Suburban Dad vs. Urban DINK: Acura MDX

The new Acura MDX arrived in the Cars.com fleet last week just in time for some bad weather and some extreme scrutiny from our resident Urban DINK and Suburban Dad. First up, the Urban DINK took the MDX for a few days of commuting and errand-running before handing the keys to the suburb-dwelling parent.

UD: After enjoying a week with the Acura RDX because of its city-friendly size, I was expecting the MDX to be too big for real urban driving. Surprisingly, when I parked it in the spot where our Jeep Grand Cherokee usually sits, it fit just fine, although it was harder to see over the hood. Parallel parking wasn’t bad, but the tight steering was a bit of a pain.

I’m really perplexed by the size of this thing. The third row doesn’t help at all in our daily lives, and an MDX with two rows would have a ton of cargo room, like the Jeep, without being obnoxiously large on the street. Instead, the standard third row takes up a lot of cargo space without offering much benefit; it does fold almost perfectly flat, though not perfectly enough for me.

SD: The folding third row was one of the things my family and I liked best about the MDX. Having a third row means the kids don’t have to sit on top of each other, which means fewer arguments. The fact that it can fold meant I could load bags back there that wouldn’t fit in the tiny cargo space that’s there when the third row is in use. The one-hand lever that lowers and raises the third row was a hit with me as well.

My wife and I were comfortable in the front, and I fit in the second row easily. Getting into the third row was a little dicey for the kids, but they found their way when they had to.

UD: I thought that second row was unimpressive in size too, because of the space the third row needs. Glad someone liked it, though. Plus, you don’t have to worry about parking the darn thing, Mr. Driveway and Two-Car Garage.

Anyway, when I first drove the MDX I thought the steering was too tight and the whole thing felt heavy, but it really grew on me, especially during cornering and while scooting around town running errands. I was really surprised at how sporty it felt for being so big. There was hardly any tippy-ness when making turns. It also took the commuter train tracks by my wife’s West Loop office (think Rubicon Trail) with ease and comfort — a lot better than the 4×4 Jeep, that’s for sure. 

SD: Don’t hate me because I can park where I want when I get home. The MDX wowed my wife, who thought it was a great ride – very smooth and sure-footed (especially in the ice-and-snow storm we drove through). I also found the steering heavy, but given the poor conditions I appreciated that I knew where the road was all the time. We ran a lot of errands while in the MDX, including a trip to the in-laws, several of whom wanted to check it out. I tested the “Comfort” button between the two front seats, but I couldn’t tell an appreciable difference in suspension.

One of the best things about the MDX was the great accelerator response. I could pass when I needed to, without any lag. On the flip side, filling it up with the premium gas it required was painful. I think it was getting something just north of 15 mpg.

UD: During an earlier test I got to check out the Comfort and Sport settings. I definitely noticed a loss of ride comfort when going into Sport mode, but it didn’t make the car suddenly fun to drive. I left the Comfort button on the whole time this week.

The interior was a step up from the RDX, but that center stack is still full of confusing buttons and too many ways to do the same thing. Plus, I was peeved there was no jack for my MP3 player. It turns out the test vehicle had the “upgraded” entertainment system, which doesn’t include an auxiliary jack. Lame. It turns out the Aux jack is in the passenger glove compartment despite the owners manual not saying that at all, but expressly stating, with an image, the jack in the center glovebox is for the standard MDX only. Brilliant.

There was a bunch of DVD stuff in the back, but of course I have no need for that. I wouldn’t give up a simple AUX plug for a DVD system, that’s for sure.

SD: Boy, you’re not kidding about the buttons. And no MP3 jack? What is this, a Yugo? (Sorry, lost my head a little bit there.) Still, Acura’s navigation system was better than most I’ve tried in that it was easier to plug in an address, and the interstate traffic info was vital on the two-hour commute home.

You know what bugged my family most? The auto locks on the doors. When the MDX hits about 15 mph, all of the doors lock. When you put it in Park, only the driver’s door unlocks. That led to a lot of grumbling, my friend. Also, where the heck was the outside temperature reading? Virtually every car I’ve driven over the last year has had that, and I would guess that Acura drivers want to know what it’s like outside as much as anyone else.

UD: Seriously, I’m with you on the external temp, oh paternal pal. The door-lock thing is pretty common, though. Overall, the MDX would probably be perfect for you, but I think there are DINKs out there like me who wish it came with a third-row-delete option. I’ll have to take a pass on the MDX and keep looking for a wagon or SUV when our lease comes up in June.

SD: Despite my little peeves (and I’m aware that many have that awful door-lock feature, we just didn’t like it), the MDX went over great with the family, and by that I mean the wife. “Can we test drive it for a year?” she asked. Sadly, we cannot. Two out of three kids endorsed the third-row option, the folding seats made cargo space less of an issue, and we’d target this as my car — the one that only rarely would carry all five of us. Would we buy the MDX? If I knew gas prices were going to hang around two bucks a gallon, it might be parked in my driveway for a long time.

UPDATE: OK, Acura tells us there is a way to turn off the automatic door locks using the information menu and steering wheel controls. The Suburban Dad has one less little peeve to worry about it seems.