Acura ZDX is stylish - at a price

Acura

The new-for-2010 Acura ZDX offers a sleek design, but the sloping roof and long doors hamper space.

The new-for-2010 car pushes the styling envelope with a sleek, coupelike body that rides high above the pavement, like a sport utility vehicle. The trade-offs, however, include compromised visibility out the back and lengthy front doors that can bang into adjacent cars in parking lots when passengers try to exit the vehicle.

The ZDX comes with the most modernly luxurious interior of any Acura, including handsome, closed-loop carpeting and hand-applied leather strips on the dashboard. Back-seat room is surprisingly cramped, and the roofline can cause passengers to bump their heads as they enter.

With a starting price, including destination charge, of $46,305, the ZDX is $1,335 less than the base price of Acura's most expensive vehicle, the RL sedan.

Such lofty pricing puts the five-seater, which comes standard with a 300-horsepower V-6, six-speed automatic transmission, leather-trimmed seats and all-wheel drive, in the company of other high-brow luxury crossovers.

Acura officials reportedly expect only 6,000 ZDX sales annually, which would make it the second-lowest-volume Acura after the RL.

Despite its looks, this newest Acura uses some familiar Acura parts. It rides on the platform that's used by the eight-passenger MDX, and the ZDX is powered by the 3.7-liter, single overhead cam V-6 that's in the MDX.

The two Acuras, in addition to the RL, use the company's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system, which can distribute engine torque between front and rear wheels and between right-side and left-side wheels. The ZDX weighs almost as much as the MDX, too -- 4,424 pounds, compared with the MDX's 4,550 pounds.

And yet, the ZDX is less of a utility vehicle. It can tow just 1,500 pounds.

The test car was comfortable, though still let in some road bumps, when its suspension was set on "comfort" mode. When moved to the "sport" mode, the firmness in the ride became pronounced, with passengers feeling some road bumps sharply. The different mode settings change damper settings on the suspension and steering. In "comfort" mode, the steering on the tester had a light feel.

The interior was decently quiet, even as the ZDX rode on the biggest standard tires ever on an Acura -- 19-inch Michelin all-season tires. The vehicle's raked profile kept wind noise at a minimum. Like several other Hondas, the ZDX includes an active noise-control system.

It was awkward to step over the sills at the doorway entrances of this crossover. I also disliked the smallness of the side windows in the doors and both the thickness and positioning of the metal pillars around the windshield.

The rear window was constricted, too, providing limited views of cars behind. In fact, when cars pulled up right behind, I couldn't see their headlights or hood, only their windshield and roof.