We’ll Always Have Paris: A Review of the 2022 Acura MDX

Certainly there is an unwritten rule that if you have the opportunity, in less than two hours, to visit a replica of the Eiffel Tower adorned with a cowboy hat, you owe it to yourself to make the trip. Where else but Texas can you experience a quirky sculpture like that; the crown jewel of a small town by the name of Paris. The cowboy hat that sits atop the 65 foot tower is red in color, so when an equally brilliant ruby red 2022 Acura MDX appeared in my driveway one summer day, it was clear what had to be done. I strapped my daughters into the MDX, asked my wife to pack some snacks, and embarked on a 120 mile road trip from our home in Dallas to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

It was the perfect excuse to get the MDX out on the open road and experience first-hand what sort of family oriented advantages this SUV offered. With three rows, an excellent fuel economy rating, and enough safety tech to get us to Paris in one piece, the 2022 Acura MDX was poised to offer a comfortable driving adventure. But how comfortable could a road trip with two young children be and how would the Morales family handle spending more than 4 hours on the road? Such an adventure is best told in multiple viewpoints, each building on a story that would encapsulate our time with the 2022 Acura MDX takes multiple points of view into consideration to tell that story, a piece at a time. A piece at a time, like the structure of a Tarantino film, this review unfolds by starting in the middle, when things seemed to be at their most intense.

Chapter 1: Zoë and the Urge to Go

“Daddy, I have to go potty right now!”

It’s the phrase every Dad Driver dreads to hear, especially when you’re on the open road and you’re making good time. We were on the way back from Paris, the sun was beginning its dip into the horizon and there were no gas stations or rest stops within sight. Comfortably cruising at an easy 65 miles an hour, the MDX had been a quiet, comfortable ride thus far, even despite the uneven small town roads.

“Can you hold on Zoë? We’re stopping very soon,” I said, pleading with my daughter through the rearview mirror.

“There is a gas station 12 miles ahead on the highway,” my wife exclaimed, pulling up a map on her phone. 12 miles is all I needed to hear. I pushed the MDX a tad more, accelerating up a few miles per hour, passing a slower car ahead of me. The MDX’s handling was incredibly smooth, yielding to the slightest handle of the wheel and I wove nimbly through lanes with ease. At 198,4 inches long, 78.7 inches wide, and 67,1 inches high, this vehicle certainly had a presence but it handled and drove like a car half it’s size.

“Daddy, I really have to go!” Zoë whined from the backseat.

“I may need to pull over to the side of the road,” I said quietly to my wife. She didn’t hear me but instead pointed towards the windshield and exclaimed, “There’s the highway! Turn, turn!”

I flicked the right hand turn signal, checked the mirror for the blind spot monitor indicator that was a part of the MDX’s safety package, and saw that the right lane was clear. I scootched over a lane and entered the highway on-ramp, accelerating rapidly to a safe 75 miles an hour. The MDX hardly skipped a beat and I was treated to a satisfactory growl from the V-6 engine under the hood. Despite my increased speed, the cabin remained impressively quiet – Valentina, Zoë’s sister, never woke from her nap.

“Six miles away, hold on Zoë ,” Ellie reassured. “It’s coming out!” was Zoë’s response. My wife whipped around to face her, her eyes wide. “Are you serious!” she asked. Zoë smiled and shook her head. Zoë had a knack for being playful at the most inopportune time.

Suddenly, a subtle ding arose from the gauge cluster. I glanced down, realizing that it was a “low fuel” warning. Luckily we were already heading to a fuel station but that warning made me realize how well the MDX had handled fuel economy on this trip. I had already traveled close to 200 miles on this trip alone and we started the trip with a little over half a tank. Acura claims that the 2022 MDX snags an impressive 23 miles to the gallon in the city, and 28 on the highway. Against those numbers, I tended to average less miles per gallon while driving in the city, but on the highway these numbers proved to be more accurate.

“DADDY!” Zoë screamed and just as I making a mental decision to pull over to the side of the road to let Zoë relieve herself, the corners of a gas station sign peaked through the trees in the curve up ahead. We were saved, and not a moment too soon. I revved the MDX, increased the revolutions blissfully, and reassured Zoë that relief was in sight.

Chapter 2: Ellie and the Third Row

“Are you sure this has a third row?”

My wife Ellie and I were admiring the MDX as it sat in our driveway, ready to be packed for our day trip to Paris. We commented on the sleeker design that the 2022 MDX was updated with, including the wider grill, flared fenders and new aerodynamic lines that make the vehicle appear shorter but more aggressive. It was this leaner look that gave Ellie pause.

