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The Acura MDX was totally redesigned for 2022 and for the second year in a row it was named Newsweek’s best three-row SUV. The MDX has the sporty look of the smaller RDX, but it has the utility of a three-row SUV, which means it hits the sweet spot for many of us. Also, since this is a luxury SUV, we can expect some nice touches. But what really made it a winner?

The MDX was all new for 2022

The MDX got a major redesign in 2022 that showcases Acura’s new design language that, honestly, looks better in person than in photographs. The flared indents in the doors and the starburst pattern in the grille, as well as new scoops and LED headlights, set the 2022 apart from the 2021 MDX. The new MDX also has a sophisticated suspension, electric power steering, and an entirely new interior. Acura also updated its love-it-or-hate-it touchpad interface that controls most of the MDX’s functions.


The big news could be the Type S version that brings Acura’s 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 that makes 355 horsepower, and it can be paired with Acura’s SH-AWD system to maximize grip and handling; that’s the version Newsweek picked. The Type S also has larger brakes nine-mode massaging seats, premium audio and more. It has some great new driver safety tech, too. The new MDX gets what Acura calls a Precision Cockpit, and we call a digital instrument cluster.

The MDX brings the luxury

A gray 2023 Acura MDX midsize SUV is driving on the road.
The 2023 Acura MDX | Acura


While it’s related to the 2022 Honda Pilot, the MDX is entirely different. Most versions of the MDX seat seven with heated leather seats, including the second row, as well as a heated steering wheel, wireless charging, and a giant touchscreen. Also, you can order Acura’s first massaging seats that have nine different modes “to calm the driver and front passenger,” Acura says.

The 25-speaker, 1,000-watt, stereo could also help this be one of our most comfortable cars we drove this year.

The MDX is safe

2022 Acura MDX Type S | Joe Santos, MotorBiscuit
Acura MDX Type S interior | Joe Santos, MotorBiscuit

The MDX comes standard with Acura’s advanced driver’s aid system it calls AcuraWatch. It’s similar to Honda Sensing. The system provides automatic braking, and a variety of safety features like lane keep assist. The 2022 Acura MDX earned a Top Safety Pick + designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS. The + means that the MDX scored in the top tier.

Though it’s not a safety feature as much as it is a piece-of-mind feature, for 2023, the MDX comes with the new Acura Maintenance Package. That means that you get free maintenance for the first two years or 24,000 miles.

How much is an Acura MDX?

2022 MDX Advance with Acura NSX

The Acura MDX comes in eight trim levels, from a basic front-wheel drive version that starts at $49,050 to the MDX Type S with Advance Package that tops out at $72,700. The big differentiators in the MDX versions are the Technology Package, the A-Spec trim, the Advance Package and the Type S. The $63,000 MDX Advance Package adds almost everything you’d want, however.

Related

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Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.