That "official" picture of the 2007 MDX's center console has a lot of buttons because they moved the navigation system controls to the top of the console instead of around the navigation screen. Going to an i-Drive type controller would have cleaned up the center console quite a bit but who wants to go through the steep learning curve of such a controller?

By the way, the new MDX is a likely prime candidate for the new 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel now under development at Honda. Mated with a beefed-up version of the five-speed automatic used on the 2007 MDX, this could improve fuel efficiency 30% or more.