The most powerful SUV ever offered by Acura hits the road soon. The first-ever MDX Type S is expected to arrive in December and the automaker calls its flagship SUV the best handling and most lavishly equipped Acura SUV ever. The high-performance 355-horsepower SUV is priced starting from the high-$60,000 range. The top-of-the-line Advance trim includes Acura's first-ever massaging front seats, a 25-speaker sound system and the first air suspension on an Acura vehicle.
2022 MDX Type S
This is the third Type S model to debut this year, following the Acura's revival of the high-performance badge. Acura says the MDX's extremely rigid model-exclusive platform was created with the Type S model in mind. The 3-row SUV is equipped with Acura's new 355-horsepower Type S Turbo V6, standard torque vectoring Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD) and an Adaptive Damper System paired for the first time with air suspension. Powerful Brembo front brakes and 21-inch wheel wrapped in performance rubber complete the package.
Exclusive Type S Design
The MDX Type S also sets itself apart from the rest of the lineup with some unique design features. Up front, the model wears an exclusive front splitter and an open-surface Diamond Pentagon grille that Acura says increases air flow allowing about 10% more air to enter the engine bay. Side vents flanking the grille route air to a sub-radiator on each side of the engine compartment also help with cooling. In the rear, MDX Type S features a diffuser flanked on each side by two large round exhaust outlets. As with TLX Type S, you can opt for the Type S-exclusive, Tiger Eye Pearl paint.
The Type S rides on exclusive 21-inch alloy wheels painted Shark Gray, or Berlina Black with a machined finish on the Advance Package. Acura says the wheels feature resonators to reduce road noise. They're wrapped in 275/40ZR21 Continental ContiSeal tires, the first self-sealing tires ever fitted to an Acura product.
Type S-Exclusive Turbocharged V6
The Turbo V6 under the hood was created exclusively for Acura Type S models. The all-new, 24-valve, DOHC 3.0-liter V6 engine produces 355-horsepower and 354 lb.-ft. of torque with direct-injection and a single twin-scroll turbocharger. It makes the 2022 MDX Type S the quickest and most powerful Acura SUV ever.
Acura says the engine was developed by some of its most experienced powertrain engineers, including members of the team that developed the NSX's bespoke twin-turbocharged V6 hybrid power unit, the engine debuted on the TLX Type S earlier this year.
The engine is mated to an updated 10-speed automatic. Acura says it was reengineered to match the new engine's added torque of the new engine, and that the transmission is now stronger and shifts more quickly. As you'd imagine, Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive with torque vectoring is standard on the MDX Type S. The system, now in its fourth-generation, can send up to 70 percent of the engine's torque to the rear axle, and distribute 100 percent of that torque to either the left or right rear wheel.
First-Ever Air Suspension
The MDX Type S features a double wishbone front suspension. It also introduces the first air-suspension ever used on an Acura vehicle. Acura's Adaptive Damper System, which continuously adjusts damping force based on sensor inputs, is also standard.
Acura says for Type S, dampers use exclusive valve rates to give the SUV a sportier feel with more feedback in all seven drive modes of the Integrated Dynamics System. In addition to Normal, Comfort, Individual, Snow, Sport and the Type S-exclusive Sport+ mode, MDX Type S features a new Lift mode that increases ground clearance 2-inches to better navigate rough terrain and deep snow. To improve balance and handling, the battery has been relocated from under the hood to the cargo area.
Photo Credit: Acura.
Acura says new larger, more powerful Brembo front brakes improve braking. New red Brembo four-piston front calipers grip 14.3-inch in diameter (+0.5 inches) rotors also improve stopping power. The rear brake calipers are also painted red.
First developed for the second-generation NSX, Acura says its electric-servo braking system is retuned to give MDX Type S a brake pedal stroke similar to the supercar's. Standard on all MDX models, the system allows engineers to precisely control the brake pressure electronically to finely tune a vehicle's brake pedal force.
Interior
The MDX Type S's 7-passenger cabin features soft-touch Milano leather seats in Red, Ebony or new Light Orchid are accented with premium Black Ultrasuede inserts. Type S builds on the already stellar, standard MDX interior with a racing-inspired flat-bottom steering wheel with the Type S badge, contrast stitching on the dash, doors, and lower instrument panel, metal sport pedals and a metal-plated glove box handle. Acura's 12.3-inch all-digital instrument display is standard along with the True Touchpad Interface paired with a 12.3-inch ultra-wide HD center display.
If you really want to go out all out, the Advance Package adds full Milano leather with a special curvilinear quilting pattern to the front and middle row seats, and the exclusive availability of Azurite Blue leather. It also features Acura's first application of massaging front seats which feature nine different massaging options, including Wave, Shiatsu, Rejuvenation and Zen. The Advance package also include a new 25-speaker ELS STUDIO 3D Signature Edition premium audio system that features more than 1000 watts through 25 speakers, two amplifiers, carbon speaker cones and illuminated speaker grilles keyed to the Acura IconicDrive customizable ambient lighting.
Advanced Safety and Driver-Assist Features
All 2022 MDX models including the new Type S come with an expanded suite of AcuraWatch advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies, including updated Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) plus new technologies like Traffic Jam Assist (TJA), a Driver Attention Monitor, Pedestrian Sensing and Autonomous Emergency Braking (Pedestrian AEB), and Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR).
The MDX also offers a new front and rear low-speed braking system that uses sonar-based parking sensors to sense solid objects at low speeds and warn the driver or apply the brakes to help avoid or mitigate a collision. When the vehicle is driving forward or reversing between 1 and 6 mph, the system can detect objects in front of or behind the vehicle and assess if there is danger of a collision. If an object is detected, the system provides visual and audible alerts, and applies throttle control and braking.
Type S also delivers advanced levels of collision protection performance with Acura's proprietary Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE) body structure and new front passenger airbag technology. The airbag uses a proprietary three-chamber layout designed to more effectively cradle and protect the front seat occupant's head to help mitigate potential injury in more steeply angled frontal collisions.
The MDX Type S arrives in Car Pro Certified dealerships in December.
Photo Credit: Acura