Size
SH-AWD

Fit and finish

Great overall car. Great awd system.

Reliable. Comfortable
Reasonable handling and road manners for an SUV/minivan type vehicle.
Cheapest car in it's market class.
Loaded with standard tech items for those who are impressed by them.

Poor fuel economny for a car with such limited seating and towing capacity.
Many annoying "features" intended as luxuries which get in the way and can not be disabled.
Poor visibility to the rear.
High road noise for what is marketed as a luxury care.
Cheap looking interior, fake wood, etc.
Strange, dated, retro styling. Only a samall audience would like this look when you go to sell the car.

This is a comfortable, well made car that should appeal to those who like every kind of tech feature at a bargain basement price but be ready for poor gas mileage. If you are looking for utility be advised it will not tow a large trailer well or seat more than four adults comfortably. Although competent it does nothing particularly well to justify the price.

We bought this vehicle hoping it would tow a subtantial trailer. The tow rating, at 5,000lbs, appeared adequate. I swallowed some hyperbole from an independent professional review suggesting this vehicle could tow a horse trailer or a wooden sailing vessel. I was willing to overlook what I considered strange styling and a cheap looking plastic interior in favor of reliability in a sturdy car.

It has turned out to be comfortable and reliable. There have been only a few glitches which were fixed by the dealer almost before I knew they were there. Acceleration is adequate but not impressive. You have to rev the engine way up to get it to move in real world driving like entering the freeway. The seating is comfotable despite the hot in the summer and cold in winter low grade leather trim heated seats that only warm the bottom of the passenger side and not the back. It is high-centered yet stable in cross winds (for an SUV). Many of the features, like Bluetooth and an XM radio with a short teaser subscruotion go unused. I don't have the time for programming more gadgets. Some of the features are just annoying: If someone else in the family drives the car they will easily erase all of your presets for the radio by pushing the wrong button and replace them with random stations without evening knowing it. Some are worse. If the driver is not careful with the key when exiting and shoves it against something in pocket or purse it will roll down all the windows including the sunroof without your knowledge. Hope it does not rain because this and other annoying features can not be disabled. It has power window buttons which, unless you are light on the touch, roll the windows all the way down, Worse and even dangerous if there are children around, the windows roll all the way up without stopping. Again this feature can not be disabled. Visibility from this car is a serious, dangerous, drawback. No matter your height, you simply can not see well out the rear for backing. It is dangerous, and on occasion I have resorted to getting out and raising the tailgate to see where I am backing. You can order a backup camera as part of an option package, but I understand it takes 10 seconds to activate when you select reverse.

We have family including adult children coming and going, and this has been the last vehicle to leave the driveway. No one picks this car to go anywhere. The Volvo wagon is more practical, the Tundra will actually tow a heavy trailer, and the BMW 330i is fun to drive.

We had the MDX only 10 months. It just did not fill any real need well. I tried pulling a 5,000 lb trailer, but that horse the reviewer was saying we could pull had better be a skinny one if you think you are going pull that horse trailer with this vehicle. The smallest hills overwhelm it and the maximum tongue weight allowed is only 500 lbs. Gather any speed at all and it wants to sway from side to side. It is just to light, and has too little power and torgue.

In summary, this car is pleasant but forgettable. We decided sell it. You will not get much for it; they have a reputation as gas guzzlers. It will pull a trailer, but it must be a small one. The seating is comfortable, if you have only four adults, but if you are taking more, just take a second car. The "cargo" space is not large enough to justify chosing this over a sedan, and if you were to raise the little back seat, there is none. The performance in routine driving is adequate, but you can't see out the rear to back or change lanes. The "super handling" is not super, it's no better or worse than any other relatively heavy vehicle I drive and the vehicle is certainly nothing to look at. I would be very careful in buying one if you anticipate towing anything but a light trailer, and if you have determined you want to buy a Honda, chooe something like the Pilot where you will not pay for annoying "features" you may never use. I have never been impressed with gadgets and add-ons like moon roofs and thermostatically controlled heaters in a car. I prefer solid driving performance and reliability. This vehicle can deliver those for you but at more than you need to pay and burning more gas than you need to buy. There just isn't very much "utility" in the this sports utility vehicle. The MDX would be better for someome who really enjoys tech items like Bluetooth, XM and memory seats and does not mind that much of the features are pre-programmed and can't be changed by the owner.

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BMW 3301, Toyota Tundra, Volvo V-70 wagon. Toyota Sienna minivan.

Fun and luxurious to drive. It is better off road then Acura or the Range Rover crowd would have you believe (if you can keep the R. R. out of the shop long enough to take it out.

Probably the gas milage - I knew going in that it wasn't a rock climbing, off roader, but it meets my expectations.

The MDX SUV is exactly what we expected it to be. It is comfortable, we did not buy it for the third row passengers, its handling is outstanding for a large, relatively heavy, truck, and gas mileage exceeded even our expectation (surprising, yes?).

