Anyone driven the 07 MDX?

[dinkeldorf]

We're thrilled with our 06. But ya know, the 07 MDX does have better towing, 300HP & SHAWD and they ditched the goofy styling. Any thoughts?

[jl_ss]

Originally posted by dinkeldorf
We're thrilled with our 06. But ya know, the 07 MDX does have better towing, 300HP & SHAWD and they ditched the goofy styling. Any thoughts?

Check out this site for owner reviews and opinions: Link. I think the new grill is a whole new level of "goofy" styling. A base MDX is $also $40K now, so there is a hefty premium to pay over the Pilot - it depends on whether it is worth it to you. It is also a first year significant redesign, which I'd be leary of.

[dinkeldorf]

Thanks for the link!

I went in & had a look. It's a little biased but good info.

We've got 30 months left on our 06 but I like to know what I'm getting next. By then the 08/09 Pilot(?) could be out. The price differential isn't that great. It kills me Honda keep stuff out of the Pilot such that it doesn't overlap the MDX (power passenger seat, memory seats, bluetooth etc etc).

My big thing was the additional towing (want to get a 21" hybrid tent trailer...) so if comes to the Pilot, I'd be happy enough.

[jl_ss]

Originally posted by dinkeldorf
Thanks for the link!

I went in & had a look. It's a little biased but good info.

We've got 30 months left on our 06 but I like to know what I'm getting next. By then the 08/09 Pilot(?) could be out. The price differential isn't that great. It kills me Honda keep stuff out of the Pilot such that it doesn't overlap the MDX (power passenger seat, memory seats, bluetooth etc etc).

My big thing was the additional towing (want to get a 21" hybrid tent trailer...) so if comes to the Pilot, I'd be happy enough.

What's the trailer weigh and how often are you going to be towing it? If you are near the limits or will be towing a lot, then I wouldn't recommend a Honda/Acura at all given their fragile transmissions. There was already one 2007 MDX tranny failure posted already.

The trim level price differential ranges from $4.5K (loaded Pilot/base MDX) to $20.7K (base Pilot/loaded MDX). With a parallel feature comparison, it's more like $10K, which I think is a significant amount.

Now that the MDX is an entirely different animal and has features that will differentiate from the Pilot like SH-AWD, it's likely that the next redesign of the Pilot will add some of the features that were suppressed because they were the only things really differentiated the MDX from the Pilot besides looks. For example, I would expect to see factory navi and RES available together like all the Pilot's competition offers.

[TheEaglePilot]

This year the price differential is especially wide, given that the Pilot is about to be redesigned. I assume you're comparing MSRP's, but no one is getting a new MDX for $6000 under sticker, are they?

Chris

[jl_ss]

Originally posted by TheEaglePilot
This year the price differential is especially wide, given that the Pilot is about to be redesigned. I assume you're comparing MSRP's, but no one is getting a new MDX for $6000 under sticker, are they?

Chris

If you are refering to my post, then yes those are MSRP comparisons with no adjustment for discounts. The new MDX is now starting to sell for invoice in a lot of areas.

[dinkeldorf]

I didn't realize the tranmissions were fragile(!) but wanted to be well within the limits.

We were thinking seriously about a 21" hybrid. They seem to run about 3000LBs dry. Two or three trips a year bearing in mind we have to cross the Rockies to get to Beautiful British Columbia.

We tried our 06 out with a 12" tent trailer which went great - loaded box, bikes, dog, kid, water toys - but wanted the extra HP not just for the weight but the drag.

We'll keep an eye on it.

Originally posted by jl_ss
What's the trailer weigh and how often are you going to be towing it? If you are near the limits or will be towing a lot, then I wouldn't recommend a Honda/Acura at all given their fragile transmissions. There was already one 2007 MDX tranny failure posted already.

[mkaresh]

I've driven the MDX, and was fairly impressed. I like how it looks smaller than it is. I never cared for the styling of the old MDX.

My full review:

Acura MDX review

[dinkeldorf]

Nice review, well written. I didn't realize the 3rd row was quite that tight but this might not be an issue. I will hold off test driving for now until we sort out our camper situation.

[knapp9]

We had a chance to test drive an 07 MDX today. Were considering upgrading from our 05 Pilot. Wife doesn't think the Pilot front seat (and the kids don't think the rear seats) are all that comfortable on long trips. Here are our general impressions of the MDX.

The MDX front seats were definitely more comfortable. They are contoured and provided much better back support in my view. Seats passed the wife test too. She liked the position of the head restraint much better. My rearend didn't slide around on them either as we do in the Pilot's flatter design. While the rear seats were contoured as well, the kid's thought they were as uncomfortable as the Pilot rear seats. I sat in them too and agree with the kids.

The MDX wasn't anywhere as roomy inside as the Pilot. Comfortable, but definitely less interior space.

Road noise was comparable to the Pilot, which I found disappointing. I assumed it would be quieter at highway speeds, but seemed the same as the Pilot to me. Everyone noticed an irritating vibration in the seats as we drove. As soon as one of the kids mentioned it, everyone seemed to notice the same thing. I wondered if it was related in some fashion to the MDX Active Damper System sport suspension on the particular vehicle we drove, but really don't know.

The ride was great!!! Much more fun to drive than the Pilot. Very responsive and no "big boat" feel. And all the electonics...wow! NAV, rear camera, stereo, etc...all very, very impressive.

Bottom line, we walked. Wasn't worth the difference in $$ compared to what we already had...in our view. But if I were buying one for the 1st time...didn't already own a Pilot...I'd take one w/o the ADS for a 2nd test drive.

[mkaresh]

It's hard to find a comfortable second row in a large SUV, because the companies assume children will be sitting back there and the focus in on getting the seat to fold flat.

You might want to take a look at the Hyundai Veracruz after it's introduced later this year. I sat in all three rows at the auto show. There's not much lateral support in the front seat, but the second seat is better than most. Hyundai tends to focus on ride quality and comfort instead of handling. The third row has more legroom than that in the Pilot, but only seats two people.