COURTESY OF AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
Honda apparently is aiming for a combination of all three with the 2010 Acura ZDX, the newest vehicle from the Japanese automaker's luxury brand.
Introduced in concept form at the New York auto show in April, and rolled out this past week in production form, the ZDX is probably best described as a low-slung crossover utility vehicle, although Honda officially bills it as a “four-door sports coupe.”
The vehicle goes on sale this winter, joining an already crowded field of premium crossover-style family haulers, but most are not as sleek and un-boxy as the ZDX.
It seems to be a direct answer to the BMW X6, and is similar in concept to the Toyota Venza that was introduced last fall — vehicle that Toyota refused to call a crossover, even though that's exactly what it is.
The ZDX seems to be an MDX — Acura's seven-passenger family crossover — with the rear roof steeply sloped so that there's no room for a third seat. It's almost coupe-like, but there is a power rear hatch that opens just like that of an SUV, revealing a cargo area that can be expanded to more than 55 cubic feet by folding down the second seat.
From the side, it almost looks like it has only a front door, because the rear door has no visible exterior handles. But inside, there is a usable rear seat that Acura says can hold two adults quite comfortably, and three for short rides.
The dead giveaway that the ZDX is built on the same chassis as the MDX, other than the similar name (the X at the end denotes “crossover”), is in the dimensions. Its wheelbase is 108.3 inches, the same as that of the MDX. It's 192.4 inches long, which is almost two inches longer than the MDX, but it has the same 67.7-inch track.
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