rai

I was thinking about what you said about the power that it's not there until higher in the rev range.

I wonder if the power down low might not be the same or better than other V6s of similar displacement?

For example, I have a Sienna with 3.3L V6 with about 230hp (215 with the new rating) and 240-TQ (less (?) with the new rating).

The MDX with the new rating system is 300hp and 275-TQ thats a healthy +85 hp and +40-TQ over the Sienna.

My question is, might not the MDX be about the same or similar to other V6s like the old MDX/Pilot/Oddy and Sienna/Highlander etc.. at lower revs but after the power jump at higher revs might that make the MDX engine feel weak but it's not but more an illusion b/c you can feel the big power with higher revs?

How does the tranny deal with a foot to the floor? Is it quick to get the revs up? I know my Sienna is not a powerful car, but it seems to be able to hold the shifts to redline and kick down fairly quickly when asked. How do you feel about the MDX? Might not this be one area where it misses the 6-speed? Not for high speed cruising but more so ther gears are more closely spaced?

One area where I think is as important as engine power/TQ is the tranny, you see Lexus has a 8-speed and MB has 7-speed and BMW some cars have sport shift extra quicker shift time and Audi/BMW have some cars with super-quick DSG tranny that can shift gears much quicker than conventional ATs.

I wish Acura had gone with a 6-speed. Maybe its not needed, but I wonder if maybe it would be better.

mmarshall

With mostly brand-new vehicles to review, and in mostly suburban driving, I usually don't punch them to their limits like, say, Car and Driver or Road and Track magazine does. For that kind of information, their reviews, of course, are better then mine.
But to address your question about the MDX's 3.7L V6, in normal driving, under reasonably hard acceleration, it felt about the same as other Honda/Acura VTEC V6 engines...sluggish at low engine speeds, with power starting to come on between 3500-4000. Max power and torque is at 5000-6000, but out of respect for a brand-new engine in its break-in period, I don't usually go that far.

After break-in, however, when you can go to redline, this engine, on paper at least, is capable, like the new Nissan V6s, of 300 HP...up in V8 territory. Torque, while not quite to V8 levels, peaks out at 275.

This kind of peaky, high-RPM torque and HP, though, like with many other Americans, is not my cup of tea. I'm not a high-RPM guy. I like torque and response at low RPM....at least enough for my rather conservative driving style.

AzNMpower

Ah yes. That's why there's Lexus. Understandably, if you bought a luxury car with automatic, you ought to have an engine well suited for comfortable and effortless cruising. I agree that Honda needs to rethink the way they do the powerband. Same criticism exists for the RL.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Well, I don't know if I would use the word sluggish... It's not anymore sluggish than RX300/330, and while I haven't driven RX350, even the RX400h doesn't seem to be any better than previous gen MDX. Did you notice that its torque converter locks are relatively low RPM's compared to RX?

encore888

Interesting how in some ways the MDX is their flagship, the RL's sales having somewhat abdicated that role. And further interesting that Acura drops the touchscreen for the RL, MDX, RDX, but keeps it in the TL, TSX.

leedogg

The touchscreen navi is almost a deal breaker for me. So many times the ability to navigate on the fly with minimal distraction has been crucial for me.

AzNMpower

I'm like, touchscreen impaired, so having one of these on a car doesn't do anything. I couldn't stand the one on the TL, nor the one in the Lexus GS......I got frustrated and gave up. iDrive is intuitive for me and I haven't even read the owner's manual. The only "bad" version is the 7-series one.

I think my touchscreen skills are limited to those at the self-checkout lines at the store