Acura MDX SUV Forums banner

2016 MDX. What other current SUVs are you considering? Test driven? Touareg?

7K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  cukoodukoo 
#1 ·
2016 MDX. What other current SUVs are you considering? Test driven? Touareg?

I hope this thread can be a refresh of the inactive 2013 thread "Other SUVs you considered".

I’m looking at purchasing or leasing a 2016 MDX SH-AWD to replace my XC90 V8 AWD. I’ve been interested in the upcoming XC90, but am looking back and kind of wishing I had bought an MDX way back when; in part because there is only one Volvo dealer in the state and the service reflects their lack of competition. I posted this (edited) over at an Volvo forum, today:

If I had a decent dealer, we wouldn’t be cross shopping to replace our XC90 V8…

I just drove the new 2016 MDX SH-AWD with their new 9 speed. It was excellent.

I also drove the VW Touareg TDI, also excellent and with a 10Y/100K drivetrain warranty after their pre-2011 issues. (The Touareg was updated to the lighter stiffer platform base used by the Cayenne – why the Q7 stayed on the old one is baffling).

Oh, and hold your laughs, try the well reviewed 2015 Durango R/T with their 5.7 or the Citadel; I think the one I drove may have had the 9 speed gremlins excised. I can’t ignore the heavy depreciation, but otherwise the value is impressive. Maybe if they subvent subsidize a lease, it might make sense.

I had a chance to see and sit in (not drive) the upcoming 2016 Ford Edge Sport top-trim with the 2.7 Ecoboost 320HP/360LBS, due in April. It’s remarkable how they’ve upped their game as far a fit and finish, low noise glass, ventilated seats, etc. I don’t know how the Lincoln version will improve on it. I’m hoping they get rid of the Microsoft based MMI this fall. (Ford has announced a 2016 Focus RT AWD system with real clutch torque vectoring wheel-wheel similar to Acura SH-AWD and Audi S models. A product manager gushed that Ford was looking at rolling this to additional AWD models.)


What competitors have you considered or test driven? Have any MDX owners or potential buyers looked at the Touareg lately?

Thanks, in advance, for helping my own research.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Hey Ono,
We drove the Touareg, Q5, Q7, RX450 (Hybrid), Pathfinder and the MDX. They were all good vehicles, however we chose the MDX over the others for the following reasons:
Touareg: We drove it in the snow/ice and much to my surprise, it just felt loose. I was somewhat shocked as I had heard so much good about it. We even tried the Tiguan for kicks and it drove like a champ. Stuck to the road as good as the Q5 and the little turbo buzzed around nice, but just too small for us. That being said, the Toureg's looseness was enough to become a deal breaker for my wife.
Q5: My wife and I both loved it, although just a bit smaller than what we were looking for. The power of the TDI (in both this and the Touareg) was awesome and traction wasn't an issue. Seats were uncomfortable unless you upgraded to the Sport seats (for us anyway). Another big issue was that all the VW/Audi products are very hard to get auto-starts installed on (they want $1000 in Anchorage and only 1 of about 12 installers would even touch it. Also Audi said it would possibly void warranty as they do not recommend getting one nor do they offer it because it interferes with electronics).
Q7: Great vehicle but felt large to drive. And to get it with the same setup as the Advance, it was just too much for us. Plus the autostart deal.
RX450: We drove it on dry pavement and liked it, but on another drive on ice/snow got about a block and a half and took it back. It was crazy squirrely and scared my wife away from it. I let her drive away from the dealership in our 2010 Titan on the same route for comparison and the Titan stuck like glue compared to the 450.
Pathfinder: Seemed to do good. We don't have an Infiniti dealer up here so would have liked to have driven that, but used the Pathfinder as a comparable for the drive feel and such. It was just a little too cheapo (which I understand the Infiniti probably wouldn't be) and talking to the Nissan dealer, they advised us that they only do warranty work on Infinit's case by case. So that was enough to scare us away.
MDX: Was good at everything, great at many. Comfortable, good power, incredible traction, tons of bells and whistles. It just seemed like the way to go. Neither of us could really say anything negative about it and it got good reviews for the most part. The voice recognition is iffy, but they all are and we're getting used to it. My mom has RAV-4 and I tried for 10 minutes to verbally enter a location and ended up calling people, changing the radio station, etc.... So I can't really complain too much about that.

