A few weeks ago a new car was added to the Agent 00J fleet of auto's. Agent 00J and his wife learned of a new little Agent that would be joining the family, and Mrs. 00J had expressed the desire to have a 7 passenger SUV on several occasions so it became obvious the time for a new purchase was drawing close.
On a cold, stormy Thursday evening we ventured out to shop. Having previously driven the BMW X5, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse along with a quick look at the Cadillac Escalade that Mrs. 00J promptly declared as "too big," the choices were growing slim in the SUV category and a minivan was completely out of the equation. The GM's were removed from the list given the current uncertaintity of GM, and the BMW when priced out the way we wanted it was close to $60k, and that didn't include the V8 I REALLY WANTED.
I suggested a look at the Acura MDX. A SUV that I personally like aside from the grill, and one that is reasonably priced in relation to offerings from BMW and Mercedes. We ventured to the dealer arriving 15 minutes before closing and of course were immediately greeted by a salesman. The intent to purchase that night was not at 100% instead desiring a quick peek at the MDX to determine if it was a car that Mrs. 00J could be happy with.
After spending some time in the example on the showroom floor, the MDX was declared to be good.
The clock was now past 7 and most of the dealership people were heading for the door, but the salesman asked if we were prepared to make a purchase that night to which I responded with the "if the price is right" response.
He asked what the right price was to which I quickly gave him a number, he asked for a minute to confer with the "man in the back" returning a few minutes later stating a price $700 higher than my offer. I asked if they had a MDX in stock in the color combination we wanted along with the equipment we wanted and he responded that they did in fact. I told him I would purchase the car for what I offered and that was all.
The sales guy again went to "the man in the back" this time returning with "the man in the back." He quickly told me that they had put an additional $400 worth of dealer crap on the car (all season floor mats along with a trunk mat) so I told him take that stuff out of the car and I would give the extra $300 to make the deal. He agreed, we shook hands and consummated the transaction.
A little over an hour later we drove home in the new MDX, and honestly I have been extremely impressed with how well this car handles. I had an opportunity last summer to spend an extended time in a BMW X5, and since I am constantly accused of being biased towards BMW, the obvious choice would have been the X5, however price wise the Acura is a compelling argument in terms of a sport minded SUV.
The MDX we bought has the Sport package along with the Technology and Entertainment packages, and a button sits on the center console below the shifter that adjusts the suspension from "comfort" to "sport." The differences in the two settings is remarkable with the sport setting offering a much firmer and flatter ride allowing you to hustle the MDX through corners much faster than an SUV should go.
In one spirited run on a back road near my home that I have used as a benchmark for the 911 I had as well as my M3, I was able to get the MDX to post a 3:37 time. The best run I had in the Porsche was 3:04 and 2:56 for the M3. That time is a true testament to the SH-AWD system along with the sport suspension. The MDX exhibited very little body roll and handled the elevation changes without any of the floating suspension sensations you get with softly sprung cars. Now with that being said, if the suspension were to be set in the comfort setting, those floating sensations are present along with a lot more body roll.
The biggest drawback to the sport setting is the fact that you do feel almost all surface imperfections when driving at slower speeds, but get above 35 or so, and the suspension rewards good and spirited driving much better than a SUV of that size deserves.
Which brings us full circle to the title of the article. When I called Agent 001 to tell him of the new car, he immediately assumed I had bought an X5. He was surprised by news of the Acura, however with an out the door sticker price of less than $50k, the MDX is almost $10k less than the X5 we had looked at with no noticeable items missing.
So can a BMW lover slum around town in an Acura?
In a word, Yes!
The more time I have spent driving the MDX, the more impressed I have become with it. There have not been any items that have annoyed me yet, something that cannot be said of the X5 I had last summer. There were several things including the shifter on the X5 that really annoyed me. So far the MDX has proven to be a great choice.
To further the experience the Acura has an interior that is phenomenal with top quality materials. The center stack including the Acura control knob has proven to be simple to use, and my wife likes the fact that the Navigation System is so simple to use compared to the system in her Audi A6 with MMI.
I am not thrilled with the Hands Free feature of the MDX, the system forces you to dial through the system to utilize it on outgoing phone calls, however the menu system is simple enough to quickly find names in the phone book imported from my iPhone.
The sound system in the MDX is great, and with the AUX jack I have been able to enjoy my iPod - a feature the Audi we are replacing never afforded us.
Additionally, we have averaged almost 20 MPG doing almost all city driving, not a bad number considering the size of the engine.
So for all of you convinced I am nothing but a shill for BMW, the addition of an Acura to my garage should put some of your accusations to rest. And honestly, given the quality of the MDX, am I really slumming it?
A special thanks to Keb Barrett at Gary Force Acura in Brentwood Tennessee for making the transaction a smooth one. He stayed late to make the deal, and I know his dinner was cold when he got home that night because his wife kept texting him while we were finishing up the deal.
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