The 2007 Acura MDX luxury SUV earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's TOP SAFETY PICK award. Vehicles earning this designation afford superior overall crash protection among the vehicles in their class. To qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK, vehicles must earn the highest rating of good in all three Institute tests — front, side, and rear. They also have to be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC), which is a standard feature on the MDX.
Rear crash protection is another area of improvement. When the 2007 MDX was introduced, its seat/head restraints were rated marginal overall, the second lowest rating. The head restraints are attached to a lever arm that moves the restraint up and forward as an occupant's back pushes into the seatback during a rear-end crash. Honda engineers changed the design of the lever mechanism so the head restraint moves toward the head earlier in a crash. The Institute tested a seat/head restraint with the new design, and it improved to an overall rating of good. TOP SAFETY PICK award applies to MDXs with the new seat design built after May 2007.