Don't know about the specific vehicles you have in mind, but my Acura 3.2 TL is now 17 yrs old and she looks great and still performs wonderfully. I've been very happy with her and the service I've gotten from Acura. I'm also surprised at how many other cars like mine I still see on the road.

My mom has an Acura MDX and loves it. I have driven it several times and really like how it handles. I will probably get one when I need a new car.

My mom got hers used and has not had any issues in the five years she has had it.

We just sold our 2003 MDX. It was a great car, but I no longer need a car that big. We never had problems with it.

Thanks. Lots of votes for Acura!

Resale isn't a concern. My Lexus is a 2002 and I'm only getting rid of it b/c it is rusting. We aren't car people, couldn't care less about fancy cars, just need something to transport people and dogs safely.

We have two MDXs - one 2006 and one 2014. Happy with both as well as all the other Hondas we've owned over the years. No problems ever.

Husband has the RDX, the 2 row model of the MDX. That would be my choice over the pathfinder as well.

We have a 2014 Acura TLX, after a lifetime of driving Chevies and Fords. DH wanted something brand new and "special" going into retirement. We love the car. We are a one-car family and according to DH, it will be Acuras from now on. I am fine with that!

My niece already had the Nissan Rogue (w/o the third row) and as had it for a numbers of years and she loves it. They needed a second car and bought the Nissan Murano (new) last week. They have 2 young kids and looked at the Pathfinder and the Pilot because of the third row but decided against it.

Point being - she loves Nissan.

We've had our Nissan Frontier Crewcab since 2000 and it's my DH's baby. With 230,000 miles on it, it's been a work horse. Other than a new transmission, it's performed consistently well without needing any other major work, but I've also heard they're not made like they used to be. That said, many years ago I worked for Blue Book and have to agree, the Acura would definitely be a nicer ride and hold it's value better.

Acura. We have Hondas. but Acura is the higher end version. When the boys were little, I had an Odessy that I just let go last year -- with about 150K miles and it's still going. Our yard man wanted it for his wife and she is over the moon using it for her business. DS had what had been DH's Element until Christmas when our yard man's son claimed that one -- over 150K miles there too. The day after they picked up the Element, my son got a text from the dealership that has serviced his car while he has been at school -- they had a buyer who wanted his car and they would pay well above Blue Book and help him get an extra good deal on another car -- was he interested? They keep running and running with routine maintenance.

We found out last year that our next door neighbor was the service manager at the dealership we dealt with. They were a Honda family but have recently added an Acura -- maybe two? I looked at one, but I really disliked the dealer and decided a decked out Honda from a salesman and dealer I trusted was good enough. They are brands with tremendous loyalty and resale value.

We had one of the original Acura MDX I think it was a 2002. While I loved the car and the way it handled, I think ours was a lemon. We had to have the transmission replaced well before they typically do (around 100K, maybe less). I found out later from a friend who had a Honda that there had been transmission issues around that time with a certain year with Hondas that had the same engines as the MDX. We had bought ours a couple years used, but I'm guessing ours was manufactured in the group that had problems. Then we had to have the transmission replaced a second time less than a year later! thankfully it was still under warranty. We've always owned Hondas and Toyotas without issue, so this was a bummer with the Acura. That said, our mechanic swears by Hondas and Acuras. We had planned to drive the Acura into the ground (intending it to become the car our kids would drive) but after a couple more pricey fixes, we ended up selling it back to our mechanic and got a used Acura sedan that our teenager now drives. While our experience with the MDX was not the best, I really did like the car. It was dh's car (I drive a larger Toyota SUV), but I preferred driving his MDX, when I could, for its smoother handling and more sedan-like ride compared to mine. If I were in the market for a new mid-size SUV, I would definitely consider another MDX. I think our previous experience was a fluke, but in the interest of full disclosure, thought I should share it.

Wow- lots of support for the Acura. Thanks everyone! I guess we will be going to the Acura dealership first!

My mechanic, whom I deeply trust, said stay away from Nissans. Last year, on his advice I bought a Highlander.

We had a Pathfinder for a rental car over New Year's in California. We were not particularly impressed with it. I'm sure it was nowhere near the top of the line, either. The third row seat seemed very small compared to the Buick Enclave we previously rented. The Pathfinder also had pushbutton start which we did not like, though I realize many cars are moving to that.

Thanks. We're going this weekend and I had actually been kind of leaning a little towards the Nissan b/c the platinum edition has so much tech stuff (dvd players, 360 degree camera, etc.- I hate driving and am more interested in having fun interior car features) But now I'm leaning towards Acura.

We shall see what we find. And how the test drives of each car go!

Beagles, can we circle back to the BMW and why your DH detests it? Asking because my DH just purchased one. We've always shied away from them (I don't care for their interiors but he doesn't care about that; this fit a lot of the criteria he wanted and loves it thus far. Just wondering if your DH has had mechanical issues or are there other reasons he doesn't care for it?

We did have transmission issues with our Acura, a design flaw, which issued a recall and not only did it cost us nothing to have it repaired, but then Acura called us and told us we will never pay a penny toward any future transmission issues so long as we own the car. To date, we've had no issues at all. That's pretty good by me when a mnfctr stands behind their product like that.

