Cool Vehicles: Acura's '07 MDX & RDX

 

 

 

 

Safety of the '07 Acura MDX and RDX

Safety within the Acura MDX is enhanced by a pair of front airbags that are dual stage. I don’t know what that means yet, but I imagine them to be much safer than single stage airbags. They probably have a sensor to determine the impact and deploy accordingly. We're going to have to research this one and get back to you, as I'm speed writing and can't stop just yet to look into it.

The side-curtain airbags on the Acura MDX and RDX are also cooler than any others I’ve investigated, because they have roll-over sensors. I had always thought about side impacts as the reason for these airbags, but upon learning about the rollover sensors I let my mind wander into the dangerous zone of rollover possibilities and if you let your mind do the same, you can imagine how important these rollover sensing airbags could be at that critical instant when your head, or the heads of your passengers are approaching the ground during a rollover.

Both the MDX and the RDX are equipped with backup video cameras and proximity detection system which many of the vehicles in their classes have these days. Vehicles with these systems would seem to be safer when reversing. Are they? Sometimes when I’m in the process of reversing my eyes are challenged by where to look, in the old fashioned rear view mirror, the passenger or driver side mirrors, or at the new, seemingly information-rich video screen in the center of the dash. The attention grabbing video does not provide the actual bounced photons like mirrors do, that are instantly recognizable as a real world view. The rear view video screen is the home of a fish-eyed, wide-angle, view of the blind spot behind the vehicle. It should come with a warning emblazoned over it like the one on the convex rear view mirrors, “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”

Backup video camera systems have life-saving potential. They can protect little children, small people, and animals from being backed over. Beeping proximity warnings while reversing will save us from smacking into obstacles hidden in blind spots behind us. Let's just remember, as we grapple cell-phones, swig drinks and caffeinate ourselves, to also keep our eyes on our mirrors, and our minds on driving.

  Acura RDX

Perhaps I shouldn’t have given away the truth, earlier in this article, that the Acura MDX is really a gussied-up Honda Pilot and the Acura RDX is in reality a Honda CRV, but hey, you deserve to know. After all, this is thefamilycar.com, your source for straight scoops! Now I’m going to speak of these vehicles in a family way. It is somewhat uncanny how similar the Acura MDX and RDX (Honda Pilot and Honda CRV) are to other vehicles in their class or family. They are all slight variations harmonizing around standard themes. It would be miraculous if this wasn't the case, considering the certainty that auto design teams and the execs they report to, develop vehicles with their necks constantly twisted to look over their shoulders at their competition. So the RDX, in addition to being CRV-like, is also RAV4-ish and BMW X3-like. And the Pilot-like MDX is closely aligned with the Lexus 400, Mercedes MLK and BMW X5. You will want to investigate the subtle variations in the themes created by these nearly harmonious auto design teams to determine which vehicle resonates most closely with what your family and/or loved ones desire.

How do crossovers differ from conventional sport utility vehicles?

* They have fully independent suspension, giving them better handling and steadiness on the roads.

* They are quieter, lighter and more aerodynamic.

* They provide a smoother ride

* They usually get better fuel mileage than SUVs.

* They have better brakes than a heavier, truck-based SUV. ,

* They have the cargo versatility of SUVs.

Safety: They are lower to the ground; hence, are less prone to rollover.

Disadvantage: they're certainly not designed for off-road driving and for carrying heavy cargo.

The result? They are better suited for highways and city streets -- the kind of driving most SUVs are used for.

 

Lexus RX

Base MSRP: $37,400

 

Honda CR-V
MSRP: $19,400 to $23,000

 

 

 

The Chrysler Pacifica is not an SUV, minivan or station wagon.

What is this Vehicle?
The Chrysler Pacifica is not a minivan. They all have sliding side doors. Its not an SUV, because its not on a truck frame.

Even though you might think the Pacifica is best described as a luxury station wagon, its actually a low minivan derivative, or more simply, a crossover.

The rear backup collision avoidance feature on the Pacifica is the best that I’ve experienced in any vehicle so far. There are small yellow lights in row above the rear window that illuminate toward a center point from both directions then turn red toward the center and beep.

This reminds me of how I help a driver back up while standing behind a vehicle. I use my hands, and indicate the driver is getting closer to an obstacle by moving the palms of my hands closer together.

Let’s move on to the nav system.

Unlike most other vehicles with navigation systems that we’ve test driven, the Pacifica put the navigation screen square in front of the driver under the arch of miles-per-hour tick marks, rather than in the middle of the console between the driver and passenger.

This is a fundamental shift in location, because the Pacifica’s navigation screen is difficult for the passenger to see or operate. 

Every time we’ve test driven a vehicle equipped with a mid-console navigation system, it is the passenger who primarily functioned as navigator, slogging through the clumsy process of setting destination points, freeing the driver for the duty of driving.

Setting the navigation system is an experience that is inevitably shared, a partnership between the driver and the front seat passenger if one is present. Inevitably, the driver has a split focus any time the nav screen is on, so it is the work of the passenger, if present, to guide the driver.

Now enter the Pacifica’s driver’s-side-centered nav screen, nestled within the circumference of the MPH gauge, which reads up to 160 MPH
(Why?) When it is off, its presence and that of the neighboring circular button cluster to set the system, remain close to invisible. They are accessible and viewable by the driver alone. If drivers of this luxury station-wagon set their nav systems before getting underway, that’s all great. But they be forgiven, and thus drive distracted, if they undertake the process of setting the nav system after they hit the road. The nondescript system is that easy to forget.

Hopefully new owners of the Chrysler Pacifica will adapt to the system’s location easily and this will not add to driver distraction’s already in the vehicle. It does give me pause to advise you, if you are considering vehicles with navigation systems, consider your relationship with the primary passenger or driver of the vehicle and decide for yourselves whether you would like a center mounted system that offers opportunities for navigation partnership, or a driver-centered system that precludes that partnership.
 

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