2023 Acura MDX

The volume 2023 MDX trims (Base, Technology, A-Spec, Advance) all use the 3.5L 24-valve SOHC i-VTEC V6 rated 290 hp; only the two Type S trims get the 3.0L twin-scroll turbo V6 at 355 hp. Adequate but unremarkable output for a ~4,500 lb luxury three-row.

The naturally aspirated V6 makes 267 lb-ft but only at 4,700 rpm, so low-end pull trails the turbocharged German rivals; the Type S turbo V6 makes 354 lb-ft flat from 1,400–5,000 rpm.

2023 is a mechanical carry-over of the 4th-generation MDX launched for 2022 — same 3.5L V6, same 10-speed automatic, same SH-AWD — so the generation's instrumented figures apply directly. Two independent tests of the V6 SH-AWD A-Spec agree at 6.4 s; the heavier Advance trim has tested as slow as 7.5 s.

The naturally aspirated 3.5L V6 is smooth and perfectly linear with zero turbo lag, and Variable Cylinder Management transitions are unobtrusive — reviewers rate it among the segment's more refined powertrains. It loses points for thin low-end torque versus turbo rivals (X5, Q7, GLE) and a coarse, strained note when worked hard near redline.

The 10-speed automatic is standard on all six 2023 trims with Sequential SportShift paddle shifters, and shifts smoothly enough in normal driving to go unnoticed — a clear improvement over the previous generation's 9-speed. Reviewers consistently flag sluggish or hesitant response when a quick downshift is asked for, which holds it mid-band.

SH-AWD trims tow 5,000 lbs properly equipped; front-drive Base and Technology are rated 3,500 lbs. Respectable for a unibody luxury three-row, but short of the body-on-frame and PHEV competition (X5 6,600 lbs, GLE 7,700 lbs).

SH-AWD is available on every 2023 trim and is the only drivetrain on four of six (A-Spec, Advance, Type S, Type S Advance list no FWD option); front-drive survives only on Base and Technology. Super Handling AWD is genuinely sophisticated, sending up to 70% of torque rearward and all of that to a single rear wheel for true torque vectoring. Held below the top band only because there is no low range.

A pavement-oriented luxury three-row: 7.3 in of unladen ground clearance, no low range, no locking differentials, no skid plates and no dedicated off-road trim anywhere in the 2023 lineup. SH-AWD plus a Snow drive mode makes it competent on snow and graded dirt, which is the extent of its credibility.

Two gas V6s and nothing else — the 3.5L NA V6 on four trims and the 3.0L twin-turbo on the two Type S trims. The 4th-generation MDX dropped the previous generation's Sport Hybrid and offers no electrified option for 2023, a real gap in a segment where the RX sells hybrid and PHEV and the X5, XC90, Aviator and Grand Cherokee all offer plug-ins.

EPA combined rating for the volume SH-AWD 3.5L V6 configuration. A naturally aspirated ~4,500 lb V6 three-row with no electrification lands in the bottom third of gas SUVs even with Variable Cylinder Management.

EPA city rating for the volume SH-AWD trim; identical to the front-drive figure, so the AWD penalty falls entirely on the highway cycle.

EPA highway rating for the volume SH-AWD trim. The one MPG the SH-AWD gives away to the front-driver is the whole of its efficiency penalty; the figure is unchanged from 2022 and 2024 and was only re-rated upward to 26 MPG from 2025.

EPA-published total range for the volume SH-AWD trim, consistent with the manufacturer's 18.5-gallon tank at 21 MPG combined. Every 2023 MDX carries the same 18.5-gal tank, so range differences across trims come purely from economy.

EPA's published annual fuel cost at its standard assumptions. The combination of 21 MPG and a premium-grade fuel price puts this at the very bottom of the SUV band — the premium requirement alone adds several hundred dollars a year over a regular-fuel rival of identical economy.

