Does it come in 13 shades of silver/gray?

No plans yet for an AMG version. Yet.

That said, the regular Yank edition GL450 is amazingly fast/fun.

Jay — MB GL450

It is good.

The flashing third brake lights on hondas & mazdas around Birmingham came from some of the local dealers that sold them as “safety” options, from $50-100 per depending on how stupid you looked. You probably saw them on a number of Miatas around town also. After having numerous friends get rear-ended (while stopped) in their Miatas we came up with that as a way to make them more visible when stopped, which is an obvious problem with Miatas.

I figured out how to wire a $10 turn signal flasher to work with most cars third brake lights and sold them to everyone in the Miata club at cost. In about 4 years of 30+ Miatas running them not a single one got rear ended.

I think there are a few places on the net where you can buy a manufactured unit that will blink the third brake light, and some that will blink a few times and then go solid. I have seen some motorcycles do this. The Hoover PD uses them on the brake lights on their police cycles also, I think they realize the importance of that extra visibility.

Of course most people hate them when they see them on someone else’s car, they think they are annoying and distracting. Some have questioned the legality, which is valid except here in Alabama and other states with NO inspection it isn’t an issue.

Almost as good and a bit cheaper is not a prescription for greatness or success. Once you factor in the difference in resale values the bargain priced GM vehicle isn’t a bargain.

Outlook vs MDX

They’re much more similar than one would think
Tire size, track, and suspension set ups are similar

Outlook beats MDX on:

Useable third row seating (+4″ leg/ +3″ head/ +5″ hip)
Access to the third row is larger and easier
3 passenger third row (vs 2 pass MDX)
Available center-row buckets
More cargo space (max 116.9 vs 83.5 MDX)
Large fixed-panel rear sunroof
Factory remote start
Available in front wheel drive (MDX is AWD only)
Touch-screen use of nav/audio (both are voice)
Heated windshield washers
DOHC with continous phasing int/exh (vs SOHC VTEC MDX)
6 speed automatic (vs MDX 5spd)
2-3 mpg better fuel economy, despite its increased size
Uses regular unleaded (vs Premium MDX)
10.5″ longer wheelbase for better ride, larger door openings
Available 19″ wheels (18 only MDX)
100,000 mile powertrain warranty (vs 70K MDX)
$4400 price advantage option-for-option

MDX beats Outlook on:

25 hp / 25 lbs-ft advantage (300/275 MDX vs 275/251 OL)
250 pound weight advantage
1/2 second advantage zero-to-sixty
Available GM/Delphi magnetic ride w/ Sport (~$2000 more)
SH-AWD is more sophisticated and improves handling
Blue-Tooth interface (std) and available DVD audio
Available heated seating for second row (front only OL)
8-way power passenger’s seat (vs 4-way OL)
Power tilt and telescope steering column (non-power OL)
Real-time traffic and Zagat with optional navigation
LED taillights
Better standard warranty (4/50 vs 3/36 OL)

Every feature not discussed here is available or equal on both
That’s the list. (Micheal Karesh may do it better)

Whether the $4400 is worth it is a personal call.
The biggest difference is size. It may be important to some, a detriment to others.
Resale value is conjecture as neither have been projected by ALG. Saturn has historically done very well (#1 domestic) and so has Acura (#5 luxury).

CSJohnston brought up the Acadia and Enclave, and yes, the Enclave will fill the feature gaps including second row heated seats, better ride (maybe air or magnetic), same 4/50 basic warranty, and add features like heads-up display, double-pane ‘quiet tuned’ side windows and acoustic windshield, etc. Enclave may also be the first Lambda to feature GM’s direct injection version of the 3.6L HF reported to be 304-320hp (we’ll see it in the new CTS at Detroit IAS). Enclave, however, will be priced with MDX.

Outlook and the GMC Acadia should be lined up against Pilot and Highlander.

Why can’t GM produce a 110% as good vehicle instead of another 90% effort?

Almost as good and a bit cheaper is not a prescription for greatness or success. Once you factor in the difference in resale values the bargain priced GM vehicle isn’t a bargain.

GM benchmarked the previous generation MDX when they developed the Lambda large CUVs (Outlook, Acadia, Enclave). Please don’t laugh when I suggest that they come pretty close to the new one as well. Believe it or not, they also offer more features. I have driven both. The MDX is fantastic, but the Lambdas are at least 90+% as good for less than 90% the price. I was impressed, as my TTAC review (and this comment) shows.

Flame suit on.

Good power from the V6, three rows of seating, by all accounts a good handling, all-weather machine, decent luxury credentials, etc.

I’ve only driven the V6 model once (I have only driven the V8 X5) but I was pleased with how it felt and drove.

The interior is redesigned, has an SRX faced the cold, hard, caustic light of a TTAC review?

Every succeeding generation has to be “less filling and tastes great”.

If I remember one of my product lectures on the Escape in `01, the difference between the interior seating space between it and its Explorer contemporary were quite close.

As a matter of fact, when the `02 Exploder came out, many owners traded into Escapes rather than keep with the new Explorer.

In my opinion it’s not a matter of the Escape, CR-V, and RAV4 offering a ’smaller’ alternative. It’s the fact that the Explorer, Passport/Rodeo, and 4Runner simply became too generic, stodgy and long in the tooth.

These are stock shots.

Fun to drive, horrible to own