News & Rants: 2010 Acura MDX: Car Seat Check
The Acura MDX crossover blends luxury with the versatility of three rows. For 2010, the MDX has undergone a few minor updates, but its second- and third-row space remains the same. Our car-seat testers found the MDX’s setup wasn’t ideal for families with children in convertible and infant-safety seats, but booster seats fit reasonably well.
Cars.com senior editor David Thomas explained his concerns in his full review, which we excerpt below.
“The main problem with the MDX is backseat room. While there’s enough room for passengers of the adult variety, it’s a snug fit for children in child-safety seats. We installed a variety of seats as part of a standardized test, and a full-size convertible seat couldn’t fit when facing rearward, which is how all children must be placed until they’re a year old. An infant seat could fit facing rearward, but front-passenger legroom was compromised as a result.
My real-world test involved my 26-month-old son, and his full-size, front-facing convertible seat filled the backseat area with its mass. The MDX’s seats are high, and it was tricky getting him in the safety seat without hitting his head on the door frame or the headliner. His feet were pressed against the front passenger seat until I moved it forward to a position that allowed me to still fit, but just barely, with my knees pressed against the glove box.
Even with this arrangement, my son was still able to kick the front passenger seat. I’ve spent a lot of time in the GM family of crossovers, including the Enclave and Chevy Traverse, as well as the MKT (which is related to the Ford Flex), and all of them offer more space for young children in safety seats.
Of course, not every buyer has kids in this age range. Tweens, teens and adults will enjoy the comfortable leather seats in the front and second rows of the MDX.”
Cars.com photo by David Thomas
May 21st, 2010 at 1:25 am
Chris Perry has some big shoes to fill in his new job. Hyundai has named Perry to replace Joel Ewanick as its vice-president of marketing. Ewanick, who left Hyundai in March for a short stay in the same position at Nissan, recently was appointed to that role at General Motors. Ewanick is credited with many of the particularly creative initiatives that have boosted Hyundai’s market share in the past several years, including last year’s assurance program, in which the automaker committed to making payments for laid off customers. Perry has been with Hyundai for ten years and since 2007 has been director of marketing communications. In that role, he’s been involved in developing the aforementioned award-winning programs, so things shouldn’t shake up too much. Perry will report to CEO John Krafcik.
July 10th, 2010 at 2:51 am
For many moons now, your humble Autoblog crew has been following the new Saab 9-5 around the globe. Not intentionally mind you, but it seems that Saab has been dragging their 9-5 show car out to every show we’ve covered since before Obama was elected. Which is many, many shows (turns out it’s been since Frankfurt). And while we’re big boosters of the new 9-5, something’s always been… lacking.