The MDX is a premium offering and the look, feel and layout of the passenger cabin reflects this. As Acura’s flagship the MDX needs to impress, and there is a nice mix of textures and materials used to evoke a sense of quality and luxury.
If you’re also considering the smaller RDX, here’s our interior review of that.
The leather seating and door panels feature distinctive stitching and piping, while real wood inlays compete with black piano and alloy pieces to attract the eye. The overall look is visually appealing and upmarket.
Designed gauge cluster
Perched in the driver’s seat you come face-to-face with Acura’s first completely digital gauge cluster, which features several different configurations – based on drive modes – and proved easy to read and navigate.
The leather-wrapped steering wheel is adorned with a variety of controls to allow the driver to scroll through the cluster’s many functions as well as operate many of the vehicles other equipment settings. Paddle shifters proved useful when passing or climbing steep grades and a heads-up display allows the driver to maintain his or her focus on the road ahead.
Atop the dash sits a 12.3-inch high-definition LCD infotainment screen which is controlled using a console mounted touchpad. While I did appreciate the addition of a clever wrist rest to facilitate the use of this input technology, I still found it cumbersome, and would much rather have touch-screen capability added to the display itself.
A push button transmission resides prominently on the centre console and takes some getting used to, but the aforementioned paddles are handy for when a quick gear change is in order.
Glove friendly buttons and dials populate the lower stack to control HVAC and audio functions, and there is a quick to access volume dial on the console as well as a selector toggle.
7-seater SUV in mid-size form
The MDX offers true seven-passenger seating in a conveniently sized package. What I mean here is that the vehicle’s design allows for seven people to travel in relative comfort in a vehicle that is not cumbersome to drive in tight urban environments. Seating is configured in a 2-3-2 layout, but the cleverly designed second row can be quickly converted to a 2-seat configuration by removing the seat should the user decide that access to the rearmost seating area is important on occasion.
The vehicle’s increased size gives the whole cabin a roomier feel, especially in the second row, where I found plenty of leg- and headroom for my 6-foot 2-inch frame. The third row seats now sit higher and offer a little more legroom, but remain cramped for adults. All MDX models feature an enormous glass moon roof as standard.
Parents with small children will appreciate that there are three sets of child seat anchors available in the second row.
The heated and cooled front seats are of course power adjustable, but also feature four-way lumbar support, three position memory and thigh extension capabilities. Rear seats are heated and the two outboard second row seats can slide fore and aft to adjust for comfort. There is a push button power rear seat slide to allow for quick operation when loading passengers into the very back. Parents with small children will appreciate that there are three sets of child seat anchors available in the second row.
No 3rd-row power folding but expect more storage space
For situations where cargo capacity trumps passenger needs, both sets of rear seats fold to create an almost flat floor. The MDX does not offer power folding third row seats, but this saves weight and allows for more cargo room. The rear cargo floor features a panel which is removable to reveal a handy hideaway storage area, but this panel is two-sided and can be flipped to offer a plastic cover for when you need to transport wet or sloppy items.
There is a traditional button to initiate the hatch to close once you are ready to get under way, but a second switch on the side wall allows for a delay in the process should you have your hands full.
Read our full 2022 MDX review here with driving impressions.
2022 MDX interior pictures
