Acura ZDX

Acura ZDX 

Acura ZDX

Here’s a recipe: take an Acura MDX and sift in some BMW X6 and a touch of Acura TSX and mix well. When the batter rises, carve a bit more than five inches off the top and remove the third-row seats, but keep the spices in the middle and the rubber on the road.



The result is what Acura says features “stunning coupe-like styling with the added benefit of a commanding presence and flexible utility” – in other words, yet another in a quickly-filling niche of coupe-like 4-door crossover SUVs.

It sure looks sleeker and sportier than Honda’s crossover, the Accord-based Crosstour. But what is it, and should we care?

*Acura appearance – Revealed as a prototype at the 2009 New York International Auto Show, after weeks of teasing half-shadowed shots, this crossover actually looks pretty cool. The first vehicle to be styled from start to finish in the new Acura Design Studio in Torrance, CA from a sketch by designer Michelle Christensen, it shares its MDX donor’s 3.7-liter, 300-hp V-6 and 108.3-inch wheelbase, body about an inch longer. The ZDX loses some height and .4-inches of ground clearance, although it still has a bit more SUV-like air space ‘tween the 19-inch Michelin tires and sculpted-shoulder fender flares that an Acura sedan.

The faceted, angled nose gets a more discrete version of Acura’s corporate guillotine blade grill, it’s V-shape complimented by slashed slit headlights that climb into the front fender lines over twin slashes of lower air intakes with fog lights. Those fender lines continue gracefully into a raked set of A-pillars, adding to the visual width of the design. The coupe-like profile is aided by the rising beltline and lower window design line off the front fender, the latter meeting the quickly descending fastback roof line. The rear fender line curves and sways around into the rear deck’s trim spoiler, which bisects the almost flat tinted glass rear window and matching panoramic glass roof from the Honda Insight/CRX-style vertical rear window. No rear wiper mars the lines, the rear glass flanked by arrowhead-pointed taillights. The faceted rear end gets neatly-integrated squared-of exhaust tips above a slim gray lower fascia. More than one person bought into the coupe-like body style, hard-pressed to find the neatly-integrated back door handles set into the angled corner where rear side windows meet C-pillar/rear buttress. And I saw lots of glances directed at the sleek silver Z as it went by, one calling it “snazzy.” Score one for the best-looking coupe-like 4-door sports crossover design I’ve seen yet.

*Acura accommodations – When your recipe calls for lopping of more than five inches of roof height, adding a sleek sloping rear window and removing the third row of seats, there are compromises, no matter how good the cake looks. So it is with the ZDX. With 7.9-inches of ground clearance, it’s easy to get inside into relatively low-slung bucket seats. The MDX’s basic dash layout is here, a big red “Start” button a sporty touch. A sportier three-spoke power tilt/telescope steering wheel wrapped in leather gets stereo, voice command and Bluetooth cellphone controls on the left and cruise controls on the right, with a perfect view of the inset 160-mph speedometer, 8,000-rpm tach, gas and temperature gauge under the padded rounded cowl. A gray trip computer display nestles between the big central dials, done in black with white needles and numbers. Twin arches of silver over hand-stitched leather (an Acura first) arc off the V-shaped center section, topped with an inset 8-inch color display for the navigation, AcuraLink real-time traffic and weather with radar, as well as AcuraLink text/audio messages. There’s lots of buttons, plus the ubiquitous Acura/Honda twist-and-tap knob to run up and down menus and input. But it works neatly with the voice command, so almost everything can be accessed quickly. White/gray LCD displays offer standard stereo and climate control info as well.

We had the Tech Package ZDX, so there’s a great 10-speaker 435-watt surround-sound AM-FM-CD-XM Satellite audio system, plus a 60 GB hard drive for storing audio files via the USB port and auxiliary audio input jack under the trick center armrest (sliding door hides second cup holder). Something else that’s trick is the LED lighting on the center instrument panel buttons, which stay black until the engine is fired, then all icons light up. The center screen also displays a backup camera, while the Tech Package adds keyless entry and keyless ignition. A center console 12-volt outlet is hidden under a sliding door next to the stubby gear shift.

The driver gets a 10-way adjustable power driver seat with twin memory presets and power lumbar, the passenger an 8-way power seat, both with dual-level heat. They were very comfortable and supportive. Overhead, the panoramic glass roof with twin power sunshades, the front glass panel opening up, out and aft. Losing the MDX’s third row seat and some roof height means the headliner is cozier-closer to all inside. Up front, it’s a comfy, sporty place to play. But with the sloping rear roof line, I had to duck deep to get into the back seat, a narrow opening between wheel well and door frame. Acura says the rear seats are for “occasional” use, and that’s partially right. Once through the tight opening, there was room for my 6-foot frame thanks to a scalloped headliner, although the inside roof’s side dip down so low I had to duck to see out. Add rear a/c vents and a center armrest with cupholders and its fine for two adults, but three would push it. In back, the sloping hatch window, divider, rising rear haunches and slim vertical back window make it a bit tough to see anything aft or to the sides. As for cargo space, the high load floor makes it easy to get stuff in, and there’s a deep 2.2 cu. ft. storage well under the carpeted floor, plus odd-shaped nooks inside side hatches that let you load wider stuff like a golf bag when removed. Load it to the top and there’s decent space, expandable with 70/30 split rear seatbacks under the power tailgate.

Again, the whole design is more like a mid-size sports coupe with room for two more if needed, but why not just make it a sporty coupe-like sedan like a VW Passat CC?

*ZDX zip – There’s plenty thanks to a powerful, snarling SOHC V-6 hooked into a 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Our 500-mile-old tester launched quick and clean with all-wheel-drive traction to 60-mph in a tad under 6.5 seconds in “Sport” shift, slick shifts with good passing power and clean transmission kick-down. Fuel mileage averaged a so-so 16-mpg on the trip computer.

Under the skin, a multi-link rear suspension mounted on a separate steel subframe, all on a longer, lower, wider design than regular crossovers, Acura claims. The ride is sporty but comfortable, shrugging off bumps with well-buffered but tight rebound. Plus, it’s hooked into Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, which varies torque distribution front and rear and between the left and right rear wheels. In a turn, the SH-AWD display shows, and you feel the torque sent to the outside rear wheel to help rotate it around the curve better and minimize understeer. Despite having a bit of height on a sports sedan, the ZDX carved its way through turns like one, with minimal lean and lots of sure-footed feel. The brakes had a great pedal feel and control, with minimal nose dive and only a touch of fade after some very hard repeated use. The power steering was accurate, with great turning radius, and also had great feel. It was a lot of fun to drive.

*Acura assets – A base Acura ZDX is $46,355. Our test vehicle had the Technology Package, so it came with all listed above standard for $50,855. A BMW X6 SAV(Sports Activity coupe), the closest competitor, has 300-hp and carves a turn like nobody’s business, but has even less storage space and starts at about $56,000 base. A Lincoln MKS, Infiniti FX35 or a Lexus RX370 are also competitors, costing a few thousand less base, with between 265- to 303-hp each. Only the Infiniti is as sporty in looks or driving ability, but it is also as compact in places inside.

*Bottom line – Agile, comfortable, well-equipped, powerful, even cutting edge good-looking, its handling prowess honed on Germany's famed Nürburgring road course – that’s the Acura ZDX. Rear seat access hassle, low roof and tighter cargo storage – that’s also the ZDX. It’s a niche I don’t see a need to be filled, so just give me an Acura TL with SH-AWD and 305-hp.