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.
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