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2022 Acura MDX production officially begins in Ohio for the revamped crossover

Production for the 2022 Acura MDX is officially underway in East Liberty, Ohio. We got to see the MDX Proto late last year, and the final production MDX was revealed a couple months after it in December. Now, Acura is screwing them together. Acura says the new MDX should begin to hit dealerships on February 2. It feels mighty early for a 2022 model year vehicle to already be hitting dealers, but that’s just how Acura is handling it. Only the standard MDX with its carryover 3.5-liter V6 (290 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque) will be available at first. WeÂ’ll have to wait until summer for the Type S and its 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 (355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque) to come online, similar to the TLX Type S. Just like the TLX, the MDX is riding on a new platform this year. ItÂ’s designed to be much more athletic and luxurious than before. WeÂ’ll be getting our first turn behind the wheel soon, so youÂ’ll want to come back for the first drive to see how Acura executed. The TLXÂ’s chassis and handling improvements give us high hopes for the MDX to see similar gains in refinement and agility. There is one first for Acura when it comes to the physical production process of the MDX. ItÂ’s the first Acura to use the plantÂ’s new 5,000-ton stamping press. Acura says this new machine allows for “sharper sculpting of the hood and body panels while forming steel and increased amounts of aluminum.”  For all the details we currently know about the MDX, check out our full reveal post here. Related video:

Acura doesn't have plans for a new MDX hybrid

Besides an entirely new platform, suspension, and a turbocharged Type S model coming soon, the 2022 Acura MDX is new in another way: it seems to be losing its hybrid trim level. During a media roundtable, Acura's global development lead confirmed that there are no plans for a hybrid version of the new MDX. Part of the reason for the lack of a hybrid for the new MDX is the aforementioned Type S model. The Acura development lead noted that the outgoing MDX Sport Hybrid is the current sporty, high-output version of the crossover. That mantle is now being taken over by the Type S with its turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. The new Type S makes 355 horsepower and 355 pound-feet of torque, which also represents a large power increase over the Sport Hybrid's 321 horsepower and 289 pound-feet. The Type S won't be able to do everything the Sport Hybrid could do, though. While official fuel economy numbers haven't been revealed, we're confident the Type S won't be able to hit the 27 mpg combined of the hybrid. The Sport Hybrid's powertrain was also quite interesting, as it combined its 3.0-liter naturally aspirated V6 with a trio of electric motors. A single motor worked in conjunction with the engine to power the front wheels, and one motor each powered the rear wheels and provided torque vectoring. It was sort of like a backwards NSX. While Acura doesn't have plans for a hybrid right now, it is possible the brand could change its mind. And in an ever electrifying world, it would be surprising if we never saw a hybrid MDX return. Related Video:

New 2022 Acura MDX platform to underpin future Hondas

The 2022 Acura MDX introduces a new platform to the Acura and Honda lineup called the Global Light Truck Platform, and it's currently exclusive to the MDX. The new 2021 Acura TLX is also built on a totally new platform that isn’t shared with any other Honda or Acura. Going further back, when the redesigned 2019 RDX debuted, Acura said that model was built on “a new-from-the-ground-up, Acura-exclusive platform." ThatÂ’s three totally-new and Acura-exclusive platforms in a short time period, and it got us thinking. What is Acura up to here?  Most manufacturers these days are increasingly going in the exact opposite direction. VolkswagenÂ’s MQB architecture underpins everything from the hot hatch GTI to the gigantic Atlas. ToyotaÂ’s TNGA platform has multiple sizes/versions, but Toyota still considers them related and will tell you that TNGA is the basis of cars from the Corolla on up to the Highlander, plus the Lexus UX and ES. You can find similar stories all across the industry, in both luxury and non-luxury brands. Acura, on the other hand, appears to be taking a totally different approach. To get some clarity on strategy, we reached out to Acura. The answers are multifaceted, but Acura says it's spending money where it pays dividends for performance — but there's also more sharing between models than it might look like on the surface. “The definition of what constitutes a 'common platform' varies by automaker,” Acura exclusively told Autoblog during a wide-ranging e-mail interview involving the input of numerous engineers and product planners. “For us, the most fundamental value is to maintain the same carry points throughout production and enable us to produce different vehicles in the same manufacturing environment.” As an example, the TLX and RDX feature similar carry points in the chassis to enable their production on the same line, but thatÂ’s where the two diverge. “The TLX is different in that it has a bespoke platform that is not shared with any other Acura or Honda vehicle,” Acura says.