With the requisite mom-duty grocery-getting done, it was time to head across the Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountains, where the elevation changes and twisting corners and SH-AWD-requiring rain-slicked roads are. I planned a hike for my partner and I deep inside Green Mountain State Park, hopped on a Washington State Ferry, and as soon as the MDX’s wheels touched Bremerton, I flicked the center knob to Sport+ mode. It was time to see how well-earned that Type S badge was.

In Sport+ mode, the Type S-exclusive air suspension—an Acura first on the MDX Type S—drops the SUV to its lowest setting, and the SH-AWD gets as aggressive about power delivery as it can. This isn’t lipservice, mind you; SH-AWD is wildly aggressive for a mom-core three-row SUV, with up to 30/70 front/rear power split, and up to 100% of that rear power sent to one wheel depending on where power is needed.

SH-AWD (and Honda’s equivalent i-VTM4 system) have always been one of the best all-wheel-drive systems on the market, and the MDX Type S takes full advantage of that. The steering on the MDX Type S is a bit lighter than most other Acura models, but the turn-in on winding Bremerton roads was stupendous nonetheless thanks to its torque-vectoring, and feedback through the wheel was plenty. The Type S with the Advance Package comes in at 4,788 pounds, but it felt spry and worthy of the same Type S badge the NSX bears nonetheless.

And unlike the NSX, I still had seat massagers.