Test drive the Acura MDX crossover, which is ashamed of its status
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And I’m always missing something
One would like to say: only Acura was not enough for our consumer to be completely happy. Indeed, this class has Lexus RX, and BMW X5, and Mercedes M-Class, and Audi Q7, and Infiniti QX, and Range Rover Sport… What more could a consumer want? Or – in a look from the other side – what can sellers of a new model expect with SUCH competitors? And yet we will have Acura (official sales will begin in early 2014). Moreover, further to the model MDX the “junior” RDX crossover, the NSX sports coupe, as well as a completely new sedan, about which nothing is known yet, will be added.
But a lot is known about the MDX model, which has earned some fame in our country long before the idea of official sales was born. The model appeared in 2001 – again as a “response” to luxury crossovers from other companies, but at the same time not as an alternative to them, but as a carrier of the same ideology: prestige and luxury on wheels. True, there was a peculiarity – the MDX model was the first in this segment to offer seven seats in the cabin. The second generation of the car appeared in 2007 on the same Global Light Truck platform as the first. But the third – what will be sold officially with us – was developed from scratch.
Over the past decade and a half, the idea of prestige and luxury (including on wheels) has changed somewhat. Now it is not enough to trim the interior with wood and leather, and decorate the exterior with numerous chrome details. No, the highest bar today is dictated by functionality, as in the case of smartphones and tablet computers. In relation to the car, it is also a high technical saturation, innovation, efficiency, excellent handling and “feeling of the car”, the emotions that it gives to the driver. However, no one canceled the elements of luxury: the interior of the new Acura is built “around the driver” using natural wood, Milano leather, and catchy metal elements.
The new MDX, thanks to the use of lightweight materials (high-strength steel, whose share in the body structure reaches 64%, aluminum and magnesium alloys), has become 125-130 kg lighter than the previous car. At the same time, the torsional rigidity of the bodywork increased by 12.4% and the rigidity of the suspension attachment points increased by 67%. In addition, the body of the new MDX has grown by 51 mm compared to its predecessor, and its wheelbase has increased by 71 mm. The rest of the car has become a little more compact. So, its width has decreased by 33 mm, the front track – by 35 mm, the rear – by 30 mm.
The height of the car has decreased by 38 mm, and the area of the windshield has decreased by 2%. This did not worsen the review, but improved aerodynamics (by 16%). But the car has become not only more aerodynamic – it has received better maneuverability, and thanks to the increased wheelbase, it has acquired higher directional stability and … a slightly more spacious interior. By the way, the landing of passengers and the driver became lower, albeit by a few centimeters, but this made it possible to lower the center of gravity of the car, which had a positive effect on stability and a decrease in body roll.
New V6 engine (displacement – 3.5 liters, power – 290 hp) built on Earth Dreams technology “lower”. The new engine is equipped with a direct fuel injection system, next-generation i-VTEC technology (electronic valve timing and lift control), as well as a VCM cylinder control system that is able to change the effective engine displacement: when driving without load, three cylinders are turned off by closing their intake and exhaust valves. This significantly increases the efficiency and environmental friendliness of the car.
Compared to the previous generation, the loading height of the trunk has also become 46 mm lower. The trunk itself has also grown in volume – thanks to both the increased wheelbase and the new, more compact rear suspension. In addition, parts of the backrest of the second row of seats can be tilted (they have five fixed positions), and the entire second row of seats can be moved forward by 150 mm using the Extended Slide longitudinal adjustment system. Access to the third row is greatly simplified thanks to the One-Touch Walk-In system: with just one button, you can easily fold the second row seats, both from inside and outside the car. It is important to note that the American developers thought in this regard about small passengers who, during the trip, might think to indulge in the folding button … In general, when driving, pressing these buttons will not work: they are blocked.
The front of the cabin “received” an enlarged storage compartment in the lining of the central tunnel. Now in this compartment you can fit both a handbag and a case with a tablet computer. The armrest, which acts as a cover for this compartment, is trimmed with leather and can be moved back and forth.
Now – about technology. The front suspension here is MacPherson type. It is completely new, it has forged aluminum levers, hydraulic silent blocks, and shock absorbers received three-point mountings of the upper mounts. The new Amplitude Reactive Dampers have two separate circuits each, and while the suspension is subjected to relatively light loads on smooth roads, only the main shock absorber circuit works, and on off-road or during aggressive driving, a second one is connected to provide additional damping force. This system is purely mechanical, it does not “participate” electronics. Therefore, you should not be afraid of possible failures.
