Acura debuts 2010 ZDX (First drives in, now updated)
09-25-09, 05:58 PM
#227
Jalopnik
The new Acura ZDX has a distinctive exterior, a sumptuous interior and both are strangely proportioned. So who, exactly, does Acura think is going to buy this thing? In a word: DINKs.
No, not dorks or dweebs, although there may be some who overlap into this bracket. We're talking DINKs, as in the acronym for Double Income No Kids. Your DINKs are people for whom no one else exists save that one significant other; couples with grown children or no plans to have children. This immediately distances the ZDX's mission from that of the soccer-mom and grocery-hauler SUVs. Acura's core concept for the ZDX was the "Passionate Getaway," meaning the car would be both vehicle and destination in itself. As it turns out, as odd-looking as it is outside, it's actually an extremely pleasant car for two people to be inside.
The cockpit of this Acura is one of the nicest we've seen, period. It doesn't really break any new ergonomic ground, although everything is right where it should be. What makes it truly stand out is the design, which puts the driver and passenger in comfortable and attractive "pods," and the quality and tactile feel of the surfaces. A lot of time and effort was spent in determining the best materials for surfaces in the ZDX, and it was time well spent. The leather, which Acura selects and applies by hand using techniques developed specifically for this car, is of especially high quality and is a tactile delight. Plastics are few but sturdy and soft-touch where they occur. Nighttime accent lighting gives a nice, subtle blue backlight to your surroundings. It's a great place to spend time with your companion/partner/spouse and your no-kids.
Your no-kids will also enjoy the back seat, which is just the right size for nonexistent children. To be fair, existing children will fit back there, but double-income couples with more than two friends, or only two friends who happen to be over five-foot-nine, will need to take another car for longer Passionate Getaways. These seats seem built specifically to fold down, which they do, nice and flat, giving you plenty of room for a double income's worth of active-lifestyle stuff on the cabin floor and in the many cubbies.
So you and your co-DINK have no kids and no friends, which means the two of you are splendidly isolated in that extremely nice cabin even before the Passionate Getaway. If that's what you like, the ZDX can give you isolation in spades. The already remarkable sound and vibration insulation is augmented to almost eerie levels by an ingenious, if invisible, active noise cancellation system, in which white noise is piped through Acura's legendary sound system to counteract background noises so you can hear yourself (and possibly one other person) think.
That legendary ELS sound system, plus the climate control and optional nav system, are controlled through the nifty "Monolith" center stack, which has no visible lettering on the switches until powered on with each set of switches only powering on when needed. Although not very practical, i's a very striking user interface. Once you can see what's going on, it's easy enough to use, and the familiarity of ownership may have DINKs playing it like a piano, but to the newcomer it may seem somewhat unwieldy.
It should, in all fairness, be mentioned that there's also a capable 300 HP 3.7-liter VTEC engine in front of this lovely interior. The ZDX puts that adequate if not exactly stirring power down through a paddle-shift 6-speed auto transmission which will actually shift down two gears with one pull if the revs are available, which is genuinely cool but may be wasted here. The drivetrain incorporates Acura's SH-AWD system with torque vectoring across the rear axle, which should allow DINKs to make their Getaways nice and Passionate in all kinds of weather. And while the ZDX is based on the big MDX platform, lots of careful and clever chassis engineering has been done on this SUV-like but coupe-esque-from-certain-angles vehicle. As a result it can do more than just getting out of its own way, delivering unobtrusive if not inspiring handling while delivering an extremely smooth ride over most surfaces.
We're assuming most potential buyers won't care about most of that. They'll care that the ZDX does everything a person, or two persons max, could want it to on a getaway, passionate or otherwise. It has all the connectivity luxury buyers have come to expect, and all the nifty gadgets like adaptive cruise control and ventilated seats are available. From the outside, the wide-haunched and glass-heavy exterior styling which looks good from the rear except for certain viewing angles which look almost Aztek-y, and that Acura grille that always makes us want to open up a really big bottle. But none of that stuff will be important to the DINKs who will be inside, enjoying each other, that marvelous interior, and little else while Passionately Getting Away from everything.
09-25-09, 07:59 PM
#228
Lexus Champion
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Nothing but praise from the educated automotive press who've actually SEEN and DRIVEN the vehicle. The ZDX is not for everyone (even Acura admits and almost brags about that), but those who can't admit it is well-executed are only deluding themselves.
Last edited by GFerg; 09-25-09 at 08:39 PM.
09-25-09, 08:08 PM
#229
Lexus Champion
Lots of hate from the ignoramuses here, with nothing but praise from the educated automotive press who've actually SEEN and DRIVEN the vehicle. The ZDX is not for everyone (even Acura admits and almost brags about that), but those who can't admit it is well-executed are only deluding themselves.
The ZDX is ridiculously ugly....from someone who loves the X6.
More garbage from a company that has sadly lost their way.
Last edited by GFerg; 09-25-09 at 08:23 PM. Reason: Comments not needed
09-25-09, 08:09 PM
#230
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This is well-executed indeed ... at being ugly to the point of being offensive.
I also find it funny how there is no mention of the obvious flaws this vehicle has, like really small rear windows, and horrendous rear visibility.
The flaws of the ZDX *could* be forgiven, if only it was an excellent performer ... but it's not. The FX35 and X6 both outperform this.
Last edited by GFerg; 09-25-09 at 08:38 PM. Reason: ....
09-25-09, 08:11 PM
#231
I've always been a Honda/Acura man before Toyota/Lexus. There are Acuras that I appreciate, but I've very iffy on the ZDX, especially if it's Acura's flagship car. I'm sure the ZDX won't be horrible in terms of quality and ride characteristics, but the looks of it certainly kills it. Everyone hates the exterior and even the automotive press acknowledges it.
09-28-09, 06:16 AM
#234
Lexus Test Driver
Got to love it when all these educated automotive editors tells us which car is ugly and which one has a nice design.
09-28-09, 01:23 PM
#237
Lexus Test Driver
For the most part, today's auto journalists no longer critiques exterior styling. Back in the day, you'd read about how ugly or great looking a body was. Not any longer. Not going to happen when major advertising is involved, no longer politically correct, and when it's considered a subjective topic. So as ugly as a car may be (and the ZDX is a serious turd), you aren't going to hear most journalists put it down. About the only exception I've come across in recent times is Car & Driver nailing the new TL. But even they danced around the issue and sugarcoated their words.
09-28-09, 02:29 PM
#239
Lexus Champion
Regardless, it's also slow, gets poor mileage, and has very little cargo space. And that's a fact, not opinion.
I bet you'll be eating your words when it fails miserably...