Comfort is king in the 2007 Acura MDX, if you’re sitting up front in the lovely leather-lined seats, and on a day with comfortable temperatures and humidity levels because an obvious option for a luxury SUV is missing from the new MDX – cooling fans for the seats. It’s also lacking one-touch down functionality for the rear windows, which is something you can get on an $18,000 Volkswagen Jetta.

If you can overlook these two omissions, you’ll be quite happy with the new MDX’s comfort levels. The front seats are wrapped in soft leather with supportive cushions underneath, and the front passenger’s seat is adjustable for height which goes a long way toward making long road trips enjoyable. Adults riding in the second-row seat might feel a bit snug if they’re tall, in part due to a lack of leg space but also because the outboard positions get more bolstering than normal. The result is rear passengers that won’t get tossed around as much during a spirited drive. Don’t forget that the rear seats are also heated when the Entertainment Package is ordered, increasing comfort on a colder day.

Acura deflects criticism about the space in the MDX’s third-row by saying it’s designed for children up to age 12, but will accommodate adults for short trips. Nevertheless, I crawled in, all 235 pounds and six feet of me. Once I got situated, my legs were flush against the second-row seatbacks but there was a little bit of toe space available, head room was decent, and the seat itself offers a modicum of support. Entry and exit were pretty easy, too, and I even spent three high-speed laps around a race track riding in the way back. Under these conditions, the active suspension’s ability to control pitch, dive, and squat – coupled with a smooth driver – made a motion sickness bag during high speed handling unnecessary.

Comfort factors go beyond the Acura MDX’s seating and suspension. The triple-zone, humidity sensing, air filtering climate control effectively battled Pennsylvania’s muggy summer weather. The power tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel help the driver find a perfect driving position, and the front windows and sunroof benefit from one-touch opening and closing. Slick “bomb bay” center console doors make accessing the main storage bin easy. We did, however, miss parking assist sensors on the bumpers. Sure, there’s a reversing camera with the Technology Package, but parking assist is still nice to have.

Loading the MDX is as easy as riding in it, especially with the power tailgate that comes in the Entertainment Package. Once the tailgate is raised, there’s 15 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the third-row seat. Drop that seat down into the floor, and 42.9 cu.-ft. of space is available. Fold the second row and the MDX can swallow up to 83.5 cu.-ft. of cargo. Not only that, but four-by-eight-foot sheets of plywood will slide right in between the rear wheel wells.