The Detroit Newspapers's view

I’ve been tough on recent reviews of Acura — Honda Motor Co.’s luxury brand that seems to have lost it way with recent vehicles.

But then I got into the 2010 Acura MDX — a slightly oversized crossover that reminds me how good this brand can be.

This seven-passenger crossover is a blast to drive with its super-handling all-wheel drive and comfortable and well-designed interior. My only question is: Where have you been Acura?

The MDX provides the luxury appoints you’d expect in a premium brand, surprisingly good road manners and lots of attention to detail inside and outside the vehicle.

The exterior is simple and straightforward with chunky lines along the side that hideous grille, which looks like something Vince Shlomi would sell on late-night television. “It slices, it dices, and if you act now, we’ll throw in, not one, not two but three gut ‘n grilles.” Acura, however, has done a nice job with the narrow headlights that seem to flow right out of that grille.

For the 2010 model year, Acura tried to toughen up the MDX’s looks and, overall, succeeded. Even with that grille, the MDX has an athletic stance. All of the lines seem to be drawn parallel to the ground to create a very stable look. The extra thick D-pillar in the back may make looking out more difficult from the third row, but it adds to the dramatic curves cut by the windows.

The MDX comes with either 18- or 19-inch wheels and looks better with the bigger wheels stuffed into the round wheel wells.

More importantly, the MDX rides and drives the way you’d expect an Acura to roll. The 300-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6 provides lots of power. It feels a little heavy on the road — tipping the scale at over 4,500 pounds — but it is more of a luxury heavy feel that comes with much more expensive vehicles. Torque Vectoring

One of the MDX’s best features is the super-handling all-wheel drive system that can use the car’s power to help its handling. Known as torque vectoring, the system will distribute power to the wheels the MDX needs spinning to stay on the road. It’s amazing to experience the system, though it is not recommended for use on city streets.

But this system lets you drive with more confidence than you should probably have for such a big vehicle. The taut suspension allows for aggressive driving, but it doesn’t make the ride harsh on long highway driving. The steering also felt very tight, providing a nice return to center and a tight confident feel. Some bigger crossovers tend to have steering with less resistance through corners, which at some speeds can cause you to over steer slightly.

The ride was quiet with little road or wind noise and the cabin was extremely comfortable.

While SUVs have lost favor with consumers and Congress, the MDX — technically a crossover — has much more of an SUV-seating position. You have good lines of sight and can see over cars in front of you. The interior is well laid out and very comfortable. The 10-way power-adjusted driver’s seat lets you pick the best seating position and from there, things only get better.

There are climate controls for all three rows, Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free phone operation, a back-up camera and optional navigation system. The center stack still looks a little crowded with all of the buttons and knobs, but it only takes a day or two to get used to it. Smooth driving

For this model year, Acura has made paddle shifters standard, as well as an auto-dimming rear-view mirror (with a backup camera screen in the mirror) and LED-backlit instruments, which feel very easy on your eyes.

Also standard is a 253 watt eight-speaker stereo system that includes six-disc CD player, WMA player, MP3 player and XM satellite radio. Acura’s technology package — which bundles a number of features such as voice-recognition navigation — uses an 8-inch LCD screen that includes a back-up camera with three separate views to make sure you’re not backing into a bicycle, trash can or neighbor. The package also upgrades the stereo to a 410-watt digital stereo with 15 gigabyte hard drive to record and store music.

With the MDX, you’re left wanting for nothing — unless you have to sit in the third row — which offers a tight 29 inches of legroom. Some of the third-row craze seems to have subsided, though I know a lot of families who swear by three-row crossovers because of the ability to put a seat between siblings. The flexibility of the seating does mean you can go from 15 cubic feet of storage to more than 80 cubic feet if all of the rows are folded down — and that’s one of the reasons the MDX felt like such a useful vehicle.

But what will really win you over is driving the MDX. Smooth, powerful and fun, the MDX shows the potential Acura can reach. Anyone and any brand can lose its way — it’s happened before, and it will happen again.

But the MDX shows that it’s never too late to get your mojo back.

sburgess@detnews.com (313) 223-3217