Road Test: Honda MDX

By Feann Torr - 6/10/2005

There are many factors that make luxury SUV's appeal to specific customers, and one of them is badge cachet. As such, it would be fair to say that it may be a stretch for Honda to be marketing it's almost $70,000 AWD luxo-barge as a worthy competitor to vehicles from Europe.

Perhaps it would have been wiser to follow the Americans and slap the Acura badge on the MDX?

Granted, Japanese engineering and build quality is not to be sniffed at - and Honda is at the pointy end of engine design and reliability - and the MDX is a very fine vehicle; easy to drive, with ample pulling power, and all the bells and whistles you'd expect.

But one wonders if it's punching above its weight?

Step inside the vehicle and you'd be hard pressed to distinguish it from a Volkswagen SUV - leather abounds and it's soft too. But there's something about the MDX that seems a little rushed, a little hurried. Confused? If you can get to the end of this review, hopefully all will be explained:

Drive

With enough poke to keep up with German 6-cylinder luxury SUVs from BMW and Volkswagen, Honda's MDX is rapid for something weighing 1980kg, and is constantly altering where power and torque is sent.

From standstill the MDX will deliver drive to all four wheels and when acceleration reduces and the car reaches a constant cruising speed, the vehicle's brain diverts power to the front wheels (unless sensors dotted around the chassis detect one or both of the front wheels revolving at different rates to the rears).

While it could be said that most drivers don't want a front wheel-drive luxury 4x4, it actually feels quite confident on the road, and despite the cushy suspension that these luxury vehicles call for, plus the almost 200kW of power, it manages to feel quite poised on the road.

Thank four-wheel, fully independent suspension for the compliant ride.

In built-up areas, such as in cities and around the suburbs, the MDX behaves very nicely; the steering is light, the controls intuitive and it's 5-speed automatic transmission exhibits smooth and relatively rapid shifts.

When you get away from the concrete jungle and the roads become increasingly more demanding, the big Honda doesn't feel quite as confident - the supple suspension that easily soaks up pock marks in the 'burbs proves too soft for any sort of high-speed cornering.

Featuring a variable assist steering system, the colossal Honda SUV is a doddle to steer for something so big and heavy, though feedback through the front wheels as you tip into a corner is lacking.

The MDX is a big, heavy car, and its high ride height endows it with a centre of gravity that is far from ideal for rapid cornering, as it displays observable levels of body roll. On the plus side, it can be driven to many places where an Accord or a Civic cannot, which is exactly where the softer suspension and high ride height come in handy.

It does have a modicum of off road ability, which was quite surprising. Many of these luxury SUVs are simply oversized highway haulers - suited to the bush about as much as an Italian pair of stilettos - so it comes as a nice surprise when the MDX doesn't get instantly bogged. We didn't get the 2.0 tonne Honda as dirty as we would have liked, but it certainly performed well enough when we hacked down unsurfaced roads and more cautiously through some relatively tame bush access tracks.

VSA, otherwise known as vehicle stability assist, goes a long way to ensuring the car doesn't become uncontrollable when the car begins to lose traction or exhibit scary amounts of pitch/roll, and ABS prevents the wheels locking up under hard braking. It's not really my cup of tea, this MDX, but I can see how many drivers, particularly in the 55+ age bracket, will find that it suits their needs perfectly.

Engine

The 3.5-litre V6 that whirrs away under the bonnet with typical Honda quietness is a very willing performer, and though the official figures state 195kW @ 5800rpm and 345Nm of torque @ 3500rpm, it feels much stronger than this, and particularly so when one considers that it must shift more than 2000kg worth of metal, glass and plastic.

Throttle response is impressive for an automatic model, and I found myself dragging off many sports sedan at the traffic lights, such was the Honda's speed (which I must confess I later felt guilty about, because I often lose my temper when massive SUVs block my view of the road ahead and generally cause mayhem).

I reckon that when you sit so high up on the road, it's human nature (and a physical disposition) to look down on other road users both figuratively and literally.

Vehicular psychology aside, and the powerful bent six engine is one of the more frugal petrol powered luxury SUVs out there, delivering an economical combined fuel consumption (city/highway) figure of 12.9 litres per 100km.

The MDX also meets stringent Euro-3 Low Emission Vehicle standards, thanks to orifice-type fuel injectors and an exhaust system riddled with catalytic converters. In my humble opinion, this is one of the best 3.5-litre naturally aspirated motors in the world, able to look Nissan's impressive 3.5-litre V6 directly in the eye.