Acura's own 2023 spec sheet lists 91 octane as the *recommended* fuel, not a requirement: the naturally aspirated 3.5L V6 has knock sensors and adaptive timing and will run on regular with reduced output, while the Type S turbo genuinely wants premium. That mixed picture places it in the 50–79 'premium recommended, or mixed requirements across trims' band, though at its lower end since EPA rates and prices the fuel as premium and there is no hybrid or plug-in option to soften running costs.

NHTSA rates the 2023 MDX 5 stars overall, built from 4-star frontal, a clean 5-star side result (5 in barrier front, barrier rear and pole) and 4-star rollover.

The 2023 MDX is an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ — Good in small overlap front on both driver and passenger sides, Good in the original moderate overlap test and Good in the updated side test; the tougher updated moderate overlap test, which grades rear-occupant protection, comes back only Acceptable, and IIHS separately rates its seat belt reminders Poor.

AcuraWatch is standard on all six 2023 trims (MDX, Technology, A-Spec, Advance, Type S, Type S Advance) — collision mitigation braking with pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, full-speed adaptive cruise with Low-Speed Follow, lane keeping assist with Traffic Jam Assist, lane departure warning, road departure mitigation and traffic sign recognition — and Blind Spot Information plus Rear Cross Traffic Monitor are standard on the base car as well, so nothing core sits behind a package.

Under the protocol IIHS applied to the 2023 model year the MDX sweeps the front crash prevention tests — Superior vehicle-to-vehicle, Superior pedestrian daytime and Advanced pedestrian nighttime — held back from a clean sheet only by low-beam night behaviour, where the parallel-adult run at 25 mph produced no slowing at all and the system leans on high-beam assist to earn its night credit.

Blind Spot Information and Rear Cross Traffic Monitor are standard on every 2023 trim — better than the luxury rivals that gate them behind packages — but the coverage is warning-only: there is no blind-spot steering intervention, and rear automatic braking is an option rather than standard equipment.

LKAS with lane departure warning and road departure mitigation is standard and holds a well-marked highway lane confidently, with Traffic Jam Assist adding steering support in stop-and-go, but reviewers and owners describe it as competent rather than polished — it wants clear markings and lacks the settled feel of Lexus Safety System+ or Volvo Pilot Assist.

Adaptive cruise with Low-Speed Follow covers the full speed range down to a standstill and resumes on a pedal or switch press, and Traffic Jam Assist layers coordinated steering over it from 0 to 45 mph — one of the better stop-and-go implementations at the price, though it stops short of a true highway-assist mode at cruising speeds.

No hands-free highway driving is offered on the 2023 MDX at any trim — there is no BlueCruise or Super Cruise equivalent, and Traffic Jam Assist is a hands-on system that nags for wheel torque throughout.

IIHS rates the MDX's LED projector headlights Good with no trim-dependent downgrade and no glare exceedances, and high-beam assist is included; the only shortfall against the best in class is that they are not curve-adaptive, which shows up as merely fair visibility on one gradual curve.

Forward sightlines are good through large side glass, but the MDX carries the segment's thick rear pillars and tall rear headrests, and camera compensation is unevenly spread for 2023 — the surround-view system is bundled with the Advance package, leaving the volume Technology and A-Spec trims on a rear camera plus the standard blind-spot monitor.

IIHS gives the MDX its best LATCH result — Good with extra positions — for three complete second-row anchor sets that sit shallow in the seat and need little force, plus two tether-only third-row positions; the only fiddly part is the center second-row tether.

Every 2023 trim seats seven via a multi-function second-row bench whose middle seat lifts out, converting the cabin to a six-seat captain's-chair layout without a dealer visit.

38.5 in of first-row headroom is average-to-tight for a mid-size three-row; the panoramic moonroof is standard across the 2023 range, so this is the as-delivered figure for every MDX.

41.6 in of front legroom is mid-pack for the mid-size luxury three-row set, trailing the Q7 and QX60 by roughly an inch.

Second-row headroom of 38.1 in clears six-footers comfortably even with the standard panoramic moonroof overhead.

