The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Acura pulls the wraps off its new flagship
All-new 2022 MDX SUV more luxurious, stylish
Occupying a new position atop the Acura lineup — the long-suffering RLX sedan has been dropped — the all-new MDX has been remade into the premium marque’s flagship.
It is the first sport utility so honoured and, as such, it is more luxurious, decidedly more stylish and, once we get the new Type S variant promised late next summer, substantially sportier as well.
The 2022 MDX — there won’t be a 2021 model — is a ground-up redesign with an all-new platform, at least one completely new engine and, most importantly, styling befitting an SUV that will not only have to compete with BMW’S X5 and Lexus’s RX but also carry the Acura banner on its shoulders.
And beefy shoulders they are. Not only is the new MDX larger — the 2022 is 55.1 millimetres longer, 25 mm wider and 11 mm taller than the outgoing 2020 model — but also decidedly more aggressive in its demeanour than the rather tepid designs that went before.
Noticeably more fierce is the front fascia, all scoops, ducts and menacing grille. But, unlike the Lexus RX, which is almost comically overdone with its over-thetop spindle grille, the MDX is actually quite attractive, perhaps the prettiest thing from Acura since the new NSX.
The rest of the exterior is equally sophisticated, there being an almost Audi-like lilt to the roofline and what Acura calls a cab rearward proportion the result, the company says, of its dash-tofront-axle ratio having been extended by almost 150 mm.
Inside, Acura says the cabin is driver focused but with room for seven passengers. With noticeably better materials — open-pore wood, brushed aluminum and premium leather — it’s also decidedly more upscale than MDXS past.
A whole range of seat
ing options will be available with the top A-spec versions sporting no less than 16 adjustments for the front seats and three distinct options being available for the rear two rows.
The cabin is also roomier, especially in the rearmost third row, where there’s 10 mm more headroom, 60 mm more legroom and the seats sit 50 mm higher than the previous generation. And, thanks to the 2022’s 70-mm longer wheelbase, there’s as much as 10 per cent more cargo space (depending on which seats are folded).
In all, the 2022 is decidedly more accommodating than its predecessor.
It’s also chock-a-block with technology. The instrument panel, for instance, is now a 12.3-inch customizable screen — complete with outputs for Acurawatch, SH-AWD status and even a “g” meter — and what Acura calls a 12.3inch True Touchpad Interface screen controlling the infotainment system.
And while this latter has something called absolute positioning and intuitive controls, Acura has nonetheless wisely retained physical Power, Volume and Seek controls to the immediate right of the touchpad.
Said audio systems range from the 450-watt, ninespeaker system in the base car to a 16 speaker, 710-watt ELS Premium Studio system in the A-spec and Platinum
elite packages.
Late next summer, when the much-anticipated Type S version arrives, it will boast an eardrum-challenging Signature Edition of the ELS Studio 3D system with 1,000 watts and no less than 25 speakers. Add it all up and the new MDX may be the first Acura in a long time to be deserving of a flagship designation.
It should handle a whole bunch better as well. Acura is bragging that its new platform is 45 per cent stiffer overall, while a new rigidly mounted front subframe increases lateral torsion resistance even more.
Combine that stiffer front platform with the MDX’S first use of double-wishbone independent suspension for the front wheels and you have what Acura claims is more stability, improved ride quality and a larger tire contact patch through corners.
The standard rim size is up one inch to 19 and the tires are no 10-mm wider with 255 series all round, the bump presumably to live up to claims of the MDX’S enhanced performance DNA.
In the engine department, the 3.5-litre VTEC V6 soldiers on, albeit with friction reducing enhancements and a magnesium crossflow intake manifold. It still pumps out the same 290 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque. More enticing is the news that a 355-hp turbocharged 3.0L V6 with 354 lb.-ft. of torque will soon be available in the Type S scheduled to hit dealerships by late summer 2021.
Larger, low-profile 275 series tires mounted on 21-inch rims are also part of the Type S package, as are four-piston Brembo front brake calipers. Note that there’s no mention of the Sport hybrid.
Helping contain all that power is a revised version of Acura’s Super-handling AllWheel-drive system which has been modified for flagship use with a greater rear torque bias. So, not only will the new MDX transmit as much as 70 per cent of its torque rearward, it can also vector all of that torque to whichever rear wheel has the most traction.
The company also says that this fourth generation of SHAWD is 30 per cent quicker in altering said front-to-rear torque distribution and, in the pursuit of sharper steering, overdrives the rear axle by some 2.9 per cent.
That, says the company’s engineers, “amplifies the yaw moment effect of left-toright torque transfer, giving MDX even sharper turn-in.” It all adds up to what Acura promises will be “the highestperforming SUV ever from Acura.”
Look for the new 2022 MDX in Canadian Acura dealerships in February of 2021 ranging from $56,045 for the base model (a fair jump over the current $54,390 base price) to $67,045 for the all-singing, all-dancing Platinum Elite model.
In between are the Tech trim at $60,045 and the popular A-spec retailing for $63,945.