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Let’s see, 13 plus 9, plus 18, minus away 1, plus 11–yup, there are about 50 sport-utility vehicles in the market today.

That’s a surprisingly large number considering that if special-interest groups had their way, sport-utility vehicles would be abolished.

After all, safety advocates wail that sport-utes are nothing more than bullies, environmentalists rail that SUVs poison the very air we breathe and conservationists bemoan sport-utilities as the reason petroleum is being gobbled up and eventually will disappear.

For vehicles with supposedly so many faults, the automakers keep churning them out because the public keeps buying them. Perhaps there are more consumers demanding them than there are special-interest groups demeaning them.

Maybe there are too many special interest groups?

But we digress.

The latest SUV entry is the 2001 MDX from Acura, Honda’s luxury division. While adding yet another member to the SUV fraternity, Acura was at least kind enough to subtract one to make room, the SLX.

In the mid-’90s motorists became infatuated with luxury SUVs, and Acura was caught without one. To bring an entry out quickly and cheaply, Acura disguised an Isuzu Trooper with its logo to buy enough time to build one of its own.

By 1999 the SLX fooled less than 300 buyers and was dropped. The MDX replaces the SLX (1997-1999).

The 2001 MDX is 100 percent pure Acura, or at least as pure as an Acura built off a Honda Odyssey mini-van platform can be. MDX is built on the same line as the Odyssey in Honda’s Alliston, Ontario, plant.

Hmm. An Acura SUV derived from a mini-van, just like Pontiac derived its Aztek sports SUV and Buick next year derives its Rendezvous luxury SUV from the GM mini-van. A trend developing?

Soon MDX as well as Odyssey will adopt a southern drawl when production is added at Honda’s plant in Alabama that’s under construction. Odyssey demand is so high and supplies so tight (a four-day inventory while a 60-day supply is considered normal), that Honda moved up production plans in Alabama so it will start building mini-vans there late in 2001 rather than in the spring of 2002.

Honda has capacity for 150,000 Odysseys and 40,000 MDX’s annually at Alliston. The Alabama plant initially will be able to produce 120,000 vehicles. Odysseys will be built first, then MDX will be added to the mix and then a Honda version of the MDX. More on that later.

The reason for MDX’s existence can be summed up in one word–Lexus RX300. OK, one word, two letters and three numbers, but you get the idea.

The RX300 sport-ute is the top-selling vehicle in the lineup at Lexus, Acura’s chief rival, and since 1999 Acura has had no weapon with which to fight the enemy.

Acura estimates that at least 25 percent of all RX300 buyers are Honda/Acura owners who wanted a luxury sport-ute that neither Honda nor Acura could supply. In an industry in which losing 1 percent of anything to anybody is considered a catastrophe, you can see why Acura brought out MDX in a crowded market.

The 2001 MDX will be offered in base and Touring editions when it goes on sale Oct. 5, the date it will release official prices. For now, it says the base model will start at about $35,000, the Touring less than $40,000.

Both are powered by a 3.5-liter, 240-horsepower V-6, the same engine as in the Odyssey, with 30 more h.p., needed because MDX is heavier than the mini-van. The V-6 is teamed with a 5-speed automatic.

We tested the base model. Plenty of power and ample ability to scoot from the light, merge or pass without balking. The fuel-economy rating is 17 m.p.g. city/23 m.p.g. highway, versus a 19/22 for the RX300.

The RX300 is based on a Camry sedan platform, the MDX on that Odyssey mini-van platform. So you’d expect car-like ride and handling from both without the rough treatment common when an SUV is derived from a truck.

So we found it puzzling that the MDX comes with a very firm suspension, so firm you feel just about every bump in the road. And they needn’t be bumps; even a blemish transmits ripples into the steering wheel as well as the seat-bottom cushion.

If you expect that a luxury SUV from a luxury-sedan maker means you’ll experience the same ride and handling in both, you’re in for a disappointment. The Lexus RX300 has a more forgiving suspension.

MDX does, however, offer a wide cabin, a feature too often lacking in a Japanese nameplate, especially SUVs. The Toyota 4Runner could take a cue from MDX and let the cabin out a few notches.

MDX, like Odyssey, is front-wheel-drive. Unlike Odyssey, MDX also converts into all-wheel-drive when needed. The system, which Acura dubs a “proactive traction control,” is automatic and works without turning a dial or lever. It also directs torque to the rear wheels under hard acceleration or when wheel slippage is detected at any speed to ensure optimum traction. If snow or sand is very deep, an instrument-panel button activates the system immediately.

Rather than offering all-wheel-drive, Odyssey chose to use the room needed for the hardware to house a pop out/pop down third seat in the cargo compartment. Ironically, MDX also offers a third seat in back. Rather than pop in and out of the floor, however, the seat backs fold flat with the floor to increase cargo room when needed.

Only way to get into the third seat, however, is from the passenger’s side. The second row seat-back flips down and the seat slides forward to provide an access path, though a very small and narrow one. While enough room for kids, adults wouldn’t want to lose the coin flip and end up back there.

The base MDX offers a host of standard equipment, including four-wheel anti-lock brakes; air conditioning; 17-inch, all-season radial tires on alloy wheels; dual-stage front air bags whose deployment speed is regulated by speed of impact as well as whether occupants are wearing belts; a front-passenger side-impact air bag with sensors that detect if the occupant is a child or small adult (bag won’t deploy) or if the occupant is leaning too close to the bag in the side of the seat (bag won’t deploy); leather seats; keyless remote entry; power windows/locks/mirrors; pow er tilt and slide sunroof; cruise control; seven-speaker AM/FM stereo with cassette and a single CD player; and power/heated front seats.

The Touring adds memory driver’s seat/mirrors; eight-way power passenger seat; roof rack; reverse tilt passenger mirror that motors down to show the curb when backing up; and an audio upgrade with eight speakers and a six-disc CD changer in the dash.

The only option is a $2,000 navigation system. There sure are a lot of letters and numbers to press to get a video map tracing the path home. And no navigation system comprehends “short cut.”

Another gripe, if a navigation system offers voice direction instructions, the voice needs authority and clarity.

While MDX gives Acura a rival to the RX300, Toyota next spring brings out the Highlander, a less-expensive version of the Lexus RX300 with a few less frills.

Honda, for now, has no rival to match the Highlander, which is slightly longer than the RX300 and abou t the same size as the 4Runner, which stays in the lineup–for now.

Insiders say there will be a lower-priced Honda version of the MDX soon. Be patient until Honda adds MDX production at its Alabama plant, and then it will add a Honda-badged companion to rival the Highlander.

Highlander initially will be built in Japan, but eventually move to Toyota’s Cambridge, Ontario, plant, where the RX300 will be built for 2003, or to Toyota’s Princeton, Ind., plant, which builds the Tundra pickup and full size Sequoia sport-utility also coming out for 2001.

2001 Acura MDX
Wheelbase: 106.3 inches
Length: 188.5 inches
Engine: 3.5-liter, 240-h.p., 24-valve V-6
Transmission: 5-speed automatic
Fuel economy: 17 m.p.g. city/23 m.p.g. highway
Pluses: Real Acura SUV and not an Isuzu Trooper badged as an Acura SLX. Everything standard, including an automatic system that converts from FWD to AWD when needed and a third row seat that folds flat to add more cargo capacity when not needed. Lots of handy storage compartments, including covered one in rear cargo floor. An alternative to the Lexus RX300.
Minuses: Rather stiff suspension considering this is built off the Odyssey mini-van platform. Every item known to man, except big enough mirrors. Entry to third seat only on passenger side and still best suited to a contortionist.