38.5 in of second-row legroom on a sliding, reclining bench is genuinely adult-friendly and competitive within the segment.

29.1 in of third-row legroom and 36.2 in of headroom make row three a kids-and-short-trips proposition; access is better than the numbers suggest thanks to standard One-Touch Smart Slide walk-in and the removable second-row middle seat, but third-row USB ports are Advance-only and there are no third-row climate vents at all.

SAE cargo volume behind the second row with the third row folded is 39.1 cu ft — mid-pack for a mid-size three-row, though the deep underfloor well adds roughly 9 cu ft of hidden space.

71.4 cu ft with both rear rows folded trails the roomiest three-rows (Aviator 77.7, QX60 75.4), though Acura's alternate measurement including the underfloor well reaches 95.0 cu ft.

Deep two-tier center console, standard Qi wireless charging pad, LED task lighting in the glovebox and console bin, and the standard 'Hidden Cargo Storage with Reversible Smart Lid' underfloor well make everyday storage genuinely thoughtful, but nothing here is segment-redefining and there is no frunk or gear tunnel.

The MDX's front seats are among the most praised in the class — 12-way power with lumbar standard on the volume trims, 16-way with thigh extension and bolster adjustment on Advance — while the second-row bench reclines and slides but is a clear step down in cushioning.

Reviewers split on the pre-facelift MDX's ride: some find the Amplitude Reactive Dampers take the edge off bumps well, others call it floaty and unsettled over broken pavement. Only the Type S gets the adaptive air suspension that would resolve the argument.

Acoustic laminate windshield and front side glass plus standard Active Sound Control keep the cabin subjectively hushed, but instrumented sound levels at highway cruise measure higher than most rivals in the class.

Tri-zone automatic climate with humidity control, heated front seats, three-position driver memory and a panoramic moonroof are standard on every trim, but the volume Technology car gets neither ventilated front seats (A-Spec and up) nor a standard heated steering wheel (a dealer accessory below Advance), heated rear seats and hands-free tailgate wait for Advance, and rear-cabin air distribution is thin — console vents only for row two and none at all for row three.

Acura's own model-year pricing release puts the front-drive base 2023 MDX at $49,550 plus a $1,195 destination charge. That undercuts the German mid-size luxury three-rows by roughly $10,000 while still sitting in the upper half of the SUV price band this item normalizes against.

The Technology Package with SH-AWD is the volume configuration — it is the step that adds Milano leather, navigation, a 12-speaker ELS audio system, parking sensors and 20-inch wheels over the leatherette base car, and Acura's later trim-mix commentary places the upper A-Spec/Advance/Type S trims at only about a fifth of the mix combined. Acura does not publish trim-level sales figures, so this is a reasoned pick rather than a reported one.

CarEdge projects $3,386 in scheduled maintenance and wear items across the first five years; adding a repair allowance on top — most of that window sits inside the 4-year/50,000-mile basic and 6-year/70,000-mile powertrain warranties, and the 3.5L V6 with the 10-speed automatic is long-serving Honda hardware — lands the combined figure near $4,800. Kelley Blue Book named the MDX the lowest 5-year-cost-to-own three-row midsize luxury SUV for 2023, which independently corroborates a below-average total for the class.

iSeeCars' model-year-specific figure has the 2023 MDX losing 53.7% over five years — about 46% retained — while its nameplate-level and CarEdge's estimates both sit nearer 50%. The model-year number is the more relevant one here because MY2023 cars transacted at peak post-pandemic prices, which inflates the percentage lost; 47% splits the two while leaning on the year-specific reading. Respectable for a luxury badge, but short of the broader SUV market.

Acura's new-vehicle limited warranty runs 4 years or 50,000 miles with 24/7 roadside assistance for the same term, matching the luxury convention set by BMW, Mercedes and Audi but falling short of Genesis at 5 years/60,000 miles.

