With a stroke of the designer’s pen, the last holdout in the Acura lineup has been updated to the company’s new corporate face -- beaklike grille and all. For 2010, Acura has updated the MDX SUV with new looks, a six-speed transmission, and all the latest technology in an effort to keep it on par with the competition.
Most noticeable to consumers will be the MDX’s new styling, updated for 2010 with new front and rear fascias to better reflect Acura’s recent design direction. The result looks something like a puffed-up TL and ditches the old MDX’s shieldlike grille, which was arguably the best-looking one in Acura’s fleet until now. Complementing the new grille and gaping twin air intakes up front is a slightly toned-down rear fascia with new, rectangular exhaust tips. In all, the MDX now looks less like its own vehicle and more like a larger RDX.
Acura didn’t spend all its time on the MDX’s bodywork, though. The company also got busy under the hood, refining its 3.7-liter V-6 engine in a bid to improve fuel economy and smoothness. The result is a tradeoff, in that the engine now makes five fewer pound-feet of torque than it did last year but the same horsepower to a tune of 300 horses and 270 pound-feet. On the upside, the MDX has picked up an extra mpg in city and highway driving for a total of 16 mpg city and 21 mpg highway.
The bigger news is that Acura has dropped the old five-speed automatic for a new Sequential SportShift six-speed box with a multi-clutch torque converter for smoother shifting. Acura says the new box is fitted with five short gears and a tall sixth gear for good acceleration as well as good economy when cruising in top gear. The new automatic also comes with steering-wheel paddles for manual shifting as well as a sport mode, Grade Logic Control, Shift Hold Control, Cornering G Shift Control, and Hill-Start Assist and contributes to a 5000-pound towing capacity. Power hits the pavement through Acura’s Super Handling All Wheel Drive system equipped with Vehicle Stability Assist and Trailer Stability Assist.
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