2006 MDX, 124,000 miles, maintenance repairs only & still going strong. It's our 3rd vehicle that DH uses for winter snow days & I use in the summer to transport plants & dirt or when we need that 3rd row for 6 passengers.

He hates the BMW for a lot of big and little reasons.

Little reasons:

-The speedometer is off by a lot. It is like 6-8 miles different from the GPS. BMW said they allow this as long as it is within a range.

-When you step on the gas, there is a lag

It also has this weird SULEV engine, which I guess is for low emissions. No one told us that, and we think that has been a cause of a lot of these issues (b/c the loaner cars he has had have not had this issue).

It also stopped dead in the middle of the road as he was driving, because the car was not injecting fuel into the engine. This is apparently a common problem with these SULEV cars. They fixed it under warranty, which is good, because apparently when there is a problem with any part of the fuel system on these BMWs the entire system has to be replaced at a cost of $2,500 since it is all a one piece system.

However, since they fixed it, the car has made horrible noises when he drives it. Like a weeheerweeherwheer all the time. And the steering wheel makes terrible noise.

It is a 2009 and we cannot wait to get rid of the stupid thing!

My dad had a BMW convertible and he loved his, so this may be a one-off. But it has soured DH on BMWs forever (previously, we had been looking at the X5)

Well, check out the Platinum edition. I'm sure the Platinum edition is much nicer than the rental car edition. But the third row seat seemed very small.

Thanks, Beagles. Sounds like an early hybrid. Ours isn't so none of the issues you mentioned so far. Thanks for the explanation.

Wanted to update everyone who was kind enough to share their opinions.

We test drove the MDX and Pathfinder models. Found both to be much more difficult to drive than expected after going up so much in size from the Lexus RX 300 (The MDX is only around 12 inches longer than my Lexus so I thought it wouldn't make much of a difference but it really felt big!)

Since I really needed a third row seat, we were basically left with exactly one option that was small enough to feel comfortable driving that had a third row seat: the Nissan Rogue with the family package.

The third row seat is really small, but it will be fine for my purposes. I was also very pleased to find that I could put the third row down and fit two dog crates in the back of the SUV w/ the second row seat up--- something I was unable to do in my Lexus (seat had to be down) and which provides more versatility, which I was looking for.

In light of the comments here about possible reliability issues w/ Nissan, we went w/ a 2016 brand new model so we could have a full warranty in case of issues.

My DH did not find the MDX or pathfinder too big to drive, so he may still get the Acura (or possibly Pathfinder). He also wants to look at some others like the Lincoln with the third row and the Mazda CX-9 (I think those are the brands).

I was going to ask if you considered the Nissan Murano but then I read you need a 3rd row seat. The Murano would be a similar size to the Acura and a little more lux than a Rogue. Rogues are a good size and excellent price though.

We have the pathfinder and love it - we have had it about 2 months. We had a CX9 in the past - they are coming out with a new model in September I think or maybe late summer. We liked it too, in the past, but DH really liked the pathfinder. you cant get in the third row with all vehicles with a third row with car seat in, that was a priority for us.

DH drove the infiniti, the honda and the pathfinder and liked the pathfinder best - he drives the kids more than I do. I have a smaller infiniti and love it :()

I test drove the Mazda CX-9 a few years ago and for me I found it a really heavy car to drive and a pain in the you-know-what to park.

I mentioned above that my niece has had a Nissan Rogue for 6 years, so an older model, and hasn't had any problems with it. She used to drive it for work and when she left that job she bought the lease from the company. She did test-drive the Pathfinder about 3 weeks ago and found it to be too much car for her.

Glad you've narrowed your decision.

Thanks. We haven't been in the Mazda yet. Possibly tomorrow or Saturday we'll go test drive that one.

I have to say, I was impressed with the Rogue. It was a smooth and comfortable ride and I was surprised at the low price for all the features we got for the 2016 (we got the whole navigation package w/ all the other tech stuff, plus the third row seat). I also really really liked the size and was impressed they got that third row in there w/ the vehicle being as small as it is.

The only thing I found annoying was you could not get the third row seat option w/ a leather interior in the car. Even if you build your own and order direct from Nissan (which I tried to do), it is not an option. I truly don't understand why this is not an option b/c I would happily have paid extra for leather interior. I got the cloth, which I have never ever had a car w/ cloth seats.

It bothers me a bit now, but I am assuming once I get used to having the car, it will not be something I notice. If it continues to bother me, I understand that I can possibly have after market leather installed, possibly...

I bought a new Nissan Murano Platinum this past November and absolutely love it! I researched for months and was determined to go with the SUV that had the best ride after taking a long trip to NOLA last year in our friends Lincoln. This year we took my Murano and everyone agreed how comfortable it is, especially for long distance travel. I love the 360 camera. I've been a long time Honda gal and still have my 2006 Accord Coupe, but love my Murano. Congrats on your Rogue purchase; sounds like you'll like it as much as I love the Murano! I understand where you're coming from with the leather. Strange that isn't an option.

My niece just bought the Murano and oh you bet - with the leather seats. :)