Six years or 70,000 miles on the engine, transmission and front and rear drive components — longer than most German luxury coverage, but well short of the 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain terms from Genesis and the Hyundai/Kia group that the top of this band is calibrated to.

2023 is the model year Acura added a real ownership package to the MDX: the new Acura Maintenance Package covering factory-scheduled service for the first 2 years or 24,000 miles, plus three years of AcuraLink Security and Remote services standard, on top of roadside assistance running with the 4-year/50,000-mile warranty. The maintenance plan is even transferable to a second owner while active. Solid and better than the German norm, but the two-year window is short next to the multi-year plans some rivals have run, so it lands well above mid-pack rather than at the top.

$57,645 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (47% retained, or about $27,093) leaves about $30,552 in depreciation. Add the projected $4,800 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $35,352 in total.

2023 is the strongest year of this generation for predicted reliability: Consumer Reports rates the 2023 MDX as "more reliable than other cars from the same model year" — above average, and notably better than the 2024 car CR marks below average. J.D. Power puts it at 79/100, the top of their "Average" band, and RepairPal ranks the MDX 4.0/5.0 and 2nd of 14 luxury midsize SUVs. The reported trouble spots are electronics and body hardware rather than mechanical, which keeps this above the segment median without reaching top-tier.

The two authoritative studies disagree and neither can be discarded. Consumer Reports has placed Acura in its top five to top ten brands for reliability in recent years, just behind parent Honda, while J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study has repeatedly put Acura well below the industry average — 233 PP100 against a 204 average in the 2026 VDS, with Lexus leading at 151. Better than mid-pack on the CR record, held back from a top-tier score by the long-term JDP data.

Three NHTSA campaigns reach the 2023 MDX, one of them genuinely safety-critical: a brake pedal pivot pin that was not properly secured and can let the pedal shift out of position. The FI-ECU engine-stall recall is confined to the Type S and does not touch the volume 3.5L V6 trim. Nothing systemic in the powertrain or a fire risk, but a brake-pedal assembly campaign plus an occupant-sensor airbag campaign is more than a clean record, and the owner-complaint pattern around infotainment blackouts and dashboard rattles adds to it.

The volume 2023 MDX carries the naturally aspirated 3.5L J35 V6 (290 hp) and Honda's own 10-speed automatic, unchanged for the model year. The J-series is one of the longest-serving and best-documented engine families in the industry — shared with the Pilot, Odyssey and Ridgeline, with routine 200,000-mile-plus service lives — and the fourth-generation car's 10AT retired the ZF 9-speed that generated most of the MDX's historical transmission complaints. Owner-reported whine/gear-grinding complaints on this year keep it just short of the top of the band.

The 2022 redesign lifted MDX cabin materials materially and reviewers consistently rate them a strength at this price — leather with cross-stitching, metallic trim and open-pore wood on upper packages read as genuinely upmarket. Two things hold it below class-leading: a wide center console dominated by gloss-black plastic, and the pre-facelift touchpad interface, which undercuts perceived quality in exactly the area a driver touches most.

Assembly on the 2023 car is better than the 2024 build year, where CR names squeaks, rattles, weather stripping and water leaks as trouble spots — the 2023 survey does not, and reviewers call interior fit and finish impressive. Real dissenting signal remains: owners report a dashboard/HUD-cluster rattle, a high-pitched whine at 45 mph, an exhaust weld broken enough to rattle, and a sunroof popping noise dealers struggled to fix. Generally solid with scattered complaints rather than tight and consistent.

2023 is the year Acura made ownership support materially better: complimentary maintenance became standard for two years / 24,000 miles (oil and filter changes, tire rotations, multi-point inspections, transferable to a second owner) and AcuraLink connected services became standard for three years. Roughly 270 US dealers is thinner than Lexus or mainstream Honda and means a longer drive in rural markets, but service satisfaction is a genuine Acura strength — it finished first of 34 brands in Pied Piper's 2024 service study.

