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Review: 2022 Acura MDX Adds Wireless CarPlay to a Touchpad-Driven Infotainment System

Relentless Power said:
I see others disagree with your post. I’m actually one of those people that support exactly what you said, because that’s exactly what it is, obsolete technology. Electric is pretty much the future, regardless if people want to accept that or not, where the fault lies, if people don’t understand why they need electric and perhaps their demographic doesn’t support the infrastructure.

And believe me when I tell you, I’m a sports car fanatic (Owning 13+ high performance cars over the years) and I love internal combustion for many reasons, but it’s completely barbaric when you’re comparing ICE to electric when driving and free of maintenance.
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Electric is the future sure, but current electric offerings are very lackluster. Tesla’s have awful interiors, bad paint, and bad build quality that I can’t imagine spending that much money on them. Not everyone is interested in spending 60k on the electric equivalent of a Honda Accord (model 3). I drive a BMW m340i and I would never consider trading it for the equivalently priced EV, there’s no comparison.

In a few years when more automakers are building quality EVs with luxury interiors that aren’t 100k+ I’ll be much more interested. Until then I pretty confident I can continue to get gasoline for the next 10 years if I choose to drive ICE and not deal with following a charging network on road trips.
 
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Thank you for the limited review. Would also be interesting to read your evaluation of the other aspects of the vehicles such as driving dynamics, quietness, acceleration, visibility, safety systems, storage, etc.
 
briloronmacrumo said:
Thank you for the limited review. Would also be interesting to read your evaluation of the other aspects of the vehicles such as driving dynamics, quietness, acceleration, visibility, safety systems, storage, etc.
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Driving dynamics would also tend to favor most ICE luxury cars over Tesla. A BMW 3 series has a much better suspension than a Tesla, betting handling, and significantly better breaking. Teslas do not stop quickly at all, often due to additional battery weight.

Tesla Model 3 Falls Short of a CR Recommendation

In this Tesla Model 3 review, Consumer Reports says that despite record range and agile handling, issues with braking, controls, and ride quality hurt the Model 3’s Overall Score.
www.consumerreports.org

For sound, any luxury interior is going to suppress wind and road noise better than a Tesla due to their build quality issues. EV will always win on 0-60 since you ask about acceleration, which seems to be their biggest sell that people I know with Tesla’s bit on. Personally I find there to be more to driving than 0-60 time.
 
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ColdShadow said:
View attachment 1830730
this is their definition of “luxury”?? 😂
This is cheap and tacky.
even a entry level Audi interior looks 100x more substantial.
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Cheap as in how? (Be specific.) I mean, A semi-leather stitched Dash, using high gloss piano black looks cheap? I can think of like five other cars that have very similar set ups that are in $65,000 plus range. I mean, what were you expecting…. carbon fiber? I don’t think anything here looks ‘cheap’, seems a bit subjective. I do think the placeholder for the center display isn’t the most aesthetic, when that maybe could be a bit more integrated.
 
lewchenko said:
Hope it works better than the wireless car play used in my Audi Q5.

50/50 odds it connects. Really annoying. Will probably go back to plugging in a USB cable.

Which is a shame as the Audi sat nav is pretty bad at finding places so if car play not working properly too … screwed! Whole towns missing when entering into its search!
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Really? In my car (BMW) CarPlay connects before I can even start the engine, and it has never failed to connect. I almost forget that it relates to my phone because it’s operational the moment I reach for it. Sorry to hear it’s not like that for you; I would have assumed that Audi would do that really well.
 
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scheinderrob said:
if only tesla would replace their buggy and barely functional infotainment system with carplay
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No thanks! I'll take a response UI over these ridiculously underpowered systems from 1998. The processors in these systems are absolutely terrible and every button click is followed by a weird delay. Yuck.
 
bmunge said:
Driving dynamics would also tend to favor most ICE luxury cars over Tesla. A BMW 3 series has a much better suspension than a Tesla, betting handling, and significantly better breaking. Teslas do not stop quickly at all, often due to additional battery weight.

Tesla Model 3 Falls Short of a CR Recommendation

In this Tesla Model 3 review, Consumer Reports says that despite record range and agile handling, issues with braking, controls, and ride quality hurt the Model 3’s Overall Score.
www.consumerreports.org

For sound, any luxury interior is going to suppress wind and road noise better than a Tesla due to their build quality issues. EV will always win on 0-60 since you ask about acceleration, which seems to be their biggest sell that people I know with Tesla’s bit on. Personally I find there to be more to driving than 0-60 time.
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Acceleration isn't a priority for me either but was just one item not mentioned in MR's review. Quietness, comfort, good safety features and ability to refuel without significantly increasing my travel time ( on long trips ) are the top priorities. It's interesting that governments are forcing EVs before they attain parity ( price, comfort, range, refueling time, and enough operational refueling stations ) with ICE vehicles. EVs have lots of advantages and will eventually overcome the current hurdles but they aren't there yet. And that's assuming you're okay with driving with battery packs that sometimes catch fire just sitting in a garage. My brother won't have an EV in his garage because of what happened with the Chevy Bolts.
 