“Yep, it does. I think you just have to look at it from the right angle, because it can look deceivingly shorter from certain ones,” I told her. “I actually love that its long enough for the third row but not long long that it doesn’t fit in our garage.”

We dropped our daughter’s diaper bags at the rear of the MDX and I popped the trunk. Ellie opened the rear doors and popped her head in. The entire cabin of the MDX has been updated for 2022 including the addition of more passenger head, hip, and leg room throughout. Our MDX came with tan leather and a grey faux wood finish on the dash – a classy but approachable motif.

“Wow. Fancy,” said Ellie. “Does it have air conditioned seats?” We were in the midst of a summer heatwave and I knew that question was already at the top of her mind. “Yep. Air conditioned seats.”

Ellie turned her attention to the third row. While not exactly large, the third row in the 2022 MDX is sufficient enough for small adults or children. Anyone with longer legs won’t enjoy the trip as there is only 29.1 inches of leg room available. Climbing into the third row was a breeze, however, as the second row seats shift far enough forward to allow for easy access. Cup holders and charging ports for third row occupants are a welcome addition.

“You’re right. A third row,” Ellie said, nodding in approval. “Not bad.” As I loaded the girls bags into the cargo area, I noticed how little cargo area there was with the third row up — 18.1 cubic feet of cargo space to be exact. There would barely be room for diaper bags, let alone the baby stroller we hoped to bring along. As I put one half of the third row down in order to create more room, I realized that in day to day use, we would most likely keep this third row down to allow for the extended cargo space of 48.4 cubic feet. With both the second and third rows folded down, the MDX offers up 95 cubic feet of cargo space.

“These seats are comfortable!” Ellie exclaimed from the front passenger seat. She was exploring the view from the “cockpit” and I could already see the gears in her head turning. I knew her next question before she even asked it. “How much does it cost?”

“The base models start at forty eight thousand,” I said. “This model has the technology and the Advance package on it, so that cost extra.” The Advance package includes nifty features like the hands-free power liftgate, roof rails, exterior LED door handle lights, and a remote start option. The technology package brings goodies like a heads-up display for the driver, a 360-degree view camera system, and those nifty extra usb ports in the third row.

“With those two packages, the cost is closer to sixty two thousand,” I said. I gave Ellie a minute before telling her about my favorite addition. “ Also, this has all wheel drive, which costs an extra seven thousand. But if you ask me, it’s totally worth it, especially when we do a little light off-roading.”

“Off-roading?” asked Ellie slyly. “What are we? Dukes of Hazard?”

I finished packing the cargo area and closed the back door with the push of a button. I walked over to the open passenger door where Ellie was still scanning the interior, making mental notes and daydreaming about owning the MDX. “Lets load in the car seats,” she said finally. As we each loaded and buckled up our daughter’s seats, her next question dawned on her, “What safety features are included? Does it have that thing where it warns us of cars behind us?”

She meant rear cross traffic monitoring and the MDX’s AcuraWatch did indeed include it. AcuraWatch is Acura’s name for its safety feature suite which also includes automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and traffic sign recognition. AcuraWatch comes standard on all trim levels of the MDX including the base model.

“Third times a charm – yep, it has rear traffic monitoring,” I said.

Ellie looked up at me with a serious and slightly puzzled look on her face. “But it does have a third row, right?” She could only hold onto her mischievous grin for a few seconds before breaking out into a playful giggle.

Chapter 3: Valentina and the Need for Change.

We were a few minutes away from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas when my youngest daughter, Valentina, began rustling and softly crying. A midday nap had kept her asleep during the majority of the trip from Dallas to Paris, as the lull of the moving car soothed her. The quiet, noise resistant cabin of the MDX helped too.

“She probably needs to be changed,” Ellie said as we officially entered Paris and turned at a sign that read “Love Civic Center to the right.” Within a few minutes, we arrived at the monument and marveled at the 65 foot replica of the Eiffel Tower, standing tall in all its glory. This isn’t the only replica of the Eiffel tower in the U.S. but it’s the only one sporting a bright red Stetson cowboy hat. Contrasted beautifully against the big blue Texas sky, the hat reminded of how perfect the moment was, being that we were rolling up in an MDX that also sported a strikingly red paint job.

“Let me get the car in position for a photo,” I said, noticing that we were only one of two families enjoying the monument at that particular moment. Ellie, as always, kept me focused. “We need to change Valentina first.”

I backed the rear of the MDX away from the road and the monument in order to give us some privacy. We’ve gotten accustomed to changing our daughter in the cargo area of our own SUV — laying a changing mat down on the floor of the cargo area and creating our own changing area — so this was old hat. We took both daughters down from their car seats and moved them to the cargo area.

