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2025 Acura MDX Type S First Drive Review: Loss of a deal breaker is a game changer

MALIBU, Calif. – One of two things usually happens when testing a three-row SUV on a twisting mountain road. First, I wonder why I thought doing so was a good idea in the first place. Or, I end up saying, “Well, I guess that wasnÂ’t so bad.” Neither happened with the 2025 Acura MDX Type S, a three-row SUV that somehow feels perfectly happy and at home on the sort of roads that make competitors feel like elephants in a horse race. Placed into Sport or Sport+ modes, the latter of which is exclusive to the Type S, the air suspension lowers 15 mm, and the adaptive dampers tighten to the extent that body motions are just about as level as you could get without making the ride chattering. If anything, certain choppier bits of pavement made the suspensionÂ’s reduction of suppression and rebound too jostling and queasy, but selecting a softer ride setting in the Individual drive mode option corrected that. The steering displayed a spot-on amount of extra heft in the Sport modes, being pleasantly firm on center and through initial turn-in, but seeming to loosen ever-so-slightly up in slower, tighter corners and hairpins. ItÂ’s pleasurable driving the MDX Type S, but not a workout. The real star, as has been the case for nearly two decades of sporting Acuras, is the Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive system, now in its fourth generation. This torque-vectoring system can send up to 70% of available power to the rear axle, and then 100% of that to the outside rear wheel while turning. The result canÂ’t be missed. Brake hard with the fat Brembo brakes (they measure 14.3 inches up front and benefit from an electric servo that effectively makes them adaptive to the amount of effort applied to the pedal), turn in with the beautifully contoured sport steering wheel, feel the front end bite, and the rear end not only comes around, but does so with authority. Thanks to the more aggressive power distribution in Sport and Sport+, thereÂ’s even a whiff of oversteer at a few moments. Tremendous. “Makes it shrink around you” is a tired cliche, but it applies here. The MDX feels about 700 pounds lighter than its 4,776-pound curb weight would suggest. The engine is actually the least impressive element of the Type S, a 3.0-liter V6 with a single twin-scroll turbo good for 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque.

2021 Acura TLX Type-S to be powered by 355-horsepower V6

The 2021 Acura TLX Type-S is on track to deliver 355 horsepower, Honda's luxury subsidiary said Thursday, floating the power figure in an announcement that a prototype of its new sport sedan will serve as the pace car for the 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on August 30. The 3.0-liter V6 will also boast 354 pound-feet of torque, Acura said. These figures put it in the heart of the midsize performance sedan category, alongside the likes of the Cadillac CT5-V (360 horsepower) and Audi S4 (349 horsepower); BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti all offer more. The 2021 TLX sits on a new, stiffer platform and marks the return of a double-wishbone front suspension.  2021 Acura TLX to Make Racing Debut at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb "Racing is a key expression of Acura’s Precision Crafted Performance DNA. For the past nine years, Acura has utilized the grueling Pikes Peak hill climb as an opportunity to grow the skills of the companyÂ’s young engineers and as a test bed for future performance technologies in Acura production vehicles. The Acura Pikes Peak race team is comprised of a group of volunteer R&D engineers and is responsible for all aspects of the competition, including the development of vehicles, race prep, crew support and navigating race cars to the finish line," Acura's announcement said.  Acura will field two TLX race cars in the Exhibition class at Pikes Peak. Both will be powered by the base, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. Based on the company's announcement, it appears that one will be front-wheel drive and the other equipped with Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD), which is standard on the Type S. This engine makes 272 hp in street tune, but the race cars have received upgrades. The SH-AWD model boasts a larger turbocharger and intercooler for additional power, while the front-wheel-drive model received a milder tune and some suspension tweaks. A Time Attack NSX piloted by James Robinson will accompany the sedans. The Type-S will serve only as a pace vehicle, not a competitive entry.  Related Video:

NSX, S660, and a 4-motor CR-Z EV that goes like hell

AutoblogGreen Editor-in-Chief Sebastian Blanco was my road dog while visiting Honda's R&D center in Tochigi. Over the course of a long day of briefings, driving demonstrations, and a variety of strange-flavored candies, we saw quite a lot of what the company is planning for the next generation and beyond. Of course, Sebastian and I see the world through very different eyes. So, while he was busy getting details about the FCV Clarity successor, and asking tough questions about electrification (in other words, the important stuff), I was fixating on a tiny, two-seat sports car that will never come to America. Oh, there was an NSX, too. Honda's pre-Tokyo Motor Show meeting really did have plenty to offer for all kinds of auto enthusiasts, be they focused on fast driving or environmentally friendly powertrains. Seb's attendance let me focus on the stuff that's great for the former, while he wrote up high points of the latter. View 15 Photos S660 I joke about salivating over the S660, but honestly I was at least as excited to take a few laps in Honda's Beat encore, as I was to sample the Acura supercar. Conditions for the test drive weren't ideal, however. Two laps of a four-kilometer banked oval is not exactly nirvana for a 1,800-pound, 63-horsepower roadster. Still, I folded all six feet and five inches of my body behind the tiny wheel determined to wring it out. The immersion of the driving experience was enough to make it feel fast, at least. I shifted up just before redline in first gear with the last quarter of the pit lane rollout lane still in front of me. The 658cc inline-three buzzed like a mad thing behind my ear, vastly more stirring than you'd expect while traveling about 30 miles per hour. The S660 is limited to just around 87 mph, but the immersion of the driving experience (note: I was over the windscreen from the forehead up) was enough to make it feel fast, at least. Even after just a few laps, and precious little steering, I could tell that everything I grew up loving about Honda was in play here. The six-speed manual offered tight, quick throws, the engine seemed happiest over 5,000 rpm, and the car moved over the earth with direct action and a feeling of lightness. Sure proof that you don't need high performance – the S600 runs to 60 mph in about 13 seconds – to build a driver's car. I could have used 200 miles more, and some mountain roads, to really enjoy the roadster (though I would have wanted a hat).