2010 Acura ZDX
2010 Acura ZDX
2010 Acura ZDX
The recall is to inspect the dashboard surface material, which may prevent the passenger-side airbag from deploying during an accident. There have been no reported incidents of this, but a manufacturing quality check found that some vehicles don’t have the proper laser-cut scoring on the underside of the material. Without this scoring, the airbag might not deploy.
The new-for-2010 ZDX pushes the styling envelope with a sleek, coupe-like body that rides high above the pavement, SUV-style. But the tradeoffs 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, arriving in showrooms Dec. 15, comes with the most modernly luxurious interior of any Acura, including handsome, closed-loop carpeting and hand-applied leather strips on the dashboard. But back seat room is surprisingly cramped, and the ZDX roofline can cause some passengers to bump their heads as they enter.
With a starting manufacturers suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $46,305, the ZDX is $1,335 less than the base price of Acuras most expensive vehicle in base form, the RL sedan.
But where the RLs top model has a retail price of $55,060, the top ZDX, which was the test model, is $56,855.
Such lofty pricing puts the five-seat ZDX, which comes standard with a 300-horsepower V-6, automatic transmission, leather-trimmed seats and all-wheel drive, in the company of other high-brow luxury SUVs.
The new-for-2010 ZDX pushes the styling envelope with a sleek, coupe-like body that rides high above the pavement, SUV-style. But the tradeoffs 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, arriving in showrooms Dec. 15, comes with the most modernly luxurious interior of any Acura, including handsome, closed-loop carpeting and hand-applied leather strips on the dashboard. But back seat room is surprisingly cramped, and the ZDX roofline can cause some passengers to bump their heads as they enter.
With a starting manufacturers suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $46,305, the ZDX is $1,335 less than the base price of Acuras most expensive vehicle in base form, the RL sedan.
But where the RLs top model has a retail price of $55,060, the top ZDX, which was the test model, is $56,855.
Such lofty pricing puts the five-seat ZDX, which comes standard with a 300-horsepower V-6, automatic transmission, leather-trimmed seats and all-wheel drive, in the company of other high-brow luxury SUVs.
The 300-horsepower, 2010 BMW X6, for example, has a starting retail price, including destination charge, of $57,125. Meantime, the 2010 Infiniti FX35 with 303-horsepower V-6 starts at $43,265.
Acura officials reportedly only expect some 6,000 ZDX sales annually, which would make it the second-lowest-volume Acura after the RL, based on calendar 2008 sales results.
Despite its looks, this newest Acura uses some familiar Acura parts. The ZDX rides on the platform thats used by the eight-passenger Acura MDX, and the ZDX is powered by the 3.7-liter, single overhead cam V-6 thats in the MDX.
The two SUVs, as well as the Acura RL, use the companys Super Handling all-wheel drive system that can distribute engine torque between front and rear wheels as well as between right-side and left-side wheels. The ZDX weighs almost as much as the MDX, too — 4,424 pounds for the base ZDX, compared with the base MDXs 4,550 pounds.
And yet, the ZDX is less of an SUV. It can tow just 1,500 pounds, maximum, which is as much as the lighter-weight Honda CR-V with four-cylinder engine. In contrast, the MDX has a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds.
The ZDX cargo capacity, even with the second-row seats folded down, is just 55.8 cubic feet. This compares with the nearly 60 cubic feet in BMWs X6 and the 62 cubic feet in Infinitis FX35.
The test ZDX 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 as well as steering. In "comfort" mode, the steering on the test ZDX had a light feel.
The ZDX's ultra-rakish coupe profile is limned in a dark-tinted glass canopy that stretches from the hood all the way to the taillamp assembly. The sides of the greenhouse taper inward dramatically to the rear, creating outrageous rear haunches that might as well have been lifted from a Paris-Dakar Porsche.