My sister has had two BMW's and every time I spoke to her, it seemed there was another issue with it and it was back in the shop, so we didn't even drive one. As far as a Mercedes, we're just not Mercedes people. All in all, you just gotta drive them. When we first started on the journey of a new vehicle, I was pretty set on the Touareg, but the drive changed my direction. On that same note, I think if it wasn't so cold up here, and the auto-start wasn't such a high priority need for us, the Q5 in a TDI Prestige may have just got the nod....Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
#3 ·
I had a 2006 V10 TDI Touareg. They are great vehicles !! Touareg's are very similar to the Cayenne for much less $$$ The problem is VW service. Most of their customers are driving Jetta's or the Golf. Before we chose my wife's 15 Advance, I took a look at the recently released 2015 Toaureg Exec TDI with the safety package. It had a $66,000 msrp, and because it became available in January the lease deals were really bad. Also, it only has a 3/36 Bumper to Bumper Warranty, and we need 15K a year for our lease, so I would have had to buy an extended warranty. One thing you will notice is how the German cars have a much more solid feel to them. The door in the MDX feels like paper compared to the doors in the Touareg or the Q7.
The new Q7 will be here this summer with a new look and 700 lbs lighter !!
 
#4 ·
""The new Q7 will be here this summer with a new look and 700 lbs lighter !!""

Actually not on lots until January or February of 2016 from what I just read. Seems odd given they just revealed it in Chicago but who knows.

It won't be cheap ...that's for sure. I'd guess 55k starting MSRP with the S-line over 65k. That's a lot of money for any vehicle in my eyes. I love cars but there is a limit for me for what really comes down to transportation.
 
#5 ·
We have a 11 MDX advance[Wife] and are in the market for an SUV .I have been following the New MDX since its release and I think its time to revisit a 16 once its available.I usually never touch a first year model for obvious reasons.

I looked at the Touareg TDI.Its ~8K expensive then the MDX and feels expensive inside and out.Its built like a tank and one tap on the sheet metal will tell you that its tough.My only concern is the limiting trunk space compared to the MDX. Then comes the reliability part.The main complaint that vehicle has is the dreaded steering wheel shake[hit or miss].The new MDX doesnt seem to be a champion in the Reliability/built quality issues either.But as I have mentioned I am waiting for a 16 to be available for a test drive.I plan to let my wife test drive both on the same day and decide.

The New XC 90 will be a joke to drive with those 4 cylinder engines.It might be comfortable and spacious but it will struggle to keep up with the competition when it comes to those engines.They need to atleast offer a 6 cylinder engine or a Turbo diesel.
 
#7 ·
Cross shopping the Range Rover Sport and will check out the Discovery Sport when it is released. Am also considering X5 and Cayenne S. I realize that the X5, Cayenne and RRS are in another price category. Will check out the new RX at the NYIAS but early renderings are not promising. The MDX offers a lot of what i am looking (except power folding mirrors...why?) for a reasonable price but it doesn't really excite me, it is fairly ubiquitous and its exterior styling is a little bloated.
 
#9 ·
We are also interested in the MDX and so far looked at the Lexus RX350 - inside is nice but needs a refresh, new redesign is supposed to be end of this year.

lexus nx - felt too cramped and the cargo space was small too, plus no discounting as its new and first year model cars will have issues.

BMW X3 - good size, drives great, but costs a lot more to get what you want which can easily add up. Also their lease deals are not that attractive.

Jeep Gran Cherokee - wanted to like it, but didn't after the test drive, felt heavy

The last time I test drove the MDX 2014 it felt light despite being a bigger car. I think the MDX does a lot of things better than the others for the price.
 
#11 ·
I wouldn't touch a first year model .Personally its not worth the headaches being the beta tester.Its what the world has come to.Manufacturers get away with pushing half baked products into the market and improve the product gradually and make it perfect by the middle year model.Its the same from gaming industry to the automobile industry.

As I had mentioned before the best thing about MDX is its SH AWD.The AWD system in the Lexus RX is not even close to what MDX offers.Lexus seems to be producing weird looking vehicles each year without any substantial technology.I test drove the LS460 and the infotainment system in that was just substandard at that price range,sure it was quite and comfy but they have to pick up pace to compete with the germans.

I agree with pcaddict66......" That's a lot of money for any vehicle in my eyes. I love cars but there is a limit for me for what really comes down to transportation"

At the end of the day I need a hauler which is comfortable and not too boring to drive.The Rangerover, X5,Audi and cayenne's belong to a totally different class than MDX.I for sure am not the target audience for them as most of them don't have the cargo capacity of the MDX.

Lets keep this thread alive until everyone reviews their respective final purchase.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top