Nearly Honda’s entire lineup already offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but the upscale Acura brand is just now getting around to rolling out these smartphone-mirroring functions to its lineup. The TLX sedan received them as part of its 2018 update, and now the MDX three-row crossover is getting an infotainment refresh of its own for 2018.
The 2018 MDX adopts the same freshened tech interface as did the TLX. While it retains the frustrating two-screen layout with a smaller touchscreen placed lower on the center stack and a larger display screen higher on the dashboard, at least the new system features quicker responses and more logically organized menus, according to Acura. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functions are standard on all trim levels.
The new features arrive alongside overall price increases of $140 to $150, depending on the model, with the base front-wheel-drive MDX now starting at $45,175. As you add options like Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD), those prices climb, leading all the way to the MDX SH-AWD with Advance and Entertainment packages, which rings in at $59,625.

Tested: 2017 Acura MDX SH-AWD
Tested: 2017 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid
Acura MDX Research: Reviews, Specs, and More

Two new red exterior colors, Basque Red and San Marino Red, round out the changes for 2018, and all of these updates will also apply to the 2018 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid model, which arrives later in the year. The nonhybrid 2018 model will be ava...