The MDX is cheap to fix by luxury standards because so much of it is Honda underneath — the J35 V6, the 10-speed automatic and much of the chassis hardware are shared with high-volume Pilot, Odyssey and Passport models, so parts are abundant and independent shops will touch it. RepairPal puts average annual repair and maintenance $236 below the luxury midsize SUV average with low repair severity; the Type S turbo and its unique SH-AWD hardware are the expensive exceptions.

Every 2023 trim carries the same 12.3-inch HD dual-content center display, but this pre-facelift MDX has no touch layer at all — input is via the console-mounted True Touchpad Interface, and a genuine 12.3-inch touchscreen only arrives with the 2025 refresh.

The absolute-position True Touchpad Interface is the single most criticized element of the 2023 MDX — the underlying software and the screen itself are fine, but the input method is finicky enough that Acura abandoned it entirely two model years later.

Both wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto are standard equipment on every 2023 trim including the base car — best-practice coverage for the model year, and the practical escape hatch from the touchpad interface.

Natural Language Voice Recognition, Alexa Built-In and a Wi-Fi hotspot are standard across the range, but the Acura Navigation System with 3D View and real-time traffic require the Technology package or higher — and this is the generation before Google Built-In, so native maps are ordinary rather than a reason to skip phone projection.

ELS Studio is a genuine Acura signature strength: a 12-speaker ELS Studio system arrives as early as the volume Technology trim, 16-speaker ELS Studio 3D covers A-Spec through Type S, and the 25-speaker Signature Edition on Type S Advance is regularly ranked among the best factory systems at any price.

A 12.3-inch fully digital Precision Cockpit instrument cluster is standard on every trim including the base car — crisp and reconfigurable, and better standard coverage than several German rivals of this vintage.

The pre-Google-Built-In MDX has only limited over-the-air capability — connected services and map data refresh through AcuraLink, while infotainment firmware updates in practice go through USB or the dealer. There is no whole-vehicle OTA of the kind Tesla, Rivian or Ford EVs deliver.

AcuraLink covers remote start and climate, lock/unlock, vehicle locator, geofencing and automatic collision notification, and for 2023 Acura made three years of Security & Remote Services standard on every trim rather than a paid add-on. Solid but unexceptional — there is no phone-as-key.

Port count is adequate and the Qi wireless charging pad is standard on every trim, but the layout is dated for 2023: only one USB-C in the whole car (first row), everything else is 2.5A USB-A, and third-row USB plus the second-row AC outlet are locked to the Advance trims.

Keyless Access with Acura Personalized Settings, pushbutton ignition and a power lift tailgate are standard on every trim, but key-fob remote start is only a dealer accessory below Advance, hands-free tailgate access is Advance-exclusive, and there is no phone-as-key.

A multi-view rear camera with dynamic guidelines is standard, and front/rear parking sensors plus Low Speed Braking Control arrive at the volume Technology trim, but the surround-view camera system is restricted to the two Advance trims and there is no automated parking assist anywhere in the 2023 range.

A large 10.5-inch colour head-up display is offered, and it is a good one, but it is confined to the Advance and Type S Advance trims — unavailable on the base, Technology and A-Spec cars most buyers take home.

Seven seats, wide rear door apertures, a sliding second-row bench with a removable middle seat and standard One-Touch Smart Slide walk-in access make daily kid logistics easy; 39.1 cu ft behind the second row swallows strollers without folding anything.

The full AcuraWatch suite — collision mitigation braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise with Low-Speed Follow, Traffic Jam Assist, lane keeping, road departure mitigation, traffic sign recognition, blind spot and rear cross-traffic — is standard on the base car, and the 2023 MDX is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ on top of a 5-star NHTSA overall rating. Parking sensors and Low Speed Braking Control are the only meaningful items the base trim misses, and the volume Technology trim adds both.

