2026 Acura MDX Type S Advance Review: Where Performance Meets Elegance

Performance flagships usually ask their owners to give something up. Firmer springs arrive alongside a punishing ride, and sharper responses often come at the cost of the quiet that a family expects on a long interstate run. Acura built the 2026 Acura MDX Type S around the idea that a three-row SUV can refuse that trade, placing its most powerful engine inside its most comfortable cabin. The Advance package sits at the summit of that effort. So what does the top of the Acura range actually deliver day to day?

The Turbocharged V6 and Its Delivery

Under the hood lives a twin-scroll turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 rated at 355 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque, arriving low in the rev range rather than near redline. That low-end availability shapes the entire driving character, since overtaking on Highway 21 asks for a modest squeeze of the throttle instead of a full downshift. A 10-speed automatic with paddle shifters manages the ratios, holding gears through a corner in a sportier setting. Acura quotes a run to 60 mph in roughly 5.5 seconds, genuinely quick for a vehicle able to carry seven passengers. Super Handling All-Wheel Drive channels all of it, sending up to 70 percent of available power rearward.

Air Suspension and Drive Mode Selection

Ride quality in a heavy SUV usually forces a compromise between body control and comfort, though adaptive air springs sidestep the problem neatly. The system reads the surface continuously and adjusts damping in real time, softening over broken pavement and firming the moment you turn into a curve. A Lift mode raises the vehicle for deep snow or a steep driveway, while a Sport setting drops it closer to the ground for a lower center of gravity. Drive modes run from Comfort through Sport Plus, each adjusting throttle mapping, steering weight, and suspension firmness together. An Individual setting lets you assemble your own combination and keep it for daily use.

Braking Hardware and Wheel Setup

Stopping power receives the same attention Acura gave the engine. Four-piston Brembo calipers clamp 14.3-inch front rotors, hardware sized to handle repeated hard stops on a long winding road without any fading. Acura pairs that with an electro-servo braking system developed through its supercar program, which blends regenerative and friction braking while keeping pedal feel consistent and linear. Twenty-one-inch wheels wrapped in performance rubber fill the arches and give the Type S a planted stance visible from across a parking lot. That combination of generous rotor size and tire contact patch explains why the vehicle feels considerably smaller than its 198.4-inch length would suggest.

Quilted Leather, Massage Seating, and Cabin Finish

Opening the door reveals where the Advance package separates itself from the rest of the range. Full-grain Milano leather covers the seats in a quilted diamond pattern, offered in Orchid or an Azurite Blue treatment available nowhere else in the Acura lineup. Sixteen-way power front seats add heating, ventilation, and massage functionality, while the second-row outboard positions receive heating of their own. Open-pore wood trim and available Ultrasuede accents carry the same material story across the dashboard and the door panels. Ambient lighting offers 27 selectable themes, letting the cabin shift from calm to theatrical depending on your mood or the hour of the evening.

The 31-Speaker Bang and Olufsen Ultra System

Audio deserves its own discussion in a vehicle at this level. Bang and Olufsen supplies a 31-speaker Ultra arrangement rated at 1,760 watts, with twelve speakers mounted overhead in the headliner. That placement lifts the soundstage above the occupants rather than firing it across the cabin from the doors, producing a more natural sense of height and space. Acura tuned the system around this interior volume and the fixed seating positions inside it, rather than adapting a configuration built for another vehicle. Dedicated amplification keeps output clean at higher volumes, and the calibration holds detail in quieter passages. Long stretches of I-44 pass far more pleasantly as a result.

Curious How The Type S Advance Handles Your Commute?

A 355-horsepower turbocharged V6, adaptive air suspension, Brembo braking hardware, quilted Milano leather, and a 31-speaker audio system combine into a three-row SUV that declines the usual compromise between capability and comfort. Reading about air springs and feeling them work over rough pavement are two different exercises, so our team at Frank Leta Acura would rather hand you the keys. Once the miles start adding up, our Acura Accelerated Service handles oil changes and routine work without an appointment, usually inside an hour. We also run a full collision center on site, staffed by technicians who know how the Type S is put together.

Come find us on Tesson Ferry Road in South St. Louis County, or reserve a Type S Advance drive through our site this week.

FAQs

What makes the Type S Advance different from other MDX trims?

It pairs the twin-scroll turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 with adaptive air suspension, four-piston Brembo front calipers on 14.3-inch rotors, and 21-inch wheels. Inside, quilted full-grain Milano leather arrives in Orchid or an Azurite Blue finish exclusive to the Type S, alongside 16-way massage front seats and 31-speaker Bang and Olufsen audio.

How does the adaptive air suspension work?

The system reads the road surface continuously and adjusts damping in real time, softening over broken pavement and firming as you turn into a curve. A Lift mode raises the vehicle for deep snow or a steep driveway, while a Sport setting lowers it. Drive modes span Comfort through Sport Plus, plus a configurable Individual setting.

What is the 31-speaker Bang and Olufsen Ultra system?

Rated at 1,760 watts, it places twelve of its 31 speakers overhead in the headliner rather than firing everything across the cabin from the doors. That arrangement produces a more natural sense of height and space. Acura tuned the calibration around this specific interior volume and its fixed seating positions.