Test Drive: Acura MDX agile but a tight fit - USA TODAY

Honda's Acura premium brand has brought admirable improvements to its respected MDX three-row SUV, the brand's best-selling model. A new nine-speed automatic transmission shifts in dandy fashion, Acura apparently having avoided the not-quite-right tuning that has plagued Fiat Chrysler Automobiles nine-speeds. The console buttons to shift among the gear positions are easy to learn and use, and open space in the area, as Acura notes. The enhanced version of SH-AWD — Super-Handling All Wheel Drive — is a snow champ, gripping and delivering confident forward motion before any wheel slips, which some AWD systems require to trigger their best performance. We especially like the one-button power tip/slide feature that opens access to the third row. Second-row riders can't slide their seats back as far as comfortable without slamming rear-riders' legs. That, in turn, meant first-row occupants couldn't slide back as far as they'd like without impinging on second-row space and dominoing the compromise into the third row. Cargo space behind the third row isn't impressive, though you could argue that there are bigger SUVs. Source: www.usatoday.com