Tri-zone climate, a panoramic moonroof, class-leading front seats, a reclining/sliding second row and CabinTalk make long family trips pleasant, but rear-cabin provision is genuinely thin for the money: reviewers found no third-row vents and console-only vents for row two, second-row ports are 2.5A USB-A, and the third-row USB pair plus the second-row AC outlet are Advance-trim items.

The naturally aspirated 3.5L V6 is smooth off the line and adaptive cruise with Low-Speed Follow plus Traffic Jam Assist are standard on every trim, which takes real work out of stop-and-go; the 10-speed automatic's gear-hunting at part throttle and the fiddly touchpad are the daily irritants.

19/25/21 MPG from the volume SH-AWD V6 on premium fuel works out to roughly $3,600 a year at 15,000 miles — ordinary for a gas-only mid-size luxury three-row and far behind hybrid rivals such as the Lexus TX 500h or a Grand Highlander Hybrid.

198.4 in long, 78.7 in wide and a 40.5 ft curb-to-curb turning circle make the MDX a handful in tight urban parking; the standard rear camera helps and the volume Technology trim adds front/rear sensors, but the surround-view camera that would really help is Advance-only.

5,000 lb of towing with SH-AWD (3,500 lb FWD) covers a small camper, a boat or a utility trailer, and the V6 pulls without strain, but there is no bed, no payload headroom worth quoting and no work-oriented drivetrain hardware.

The J35 V6 and Honda 10-speed automatic share architecture with the high-mileage-proven Pilot and Odyssey, but the MDX itself is a luxury vehicle — Milano leather, 19–21 in wheels and no wear-friendly interior option make it a poor candidate for abuse, and it has no fleet track record.

Provisions for real work are minimal: roof rails are a dealer accessory on the volume trims, a hitch is an accessory, there is no bed or washable cargo surface, and the only household-style power is a single second-row AC outlet reserved for the Advance trims.

Front seats widely called the best in the class, adaptive cruise with Low-Speed Follow and Traffic Jam Assist standard on every trim, and roughly 390 miles of range from the 18.5-gallon tank make this a strong mile-eater; measured highway noise levels above the class average are the one blemish.

SH-AWD with rear torque vectoring is genuinely effective on snow, gravel and wet dirt and Snow mode is part of the standard Integrated Dynamics System, but 7.3 in of unladen ground clearance, road-biased tyres and no low range keep it to maintained trails; only the Type S air suspension raises the car.

71.4 cu ft maximum (95.0 cu ft counting the underfloor well), a 50/50 folding third row, a sliding second row with a removable middle seat and the standard reversible-lid hidden storage bin add up to real flexibility; roof rails being an accessory on most trims is the main gap.

Super Handling All-Wheel Drive with a torque-vectoring rear axle gives the MDX rotation and composure most three-row luxury SUVs cannot match, and body control is tight for a 4,500-lb crossover — short of a Cayenne or X5 but clearly ahead of the class average.

The variable-ratio electric rack is quick and accurate on-center with linear effort buildup, but road-texture feedback is typical Acura — precise rather than communicative, and light in the standard tune.

Progressive, firm pedal feel from 13.8-inch ventilated front discs, with instrumented stops from 60 mph in the ~120 ft range for this generation; no fade complaints, and the electric parking brake with automatic hold is standard.

The 290-hp naturally aspirated 3.5L V6 is smooth and free of stop/start harshness, but it is genuinely slow for the class and the 10-speed automatic hunts between ratios at part throttle — Edmunds' instrumented 2023 test came in slower than nearly every luxury three-row midsize SUV they had run, including the previous-generation MDX.

The V6 stays muted at cruise and sounds pleasant rather than coarse when extended, helped by standard Active Sound Control and acoustic glass; it is a notch behind the Lexus RX for outright hush but well clear of the Aviator's gruff twin-turbo.

The 113.8-inch wheelbase and 198.4-inch overall length produce a 40.5 ft curb-to-curb circle — wide even by mid-size three-row standards and a genuine nuisance in parking structures.

