As Honda's first foray into the full-size SUV market, the MDX is an impressive vehicle. It's hard to mask 4500 lbs of weight, but the MDX is a surprisingly nimble and capable vehicle. And as long as you only need to carry 4 people and their associated luggage, it makes a great vehicle for traveling, especially considering the added security that VTM-4 offers for traveling in foul weather.

Overall, the MDX is a quality piece, with generally nice materials and good execution everywhere you look. There are a few soft spots, however, and a few of these seem typical of current Hondas and Acuras. The first I will mention is the seemingly thin sheetmetal, which is largely unprotected and prone to dings and creases. Our test model bore a few unfortunate scars, though in its defense it was delivered to us with over 7000 cruel miles on it, which in press car miles is something like 50000 "private owner" miles. Another shortcoming is the soft clear coat that Honda always seems to use. The test MDX was painted with the beautiful Aegean Blue Pearl, but the finish was marred by numerous swirls in the clearcoat. These are very noticeable in direct sunlight. This problem seems to plague all Hondas and Acuras, and is most noticeable on darker colors. And finally, one slight annoyance that we've also noticed on other Honda and Acura models is that the switch for the glove box light door seems a little too stiff, and in the dark you sometimes notice the glovebox light is on even though the glovebox is securely closed. This seems like an inherent design flaw in a part that is possibly common across several models, so it needs to be addressed and fixed.

For its pricetag, the MDX offers an impressive list of comfort and convenience items. The thing is, much of this comfort and convenience can be found in the less expensive Honda Pilot, which offers a virtually identical experience in terms of comfort, utility, and over the road performance, only with a slightly more spartan interior and arguably less style. On the other hand, for those who don't need the towing capacity (3500lbs or 5000lbs if it's a boat) or off-roading abilities of the MDX/Pilot, the Odyssey makes a much more practical choice for people-moving and daily driver duties. It's several hundred pounds lighter than its SUV cousins, offers better performance in terms of acceleration and fuel economy, and can comfortably accommodate six adults with plenty of room for luggage and cargo. As a bonus with the purchase of an Odyssey you earn instant "street cred" amongst neighborhood soccer moms. The Odyssey lacks some of the drivetrain sophistication (namely, VTM-4) of the MDX, and the interior is not as quiet as the MDX, but if people moving and space efficiency are your top priorities, the Odyssey's price is right.

MDX sales have remained strong because until recently it was a standout product. With newcomers like the Volvo XC90, Volkswagen Touareg (there, our '03 budget for vowels is blown in one shot), Cadillac SRX, Lexus RX330 and GX470 now in showrooms, the competition has obviously stepped up their game, and their products are strong. Fortunately the MDX has already had 3 solid years of selling and certainly Honda engineers are hard at work designing the followup. The upside for the prospective MDX buyer is that this additional competition should make it easier to negotiate on the MDX, which has been selling in most markets for MSRP or more.