In the last couple of years, BMW, Porsche, Honda and VW/Audi have all separately arrived at a wagon/coupe/crossover solution because they are all dealing with the same retail ecology. For one thing, many buyers are maturing out of their cretinous SUVs and crossovers. They want something sporty and coupe-like but they still want the commanding outward view and some modicum of utility.
For another: Product development systems are now so streamlined that carmakers are able to cheaply riff off established chassis, offering subspecies of vehicles to make sure they have something in the showroom for everybody. BMW, for instance, has grafted a fastback rear end to its 5-series sedan to make the 5-series GT. To me it looks like the car has developed an egg sac.
The latest and, I assert, the greatest of these efforts is the Acura ZDX, a ferociously dynamic, red-in-tooth-and-claw styling exercise from Acura's Torrance design studio.
If only this major-league body didn't have a minor-league chassis to go with it.
This is the first Acura designed, engineered and being built in North America (Alliston, Ontario. That's Canada. Can you smell the bacon?).
The ZDX's Yankee designers -- all trained at Art Center in Pasadena -- have managed to transcend the dictates of the marketing weenies to make what I think is a lasting contribution to the designed world. Forget the modernism of the Tokyo skyline. The more you look at this thing the more you expect it to have a license plate from Alpha Centauri.
Based loosely on the mechanicals of the MDX, the ZDX's roofline is 6 inches lower, its ultra-rakish coupe profile limned in a dark-tinted glass canopy that stretches from the hood all the way to the taillamp assembly. The sides of the greenhouse taper inward dramatically to the rear, creating outrageous rear haunches that might as well have been lifted from a Paris-Dakar Porsche. The side window daylight opening (the DLO in industry parlance) is sports-car narrow, slitted and menacing -- the effect you'd get if you spit in Clint Eastwood's eye. To further de-emphasize the four doors, the rear door handles are hidden in the corner of the DLO.
The whole thing is as taut and engaged as a crossbow aimed at your temple. Nifty.
Five years ago, such a car would have remained an auto-show concept, a turnstile queen, virtually un-buildable. The rear quarter panels, with their complex hyper-paraboloid shape and deep "draw" -- which is to say, the depth of the metal-stamping form -- would have been too difficult and expensive to manufacture. Advances in tooling technology have changed that.
The ZDX's glass-to-glass panels around the panoramic roof mean there's hell to pay in fit and finish, wind-noise attenuation and weatherproofing. This is not an easy car to build.
Nor is it cheap to build. Acura lavished a lot of money on the interior, including couture-quality leathers on the dash, seats and doors; a suede-like headliner material; and a fully finished cargo area with plated metal handles and high-quality carpet. Another interesting bit of hardware is the new "monolith" center control panel, a bank of black switches that remain dark until the relevant systems are activated. It kind of reminds me of the "dark panel" feature in Saabs.
Under all its exotic skins and complex surfaces, however, the ZDX is a more-or-less conventional, and less compelling, Acura crossover.
Behind the Cyclops visor of a grille is the company's sweet, tractable 3.7-liter, 300-horsepower V-6, married to a new six-speed automatic transmission, and the so-called super-handling all-wheel drive. Ordinarily, 300 hp, six gear ratios and AWD would add up to significant off-the-line thrust and punchy passing power. Here, not so much, thanks to the Acura's galling curb weight of over 4,425 pounds.
Who knew pretty weighed so much?
This tonnage can make the ZDX's performance feel downright dreary. Acura says the car's 0-60 mph acceleration is less than 7 seconds. That seems to be wishful thinking, based on my test drive. Also, at Los Angeles freeway speeds, the ZDX feels a little out of breath when passing.
And, while none of the competitive cars -- the Infiniti FX35 or BMW X6 included -- gets any better than criminal mileage, the Acura's 16/22-mpg city/highway rating isn't anything to write home about. At that rate Acura might as well buy Ford EcoBoost crate engines.
