Video: Acura Combines Good Handling and Crossover Utility in the MDX The Acura MDX was the first premium three-row crossover in the United States, and Acura was rewarded handsomely for reading the automotive tea leaves properly; it's the company's best-selling model. That's impressive considering the MDX is also one of its most expensive. The second generation MDX introduced Super Handling All-Wheel Drive as standard equipment. During cornering, the system delivers more torque to rear wheel on the outside of the turn, rotating it faster than the inside tire. The result is a seven-passenger sport-utility with the soul of a sports car. The 2014 MDX still has Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, but it's now optional. Front-wheel drive is the starting point on all trim levels. Lexus RX has done this since day one. Sun Belt dwellers can save two grand and enjoy an extra mile per gallon or two. Enthusiasts will pay the extra two grand for the weather-taming grip. Everybody wins. My friends who drove the MDX featured in the video praised the all-wheel-drive system. Fact is, it's a front-drive model (don't worry guys, I won't name names). The all-new platform is unique to Honda's premium brand. Future Odysseys and Pilots will be built from this architecture instead of the other way around. Generation three is some 275 pounds lighter than the second generation and even weighs less than the five-passenger Lexus RX 350. As a luxury brand, Acura isn't overly lavish with top-shelf accouterments. Also, the sheet metal is familiar but less emotional with a nod toward the Lexus RX, which seems to be handed out in cereal boxes to women in upscale suburbs. The MDX still drives like a champ, though, no matter how many wheels are powered.