Topic: Test Drive: 2012 Acura MDX Elite

[Jaeger]

The logic is there. I find neither the design nor the post complex. Perhaps you are simple.

Or maybe I just like clean, simple displays.

The voice command option is a valid point - you certainly don't have to use all those buttons if you don't choose to.  I just wish I could get past feeling like a Night Rider wannabe and actually use voice control.    But I literally cringe at talking to my car.  Don't use it now, didn't use it in the previous car either.

Jaeger

PS - I was just on the phone with my buddy in NY who owns the MDX I drove in.  I ribbed him good about his button collection.    He's loving the ride, though - totally and completely happy with it.  His other car is a G37x, which recently replaced a 328i.

[dirtyjeffer]

Or maybe I just like clean, simple displays.

i am the same way...i like clean simple lines/controls too...i also like the fact i was able to set up my phone and NAV system in 5 minutes without even having to use the manual (which is huge)...my car has all the same controls and adjustments (including NAV) with far less clutter and real estate on the dash.

[Snowman]

Jaeger is correct - some will like it, others not so much....just like everything else in the world.

But, I do  every time I read a MDX review that has the reviewer embellishing the "zillion buttons, or "crazy busy dash" or "747 cockpit."

It's broken down into 3 simple sections. HVAC, stereo, menu navigation. Understanding that one just pushes the corresponding button in the corresponding section based on what task they're trying to accomplish should not be so difficult. Simple really.

Now I quite love how it's set up in comparison on other touch-screen or menu based systems I've used but I can understand, perhaps, while some would not.

Something else to note is that every command can also work by voice for any feature - HVAC, NAV, Music, whatever......so when it comes down to it one doesn't need buttons or a menu......the voice system works very well.   

Looks simple. If people find that difficult perhaps taking the bus is a better option 


I 'm not a fan of touch screens and I find the center stack in my TT RS clean and functional. A button for each mode then four button options and a a dial to move in a menu to the right of the screen.

[Jaeger]

^^^ If the Acura dash looked like that, I'd have no complaints.

Jaeger

[Cord]

I think Acura should go with the Kia dash. 

[mmret]

Looks a little like a Euro-centric setup...knob on the right side?

[vdk]

Looks a little like a Euro-centric setup...knob on the right side?

Steering wheel controls

[jyarkony]

Agreed. I feel like a putz talking to a car but it works best with NAV and Acura-Link. My button fetish works for the rest.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one out there... I still haven't found a voice command system that I prefer to any of the touchscreens (but Honda/Acura is, I think (sometimes i get confused—I'll check again in the Pilot next week...), the only one I've found easy to use to pair a phone), but I prefer a console-mounted controller (iDrive, COMAND, etc) so I don't have to take my arm off the armrest... yeah, I really am that lazy, but it also seems the most intuitive to me to move the selection around the screen and a quick glance confirms I'm on the right choice before clicking—probably because I sit at a computer all day using a mouse, not pushing buttons on an 60s-era sci-fi envisioned futuristic nuclear reactor switchboard (which is what I imagine all you button lovers doing all day long—sounds cool!)... I can even imagine a track pad replacing the wheel/knob, maybe even on the back of the steering wheel for minimal hand waving distraction while driving.

If there are going to be a lot of buttons, it's nice to have some variety, like those toggles in the Rio or the old-school switches in the Minis.