Wife and I checked out 22 mainstream/premium/luxury mid-sized 3-row suv's over the past 36 hours and have narrowed the list down to three options: Palisade, MDX or Q7 (all new vehicles around $55-65k). Each would meet our needs and price point.

Out of the 3, what would you recommend/consider and why? We are having a tough time choosing as all 3 would fit into our lives.

We will be purchasing the car, not leasing. Plan on keeping it 10+ years if we can.

BTW, i know some may suggest other 3-row mid-sized suvs that are 'better' than our 3 choices. We likely checked out your suggestion(s) and dropped them from the list for one reason or another. We are only focused on these 3.

Thanks!

 

The Palisade looks really nice. If you're more into tech and performance, probably the Q7. Since you're buying new, you don't need to worry about Audi's horrendous lack of reliability.

Acura seriously dropped the ball on that track pad thing. I can't imagine how anyone would be fine with using it.

 

Of those three, I would choose the MDX. I think they did a great job with the newest one.

I'm a bit underwhelmed by the Palisade, though it's undoubtedly well received. I do not care for the Q7. It looks like a bloated wagon and just looks "off" to me.

 

I like the Acura the least as it's missing features that should be on a luxury car. The Q7 if you need the prestige but the Palisade is the best mix of luxury features, value, and reliability in my opinion.

 

Palisade is pretty gutless IMO, 2022 looks quirky too. 2023 refresh looks better.

Never liked the Q7 except the first gen with the 4.2. Current one looks squished, interior is too cold/Teutonic and too much VW in it.

MDX would get my vote. New exterior styling looks great, and you don't need to use the trackpad too much with all the redundant dash controls / CarPlay Android Auto. The transmission buttons take a bit getting used to. SH-AWD is the best in the business

 

Why don't you go drive them? Not going to reach any conclusions by looking at pictures and videos. Need to see how they are in the real world.

 

I answer a question with a question: What is the price difference between the Palisade vs the MDX / Q7 you are looking at, and do you believe that you will get $X worth of value by paying $X more to step up to the Acura or Audi?

 

Would do the MDX. If you are holding onto it for 10+ years, reliability is important. The Q7 will be costly to own and maintain, especially after the warranty ends. The refreshed 2023 Palisade is nice, but I would not trust Hyundai reliability for the longterm- too many recalls and fires with their modern vehicles.

 

Have you driven the MDX? Despite the turbo engine gives you the bottom-end torque that is nice around town but it's not dramatically better.

C&D Stats
Palisade 0-60mph: 6.9s
MDX 0-60mph: 6.4s
Palisade 1/4th mile: 15.2s @ 93mph
MDX 1/4th mile: 15.1s @ 93mph

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...-sh-awd-drive/
https://hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/fi...1571661485.pdf

I wouldn't conflate reliability with recalls. The Palisade has also not been recalled for any fire-related issues. Further, if you want to talk reliability, Acura has not had a good track record with new model launches over the last years. The last MDX got poor reliability ratings in its first years and so did the RDX. I would hope this new-gen MDX has a smoother debut but it's not like Acura is immune from first/second year issues.

 

palisade is nice but too common around my area.
Q7 will be too costly to maintain over the years but it is most luxurious of the 3 listed.
MDX is my pick. my brother just got the newest aspec AWD and it's very nice!

 

If you need the 3rd row with any sort of regularity, I'd rule out the Q7. It's a tweener 3rd row and a bit cumbersome to get to relative to the Palisade and MDX. I don't know if the non Type S MDX is worth the premium over the Palisade. Quirky TrueTouch interface is okay, except if you're using CarPlay/Android Auto, where it becomes more like the outgoing Lexus Remote Touch pad, which is not great for the smartphone interface. Palisade tops out just at $50K and would be the bargain of the group.

Q7 would have ride quality and power that the other two can't really touch.

Curious why you dropped the new Infiniti QX60, as it's at least as good as the MDX in many respects, and better cabin controls etc.

 

Driven no, ridden in yes. I have driven the Palisade once and that was merely adequate.

I think you are thinking of the MDX Type-S which offers a 3.0 Turbo. The standard MDX has the NA 3.5 J-Series with 290hp which is the same as the Palisade. J-Series feels better to me than Hyundai's. Not to mention the superior AWD

 

all 3 are nice, first of all.

comes down to your priorities of things like: people/cargo room, brand, luxuriousness, drive/ride/performance, features, value, dealer/service.

give yourself a doug score for each.

 

Yes, my fault. I test drove both the RDX and MDX last year and was getting my memories confused. Totally agree on the superior AWD regardless.

I'd love for Acura to answer why the 3rd row doesn't have air vents though. That's just cheap.

 

Keeping? MDX all day, lease is Q7 easy