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Top shelf: New Acura MDX Prototype comes complete with massage modes

If your idea of an everyday ride is tooling around in private jet-like premium comfort and commanding awesome power, Acura's new MDX Prototype could be the one for you.

As America's all-time best-selling three-row luxury SUV, the MDX has a big reputation to uphold. The 2022 new model should keep that title firmly in place -- and add to it.

In short, the MDX Prototype is more ... well, everything.

The fourth-gen model is longer, wider, sportier, and more luxurious, and it boasts the option of the line's first-ever Type S 355-hp 3.0L turbocharged V6 with 354 lb-ft of torque. Standard power will come from Acura's 3.5L V6 with i-VTEC valvetrain connected to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Overall, the exterior design is a little more muscular with its lower and wider body, but it is still refined. The 21-in. wheels have been pushed to the corners, giving the SUV a nearly 3-in. longer wheelbase. The extension provides better ride quality and more spacious seating in all three rows, as well as a larger and more versatile cargo hold.

The front fascia has been sculpted to highlight the 3D Diamond Pentagon grille, which features integrated fog light housings under side vents that further emphasize the new MDX's wider track. The grille is flanked by four-element JewelEye LED headlights, underscored by Chicane LED daytime running lights that were inspired by the Acura ARX-05 race car. The wide-set Chicane LED taillights in the back echo the headlight treatment in front.

The Prototype MDX debuts an all-new light truck platform built for athletic handling, refined ride comfort, and exceptional cabin quietness. The build is the most rigid Acura SUV body to date. It has been engineered to support Type S-levels of performance as well as advanced collision and pedestrian safety. Anchored to the ultra-rigid new body is a new performance-focused chassis featuring MDX's first-ever double wishbone front suspension, delivering sharp and sporty handling with improved road holding and ride comfort.

The updated SUV has Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD), which is the only dynamic torque vectoring technology in MDX's competitive class. It extracts maximum grip and cornering precision from the all-new chassis. Superior stopping performance is enabled with Brembo four-piston brake calipers finished in an unexpected Ivory paint.

Drivers can customize the ride, handling, steering, suspension, and powertrain performance characteristics using the MDX's Intelligent Dynamics System (IDS). The IDS unlocks a wider range of personalized driving experiences through pre-set modes as well as giving drivers the ability to customize an Individual dynamic driving mode via the NSX-inspired Drive Mode dial, which is positioned prominently on the center console.

Inside, this ride is seriously cushy. It has a cleaner, more upright instrument panel that balances the wide body. High-grade, authentic materials trim the interior including open-pore wood with infused metallic flake, polished aluminum, and soft-touch Milano leather. A mix of Ebony and Light Orchid leather graces the instrument panel and steering wheel with French stitched detailing. Next-gen Acura sport seats offer a more sculpted form with curvilinear quilting in all three rows, gradient perforation, and high-contrast stitching and piping. An ultra-wide panoramic moonroof opens the cabin up to provide natural light to all three rows.

The Acura sport seats offer 16-way power adjustment and integrated massage functionality with a class-leading nine massage modes to relax the driver and front passenger after those oh-so-stressful days. There are also 27 different LED lighting schemes to change up the mood.

At the controls, the new MDX debuts Acura's all-digital Precision Cockpit, replacing physical gauges with a customizable 12.3-in. driver's meter. The SUV also gains the latest generation of Acura's intuitive and driver-focused True Touchpad Interface that features an ultra-wide, 12.3-in. full-HD center display (Acura's largest yet), Acura-exclusive touchpad with "absolute positioning," and a new CPU for improved performance.

The "Signature Edition" ELS STUDIO 3D premium audio system sets a new standard for concert-quality in-vehicle audio with more than 1,000 W of power, 22 discrete channels, and 25 speakers. This system boasts six ceiling-mounted speakers and six carbon-fiber coned mid-range woofers, including two positioned in the front console. The automaker calls it, "the most advanced and powerful audio system ever offered in an Acura vehicle."

The MDX Prototype also has a slew of advanced safety features, including enhanced occupant and pedestrian collision-protection capabilities bolstered by an expanded suite of AcuraWatch safety and driver-assistive technologies, which include improved Road Departure Mitigation, new Traffic Jam Assist, and new Low Speed Braking Control. Acura's next-gen front passenger airbag technology, first seen on the new 2021 TLX and offering improved occupant protection in a wider variety of frontal collision scenarios, will be standard on all new MDX models.

The new MDX is scheduled to arrive at dealers early next year, with the MDX Type S to follow in summer 2021. Pricing has not been released, but Edmunds estimates it will start at $45,000 (probably a low-ball figure).

Learn more at acura.com/future-vehicles/2022-mdx-prototype.

Source: Acura

Published December 2020

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