SPY PICS: Honda MDX, take three

Will Honda have another crack at the large SUV segment in Australia? It tried with its MDX model launched here in 2003, but by 2007 sales were so low it was not worth continuing and it was dropped from the range in the same year.

Will the upcoming third-generation MDX, snapped here in Honda luxury-arm Acura form by spy photographers Carparazzi, bring about a re-think?

Not likely, in the immediate future at least. According to Honda Australia, the US-built MDX will be made — initially — in left-hand drive form only, which would automatically rule it out of contention in Australia for the present. However if right-hand drive markets such as Australia, Japan and the UK could be demonstrated to show promise, there’s no doubt a business case could be put together for MDX to sell upmarket of Honda’s mid-size CR-V.

The new Honda MDX, which will be introduced to the US in late 2013 as a 2014 model, will be replete with current eco-technology. A hybrid version, using a Lexus RX-style 4WD drivetrain with the rear wheels powered when necessary by a pair of electric motors, is supposed to be on the list of probabilities/possibilities. The system is said to be based on the next-generation, petrol-electric AWD Honda NSX supercar, although its front-mounted petrol engine will be in contrast with the sportster’s mid-mounted configuration.

The new model is also expected to come with a new direct-injection 3.5-litre V6, which, coupled to a seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission, should put the current V6 in the shade in terms of power output, road performance and exhaust cleanliness. Performance is said to be akin to that of a V8.

The camouflage cladding on the car snapped here is so extreme that it’s difficult to get a clear handle on the final shape, but it would be a fair bet to say it will be cleaner and sleeker than the current MDX. It has been spotted in company with a current-generation BMW X5, so there’s no guessing who is supplying the MDX’s benchmark data. Word is that the Honda Legend-size Acura RLX concept revealed at the 2012 New York Auto Show should also be looked at for third-generation MDX styling cues.

The 2014 MDX will be built at Honda’s North American plant in Lincoln, Alabama.

— with Carparazzi

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