Seat and wheel adjustment range is excellent — 12-way power seats with memory and a power tilt/telescoping column standard — and forward sightlines are good, but the True Touchpad Interface forces eyes-off-road hunting for basic infotainment tasks and is the reason this generation's ergonomics rate below its seating position.

SH-AWD gives the volume V6 MDX more character than most three-row crossovers and it is genuinely satisfying on a good road, but the modest acceleration keeps it competent rather than thrilling — the 355-hp Type S is where this car gets interesting.

The $50,745 base MDX arrives with the full AcuraWatch suite standard — collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise with low-speed follow, lane keeping, road departure mitigation and traffic sign recognition — plus a panoramic moonroof, twin 12.3-inch displays, wireless CarPlay/Android Auto, Qi wireless charging and 19-inch wheels, and for 2023 also three years of AcuraLink and two years of scheduled maintenance at no charge. German rivals still billed separately for much of that ADAS content. It falls short of the top band because the base car is front-drive on leatherette, with leather, navigation and the better audio all behind the Technology Package.

Price-per-content is the MDX's signature argument. A $50,745 entry and a $57,645 volume trim undercut a 2023 BMW X5 xDrive40i, Mercedes GLE 350 and Audi Q7 by five figures at comparable equipment, and the $69,045 Type S delivers 355 hp, an air suspension and Brembo front brakes for far less than an X5 M60i or AMG GLE 53. Held out of the top band by the 290-hp base V6's widely criticised flat acceleration for the money and by the absence of any hybrid option — the Lexus TX was not yet on sale, but the Volvo XC90 already offered a plug-in at this price.

Eight published configurations span $50,745 to $74,395 across two drivetrains (FWD and SH-AWD) and two engines (290-hp 3.5L V6, 355-hp turbo 3.0L in Type S), with well-spaced Technology, A-Spec, Advance and Type S Advance steps — a broader ladder than the post-2025-refresh car, which drops FWD entirely. The clear gap is electrification: no hybrid or plug-in anywhere in the range.

2023 was the fourth generation's best year: roughly 57,600 US deliveries, up about 24% on 2022's 46,425, making the MDX Acura's best-selling model and one of the strongest sellers in luxury three-row — comfortably ahead of the Audi Q7, Lincoln Aviator and Genesis GV80. A rising trajectory in the year being scored is what puts this near the top band; volume slipped back to about 50,100 in 2024.

Acura occupies the second tier of US luxury — well regarded for engineering, reliability and value with a loyal repeat-buyer base, but without the status halo of BMW, Mercedes, Audi or Porsche. Roughly level with Volvo, ahead of Lincoln and Infiniti, a step behind Lexus on prestige.

Real but modest buyer benefit. Acura Financial Services subvented the 2023 MDX at 3.9% for 60 months with lease money factors as low as 0.00225 (about 5.4% APR) and layered conquest cash around $1,000, but the Type S was excluded from special rates and the market in the 2023 model year was still tight enough that the stacked lease-cash and sell-down bonuses that appeared on the 2024 car during its run-out were not yet on the table. Scored below the following model year for that reason.

2023 is the second year of the fourth-generation MDX, which launched for 2022 on a new platform with the Type S introduced alongside it, and the mid-cycle refresh was still a year and a half from being revealed (April 2024, for 2025). A 2023 buyer therefore got a near-new generation with current platform and powertrain tech and no visible redesign risk. Held just out of the top band by the True Touchpad Interface, which reviewers already disliked and which the refresh replaced with a conventional touchscreen.

A strong award year and consistently recommended: IIHS Top Safety Pick+, NHTSA five-star overall, a Consumer Guide Best Buy in premium midsize crossover for the eighth time in nine years, and Kelley Blue Book's lowest 5-year-cost-to-own honour among three-row midsize luxury SUVs. It is still not a comparison-test winner, though — KBB ranked it fifth among 2023 luxury midsize SUVs, and the touchpad infotainment and soft base-V6 acceleration draw criticism in nearly every review.