Compare the2023 Audi e-tron SportbackVS 2023 Acura MDX

The e-tron Sportback’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The MDX doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the e-tron Sportback and MDX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The e-tron Sportback has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The MDX’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The e-tron Sportback’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The MDX doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The e-tron Sportback has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The MDX doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the e-tron Sportback. But it costs extra on the MDX.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the e-tron Sportback’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The MDX doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

An active infrared night vision system optional on the e-tron Sportback helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera and near-infrared lights to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The MDX doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the e-tron Sportback and the MDX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Audi e-tron Sportback weighs 966 to 1483 pounds more than the Acura MDX. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The e-tron Sportback’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the MDX’s (12 vs. 5 years).

There are over 12 percent more Audi dealers than there are Acura dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the e-tron Sportback’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Acura With 12 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Audi higher than Acura.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 14 places higher in reliability than Acura.

The e-tron Sportback’s standard electric motors produces 112 more horsepower (402 vs. 290) and 223 lbs.-ft. more torque (490 vs. 267) than the MDX’s standard 3.5 SOHC V6. The e-tron Sportback’s electric motors produces 47 more horsepower (402 vs. 355) and 136 lbs.-ft. more torque (490 vs. 354) than the MDX Type S’ standard 3.0 turbo V6. The e-tron Sportback S’ standard electric motors produces 141 more horsepower (496 vs. 355) and 363 lbs.-ft. more torque (717 vs. 354) than the MDX Type S’ standard 3.0 turbo V6.

On the EPA test cycle the e-tron Sportback gets better mileage than the MDX:

The e-tron Sportback can travel with zero emissions for 212 to 225 miles (dependent on model). The MDX can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the e-tron Sportback’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The MDX doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi e-tron Sportback higher (10 out of 10) than the Acura MDX (5). This means the e-tron Sportback produces up to 19.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the MDX every 15,000 miles.

The e-tron Sportback’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The MDX doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the e-tron Sportback’s brake rotors are larger than those on the MDX:

The e-tron Sportback’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the MDX are solid, not vented.

The e-tron Sportback’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the MDX’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the e-tron Sportback has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the MDX. The e-tron Sportback’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels on the MDX Type S.

The front and rear suspension of the e-tron Sportback uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the MDX, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the e-tron Sportback’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the MDX (115 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

The e-tron Sportback is 5.4 inches shorter than the MDX, making the e-tron Sportback easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the e-tron Sportback uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The MDX doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The e-tron Sportback has a much larger cargo volume than the MDX with its rear seat up (27.2 vs. 18.1 cubic feet).

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the e-tron Sportback’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The MDX doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The power windows standard on both the e-tron Sportback and the MDX have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the e-tron Sportback is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The MDX prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The e-tron Sportback’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The MDX’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The e-tron Sportback’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The MDX has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Optional air conditioned front and rear seats keep the e-tron Sportback’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The MDX doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The e-tron Sportback has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the MDX.