Honda MDX 2005 review: road test

Although 4WDs have come under a lot of scrutiny in recent times for their use around the city and suburbs, the only way to appreciate a vehicle of this class is to get it out on – and off – the open road.

As a novice four-wheel driver it took no time at all to familiarise myself with the controls from the comfort of the heated-leather seats.

The four-speed automatic transmission was smooth and the ride even smoother as the outside noise was almost completely non-existent with the windows up and the automatic climate control set on a comfortable 22C.

And with the windscreen wipers also set on automatic I was assured of complete clear vision in any rain.

A rainfall sensor is located in the windscreen behind the rear-view mirror and turns on the wipers, varying their speed in line with the intensity of the rain. It was a real bonus as we struck some heavy falls heading out of Sydney.

When the speed limit lifted to 100km/h you could almost hear the Honda purr in anticipation of giving its 3.5-litre V6 engine a workout.

As we neared Goulburn the outside temperature dropped to about 9C but we were cocooned in a warm comfort zone courtesy of the automatic climate control system, which can be adjusted on the Honda's dashboard trip computer.

Aside from the temperature, the computer also records fuel consumption, the range you can travel on what's in the tank, total distance travelled and the elapsed time the ignition has been on. There's also a digital clock and a compass.

It was time to stop and revive at Goulburn and after putting some petrol in our engines in the form of a big breakfast, we were back on the road heading to Cooma.

But this time there was another driver behind the wheel – my wife Margaret.

Reluctantly I had handed over the keys in a moment of weakness, not knowing what to expect from a driver with no experience in a motor vehicle of this size.

But once she worked out the automatic seat adjustment, my wife took to the road like a veteran and I could see from the glee in her eye I would have a hard time wrestling the keys back.

By the time we reached Cooma Margaret was completely at ease in the driver's seat. "I didn't feel intimidated driving a four-wheel drive for the first time," she says. "It only took me a couple of kilometres to feel at ease and after that I felt completely comfortable and more than impressed with car's performance and ease of handling."

When we picked up our ski gear it was no problem fitting it in the back with our luggage.

It was a simple exercise of folding down the back seats and we had more than ample room.

I was hoping the mountain road through the Kosciuszko National Park to Guthega was going to be icy so I could try my hand at a bit of four-wheel driving.

But the road was open all the way through to the Guthega car park and not even chains for the family sedan were needed.

When it came time to leave the snow I was still itching to put the four-wheel-drive switch on and my chance came halfway back down the mountain.

I spotted a small trail leading into the scrub and after carefully summing up the situation decided to go for it.

The incline was not too steep as the Honda went through a personality change in automatic four-wheel-drive mode and attacked the trail with gusto.

With the 4WD adventure over it was time to drop our gear back in Cooma and head for Narooma on the far south coast.

This was another adventure as we travelled through some amazing country and the next challenge was the winding decline of Brown Mountain (1241m), which leads from the high country to the beautiful Bega Valley.

The Snowy Mountain Highway leading to the mountain was easily driven with speed limits varying between 60km/h, 80km/h and 100km/h. But the mountain was different altogether with some hairpin corners restricting speed to 25km/h. Dropping the Honda's transmission back to D3 allowed for perfect control and the brakes didn't need much pressure to safely negotiate the bends.

When we reached the bottom it was an easy drive to Narooma and from then on it was back to cruising on the highway.

After a few days in Narooma it was back to the big smoke and when we arrived back in Sydney it didn't seem like we'd been driving for more than five hours.

I'm sure I saw the hint of a tear in my wife's eye as we had to put the Honda to bed in its garage.

It was truly a first-class holiday in a first-class vehicle.