Exterior

In my personal opinion, the MDX is Honda's ugliest vehicle. I understand that that's not the nicest thing to say (car's have feelings too), but it's just that the Honda stylists are pretty good at what they do, and this is the least impressive effort in their range, if you like.

For a luxury SUV though, it's not too bad. The 17-inch alloy rims have an odd style that seems to suit the angular body styling, and the front end is, again, a very angular proposition, but with clean lines.

Honda claims that the MDX's design is an "ideal combination of strength and style," and I agree with the strength part: the vehicle's overall proportions - front and rear overhangs, bonnet length etc. - are quite pleasing to the eye, lending it a powerful "get out of my way" stance on the road.

It certainly is a very large vehicle, with a dominating silhouette and broad shoulders, but for mine it's the smaller touches that work best - the front driving lights, the innocuous twin exhaust system and the textbook brake lights.

In fact, the best view is from the rear I reckon, where the big rear windscreen arches all the way up to the roofline, topped off by a stubby little antenna. In general, it's not a bad-looking luxury 4WD, and a very fine effort as one of the pioneering Japanese luxury off-roaders, comparing well with the VW Touareg. But as soon as you rise up the European prestige scale, it starts to lose its lustre.

Interior

Clamber inside the wide-bodied and fairly jacked-up MDX and prepare to be assaulted with a number of fancy doodads and gizmos, least of which are monochromatic mirrors all round. Of course, these mirrors can all be switched between normal and monochromatic mode.

For those who aren't up to date on automotive lingo (shame on you), monochromatic mirrors are, essentially speaking, normal mirrors applied with a coating (sort of like an LCD) that, when charged with electricity, can help tone down dazzling illuminations, such as cars' headlights at night.

Verdict? They work very well indeed, and will please those with sensitive retinas. Once you've had the privilege of using them, it's disheartening to go back to 'standard' mirrors.

While the MDX can be optioned with satellite navigation, the model we tested was instead fitted with the standard display screen.

It's a fairly large digital screen (about 10-inches) that has a digital compass, plus ambient outside temperature, and there are a number of telemetry modes, such as fuel consumption, distance to empty and so on.

The MDX also features a most-welcome DVD player, whose screen is imbedded into the roof, just behind the front seats and able to entertain up to five rear seat passengers. Wireless headphones are a neat addition, or the DVD audio can be streamed through the car's pounding 7-speaker stereo.

Electrically adjustable front seats (with four memory spots for driver) with two-stage heat function ensure that your behind is suitably pampered, and while the MDX has leather seats with adequate levels of opulence, the Euro Accord's pews are a step above in terms of contouring. The MDX's front seats are better suited for long distance travel, being wider and softer.

The rear seat bench offers good hip and shoulder room, as the car is almost 2 metres wide (1955mm to be exact), and leg room is generous for back seat passengers too. Furthermore, if you want to transport up to seven passengers, this is no problem, as there are two rather clever rear seats that stow into the floor of the boot. With these third row seats in use, boot space is 208 litres - not good - but when the flush-fitting 6th and 7th seats are folded away, boot space opens up to 1104 litres - very good.

Overall: 3/5

The level of research and design that goes into most Honda motor vehicles is quite astounding, and rarely - if ever - does the Japanese marque deliver a flawed vehicle. The MDX, however, feels as though it was quickly conceived.

Reacting to the growing luxury SUV market, it's certainly better to at least present a model - even a substandard one - than no model at all, and though the MDX is far from substandard, it doesn't compare as glowingly to the other recent offerings from the Honda Motor Company. Rivals include the $70,000 3.2-litre V6-powered VW Touareg, and against these more established brands it does rather well - but again, badge value is the crucial factor in this market.

It certainly does everything that a luxury SUV should do - it accelerates quickly, quietly and smoothly, and has tonnes of luxurious interior space, a high driving position and plenty of features - and for the price it undercuts many of its rivals. But for me it didn't do much, it didn't stir my motoring spirit, and I get fairly excited whenever combustion takes place.

If Honda tweaked the car's styling to make it slightly more dynamic (see the Murano for how to stand out in a crowd) and added adjustable damping rates to the suspension system to allow drivers to get the best of both driving styles - sporty/relaxed - the MDX would rate at least another Wombat higher. A positive first generation model from Honda that can only improve.