[VA Tech Hokie]

The Good Part:
After being teased since last Tuesday(11/27), I am finally an owner
of a GG w/Touring. Since last Tuesday, the vin tracking computer
showed my MDX at the dealer, yet it had never arrived and the
dealer was very interested in selling it to me before month end
so we were talking most every day.

My first impression of the vehicle is very good. I have been
driving a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was equipped pretty
much like the MDX, except it did not have the heated seats. I
liked both how the Jeep rode and drove.

I am very impressed with the smoothness
and ride of the 'X'. I purchased it from a dealer located 90 miles
from where I live, so I got to drive it home yesterday on both
a 2 lane 55 mph highway and an interstate. Compared to the
Jeep, I was pleasantly surprised at the quietness of the 'X'. At times,
I drove 70mph(keeping the rpms around 2k) and I did not find
the wind noise to be excessive, comparably speaking.

I feel the Bose system sounds as good as the premium Infinity
system in the Jeep. I am also very impressed with the smoothness
of the transmission.

Before I left the dealer, the salesperson filled the 'Chameleon X' with fuel and
reset the trip computer, including the average mpg. After driving
the 90 miles back home, the computer showed my average MGP being 24.9,
yes, that is 24.9 MPG. I can only hope the computer's calculations are close to being acurate.
This mileage was calculated driving thru the mountains of
West Virginia and Virginia.

I had a very good experience with my dealer. The dealership
is called Beckley Auto Mall and is located in Beckley, WV. The dealer's
allocation is only 3 or 4 MDXs a month.
I ordered my 'X' on August 11th and my salesperson told me it
would be delivered late November or early December and he was
right on the money. They sell the 'X's for MSRP, with no forced
options. He did throw in the rear splash guards, so I guess I got my 'X'
for $79 below MSRP and I felt the dealership gave me a very reasonable
trade-in value for the Jeep.

If anyone is interested in contacting my salesman, his name is
David Mollohan and the number is 1-800-284-3934.

Now, The Bad Part:
My wife is driving the 'X' today and I might never get to drive it
again...

 

[gkeith]

Congratulations on getting your 'X'. I hope you enjoyed driving it home...you'll never sit behind the steering wheel again.

 

[VA Tech Hokie]

Thanks gkeith... Yes, you might just be right about never getting to drive the 'X' again. She did say I could drive it on weekends,
when we travel. Fortunately, I do have a nice silver A4
to cruise around in. I am trying to convince my wife the A4 is the
perfect car for her, but she likes riding high off the road and driving a SUV, so I don't think I can convince her to go to the other end of the spectrum......

 

[gkeith]

Hokie,

I must tell you, my husband and I have a deal going and when I complete it I get my X...he'll NEVER drive it unless I'm in it with him. I can only imagine that being away from your X for too long would cause serious separation anxiety.

 

[VA Tech Hokie]

gkeith..

Good for you. I have been reading your posts and I know about
your passion for the MDX. I hope you meet your challenge and
soon will be driving the 'X'.

My wife works about 2 miles from my office, so today at lunch, I drove thru her parking lot just to get a glance of the MDX. I was hoping she would see me and feel sorry for me and run out the
door with the keys, yelling "Here are the keys, I want you to drive it every day!"... Needless to say, my parking lot "drive-thru fantasy" did not come true. She was probably looking out the window smiling and saying with a smirk..
"It is mine, go away".....

 

[MarkC]

Congrats VA Tech Hokie,
An excellent choice of colors. Always great to have another GG on the road.

Enjoy driving.........when you can

 

[davegood]

Congratulations!

Congratulations -- thanks for the post -- I also have the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Quadra drive and V6, so it was interesting to read your comparison of the two -- thanks for posting it.

 

[Thanson]

Congratulations! I got mine Monday, so they probably have the same birthdays!

My husband and I are also fighting about who is going to drive it. I'm the one who was adamant about the car, he could have cared less. Now he's begging to drive it. He even actually admitted I did a good job -- that never happens!!!

He traded his Tahoe for this and has driven SUVs since 1991 -- he's not too happy driving my Avalon, he misses being up high.

Enjoy!!!!

 

[BellTeck]

Congrats VA Tech !!!



Now you know what I mean about the X in the mountains .. a great match!!! Now get some of those Deer whistles for it!!!!



Welcome to the X Club !!!


TECK!

 

[VA Tech Hokie]

Thanks for the congrats...

Davegood:
I am sure you will like the differences between the Jeep GC
and the MDX. The main comments my wife made about the
differences between the two vehicles are she feels the 'X' drives
much larger than the Jeep and she commented that the Jeep's
leather seats were much softer. Of course next comment was
too bad the rest of the Jeep is not as good as its leather seats.
We both liked the Jeep very much, except for quality problems.
I must admit the leather in my Jeep was nice.

Thanson:
When I figure how to get the 'X' from my wife, I plan on contacting
your husband and helping him out with his situation of not getting
to drive your MDX.
I have it bad for the 'X'. For instance, I know approximately
what time my wife arrives home, so yesterday, I arrived home
before she did and went to the front yard and pretended to be
doing some yard work, just so I could see her drive into the
neighborhood and our driveway. I must say the GG 'X' looked
fantastic with the headlights and fog lights on.
Of course, when she saw me standing in the yard looking
dumbfounded, she just smiled and pointed at the 'X' and said it
was hers... Only 48 hours until the weekend and
I will get to drive it again...

Teck:
I know you must be real excited about the arrival of your new truck.
It sure makes me feel good to hear you say positive things
about the MDX, although you have had a terrible service experience.
It does seem as if the 'Chameleon X' thrives on
the fresh, mountain air.

