The 2017 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid AWD Advance.

Seven months ago, we reviewed the new, better-looking Acura MDX.  The one with a regular gasoline engine.  Everything we said about that MDX stands for this one, so follow the link.

So what's this one about?  A different engine, a different transmission and very different city fuel economy.  All the while providing more...yes, more...power.

2017 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid AWD Advance.

In place of the 3.5-liter, 290 horsepower V6 and nine-speed automatic transmission found in other MDXs, the Sport Hybrid has a 3.0-liter V6 mated to an electric motor that generates a combined 321 horsepower and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Honda/Acura has done this before...one of the few manufacturers to include a performance bonus in its pursuit of higher fuel economy.  It works beautifully.  You're never really aware of the fact you're driving a hybrid until it's time to fill up and you don't have to yet.

2017 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid AWD Advance interior.

The gasoline-powered MDX has an EPA fuel economy estimate of 19 city/26 highway.  The hybrid?  It's estimated at 26 city/27 highway.  

The highway improvement is hardly noticeable, but in the city, a bump from 19 to 26 (equivalent to the gasoline version's highway mileage) is significant.   With the MDX Sport Hybrid's 19.4 gallon fuel tank, that works out to an extra 135 miles of city driving between fill-ups.  Best of all, Acura has wisely kept the cost increase to a minimum.  The gasoline model is $57,340 with destination and handling.  The Sport Hybrid?  $58,975.   The $1,635 premium can pay for itself in gasoline savings in a shade under five years, which is better than average.

We know which one we'd choose.  Thumbs up to Acura for giving the MDX Sport Hybrid the best of both worlds...fuel economy and performance.

The 2017 Acura MDX AWD Advance.

All it needed was a shave.

For years, the Acura MDX has been wearing an awkward chrome mustache across the top of its grille...the last vestige of an ill-conceived beak that it sprouted for the 2010 model year.  Well, that's gone for 2017...the grille (actually a new stretched pentagon design) now nicely opened up, with a rather large....okay, gargantuan...Acura emblem in the middle.  The headlights, hood and fenders have gotten tweaks to accomodate the grille change. And it's all a major improvement.

2017 Acura MDX AWD Advance.

The rear bumper of the MDX has been freshened as well...giving it a cleaner, more contemporary look.

The mechanicals remain the same...a 3.5-liter V6 making 290 horsepower mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission and Acura's SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive) system.  It also has idle stop...shutting off the engine under certain conditions at stop signs, traffic lights and while in stop-and-go traffic (or in drive-throughs).  The EPA fuel economy estimate is 19 city/26 highway.

The big news for 2017 is actually the MDX we haven't driven yet, the Sport Hybrid model.  But the '17 MDX AWD Advance does have a few welcome tech additions to the 2016 model we reviewed a bit over a year ago...lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, road-departure mitigation and automatic emergency braking.

2017 Acura MDX AWD Advance interior.

You can get an MDX for about $43,000 in base form, but ours was the all-wheel drive Advance model, with a base price of $56,400.  It has a massive list of standard features.  And thanks to Acura's one-price philosophy for its trim levels, there's no guesswork about what options will do to the tab.  Add in $940 for destination and handling and it rings in at $57,340.

The MDX has long been one of my favorite large crossovers.  It simply does everything right.  If I have one misgiving, it is that, for 57 large and change, the interior seems a bit...plain and plastic.  For 10 grand less, Kia's creating a brighter, more inviting, more special-feeling space in its Sorento SXL. Hopefully, having cleaned up the MDX's exterior, the interior is next on Acura's to-do list.