Acura MDX redesign mostly a winner with 'Consumer Reports'

Acura's redesigned MDX crossover SUV wins a "recommended" rating from widely consulted Consumer Reports magazine today.

The magazine calls the vehicle "pleasant and well-rounded," and says it has a comfortable ride and a "hushed cabin."

Acura benchmarked two Detroit models for interior quietness: Ford Flex and Buick Encalve. Acura says domestics nowadays probably have an edge, overall, in designing low-noise interiors.

That qualifies as a significant turnabout -- a premium import brand using vehicles from the Detroit Three as standards.

MDX ranges from $43,185 to $57,400.

CR says that handling did some backsliding, despite other improvements. It is "less agile" than the previous model, the magazine says.

And, oh those nettlesome electronics. "The multi-screen dashboard design is unintuitive and can be distracting," CR says.

The publication says, "The new 3.5-liter V-6 engine is quick, responsive, and refined. The MDX delivers impressive fuel economy of 20 mpg overall."

The new model, on sale since June 20, is popular. Its July sales were 29.5% better than they were a year earlier, according to Autodata. But the new one hasn't had time to boost the model's overall tally, however. The first seven months, MDX sales are down 16.3%, Autodata reports.

Industry-wide new-vehicle sales in July were up 14%, and in the first seven months, up 8.5%, according to Autodata.

The review, on the CR website today, will be in the October issue of the print version, available Sept. 5.