Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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2007 Acura MDX First Drive
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Comments
1) As reported elsewhere, you do have to depress the gas pedal more than you would think to get strong acceleration. Disconcerting at first but I quickly adjusted
2) Great handling, this thing corners like a sports car. Very impressive for it's size. The little graph showing which wheel gets power is fun but distracting but you can turn it off.
3) I liked the way the transmission worked, not constantly shifting gears; unlike the 2004 I road tested 3 years ago.
4) Very comfortable and quiet, great seats.
5) Very nicely equipped.
On the downside...
1) I really don't like the front end, but that's personnal taste. That big plastic piece under the bumper level looks like an add on.
2) Some details inside are not to the level of the car. For example the interior door handles are plastic and look cheap. You can see the mold mark...My current XC90 has very nice metal handles. Finish in the cargo area was not to the level on my Volvo either.
Overall very impressed; a huge step above previous version. Performance and handling on par with a 3.6 Audi Q7 i road tested earlier. I prefer the look and interior of the Audi but for the same level of equipment it is $10K+ more....
what you experienced was 0.85g lateral road-holding. Very impressive for an SUV. Some BMW can't even pull that numbers, just for your info. My Prius does 0.72g if you care to ask
>> 1) I really don't like the front end, but that's personnal taste. That big plastic piece under the bumper level looks like an add on.
I am sure aftermarket product will start to pop up shortly if so many people hate it. After all, it is just piece of plastics.
>> For example the interior door handles are plastic and look cheap. You can see the mold mark...
Acura never really learnt from Lexus.
On the other hand, the 2005 Lexus GX470 we considered last year felt like it had a 0.5g lateral roadholding. Lexus needs to rework their suspension and chassis formula. Even the SC430 might as well be built on a Buick platform.
Plus, like Varmint stated, Acura requires it! It is in their sales literature!
The 3.7 liter motor is near its full potential (100% volumetric efficiency) as a naturally aspirated motor. I am sure a few more ponies can be inched out but like the 306hp Nissan 3.5L the hp gains above this level will be tough without some help. Help in the form of either raising compression or adding supercharging! The old adage still holds true that 'there is no replacement for cubic inches'!
Direct injection alone would boost torque by 5-10% thanks to better mixture of fuel and air. I hope to see it in Honda's next-gen engines lineup.
My '01 Honda Odyssey REQUIRES 91 Octane (in the manual). I have been using 87/89 on it for 6 years. I have seen no significant differences in MPG. The only downside is the slower acceleration (retarded timing). For a minivan, I don't intend to RACE anyone up the hills.
89 Octane seems to be the best balance (cost and acceleration). That is what I have been putting into my Odyssey.
Everything I've ever read stated "recommended". Although Honda's own media site does not list an octane in the specifications, they do state HP figures with and without premium. That suggests the use of regular is okay.
With the new MDX, they clearly state "required".
While I do not doubt that you could probably run your car on regular without any more trouble than reduced performance, shoppers using Edmunds should know they would be doing so against the specific recommendation of the manufacturer.
Perhaps the recommendation is based on higher towing capacity? Perhaps concerns over high altitude performance? Perhaps they are guarding against the potential of increases in Ethanol in our fuel? Perhaps it's just Acura's over-protective lawyers? Dunno... but I don't want to be the guy shoveling out thousands for a new engine just to shave a couple bucks off the gas bill each year.
It changed when the Odyssey's 3.5 was uprated to 240 HP/242 lb-ft, and this time with regular grade. No word on premium grade with that one.
If its a Cayman or Boxster, no one will be impressed.
Of course if its a 911, then I am sure everyone will be impressed.
He is funny!
On it, you'll see the actual EPA numbers. The city mpg estimate is probably something like 15-19 mpg, while the highway range might be 20-24 mpg. I don't recall the exact figures.
Point being, the 17-22 mpg that is most often quoted is just shorthand for the more accurate (though much wider) range given by the EPA.