The 2022 Acura MDX, the fourth-generation of America's best-selling three-row luxury SUV of all-time, undergoes its most radical transformation since the launch of the first generation model 20 years ago. A quantum leap forward with a bold exterior design and sophisticated and elegant new interior, MDX achieves its highest level of performance, technological and premium appeal to assume its new role as the flagship of the Acura lineup. Designed from the outset for the performance demands of the upcoming MDX Type S, all 2022 MDX grades benefit from the all-new, performance-focused and ultra-rigid light-truck platform. Every fourth-generation Acura MDX features a chassis that includes the first double wishbone front suspension on MDX, an all-new multi-link rear suspension, and available Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®).
As a result, MDX offers a new level of sporting performance and handling agility, fulfilling its Precision Crafted Performance mission. Communicating performance through design, the bold exterior styling inspired by the Acura Precision Concept and enabled by the new platform features a wider and more aggressive stance, and powerful proportions highlighted by a longer hood and upright front fascia. MDX features all-LED lighting for the first time, including JewelEye® LED headlights with Chicane™ LED daytime running lights and Chicane™ LED taillights. Inside, the new Acura MDX raises the bar for Acura interior design, craftsmanship, sophistication and technology. The new platform enables a roomier cabin, with all three rows bathed in natural light thanks to the standard ultra-wide panoramic moonroof. The 2022 MDX showcases a new, all-digital Acura Precision Cockpit™, which replaces physical gauges with a customizable 12.3-inch HD display with a smooth 60-Hz refresh rate. It also gains the latest generation of Acura's intuitive and driver-focused True Touchpad Interface™ with an ultra-wide, 12.3-inch center display, and an updated Integrated Dynamics System that tunes chassis reflexes and activates the available IconicDrive™ interior lighting system with the simple twist of the Dynamic Mode Dial.
Design and Packaging
As the most emotionally styled MDX ever, the fourth-generation's new platform provides the foundation for a striking dimensional change in the dash-to-axle ratio, which has been extended by more than 4 inches, lengthening the hood line significantly and giving MDX a premium "cab rearward" proportion. The bold, sculpted grille and hood, with a wide, aggressive stance, is based on the Acura Precision Concept that redefined Acura design when it was first unveiled in 2016. Dimensionally, the new MDX sits on a 2.8-inch longer wheelbase, with a track that's 1.4 inches wider in the front and rear. The bold and sporting new look is accentuated by new four-element JewelEye® LED headlights with embedded Chicane™ LED daytime running lights. MDX's wide stance and long wheelbase pushes the wheels to the edges of the bodywork. The three-dimensional surface details can be seen in the pronounced shoulder line that defines the upper portion of the vehicle, and the sculpting along the lower portion of the doors. In the rear, the wide-set LED taillights have their Chicane™ design set in an eye-catching light-blade, and serve to define and enhance the width and stability of the pronounced rear fenders. For the first time, the 2022 MDX applies an Active Shutter Grille. In certain conditions, shutters in the lower grille close to divert air around the vehicle, thereby reducing aerodynamic drag. When the demand for cooling air increases, the shutters reopen.
Exclusive New Body and Chassis
The MDX's all-new light truck platform underpinnings target the driving dynamics of a sports sedan. Designed for the pursuit of aggressive performance, MDX features double-wishbone front suspension for the first time, delivering a larger tire contact patch through corners to increase grip, while improving ride quality with greater vertical freedom of movement. The new multi-link rear suspension also improves stability and response, and together they give MDX a world-class combination of agility and ride comfort. Quick, precise variable-ratio electric power steering (EPS) and more powerful brakes with a new electric brake booster (EBB) excel in driving scenarios from daily commutes, to road trips, to twisting canyon roads. The new platform is the most rigid SUV platform ever produced by Acura, and this rigidity pays dividends in handling and ride comfort. In front, the dampers connect to new cast-aluminum housings that are 45-percent stiffer overall than the previous generation, and along with the additional 7-percent increase in lateral torsion from a new rigid-mounted subframe, contributes to significantly better handling. Replacing the previous floating-type subframe, the new front subframe translates steering inputs to the tires with greater fidelity. The rear body uses a new dual-balanced load path for the rear damper mounting points, contributing to a 41-percent improvement in stiffness for an 80-percent torsion improvement that benefits handling and improves noise isolation.
Advanced Powertrain and Torque Vectoring SH-AWD®
The fourth-generation Acura MDX debuts with an advanced and improved 3.5-liter direct-injected i-VTEC®™ V6 engine rated at 290 peak horsepower and 267 lb.-ft. peak torque (both SAE net), teamed for the first time with a 10-speed automatic transmission with Sequential Sport Shift and shift paddles on the steering wheel. The 10-speed automatic features faster and smoother shifts than the previous 9-speed automatic, with rapid four-gear downshifts for quick passing power when drivers need it. The available Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®) system for MDX uses Acura's industry-leading torque-vectoring all-wheel drive technology. Now in its fourth generation, SH-AWD® has 40-percent more rear torque capacity and 30-percent quicker front-to-rear torque transfer than the third-generation system in the previous MDX. The Acura SH-AWD® system can transfer up to 70 percent of engine torque to the rear axle during normal driving conditions, while continuously apportioning up to 100 percent of that rear-axle torque between either the left or right rear wheels. Continuously overdriven by 2.9 percent, the rear axle amplifies the yaw moment effect of left-to-right torque transfer for even sharper and more accurate turn-in, and improved cornering traceability. SH-AWD® is available on MDX and MDX with Technology Package, and standard on MDX A-Spec® and MDX with Advance Package.
Airbag System
The new Acura MDX is equipped with eight airbags, the most ever for the model. These include a driver front airbag, advanced next-generation passenger front airbag, front side airbags, side-curtain airbags with rollover sensor, and both driver and front passenger knee airbags. Driver Front Airbag - Every MDX is equipped with an advanced front driver's airbag. The front airbag is designed to supplement the seat belts to help reduce the likelihood of head and upper body injuries in frontal crashes. New to MDX: Next-Generation Front Passenger Airbag - The 2022 MDX incorporates innovative passenger front airbag technology designed to better protect occupants in a wide range of frontal collision scenarios. The new airbag is particularly beneficial in angled frontal impacts in which lateral collision forces can cause an occupant's head to rotate severely or slide off the airbag, increasing the chance of serious injury. Significantly, the new airbag is designed to reduce strain on brain tissue by 75 percent compared to the previous generation front passenger airbag by better controlling the front passenger's head in certain types of crashes. The airbag can better manage lateral collision forces that may cause an occupant's head to rotate severely at high velocity, or to slide off a conventional passenger airbag, increasing the chance of serious injury. Compared to a single inflatable chamber of conventional airbag systems, the new passenger airbag consists of four major components: three inflated compartments (a center chamber and two outward-projecting side chambers that create a wide base across the dash) and an uninflated "sail panel" that stretches between the two side chambers. The "sail panel" is designed to initially catch and decelerate the occupant's head with less force prior to contacting the lower chamber, while directing it inward between the two inflated chambers to cradle and help protect the front seat passenger's head.
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