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2018 Acura MDX Brings Updated Tech and Sporty Colors; A Perennial Best-Seller Gets Even Stronger
- New MDX gets a refreshed dual-screen user interface with enhanced 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display and 30 percent faster response time
- Standard Apple CarPlay™ support, Android Auto™ compatibility (both new for 2018) and standard AcuraWatch™ safety and driver assist features make MDX among the best-equipped vehicles in its segment
- Expanded color palette adds sporty and sophisticated red hues
The powerful and sophisticated 2018 Acura MDX luxury SUV begins arriving at Acura dealerships tomorrow with a faster, more capable and modern user interface, vivid new colors and a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)1 starting at $44,200, just $150 more than the outgoing model. The Acura MDX is the best-selling three-row luxury SUV of all time3 and has been recognized by Edmunds.com as the “Most Wanted Luxury Midsize SUV” (2017) and as “Best Luxury Three-Row SUV for the Money” (2017) by U.S. News & World Report.
For 2018, the Acura MDX features a redesigned dual-screen user interface(ODMD 2.0) with more intuitive menus and command structures complemented by a new 7-inch capacitive touchscreen (previously resistive type) with a 30-percent faster response time. It includes support for Apple CarPlay™, which seamlessly integrates compatible iPhones in the car, allowing users to get directions optimized for traffic, make calls, send and receive messages, and listen to music. It also supports Android Auto™ compatibility – putting some of the most useful Android phone apps on the MDX’s display.
Two new eye-catching exterior colors expand the MDX color palette for 2018: Basque Red, available on base and Technology trims, and sporty San Marino Red on Advance trims.
Powertrain
The 2018 Acura MDX features a 3.5-liter direct-injected i-VTEC® 24-valve V6 engine rated at 290 peak horsepower (SAE net) and 267 lb.-ft. peak torque (SAE net) and is available in front-wheel drive or with Acura’s signature Super Handling-All Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®) system. The MDX with front-wheel drive and Idle Stop (included with Advance package) has an EPA fuel economy rating of 20 mpg city/27 highway/23 combined2, while the MDX with Super Handling-All Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®) and Idle Stop (included with Advance package) is EPA rated at 19 mpg city/26 highway/22 combined2.
The 2018 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid Super Handling-All Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®) model receives the same updates as the conventional MDX and will go on sale this winter. The MDX Sport Hybrid is the newest model in Acura’s lineup to utilize its revolutionary three-motor Sport Hybrid powertrain with electric torque vectoring, joining the NSX supercar and RLX Sport Hybrid as the third member of the Acura family to benefit from this proprietary technology.
2018 MDX Pricing and EPA Fuel Economy Ratings
| Trim | MSRP1 | EPA MPG Rating2(city/highway/combined) |
| MDX (FWD) | $44,200 | 19/27/22 |
| MDX (FWD) with Technology Package | $48,600 | 19/27/22 |
| MDX (FWD) with Technology and Entertainment Packages | $50,600 | 19/27/22 |
| MDX (FWD) with Advance Package | $54,650 | 20/27/23 |
| MDX (FWD) with Advance & Entertainment Packages | $56,650 | 20/27/23 |
| MDX (SH-AWD) | $46,200 | 18/26/21 |
| MDX (SH-AWD) with Technology Package | $50,600 | 18/26/21 |
| MDX (SH-AWD) with Technology & Entertainment Packages | $52,600 | 18/26/21 |
| MDX (SH-AWD) with Advance Package | $56,650 | 19/26/22 |
| MDX (SH-AWD) with Advance & Entertainment Packages | $58,650 | 19/26/22 |
Premium Features
The 2018 MDX offers a broad range of standard and available comfort and convenience features including an available Surround-View Camera System (a Multi-Angle Rearview Camera is standard), heated steering wheel, Smart Entry Keyless Access System and push-button start. The 2018 Acura MDX Technology and Advance packages add two 20-inch wheel and tire options, Bi-Directional Keyless Remote Engine Start, power folding side mirrors and HD Traffic.
In addition, the Advance grades include LED fog lights, genuine wood interior trim, a heated steering wheel and a Surround-View Camera System with six selectable viewing angles. Advance models can also be equipped with two second-row captain’s chairs and a center console with two additional USB ports for third-row passengers. An ultra-widescreen Rear Entertainment System is also available on models with the Advance Entertainment Package.
Standard Safety and Driver Assistive Technology
Similar to other Acura models, the 2018 Acura MDX offers the AcuraWatch™ suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies as standard equipment, which includes Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS™), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Keeping Assist (LKAS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with low-speed follow and Road Departure Mitigation (RDM). The 2018 Acura MDX earned a 5-Star NCAP overall vehicle score from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and is expected to earn a TOP SAFETY PICK rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The 2018 MDX was designed and developed in the U.S. and is produced exlusively at the company’s East Liberty, Ohio manufacturing center using domestic and globally-sourced parts.
About Acura
Acura is a leading automotive luxury nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance, an original approach to technology and design that creates a new driving experience. The Acura lineup features six distinctive models – the RLX premium luxury sedan, the TLX performance luxury sedan, the ILX sport sedan, the 5-passenger RDX luxury crossover SUV, the seven-passenger Acura MDX, America’s all-time best-selling three-row luxury SUV3 and the next-generation, electrified NSX supercar as the pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance.
