great comfort but trip was ruined by dashboard rattles and intermittent grating noise under light acceleration. After three trips to dealer the dash noises are less but not eliminated and are judged to be "normal". Not in $50K car. Worse is the grating noise. Dealer says it is a "known issue" with no known cause or solution. I know the 2014 model is a total redesign butt his is just unacceptable. All I can say to potential buyers is avoid this car. Acura is selling cars with a known issue and not currently able to fix them. We are very unhappy customers.

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  As good a Luxury SUV youll find - 2014 Acura MDX
  By aqc1 - November 4 - 2:38 pm

  This is my 3rd Acura and 2nd MDX (previous was 07 Tech/enter) so Im clearly an Acura fan. The new MDX is better than the old MDX in every way. Silky smooth 3.5L V6 with better performance and far better MPG (18/27 AWD. Im averaging 22 combined). Ultra quiet interior, luxurioius faux-wood and tech savy. love the adaptive cruise, lane departur warning and crash mitigation. I lean more towards Tech than pampering in my cars so Im all in. Love the touch screen, tablet interface is clearly the way to go. Ride quality is improved over the last gen MDX. My only complaint are the seats. Not as good as 10 TL SHAWD, best seats of any car ive owned. 27MPG!