The 18.01 cubic feet of space in the cargo area is slightly larger than most sedans but falls behind other similar SUVs in this class. At first glance, it might not seem like a spacious area for luggage or cargo but once I began utilizing it, I was surprised at how much it actually holds. It certainly was enough space to hold our makeshift changing area. Valentina fit perfectly behind the third seat and there was even enough head room for Zoe to stand up so that Ellie could adjust her dress.

There was something weirdly magically about the ability to use the MDX — or any SUV for that matter — in this way. I was struck by the curious nature of functionality in modern engineering. At it’s basic level, a car is merely a means to move humans from point A to point B but as modern consumers we’ve come to expect more from our vehicles. We want our cars to  contribute to our lifestyle. In this case, the MDX offered us a safe cocoon, away from the elements, to tend to our daughters. Its a use case I’m sure Acura didn’t necessarily intend but succeeded at.

With my daughters picture ready, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower for our family photo. Valentina was all smiles, thanks to a nap and a clean diaper. The monument was an engaging sight to behold and unlike anything you’ll see in Texas. After we snapped a few photos it was time for the MDX to get in on the action. Even against a towering Eiffel Tower, the MDX held its own.

Chapter 4: Phillip and the Little Things

“Out of all the things about this car, what’s the one things that stands out to you?”

Ellie has a habit of asking me the direct, straight forward questions and during our ride home from Paris, she broke the relative silence of the drive to ask me this. She knew I would already be formulating opinions about the car and she was right to assume that I had already mentally compiled a list of things I liked and disliked about the MDX. And as all my lists tend to go, sometimes the small things win out.

“There’s a lot of things I like about this car,” I said. “But for me, a lot of those things come down to design.”

“I knew it,” Ellie said, flashing me a small smile. She knows as a creative person, design is always on top of mind when evaluating anything.

“But not just on the grand scale,” I said. “I like a lot of small things here. Including things that might get overlooked.”

“Like what?”

“Like this hand rest.” I saw the immediate look of confusions spread across her face. The so-called “hand rest” is exactly what it sounds like — a padded structure where my hand could rest. But this hand rest was a strategic one, placed in a very convenient place: right behind the touchpad that controls the car’s infotainment system.

Normally, I despise trackpads in vehicles — they belong on laptops, not in cars. Admittedly, the MDX’s updated user interface in its infotainment system was easy enough to navigate with the trackpad and after a week, I certainly gained a level of ease using it. But I still remain convinced that a dial or a simple touchscreen allows for a simple and safer method of manipulating onscreen content. While I ultimately feel that way about Acura’s trackpad in the MDX, the hand rest does elevate the game.

The hand rest sits nicely behind the track pad in the center console at just the right distance, allowing for a comfortable place to lay the palm of your hand while your finger runs across the face of the pad. Acura didn’t stop there. The hand rest is elevated to not only allow for a more natural angle to operate the track pad but it also allows for a wireless Qi smartphone charging pad to lay directly underneath. Wireless smartphone charging in vehicles is nothing new but this kind of unique and thoughtful placement is.

Slipping my phone onto the Qi charger felt like a natural move whenever I climbed into the vehicle and my hand fell onto the hand rest instinctively. The charger pad keeps the phone just barely out of sight so that it allows for a distraction free experience. Enough of the top edge of my phone’s screen was always visible so that if I was safely able to, I could glance down and easily see notifications. It’s a genius use of space in the center console — most vehicles place the Qi wireless charging mats under the center stack on the dashboard which takes up an otherwise useful area for storage. In the MDX, the phone is tucked away smartly just beneath your hand.

I proceed to show Ellie the hand rest and explained to her all the things I liked about it. She thought it was humorous that I focused in on such a seemingly small design choice but it’s the little things that matter to me. Same goes for my taste in design and function. When those two elements work hand in hand, magic can happen in surprising ways. In the automobile industry, where design and function are constantly evolving, small changes can make huge differences.

Chapter 5: We’ll Always Have Paris

I once stood directly underneath the actual Eiffel Tower in Paris, France and looked up, allowing myself to marvel at the architectural design of steel patterns looming above my head. Years later, standing beneath the scaled down monument in Paris, Texas with my family, I found the same marvelous patterns of design directly above my head. I smiled and turned my attention back to the 2022 Acura MDX sitting in the parking lot. A world away from France and it’s architectural monument, in a small town in Texas, there was also a thing of beauty that was carefully crafted by attention to design and function. Only, here in the Lone Star State, we got to drive home in it.