The design of the rear suspension has been significantly redesigned – now it is a more compact multi-link that has lost the front trailing arm. Both front and rear are light and durable subframes attached to the load-bearing body through rubber dampers. This allowed to reduce road noise, vibration and shaking in the car.
Under the hood of the car, instead of the previous 3.7-liter power unit, a new V6, built using Earth Dreams technology, appeared. It has a slightly smaller displacement (3.5 liters) and power (290 hp instead of the previous 300), but at the same time its “liter power” has grown. The torque also slightly decreased, however, having a peak at the same crankshaft speed (4500), it slightly increased at the bottom, which made it possible to improve the car’s acceleration from standstill to 100 km / h, and also to surpass the result of the second generation MDX by 8 seconds. Nürburgring track during test trials.
The new engine is equipped with a direct fuel injection system (the previous one had a “normal” distributed injection). In addition, in addition to the new generation i-VTEC technology (electronic valve timing and lift control), it received a VCM cylinder control system that changes the effective engine displacement depending on the driving mode. Immediately after the start, when accelerating or when driving uphill, when maximum power is required, all six cylinders of the engine are working. At constant speed or under low loads, the VCM system shuts off three cylinders by closing their intake and exhaust valves (but not turning off the spark plugs so that they do not “cool down” and there is no problem with the ignition of the air-fuel mixture at a newly increased load). This helped to reduce fuel consumption in the city by 12.5%, on the highway by 28.6%, and in the combined cycle by 17%.
Paired with the new engine is a six-speed automatic transmission with Sport (S) mode, as well as the ability to manually select gears using the paddles on the steering wheel. And the SH-AWD intelligent permanent all-wheel drive system is able to distribute torque not only between the front and rear axles (possible traction ratios in percent are from 90:10 to 30:70), but also between the left and right rear wheels (in ratios from 0 :100 to 100:0). Thanks to this system, the new MDX accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h half a second faster than the previous one, improved braking dynamics, and increased resistance to lateral g-forces. It should be noted that the testing of the next generation of MDX was carried out not only on the legendary Nurburgring track, but also on unlimited German autobahns, as well as on the Grossglockner high-altitude road in the Austrian Alps.
In general, you can retell the corporate press release for a long time, as well as the content of the briefing, which was arranged for journalists before the start of the test drive. But…
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Body
Acura MDX second generation looks very aggressive. This is facilitated by a tightly whipped, but harmonious body with good proportions, massive bumpers, narrowed brake lights, a rear spoiler and voluminous exhaust pipes. At the same time, a chrome-plated radiator lining, front optics with sharp edges and wide body pillars at the rear add some futurism to the appearance of the model. Thus, the “American Japanese” cannot be called inconspicuous, and for many, the realization of this fact warms the soul.
In terms of cross-country ability, I must say that not everything is so bad. On the contrary, the intelligent all-wheel drive system, together with 200 mm ground clearance, makes the Acura quite suitable for storming deep snowdrifts or ruts. In any case, in problematic areas of the terrain, the MDX is more successful than the same Infiniti FX, in which, after a couple of minutes of intense slipping, the electromagnetic clutch overheats and the all-wheel drive is turned off. There is no need to talk about more, and it is unlikely that this will be of interest to the target audience of such cars.
Foci of corrosion should be looked for on the thresholds of the body, as well as on the edges of the wheel arches. The rest resists rust more or less well. Other troubles that can be encountered on a running Acura are clouding and peeling of chrome panels, sandblasting headlights, failure of the tailgate opening motor.
Chassis
The steering of the crossover is not too sharp, yet very informative and accurate. Riding an Acura fast is a pleasure and even a pleasure. Moreover, a significant role in this is played by smart all-wheel drive, and moderate rolls and predictable behavior of the car in difficult situations, which instills a sense of confidence in the driver.
The suspension is frustrating because it causes small tremors and vibrations when driving through small bumps. However, on large potholes, it is quite comfortable and does not show much shaking, so long-distance trips on the MDX are quite comfortable.
It is worth noting that the suspension on this crossover is of two types: conventional or with adjustable stiffness. In practice, any effect from the electronically controlled suspension is not felt. However, from the point of view of maintenance, it is much more expensive than usual, although their resource is approximately the same and the suspension line of 150-180 thousand is overcome without any problems.
Next, you will need to replace the shock absorbers, rear silent blocks complete with levers and sometimes springs. But wheel bearings, stabilizer struts, tie rods and tips for longer than 120,000 km, as a rule, do not serve, and this is quite expected.