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Jepp Grand Cherokee, with all the off-road-options, V8; lousy gas mileage; horrible reliability (can't begin to tell you what went wrong with this, with less than 20,000 miles on it).

Comfortable ride on the interstate. Roomy interior.

If you want a car that will get you through the snowy mountain passes or across a slush covered I-90, this in not the car to buy. My Jeeps and Subarus did much better. Even my MAZDA 6 with BF Goodrich Traction tires handled better.

Purchased the car to replace my MAZDA 6 since I would be driving across country. After driving over 2,500 miles in this car, it is comfortable on interstate but terrible on snowy roads. If you are a soccer mom, it has all the bells and whistles to keep the youngsters occupied. Controls are easy to access and adjust.

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Jeep Grand Cherokee - Orvis edition
3 Subarus (older models 4WD)

Striking exterior design (people either love it or hate it), beautiful, comfortable interior. Great audio system. Good pickup and handling for as large and heavy as this vehicle is.

To get the good pickup means poor gas mileage. Much worse than my 2004 Pilot. Great audio system but Acura only gives you 3 months satelite radio and traffic included.Infiniti gives 3 YEARS on their models (Acura that is an insult!)My model has sunroof that "whistles" and a number of rattles. The plastic used on the front and rear bumpers shows every slight bump. The tires are noisy at highway speed and follow the grooves in the highway lanes.

My lease was ending on a 2004 Honda Pilot EX-L and I decided to upgrade to the new design MDX for more features and the longer warranty. The pluses, a beautiful interior and excellent audio system. The negatives, the value is not there compared with the Pilot and my MDX has several quality issues yet to be fixed by the dealer. Save over $10,000 and buy or lease a new Pilot and you have a budget left over for a high mileage commuter car.

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2004 Honda Pilot EX-L
2003 Honda CRV EX
2000 Acura TL

A very comfortable ride and good road handling. Good acceleration. Road noise is minimal. The nav system is great and fairly easy to use. Has saved me many times from asking directions. Rarely use the voice recognition - doesn't seem to hear my commands clearly and brings up the wrong screen. But I do think it's an easier system to use than I have in my Lexus RX.

Brakes and gas mileage.

Overall, a good SUV. However, the brakes leave something (maybe a lot) to be desired. I have 34000 miles and had to have the front rotors turned three times. I'm beginning to feel the pulsations again when I brake from high speeds. This is the first sign of the problem. So it looks like I'll need the rotors turned again in a few thousand miles. Also have a high pitched whine from the drive train - not really annoying, but I can hear it. Took it in to the dealer at 34000 miles and they replaced the rear propeller shaft. The whine is still there. I'll put a few more K miles on and see what happens. When the vehicle had a few thousand miles, I, like alot of others, had the clunking noise from the brakes - mainly the rear. About a year and a half ago the dealer installed a factory service bulletin on the rear brakes and the noise virtually disappeared.

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Lexus RX 330

Comfortable ride

Poor reliability

I am really disapointed in the quality of this SUV. It currently has 57000 miles on it. It has had two recalls, one headlight replaced becuse it was defective. High setting on the drivers seat failed. A / C control module went out. and as I type this I have an engine fault light on (emmision system problem) and the VTM 4 wheel drive malfuction light on. I have had all routine matainence done on time. Needless to say this will be my last Honda product. In comparison, my wife drive a 1999 Lexus es300 and it has had nothing but regular maintainence since new.

Look

Mileage.

We are happy with the overall performance of the vehicle. However, it is overwhelmingly irrittaing to hear the rattling noise from the passenger side air bag. My hates this vehicle because she has to keep her hand and all her force on the air bag to reduce the irritating noise. Also noise from gas tank as starts getting empty. We have been to the dealer numerous times to get it fixed. They do all silly things and say it's fixed (I went back to the dealer multiple times within minutes to show him it is not fixed). It's been happening since the time I purchased it. If you love to have a enjoyable (I know how irritating it is with rattling noise), please rethink again. I am not sure howmany people are suffering with this kind of problem. WE ARE NOW LEARNING TO LIVE WITH IT.

Ride, Quality and fit/finish, Power, 7 passenger (5 adutls, 2 little children)

Gas Mileage. If you like going to the gas station frequently, get an MDX. You'll know ever 76 gas station attendant by name.

We are happy with the ride and the feel of the MDX. The brakes have not yet started making any noise (1,700 miles) but don't look forward to them making noise either. We are very displeased with the mileage though. The estimates are 17-23, but we are only getting 11-12 in the city. Very disappointing. Should have bought a Yukon XL for that mileage!

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Quiet, luxurious ride, with ample horse power to accelerate on the open highway

Brakes-I have had the front rotors cut twice,and the car has only 28000 miles. Also, the rear brakes have also been replaced. So, this makes me think about the "clicking' of the rear brakes. Maybe this is the reason for the pre-mature wear.

Overall, the MDX offers a comfortable ride with relatively decent gas mileage. I feel that the 2002 model year has some engineer flaws, specifically, the braking system

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