The front is attractively styled but it looks somewhat bulky from the side due to the fact that its chassis is derived from the Honda Odyssey minivan. Acura is the American luxury division of Honda. The MDX recently garnered Motor Trend magazine's SUV of the Year award and it's not hard to see why. Most of the time it has the tight, quiet manners of a luxury sedan. It is nimble in turns, although it still feels a bit like a minivan at times.
Brakes are strong and the engine gutsy.
A SOHC, aluminum 3.5-liter V6 engine with 240 horsepower provides respectably vigorous acceleration. It has four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing and a dual-stage intake manifold that gives maximum performance at both fast and slow speeds. VTM, or Variable Torque Management, uses electronic controls to divvy up engine torque between the front and rear wheels as conditions demand. In dry conditions, VTM operates like front-wheel drive, but the system sends drive to the rear wheels whenever it encounters any wheel slip. This makes it ideal for wet or snowy conditions.