I used to be unbiased in this discussion. No longer (more on that below). I've had an MDX and a Pilot. They've both been great snow cars with snow tires on them. In retrospect, I really liked the little niceties that come with the Acura brand over the Honda brand (on basically the same car). I never thought I'd put value in some of those little things.
I now work for an Infiniti dealer (hence the reduced bias). The new JX35 has been selling amazingly well against the MDX (and Audi and Merc). The seating configuration flexibility is awesome. You can get in/out of the 3rd row from both sides (split bench middle row both sides slide forward). You can even leave the car seat in the middle row when sliding it forward to get to the back. There's more room behind the 3rd row seats than in the MDX. The middle row has two positions, depending on the size of the people you put in the back. And anyone who has to park the thing in any urban/suburban setting absolutely loves the around-view camera. You can park it so easily when you can see both front and rear bumpers. Similar things can be said about the QX-56, which used to be an Armada clone, but is now a completely separate vehicle. It's the size of an Escalade or Navigator, but handles/rides like a big car.
Snow performance on the JX35 remains to be seen, but it is AWD with FWD when AWD isn't needed. Personally, I love the air conditioned seats. If anyone lives anywhere near the Bay Area, PM me before you come in and I'll make you the best deal you'll find anywhere on any Infiniti vehicle. /spam
