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19/06/2009
By EWAN KENNEDY
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Honda's big MDX 4WD is a crossover vehicle that’s aimed at the American market rather than the Japanese one. It also fits beautifully into the Australian scene as, like the Americans, we prefer our cars to be big, powerful and spacious.
 The MDX is large inside and its true use in life is more likely to be moving people than moving around in tough off-road areas. Which hardly makes it alone in this field in today’s market. The transverse installation of the V6 engine means there's space for three rows of seats. Five adult and two children is a realistic load for the big Honda, but seven adults can be carried at a pinch. There are lap-sash safety belts and head restraints for all seven occupants.
The centre row seat has a 60/40 split and can carry three adults with decent legroom, though headroom may be marginal for some tall people as the standard electric sunroof cuts into the available space. The rearmost seat folds up from the floor in two sections and is simple and easy to use.
Not only does the Honda MDX look spacious when you run a tape measure over it, it also has that feeling of roominess that’s easy to comment on, but difficult to define. You really do feel as though there's plenty of room to move.
Power comes from a twin-cam V6 engine displacing 3.5 litres and putting out a useful 191 kW. There’s 345 Nm of torque at a reasonable 3500 rpm, but the engine is typically Honda in feeling slower at low revs than you might expect from these figures. Get it in the right gear and it’s fine, but it can feel marginal at times if the automatic transmission doesn’t feel it needs to change down to bring the revs up.
 The MDX's automatic is a modern five-speed unit, but, surprisingly, doesn't have the sequential function that’s becoming increasingly common in this class. The MDX has no manual gearbox option.
On sealed roads there's a definite American feel to the Honda 4WD on the road. It’s slightly slow in responding to movements of the steering wheel and is inclined to understeer fairly substantially if pushed hard at bends. If your thing is sensible moderately-paced cruising you will find it fine. Refinement is very high and the engine is all but inaudible unless you accelerate it pretty hard.
Drive is normally only to the front wheels, with the rear wheels being brought in automatically when the fronts begin to slip. This happens very quickly and from the driving seat there’s no impression of sitting, waiting anxiously, for traction to come back again.
Being in the crossover class, the big Honda MDX has no central differential or low-range transfer case. Which is fair enough; the body really isn’t intended for heavy-duty off-road use and leaving out the extra diff and transfer case significantly reduces weight.
The $69,990 Honda MDX comes well equipped with standard features which include 17-inch alloy wheels, front foglamps, a nicely trimmed leather and wood interior, dual air-conditioning, a six-disc CD changer and a trip computer.
This is not a low-cost vehicle but provides good value when you consider that you get a fair chunk of vehicle and that Honda is sitting just that little bit higher in the automotive prestige tree as every year goes by.
Fascinatingly, the Honda MDX is made in Canada, not in Japan. When you check out the quality of finish there’s no doubt the Japanese guys were present all the time that the assembly line was being set up. In typical Honda fashion the MDX is close to perfect in the way its put together. It has an excellent paint finish, a well-sorted interior and the attention to tiny details is most impressive.
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