While practical as a family car - it's a midsize SUV  with a third row - it doesn't scream, "I'm driving carpool!" If you  hadn't seen me loading my kids in and out of it, you might have mistaken  me for just another cool, sporty single chick with a penchant for  sporty luxury that cruises around certain Colorado towns.

The MDX got me a lot of male attention in my  neighborhood. None of these men told me I looked good, but they  certainly told me I had a car that looked good. This response intrigued  me since I'd had what I thought was a lovely 2011 Infiniti QX56 recently that received no neighbor notice whatsoever.

I happily shared with my neighbors that the  seven-seater doesn't just look good, it also drives like a dream.  Especially if your dream is to have a car that not only fits your family  but that also handles the road like an athletic sedan. The MDX's V-6  offers smooth acceleration and braking. It has plenty of zip and is lots  of fun. Additions like the steering-wheel-mounted shift panels, Sport  and Comfort modes and Acura's Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive enhance the  MDX driving experience.

No test drive is perfect, and there were a couple of  small issues I had with the MDX. Most notably, the center stack  resembled an airplane's cockpit; it might as well have been since it  wasn't intuitive. Although operational instructions appeared on the  navigation screen, the system was quite sensitive and seemed to take a  few pushes of any button to get things to work. I had to pull over and  refer to the owner's manual several times while one or two of my  children screamed in the back because they were  hungry/thirsty/tired/insert-whatever-you-like-here. The only other issue  worth sharing is space in the third row is tight, even for kids. This  isn't necessarily something unique to the MDX as many midsize SUVs with a  third row offer only cramped space, but it is something to consider if  like me, you have three small children.

The base MDX has a starting MSRP of $42,580. My test  car, which was the top-of-the-line 3.7L Advance Package, had the  optional rear entertainment system and cost $54,965.

EXTERIOR
As all the  male attention to the MDX attests, it's hot, especially for a family  car. I felt sexier getting in and out of the MDX than I normally do in  my minivan. Last year, the MDX got some styling tweaks, including a  refreshed face that resembles the Acura sedans and a couple of slick  tailpipes and taillights in the rear.

The doors and liftgate were all manageable, and the  step-in height was tantamount to that of a minivan. This meant my  children (with the exception of the baby) were able to climb in and out  on their own, but it was like spelunking for them since the MDX's  interior is smaller than their usual minivan.

The power liftgate can be opened with a button on the  key fob and another in the car. In the cargo area, there's a hidden  storage compartment in floor, which was an ideal size for a picnic  blanket. The cargo area is comparable to others in its class, but the  50/50-split third row allowed me to fold a seat down to haul around a  jogging stroller and some groceries while my son sat in his third-row  child-safety seat.

The key fob deserves praise since it can roll down the  MDX's windows and open the sunroof from afar. You also can store your  preferred seat position, side and rearview mirror settings, radio  presets and climate predilections in it, so when you start the car,  everything is exactly as you like it.

The 2011 MDX is powered by a 3.7-liter V-6 engine that  delivers 300 horsepower. The all-wheel-drive MDX gets an EPA-estimated  16/21 mpg city/highway. Even with a considerable amount of city driving,  I still managed to average around 20 mpg, which isn't horrible. As you  would expect from a luxury brand, premium fuel is the drink of choice  for this car.

SENSE AND STYLE
Family Friendly (Not Really, Fair, Great, Excellent): Great
Fun-Factor (None, Some, Good Times, Groove-On): Groove-On

INTERIOR
The MDX is  as athletic and attractive on the inside as it is on the outside. The  surfaces and lighting are lovely in a sporty sort of way. On the whole,  the 2011 MDX gets my vote.

The seats are comfortable, and the standard third row  offers convenience and seating flexibility. The second-row outboard  seats emulate the front seats with side bolsters to keep everyone  comfortably in place, which was nice when there were adult passengers  back there and I was demonstrating the MDX's agility. My test car also  had standard heated and available ventilated front seats. The automatic  trizone climate control is a perk, and it has the ability to  automatically adjust the temperature on one side of the car if it's  hotter than the other due to the position of the sun.

The second row easily fit two of my kids' child-safety seats without forcing the front passenger to compromise on legroom.

The MDX has plenty of cupholders and bottleholders,  and storage space is decent. There are some nifty storage surprises,  too, like a third-row cubby that held snacks perfectly and a bin with a  sliding cover that was tucked into the front passenger's area just below  the front row's cupholders.

While I liked many things about the MDX, I must  register my complaints. There is much to extol about the technological  virtues of the MDX, but it's a double-edged sword since the cockpit-like  control panel was befuddling most of the time. I appreciate that it  takes time to learn how to use these things, but the MDX's control panel  and setup could have been more user-friendly. It seemed like the car  was so technologically advanced that it wanted to control you rather  than you control it.

With all of this technology, I found it curious there  was no audible alert coupled with the backup camera and parking sensors.  The camera projected a clear image with three different view options  (normal, wide-angle and bird's-eye), but it wouldn't say a peep if you  were on top of something. It's a personal preference, but I like noise  with my backup camera and parking sensors.

Finally, the cramped space in the third row was  manageable, but challenging. It was cramped enough that my 4-year-old  couldn't dangle his legs from his forward-facing convertible. He either  propped them on the second-row head restraint in front of him or tossed  them to the side of his car seat. Near the end of my test week, he  stopped complaining, but for a family of three with small kids in large  child-safety seats, it wouldn't be practical for the long-term. Adults  also should avoid the third row; I felt cramped when I gave it a try.

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT
Storage Compartments (Puny, Fair, Ample, Galore): Ample
Cargo/Trunk Space (Puny, Fair, Ample, Galore): Fair/Ample

SAFETY
The MDX has  received the top score of Good in frontal-offset, side-impact and rear  crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In  the past, those scores would earn the SUV Top Safety Pick status. For  2011, IIHS added a roof-strength test to its criteria. The MDX hasn't  yet undergone the test.

The MDX has two sets of lower Latch anchors in the  second row's outboard seats and were easy to use. However, I'd really  like it if more carmakers would throw another set of anchors in the  third row. While the space in the third row is tight, the second row had  enough room to handle my youngest child's rear-facing infant-safety  seat. I wasn't able to fit three car seats in the second row, which lead  to my son being smushed in the third row.

The MDX has the following standard safety features:  all-disc antilock brakes, an electronic stability system, Super-Handling  All-Wheel Drive, traction control and six airbags, including side  curtains for all three rows.

A blind spot warning system and active cruise control  with a collision mitigation braking system are both optional safety  features.

Get more safety information about the 2011 Acura MDX here.