 

[davegood]

Thanks again for the comparison

VA Tech -- Thanks again for the comments about the seats. I actually really like the Jeep in terms of styling and comfort. Road noise can be a bit loud, so I'd be interested in hearing your comparison there. There are actually a bunch of things that I will miss when I get rid of the Jeep -- the rear opening window, the non perforated leather seats, and the fact that a lot of stuff like cargo cover come standard. Also, price was much less, but I'm super psyched to move up to the MDX.

Good luck with your separation anxiety.

 

[VA Tech Hokie]

Davegood:

It sounds to me as if you feel about your Jeep the same as I did about mine.
I liked the styling, I liked the interior and I liked the ride. This was
my second GC and I had the same problems with each. Had
the Jeep been of better mechanical quality, I would have never
really looked at another model vehicle.

As I said earlier, the MDX does ride much smoother. For instance,
going over the groove in the road, where an overpass or bridge
connects to the road, when driving
the Jeep, if I had a cup of coffee in my hand, I had to be careful
that my arm moved with the flow of the Jeep to keep from spilling
the coffee. In the MDX I do not feel this type of bounce.
I think I will no longer have problems with coffee splashing in the
MDX. The transmission in the MDX is much, much smoother. The
Jeep was a 4 speed and I could always tell when it was shifting
from 4th/OD to 3rd gear. While driving the 'X' up and down the hills,
the shift from 5th to 4th gear was almost unnoticeable. It is great!
One other thing I really like about the 'X' and it is something else
my wife noticed right off and that is how the transmission downshifts
and holds the downshift while going down hill. No more
riding the brakes while cruising down hill. My A4 tranny works that
way and it is nice to have it on the 'X'....

I think the 'X' is a LOT more quieter than the Jeep, until about 60 mph.
Over 60 mph it still is quieter than the Jeep, but not as much
as below 60. Again, this is just my personal perception. Since I
had read about some of the negatives of the MDX, when I was
taking the Jeep to be traded, I turned down the radio and cruised
at different speeds, so I would have a comparison to the MDX.
I even opened the moonroof of the Jeep at different speeds, so
I could do the same with the 'X'. With the moonroof open, I felt the wind
noise was very comparable in both vehicles. I also think the moonroof
opening is about the same size in each vehicle, but it looks a little smaller
in the MDX, because the 'X' is larger.

I think the Jeep's tires and wheels looked more aggressive. I personally would
like to see a little larger tire on the MDX. Not a big deal,
but I did like how my Michelins looked on the Jeep.

The radio/cd controls on the Jeep's steering wheel offered a few more options.
I also like the Jeep's sunroof button location better.
It was also nice to have the Jeep's one-touch moonroof opening button.
Again, this is not a big deal, it will just take time to adjust
to the controls of the MDX being different(assuming I really do
get to drive the MDX again.. )

Davegood, I guess this pretty much sums up the differences I see
between the Jeep and MDX. I do believe the MDX far exceeds the Jeep,
but I really liked the Jeep and some of its features and it will take
some time for me to get used to the subtle differences of the MDX.
I am really looking forward to taking the 'Chameleon X' on a road trip,
so I can truly enjoy all its virtues.

 

[Thanson]

Hey now-- don't be giving him any ideas!!! I've already threatened to hide his keys

 

[VA Tech Hokie]

thanson,
I think the problem is our cars are twins, born on the same
day, and controlled by females who think alike... I drove thru
her parking lot again today to look at it...... I wonder how it feels
to back that GG beauty out of the garage and head off to work in it...
Last night she seemed to really enjoy telling me what
a great truck it is to drive... She now has the memory seat and
mirrors set
to fit her, the steering wheel is adjusted for her, the climate control
is set to her taste, she has her favorite cds in the player, so it
seems like she is settling into driving the 'X' all the time...
I at least have memories of driving it home the first day....

 

[Thanson]

Wow -- you and my husband do have a lot in common! I let him drive it home from the dealer because I was just too darn giddy to drive the 2 hours home. Then I let him take it to work Tuesday morning, but he HAD to have it back by 11 because I was going to lunch with a friend and had to show it off!!!

The first thing I did was load all my CDs into it and set everything the way I like it.

He wanted to take it today, but I had to go to the gym and show it off to the trainers. The problem is I like it so much I'm just looking for places to drive it!

Maybe tomorrow afternoon, I'll let him BORROW it!

I do feel bad for him missing his SUV, but I'll dangle a carrot in front of him every now and then and if he's a good boy, he'll get to drive it!!! Maybe if you buy your wife some big diamonds, she'll let you borrow it

Now he's thinking maybe we should order another one so he can drive it too!

Good luck getting to drive it!

 

[VA Tech Hokie]

thanson..

So what you are saying is you dangle the MDX as a carrot in front of your husband and I should dangle diamonds in front of my wife as a CARAT...

 

[Thanson]

You are a smart man!!!

 

[d2lmk]

What is the "VIN Tracking Computer"? Is there a way to track your X by VIN while on its way to the dealer. Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[VA Tech Hokie]

Vin Tracking...

There is a way the vehicle can be tracked from the plant to the dealership, using its VIN. Before the Sept 11th attack, most anyone could use the tracking system, but after Sept 11th, Honda took this privilege away from the public, so now, only your dealer can use the tracking system. For more info, do a search because this has been discussed in other places on this forum.....

 

[RedMdxMemphis]

Congratulations on your new MDX!

I don't know how it works but the VTM thing works really well in recent stormy weather with wet grounds. An excellent vehicle.