Full disclosure: when the 2022 Acura MDX rolled up to my door, I’d honestly forgotten that it was an all-new vehicle for the 2022 model year. After all, the automotive world is constantly hurling new and updated crossovers in front of us; I remembered that the 2022 MDX had a carryover powertrain from the 2020 version, so in my mind, I’d taken one quick pass over the press release and assumed Acura was using “all new” in the fast-and-loose way some carmakers do for updates that amount to little more than a mid-life refresh.
After a long day of driving this Acura, however…well, let’s just say there was no mistaking it for the previous one. As it turns out, Acura’s new MDX is one damn impressive luxury SUV — and very much worthy of paying attention to.
The 2022 MDX is surprisingly fun to drive
AcuraMuch like the also-new TLX and other Acuras before, all-wheel-drive versions of the MDX boast Acura’s torque-vectoring, wonderfully named Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive system, which generally biases power delivery in favor of the rear axle but can shuffle it around as needed to maximize grip – and, more entertainingly, push even this hearty crossover through turns with the sort of vivacity that’ll coax a smile from a driver’s mouth.
The 290-horsepower V6 beneath the hood isn’t quite as entertaining; it’s a carryover from the previous model, and one of the few naturally aspirated base engines left in this category. (A turbocharged V6 Type S model arrives later this year, making 355 ponies.) Still, the 10-speed automatic does a solid job of keeping the engine in the powerband when you want to push it — more so if you grab the ginormous drive mode selector in the center of the dash and twist it in a more sporting direction.