All the chapter-and-verse refinements from Acura are here -- well-isolated chassis, deft and well-strung suspension (struts and multi-links), powerful brakes. But it doesn't quite add up to driving arousal.
A bit of theater: In the center console is a big rotary dial, the switch for the Integrated Chassis System. This two-mode system (Comfort and Sport) stiffens the suspension and dials back the power steering boost for sportier steering feel. But since the steering ratio remains the same, and the suspension remains fairly limber even in Sport, the ICS seems like just another excuse for a tasty acronym.
The trade-off in these four-door coupe crossovers is, naturally, rear headroom, which is sacrificed to the gods of swoopy rooflines. Such is the case with the ZDX. If you're sitting in the back, the roof doesn't so much seem to slope as fall in, coal-mine style. As for the cargo space, I was able with some difficulty to get my full-size standard poodle in the back. He's still not speaking to me.
Highly evolved on the outside but relatively un-morphed mechanically, the ZDX's main compensation is its outrageous looks. For active empty-nesters, DINKs and every-other-weekend parents, the paucity of rear headroom and cargo space will be no problem. For sports-coupe enthusiasts, they might want to wait for the inevitable performance variant to come.
Acura has announced that the new 2010 ZDX four-door sports coupe is set to go on-sale at Acura dealerships on 15 December, with a manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) starting at $45,495.
Designed, developed and manufactured in North America, the ZDX already made its debut at the New York Auto Show in April, showcasing its coupe-like styling combined with flexible utility.
Jeff Conrad, vice president of Acura sales, said: "Acura dealers are seeing strong interest from customers for the ZDX well before its official on-sale date. The ZDX is like nothing you have ever seen before from Acura."
The company said that ZDX will be available in three trim packages, the ZDX; ZDX with Technology Package; and the ZDX with Advance Package.
The new model is said to be priced at $45,495, the second model ZDX with Technology Package is priced at $49,995, and the ZDX with Advance Package will be available at $56,045.
When we saw the line of Acura ZDX models waiting for us in the parking lot, the cleanness of the design stood out. The sheet metal looked smoother than any new car we had seen recently, and Acura didn't load the body down with jewelry, just nicely integrated headlight casings. And the grille, which stands out like a beak on the smaller Acura sedans, seems to have found its medium. Unlike when we first saw the ZDX earlier this year at the New York auto show, the design took on new life under the bright sun at this special driving preview.
Built on the Acura MDX SUV platform, the ZDX is lower but just a tad longer than its platform-mate. During a presentation, an Acura representative called it a "four door sports coupe," and touted its off-road characteristics by showing a video of it running on a snow track. That schizophrenic character points to the ZDX's blessing or curse--it will be a convenient multipurpose vehicle to some people, but not good at any particular duty for others. That said, the ZDX comes out at the same time as other automakers experiment with this new type of crossover. BMW has the X6, and is working on the 5-series Gran Turismo. Audi is looking at making a hatchback version of the A5. These companies are trying to develop an SUV-alternative for people that no long want to drive a truck
So here’s the ZDX, and what are we supposed to think? Acura wants us to think sports sedan, and maybe some beholders will do just that.
What we really have here is an Acura MDX deprived of some of its rear seat headroom and a lot of its rear cargo space, looking like some kind of inflatable left on the compressor a little too long.
This is big iron and it feels big. The chassis engineers have done a good job of managing the mass—brisk direction changes, and it feels tied down, not much body roll. The steering is a little secretive about what’s going on: the driver gives some input and waits to see what happens. Still, in general, the ZDX feels taut and poised, ready to rock and roll—but there’s always an asterisk: agile, for something in this size class.
That’s that big reservation. There are also a couple small ones—no rear window wiper, and that bifurcated backlite is annoying when it’s not actually interfering with vision. On the other hand, the ZDX is handsome inside, top quality, great looking IP, very uptown. But like the BMW X6, it’s one of those sedan crossovers that provokes head-scratching: If this is the answer, what the hell was the question?
