Och

iTrader: (3)

When considering light alloy wheels, also consider the strenght and how prone they are to damage. For instance, on my old 94 GS300 with stock alloy wheels, I had a tire blow out at 85 mph, the tire was shred in pieces, and the rim sustained no damage much to my amazement. On my GS430 however, I bent a rim by driving over a big pothole at like 15mph, the tire got a bubble, but didn't blow out, and the rim bent out of round. I'm sure the old GS rims were much heavier, but they were a lot more durable, and better suited for real driving. It's not like we drive on glass smooth tracks, most of us drive on crappy roads.

geko29

?? We picked the RX over the MDX, in part, due to lack of space in the MDX. Neither of us could fit in the back seat, nor could we install a car seat back there when one of us was seated comfortably in the front seat.

The other part was the cheap switchgear and gauges in the Acura. I was ok with the gauges, but my wife HATED them. We both hated the nav/radio/climate controls. There's like 7,000 cheap-looking buttons with a big ugly **** right in the middle.

We drove a lot of things in our search, from 8 or 10 different brands, but the MDX didn't even merit a test drive.

rai

Clearly there is a disconnect between reality and you're assumption. The MDX is as roomie as the RX350, every second row measurment is the same or better than the RX350. Maybe a squiggle here or there the RX has a bit more room but surely has less room overall.

Also (joke) you can't fit a baby seat in the rear of a MDX (middle row) I'd like some action on the bet. I fit two car seats in the back seat of a 1999 Passat want to bet two car seats won't fit in the middle row of a MDX?

It's great you love the RX350 I'm not taking anything away from that car it's fine, but the middle seat room debate is a laugh and not to be believed. I'm 6-3 and and I can sit behind myself in the MDX how tall are you and your wife?.

As for the switches and 'huge ugly ****' on the MDX we get it you're not a fan. I don't agree with everything on the MDX or crazy button mess they have. But the buttons and ***** are not cheap-*** and the quality of most of the interior is at or above industry norm.

edit, just looked up the interior room of the MDX: SAE passanger volume:
Front 58 cu-ft
Middle 53 cu-ft
Rear 31 cu-ft.

the RX350 has a total front + rear of 102 cu-ft vs MDX of 111 cu-ft MDX (front and middle) and 143 cu-ft (total passanger space).

Again my point is not to say the MDX is better than the RX350 but anyone that goes saying the MDX is less roomie than the RX350 is smoking something strong.

TunedRX300

You brought up a good point. If you read carefully, I did not recommend light alloy wheels, but well designed forged alloy wheels. Forged alloy rims are stronger than cast alloy and lighter because of superior material and often better designs.
Here is a good link that explains well http://www.wheelweights.net/
It is safe to say superior material and design are more elegant solution than just adding more mass to gain strength.

mmarshall

There's not a whole lot of room under the MDX's hood for a substantial V8. It would have to be a relatively small one, and then you might as well stick with the V6.
Vehicles that DO offer sideways-mounted V8's, like the Chevy Impala SS, Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, and some Cadillacs, also have marked torque steer under hard acceleration...you have to fight the wheel to keep the car in a straight line. These cars also all have more underhood space for a large engine than the MDX.
Then there is the matter of fitting the existing Acura transmissions and SH-AWD to a new V8 engine, no matter if sideways or longitudionally-mounted, and how much torque you are dealing with.

Perhaps a V8 could be adapted to future MDX's, but I wouldn't look for it on this generation model. At this point, it would require an almost total redesign, for reasons which I stated..........and others.

And, BTW, Mike, remember my mini-review of the new 2007 RDX stuck in with my longer 2007 MDX review? Drive the RDX with the new turbo 4 (Acura's first in the U.S. market). In the light and agile RDX, that engine gives you close-to-V8 performance as it is........in the type of test-driving I gave it at least, after a slight turbo lag, it handily dusted off the MDX's larger (and heavier) V6 in low-to-medium speed acceleration.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Let us take a look at the MDX in action shall we

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EOsKwZXe2iQ

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

WOW that MDX has less body roll than my GS400 on l-tuned springs

mmarshall

Drive an RDX and I think you'll be even more surprised.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

I did notice that on the MDX.. Barely any body roll...

supaIS350

i don't see acura as luxury.

geko29

Our car seat JUST BARELY fits behind me in the RX when the seat is in my preferred position. The back of it actually presses into the top of the front seat. My wife likes to recline a bit more, so it actually doesn't fit unless she tilts or moves the seat up. Neither of us could find a comfortable position in the MDX with the car seat installed. Part of that is because the front seat backs are so much thicker. And I'm not surprised you got two car seats in the back of a Passat. I'm actually more comfortable in that car than in either the RX or MDX. But we were looking for an SUV just because of the height factor--being so tall, it hurts to bend over putting the seat in the car. If not for the height issue, we might have wound up with a Maxima (despite its iffy reliability), which has TONS more rear seat room than either the RX or the MDX. Still has a busy dash though.

I'm 6'5" and my wife is 5'11". I cannot sit behind myself comfortably in either car (I can fit in the RX, but my knees rub the back of the front seat). My wife can sit behind herself (as long as the front seat is not reclined to her liking) in either car, but can only sit behind me in the RX.

Who pissed in your cheerios? I made ONE post with my opinion, and you act like I've been nagging you for a week. I have my own fit/finish issues with the RX--leather that wrinkles after a few months and the rediculously cheap cruise control selector. Maybe it's all the silver paint on the MDX' buttons that makes it look cheap to me. I'm not a fan of the half-dozen or so silver buttons on the RX, though they are reasonably well integrated with the dash trim. I dunno.

Not smoking anything, just couldn't get comfortable in the back seat. I LOVED the front seats in the MDX, my wife didn't have a preference. But since it's primarily her car and will spend the vast majority of its time carrying four people, overall comfort (front and back) was more important than how I felt in the driver's seat. I'm content to enjoy the driver's seat in my bimmer on the rare occasion I get to drive it.

Threxx

They're, IMO, a blend of premium performance and luxury, whereas Lexus is all luxury, little performance.

mmarshall

Come on, guys. We all can disagree on the design of vehicles without getting personal. That doesn't mean we're p***ing on cereal or smoking something.