my sister just bought a 2006 acura MDX this past weekend. i looked forward to driving it, thinking it was going to be a sweet ride. man, was i ever let down. for what she paid for it, it was under power and didn't come well equiped. sure it was a base model, but it was 37000 otd. 3.5L V6, electronic 4wd, leather, sun roof...few other knick knacks. it was definitly weak for what it is, no great acceleration unless i wanted to push it to a really high rpm. 17 mpg is pretty lame, considering my V8 gets better mpg. i was expecting it to be smoother and less loud then my 4runner too but that didn't happen. didn't come with a roof rack or running boards. one one power seat. getting into the 3rd row was a pain. i guess i just wanted more out of it. i would have went with the limited 4runner myself, but it wasn't my 37k to spend.

Check my sig..... I have both.

The MDX is quieter, gets better gas mileage, and is more comfortable on the highway.

The T4R is quicker, louder, and capable off-road unlike the MDX.

You're comparing apples to oranges.

FWIW your sister got screwed. I paid under $35M for the touring version of my MDX.

Thats what she gets for an impuse buy.

From what I recall, Consumer Reports rated the MDX tranny with a solid black oval for 2002-2004. MDX's have a history of above average transmission failures - it was interesting to research when looking for my 2005 4runner.

It certainly changed my mind in thinking Honda/Acura reliability was comparable to Toyota. Its not.

Personally, I wouldn't touch an Acura/Honda product until a model has been out for about 5 years with above average reliability reports. For the price paid, the 4Runner is a superior vehicle IMO.

You're correct about the 02-04 Honda/Acura V6 transmissions. Our 02 tranny died at 42k, unfortunatly the replacement tranny is the same design as the faulty one so we traded it in on a 06 T4R Sport Edition. The 05+ MDXs are supposed to have a much beefier design.

I do feel the T4R has less road noise but the MDX rides way smoother and secure on the road. Living in the lower Florida Keys we have to cross bridges whenever we go anywhere and the T4R expansion joint jiggle drives us nuts. I picked up my daughter and her friends from a high school football game 2 weeks ago and they were laughing at the jiggle and singing some stupid Jell-O jingle. The next morning I lowered the tire pressure from 36psi down too 32psi, it softened the jiggle some but I'm beginning to think it's caused by the X-REAS system.

From MAC4Runner's comments I guess Acura addressed the road roar noise problem also.

Glad to hear that Acura finally beefed up the transmission. Hopefully will resolve the rate of failure. Interesting note regarding the X-REAS system. As I was reading your post, I was thinking to myself that my 4Runner doesn

I traded an 04 Pilot when I purchased my 06 TR4. The Pilot and MDX share alot of the same technology, of course the MDX has a considerably better interior.

I had the Pilot right at 3 years, as actually purchased it in 03. Honda did one factory service on some part of the tranny, I don't remember what it was, but it was some electronic fix.

Overall I found the Pilot a good SUV, however I missed not having a true 4WD setup along with the ability to get into a low range gearing. Ground clearance was OK and I only had a few trips where I was close to getting over my head and these were in CO.

I was surprised by the ride of my 06 TR4 with the X-Reas as so far I have found it to be as smooth as the Pilots.

Paul C.

Here is a review of the SH-AWD system on the new '07 MDX: http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/acura_awd.htm