I think I did way too much cross shopping and test driving... it got blurred near the end haha
1. Porsche Macan - First year issues bugged me, including the door opening causing paint to be scraped off the fenders. It drove really well though. It also felt more cramped than a Q5/SQ5 though. I REALLY wanted one and may still want one years down the line if we don't have kids. I will say though, having the MDX made me really appreciate 7 seaters (yes, I bought a 7 seater for a family of 2 lol) for all the capability of carrying guests and cargo. Has most of the same concerns as the Q5/SQ5 as well. Porsche tends to have better reliability than Audi, but I wanted to see if that would hold true with this mainstream vehicle that used mostly Audi internals.
2. Q5/SQ5 - Loved the power and handling, but limited cargo room and being near the refresh meant it was soon a thing of the past. I may be an odd one, but Audi interiors actually bug me a bit. They're very dated and screens are super small. Also, having an Audi past 4 years is a nightmare.
3. RX350 (new gen) - Very quiet, but drives like a whale in comparison. I come from a background of stiff suspensions but with decent enough ride quality and Lexus never really gets away from that boat captain feeling. Great interior though.
3a. RX350 (old gen) - Bleh looks, meh V6 (same as highlander), blah infotainment (very dated), urgh handling. Super quiet and comfortable though!
4. QX60 - Nice interior too, but handling and CVT issues kept me away. Wasn't anything too special though or different from the MDX. Interior quality has always felt better than Acura. I've watched too many coworkers toss their Nissan family vehicles due to the CVT though that it has had a rather lasting impression of their JATCO units (I also drive another JATCO tranny vehicle, and it hasn't been pretty, some two replacements and $3300 later).
5. XC90 (new gen) - 4 cylinder needed more gusto up top. This is a pretty normal want from 4 cylinders these days, whereas 6 cylinders we tend to want gusto from a stop. The brand was too new to trust though, and from monitoring the forums, it's been a good call to avoid for now.
6. 328xi and 328d wagons - Really no punch to them. Only considered them because I want utility too. Drives like you expect out of a bimmer, but pretty cheap interior and lack luster powertrain for the cost.
7. X5 - Nice. Would only lease it though, so same problem as the Q5 family. BUT, I will say that I hated the new look. The old one was beefy looking.
8. RDX - Actually what gave me a good impression of the Acura brand. It drove well, decent handling, cargo room was average. Interior finishes had a better feel than the CRV, but a lot of the CRV could still be found in the RDX. The sales guy then told me a lot of people look into the MDX because of the small price difference, so maybe it was something I wanted to check too. Got me interested, as I really didn't like how the 15 RDX looked. I waited for the 16 RDX, but I think by then I was already pretty set that I liked how the MDX looked a lot better. Also, Acura was a great value proposition and I knew how easy it is to fix most of the mechanical things on Acuras from past experience.
9. Outback - Haha weird one but I come from Subaru ownership too. The Outback was nice, but my history with Subaru has been a rather colorful one (both bad and good). This swayed me away from the Outback (reliability, maintenance costs, NVH) but also because nobody ever had a 3.6R for me to test drive. I knew I didn't like the 4 cylinder, as I've driven that numerous times. I actually prefer the Forester because it feels more roomy inside, but the Outback has better finishes. And of course, the exterior looks always make me look like a tree hugger (not a bad thing though, as I used to hike a lot in redwood forests). But sure enough, the Outback is having reliability issues again. Subarus kind of break at intervals. Once you get past it, it's smooth sailing for about 60-100k, then it's back to more stuff breaking.
10. GLE350 - Only got to look at this AFTER I bought the MDX because it was not ready by the time I was ready. Mercedes really aced the looks both interior and exterior this generation, EXCEPT on the GLE350 and GLC. But, handling was better than last generation and powertrain was pretty on par with the MDX. Still convinced that the MDX is a better value. Repairs, funny enough, on Mercedes aren't as bad as they are on the other luxury brands. The mechanicals are pretty straight forward BUT, there have been quiet a few issues with the GLE 350 anyway, so glad I didn't bother.
11. Highlander - Interesting looks, good interior volume and cargo utility, typical Toyota quality inside (good enough, and don't really need to worry about getting it dirty). V6 doesn't have enough gusto at the low end and is only mediocre the rest of the band. My wife especially didn't like this, nor the floaty feel of Toyotas. She killed this one for good, even though my initial impression was that I could work with it lol
12. MDX! Had to decide between the 15 and 16, but the 15s were mostly sold out and actually the used ones cost more than a new 16! Took a long while to decide if the 16 tranny was something I could get used to (and the answer is yes for me, having driven ZF 8 speeds before), and the value proposition was undeniable. I heard about QC issues and I inspected the vehicle thoroughly anyway. The interior quality is typical Honda/Acura. The NVH mitigation is way better than previous gens. Drove well, good power, decent looks, way better price than most of the others of the same class and even most of the 5 seater luxuries, so I was kind of sold here. Wife liked it the best too. But I will say that the dealership experience is much less satisfactory than most of the other brands. Slim pickings perhaps? Still a very comfy car for me in the end and I toss it around quite a bit.
13. Oh yeah! Q7! I didn't get to try the new one, but the outgoing gen was actually quite nice. But I again, I don't like the interior much (mostly the center console), but it drove well, was comfy, was quiet, the exterior I actually like the best, but MDX kind of killed it on the value proposition. But tech definitely made me feel like I was driving a pre 2010 vehicle.