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simplyHuman said:
Well I own 2021 MDX, I had 2 MDX in the past, This is amazing Vehicle, I drove in 6 inch Snow and crazy rain. No one can beat Acura SHAWD …(edited out the rest for focus in quote)
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Nobody? 6” of snow - impressive.

just remember it was Audi that first launched all wheel drive. YouTube search Audi Quattro Andes Mountain, should be an early 80’s commercial where Audi too professional driver (rally) and an Audi Quattro 4 seater up the mountain just wheels not tires. It was profound and I don’t think any bs was used but they did have to block off the entire road for safety.

glad you enjoy your MDX. Is yours the new sports model inspired by the NSX performance?
 
ateslik said:
No thanks! I'll take a response UI over these ridiculously underpowered systems from 1998. The processors in these systems are absolutely terrible and every button click is followed by a weird delay. Yuck.
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at least they can do waypoints and apple music
 
Relentless Power said:
... but it’s completely barbaric when you’re comparing ICE to electric when driving and free of maintenance.
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It's completely barbaric to stop for 30 minutes+ to refuel an EV on a trip. ICE vehicles have more maintenance but for most folks the difference can be negligible. For example, my 2015 TLX( purchased same year ) needs only 2 oil changes a year. An EV costs less to fuel ( at least for now with still relatively low electricity prices ) but has a higher up-front cost. I've analyzed EV vs. ICE and from a convenience and financial perspective EVs aren't the equal of ICE vehicles ( yet ).
 
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MacRumors said:
Acura is one of a few brands that has prioritized putting the main infotainment screen fairly high on the dashboard and set back rather far from the driver.

This keeps the screen closer to the driver's line of sight and helps limit the amount of time the driver needs to take their eyes off the road when glancing at the screen. But it also means that it's not feasible to operate the system by directly touching the screen.

Acura's solution to the lack of a touchscreen is its True Touchpad Interface, ...
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This presupposes that the screen positioning drove the control design, when it could be the opposite.

Touchscreens are notoriously difficult to operate while driving, due to the movement of the vehicle (and thus the screen) and the imprecision of touching the screen precisely while the car is in motion. The designers could have opted for a remote interface with a smaller touch surface for human interface reasons, and then said "cool, now we can place the screen anywhere and optimize its location".

Hence, your comment regarding their "solution to the lack of a touchscreen..." implies that they were adapting to a limitation (no touchscreen), while you offered no evidence that that was the case during design.
 
I'm all against "all touchscreen" controls in modern cars, but this one has just too many buttons and everything looks clutered and already dated. I always wondered what kinds of designers these car companies hire, that look at this and say "THIS LOOKS EXCELLENT AND BEAUTIFUL!".
And dont get me started on that tablet screen that looks more like an after thought... It would make sense if it somehow lowered into the dash when you turn off the car(like Audis used to have) but i highly doubt it thats the case.

And why are they going with the touchpad thingy? Lexus tried it and they've given up on it because its even worse than a wheel for navigating thru UI. It's like all these companies live in their own bubbles, never learning anything from their competitions experience

Also, USB-A? Really?
 
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I actually own a 2022 MDX and can say the system works well. A Touch Screen would be preferred, but the track pad style controller works good enough and doesn't take long to get acquainted with. I read lots of reviews on how this is such a deal breaker for some - give it a few days and you don't really think about it. Wireless CarPlay is finally coming in many new cars and it really highlights how good this tech actually works. Seamless integration.
 
I don’t want to touch a screen or touchpad in my car unless Siri can’t understand what I’m saying. And I only want to use Siri if what I want to do can’t be done with physical buttons and knobs that do pretty much one thing each.
 
What is it with car manufacturers and the terrible infotainment systems they shoehorn into modern cars?
 
sdz said:
If only TESLA hired proper car designers. Their cars look awful.
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They look a lot better than the Acura🤮. And certainly better than competition from BMW, Audi, Polestar, and Jaguar.

While I think it is their most handsome model, I do think that the Model S looks a bit dated as the sheetmetal is 12-13 years old now. It is still has a noticeable presence on the road.

The model 3/Y is understated, as it is supposed to be. It's the "everymans' car". They still look like they are from 5-6 years into the future when compared to everything else who is still experimenting with ridiculous grills and angry headlights.
 
justperry said:
Much better.

Looks much...MUCH better than that 2022 Jeep Wagoneer in the article from a week ago.
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They are in two entirely different market segments. I doubt there will be a significant amount of cross-shopping. The Wagoneer is more Tahoe/Suburban, Expedition, Telluride twins, Escalade, Navigator, whatever the larger Benz SUV is. Basically, big cushy family hauler with usable third row AND can tow a few jet skis behind it.

The Acura is for aspirational mommies and dads who got sick of BMW/MB/Audi reliability issues, and are willing to take a hit in prestige for reliability and less cost. Or those who want the dynamics of a Cayanne or Q7 without breaking the bank. Acura's excellent SH-AWD system and sporty dynamics are completely lost on their customers.

I'm actually a huge fan of the MDX (and Acura, hence the TSX in my name). My wife would be driving one right now, but we opted for a RX350. And only because it offered much better real world mileage (+4-6mpg over the 45-55k miles she drives annually), and it was a timing chain motor (saving $1200 T-belt service every 90k miles). I'm honestly more moved by the smaller RDX, and have recently had some serious test drives in the new TLX Type-S. But Tesla is getting our $$$ next. (again, with 45-55k miles driven per year an EV makes TONS of sense as it will save $4-6k in fuel annually).
 
What is with that phallic drive selector console? also, piano finish on any car these days is a huge no-no to me... that stuff gets so scratched up that after the first year of ownership it looks like it was gone over with sandpaper.
 
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