2019 Acura MDX: a brief introduction

The 2019 Acura MDX offers many things that current SUV buyers are looking for: rooms, infotainment equipment, safety gadgets, and enough on-road and (semi) off-road capabilities to satisfy 90% of modern drivers The situation hopes to find itself.

Special Treatments & New Colors

Safety & Security

A-Spec Action

Power & Performance

2019 Acura MDX Pricing & EPA Fuel Economy Ratings

Special Treatments & New Colors

After the major design refresh in 2017 and key tech upgrades in 2018, the 2019 Acura MDX comes with new interior improvements to up the luxury. There are such niceties as Desert Olive Ash wood trim, high-contrast seat and door panel stitching, and contrasting front seat side garnishes. The Technology and Entertainment packages get an updated second-row seat configuration, and the Advance Package adds a trim-exclusive matching wood center console trim.

2019 will also see new colors on the MDX, bringing the total to nine available shades. The new colors include Gunmetal Metallic, Majestic Black Pearl, Performance Red Pearl, Canyon Bronze Metallic, and the A-Spec-exclusive Apex Blue Pearl.

There are also newly-designed 20-inch aluminum-alloy wheels on offer with a machine finish and Shark Grey accents. These new rims are also a half-inch wider than before and are wrapped in wider, 265/45-series tires.

2019 Acura MDX. Photo: Honda North America.

Safety & Security

Of course, the 2019 Acura MDX has enough standard safety and driver-assistive tech to make you feel like an astronaut. All 2019 MDXs come standard with the AcuraWatch suite of safety gear. This means stuff like Collision Mitigation Braking with Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, and Road Departure Mitigation with Lane Departure Warning.

On top of all this active stuff, all MDX’s boast an array of passive safety features, such as Acura’s Advance Compatibility Engineering body structure, front and side-curtain airbags, front pre-tensioning seatbelts, four-channel anti-lock brakes with Electronic Brake Distribution, Vehicle Stability Assist with traction control; even a Tire Pressure Monitoring System.

2019 Acura MDX A-Spec. Photo: Honda North America.

A-Spec Action

Now, about that A-Spec trim. To my mind, Acura A-Spec stuff is like a “halfway to an R-Type” sort of deal. Not full-on performance, but a bit of a bump regardless. In the case of the 2019 MDX, you get the torque-vectoring/Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive system and a more athletic stance highlighted by those 20-inch Shark Grey aluminum wheels.

There’s a new front fascia, body-color lower sills, larger-diameter exhaust finishers, and gloss-black/dark chrome trim for the headlights, grille, window surround, and rear tailgate spoiler. On the inside, you’ll find sport seats trimmed in rich red or black leather with black Alcantara inserts and contrast stitching, plus unique A-Spec gauges, sport pedals, Alcantara door inserts, and a thicker-rimmed A-Spec-badged steering wheel.

2019 Acura MDX interior layout. Photo: Honda North America.

Power & Performance

The 2019 MDX is powered by a 3.5-liter, direct-injected i-VTEC 24-valve V6 engine that puts out 290 horsepower and 267 lb-ft. of torque. The SH-AWD system delivers up to 70 percent of the engine’s torque to the rear wheels (yay!) and has the ability to split torque between the left and right rear wheels to increase traction and handling.

The latest MDX comes with a nine-speed automatic transmission with the upgraded Idle Stop feature now standard across the lineup. A nifty chart showing all the options, prices, and fuel economy are below.

Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He is the author of

Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, available in paperback or Kindle format. His forthcoming new book, The Future In Front of Me, The Past Behind Me, will be available soon.

Follow his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz

2019 Acura MDX Pricing & EPA Fuel Economy Ratings

Trim

MSRP

MSRPIncluding $995 Destination

EPA MPG Rating(city/highway/combined)

MDX (FWD)

$44,300

$45,295

20/27/23

MDX (FWD) with Technology Package

$49,300

$50,295

20/27/23

MDX (FWD) with Technology & Entertainment Packages

$51,300

$52,295

20/27/23

MDX (FWD) with Advance Package

$56,050

$57,045

20/27/23

MDX (FWD) with Advance & Entertainment Packages

$58,050

$59,045

19/26/22

MDX (SH-AWD)

$46,300

$47,295

19/26/22

MDX (SH-AWD) with Technology Package

$51,300

$52,295

19/26/22

MDX (SH-AWD) with Technology & Entertainment Packages

$53,300

$54,295

19/26/22

MDX A-Spec (SH-AWD)

$54,800

$55,795

19/25/21

MDX (SH-AWD) with Advance Package

$58,050

$59,045

19/26/22

MDX (SH-AWD) with Advance & Entertainment Packages

$60,050

$61,045

19/26/22

MDX Sport Hybrid

TBD

TBD

Photo and photo source: Honda North America.