Dusk. The chill of a forest mist and the smell of the trees. Ahead, the view of a spectacular stretch of tarmac winding through the woods, with barely a car in sight. This is what awaited us when we found one of the many brilliant driving roads in the Northern California region. This particular piece is called Skyline Drive. The road is not wide, but the corners are very flowing and the close proximity of trees the size of skyscrapers amplify the sense of speed.
In response to the fading light, we decided to head down the mountain via a shorter route, and took a small road off of the main drive. Sensory overload time! Kings Mountain Road: what a piece of asphalt. There are no guard-rails, apart from the ones formed by those huge coniferous trees of course. The road has no center divide either. Not many markings. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Littered with short straights and numerous switch backs, this road definitely ranks at the top of our list as one of the best roads we’ve ever encountered. It offers a test of grip, acceleration, and braking, with no rest in between. Have a car that doesn’t turn in on demand, or one with a lack of body control, you might be in for a heart attack.
In our possession, for those few hours, was a car with plenty amount of grip to tackle the hairpins thrown at it by Kings Mountain, enough body control to prevent any unintended oral regurgitation, and enough speed and stopping power to plant a smile on the driver’s face the entire way down.
Oddly enough, and perhaps a testament to how far automotive development has gone these days, it was not a sports car or even a sports sedan, but a big slab of SUV. It is in fact, a 2011 Acura MDX.
The initial impressions when we picked up the car for our short stint were the build quality and the overall sense of luxuriousness offered by the cabin. The exterior design could take some getting used to, but we found it to be rather pleasing and unique from the rest of the unassuming SUVs on the market. With big bold 19” wheels and sharp lines, the shape is instantly recognizable.Getting in, we found the seats to be very comfortable, if a little down on side support. The passenger space was more than adequate, though the third row seats would probably still be most suited for short trips. On the road, the ride was very sedan-like, with minimal body sway.
With its 300 horsepower V-6 and 6 speed automatic, the car had ample power to get up to speed. The only issue we noted was that the engine seems to be slightly down on off the line torque, as compared with other trucks. The brakes also offered plenty of stopping power and we did not register any fade, even when tackling the downhill stretch of Kings Mountain. That said, there could be a bit more pedal feel. The steering too, although by no means near Lexus-level of numbness, could benefit with a bit more communication. Though we were not able to get a good measure on fuel economy, we estimate that we managed to get around 18-20mpg, which isn’t too bad considering the blast through the mountains.The clear notable was the quite outstanding body control experienced when we took it through the twisties. The super-handling all-wheel-drive, or SH-AWD as Acura calls it, can be felt dealing the power to which ever wheel has the most grip. True that we did not drive it at 10/10th, for that would be stupid on a public road, there was not too much in the way of understeer or oversteer. Just good balance and good grip out of the corners.
This particular car came loaded with features, including DVD player, navigation system, heated and cooled seats, to name a few. The drawback of this technology is the cluttered feel of the dash, and the lay out of the controls, though attempting to mimic the often hated i-Drive system of BMW, it is slightly difficult to use and require too much attention diverted away from the drive. And perhaps not relevant to most, the navigation map was not accurate enough to provide a gauge for sharpness of the next turn; according to it, we must’ve fallen into the ravine and driving through the trees a half a dozen times.The blind spot detection system, however, was definitely a very useful feature. It essentially puts on a little indicating light in the side mirrors if it senses there is a car in the blind spot area. Very useful. Same can be said with the radar guided cruise control. A gimmick maybe, but in less than constant highway traffic, quite saving on the old knees. But be warned. It does NOT seem to be able to come to a complete stop. Found out after a bit of girly squeal from the driver when we tried.
At the end of the day, the Woman was impressed as well. She noted the large passenger space, the comfortable heated seats, lots of cubby holes, and the overall quality of the dash and upholstery. She also particularly liked the blind spot detection system for a large car such as this, but did not like the difficulty of the user interface for the dash controls.Final thoughts? Starting at just over $42K for the base model, up to a price as tested of $54K, it isn’t a cheap truck. However, those figures still under cut the nearest competition, the BMW X5, by a considerable margin. With the fit and finish as good as in the MDX, the fact that it’s a Honda and likely to last longer than the trees we did not hit, and since the driving feel is not far behind that of the BMW, if we were in the market for such a vehicle, the BMW, the former uncontested champ as the ultimate driving machine, has a big fight on its hands.
2011 Acura MDX with Advance and Entertainment Package
Pros:
-SH-Awd
-Ride quality and handling
-Fit & finish
-Value
Cons:
-Slightly sluggish down low
-Over-cluttered console
-Slightly light pedal feel and steering feedback
-Navigation was not accurate going through the woods
Verdict: 16/20
