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2016 Acura MDX gets 9-speed transmission, added refinement

It's a car we barely think about until Acura announces it's done something to it, but the MDX is rather popular with those questing for a crossover. For 2016 the third-generation, luxury three-row people-carrier gets a slightly higher MSRP, but better standard equipment and options to go with it. The big change is that the nine-speed automatic transmission with tighter ratios and faster gear shifts, as well as its push-button gear selector, has finally migrated from the top-dog RL sedan. So too the upgraded twin-clutch Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, paired here with the unchanged 290-horsepower, 3.5-liter six-cylinder. We thought adding three more cogs was supposed to make for better fuel economy, but in some cases the EPA ratings on the 2016 MDX have gone down by one mile per gallon. The base 2015 MDX is rated at 20 city, 28 highway, 23 combined; the 2016 is rated 19 city, 27 highway, 22 combined. Add SH-AWD on the 2015 and you're looking at 18 city, 27 highway, 21 combined; on the 2016 that's 18 city, 26 highway, 21 combined. If you add idle-stop to those models you restore the city and combined ratings, but still lose that extra mile on the highway. On the options list is a group of safety and driver assistance features grouped under the AcuraWatch rubric. You can add the whole kit for $1,500 to the base model, but some of its features like Lane Keep Assist and Forward Collision Warning, which you can also option on the 2015 model, are added with the Technology Package. The full suite, which includes model-firsts like Road Departure Mitigation and Rear Cross Traffic Monitor, is standard once you step up to the Advance Package. Other tech treats get baked into all trims, like the easy entry/exit driver's seat slides back 1.4 inches when you're getting in and out, the TPMS fill assist that sounds a beep when you've inflated the tires to the correct pressure, Siri Eyes Free voice recognition and a frameless rearview mirror. The price to get in on all this is $42,865, a a $1,100 bump over the 2015 model, but that's not a blanket increase across the lineup: the MDX with the Technology Package, for instance, has only gone up $250. The upper limit comes with the MDX SH-AWD with idle stop and the Advance, Entertainment & AcuraWatch Plus Packages for $57,080, a $100 increase over the top-of-the-line 2015 trim. The press release below has plenty of details.

Acura to climb Pikes Peak with Integra Type S and wildly modified NSX

This year marks the 101st anniversary of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, one of the oldest motorsports events in the world. As has been the custom for the past 13 years, Acura will head to the Colorado summit with a fleet of specially prepped cars based on production models. This year, their team consists of two new Integras in regular and Type S flavor, a modified NSX Type S, and a TLX Type S pace car. Of the Integras, the HPD-prepped Type S will be the most eye-catching, as it's wrapped in an anime-style livery. It's an extension of the company's "Chiaki's Journey" web series whose second chapter was released to coincide with the Integra Type S's launch. The second installment features the Pikes Peak race as part of its story line.  The real-world Chiaki is Lori Unser, a fourth-generation driver in the Unser racing dynasty. Her father Johnny raced at the Indianapolis 500, and if you count her extended family of Al, Bobby, and Al Jr., the clan has nine Indy championships under its collective belt. The family also has a history of racing at Pikes Peak, with Louis and Joe Unser competing in the hillclimb way back in 1926. In the Time Attack I division Acura is fielding a wild-looking NSX Type S called the Active Aero Study. We prefer its nickname, Yamabiko, which means "echo" in Japanese but is also the name of a spirit from Japanese folklore that lives in the mountains.  The NSX wears an enormous carbon fiber front splitter and rear diffuser, which by the looks of them extend the length of the car by two to three feet. The one-off aero bits include an active aero rear wing that can be electronically moved to reduce drag on high-speed sections of the course, or deployed as an air brake. At the same time, enough has been stripped out to reduce weight by 200 pounds. More powerful turbos have been fitted to the twin-turbo V6 and the engine software re-written, but Acura did not reveal how much over the stock Type S's 600 horsepower Yamabiko's output might be. The NSX was built specifically to tackle the hillclimb by Crazy New, the skunkworks team of Honda employees that brought us the 800-horsepower CR-V Hybrid. It'll be driven by Honda engineer James Robinson, who holds the current Hybrid class record of 10:01.913, which he set with an NSX in 2020. With Yokohama Tires' trademark Advan black and red livery and lightweight HRE forged wheels wrapped in Advan A005s, it certainly looks the part of a purpose-built Pikes Peak racer.

Hondata's 2019 Acura RDX tune brings the mid-range torque

One of the big advantages to the era of turbo Hondas is that there's plenty of horsepower and torque left on the table for tuners to take advantage of. One of those companies is Hondata, and following its upgrades for the Civic and Accord, it's now tuning the Acura RDX luxury crossover. The RDX uses a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine similar to those in the Accord and the Civic Type R. In stock form, it makes 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. With Hondata's Stage 1 tune, the company says that horsepower increases by about 10 across the rev band. Looking at the dyno graph, it also appears that peak horsepower increases by about 5 horsepower, and peak torque is up by about 15 pound-feet. Peak torque also appears to arrive sooner, and most of the torque curve seems to be up by 10 to 15 pound-feet. The increases in power and torque are available in all four of the RDX's drive modes. The Stage 2 tune increases power torque even more in Sport and Sport+ modes, and keeps Snow and Comfort modes at Stage 1 settings. Peak horsepower looks to be up about 10 over stock, but the mid-range sees as much as a 28-hp increase. Peak torque sees a huge jump of about 45 lb-ft over stock based on the dyno chart, and it's available even lower than the Stage 1's peak torque. If this all sounds good to you, you can order up a Hondata FlashPro computer for your RDX right now. It costs $695 and comes with the handheld computer for uploading or removing tunes. RDX owners in California should note that neither tune is currently CARB legal. Related Video: