By Kevin Harrison
People who are indecisive are pretty much the worst. I know, because I’m one of them. At any given moment, I can never make up my mind. Even over little things that one shouldn’t have to think about. For example, today I couldn’t make up my mind at Subway.
“Do I want a six inch or a foot long today?” I asked myself. That’s-what-she-said jokes aside, how difficult can it actually be to decide your level of hunger? And how annoying was it for the people behind me, who have already made up their minds, to wait for me make up my mind? I can only presume most people decide these sorts of things before leaving their cars. I ended up with a six inch and after consuming it in about 30 seconds, my worst fears were realized. I had made the wrong decision. I could have easily eaten a foot long.
Luckily this annoying tendency is non-existent for me when it comes to cars. I know what I like, and I know what my priorities are. If a car doesn’t meet them, it’s on to the next one. No second guessing.
But there are others in our indecisive club that aren’t so lucky when it comes to cars. They can’t make up their minds and usually end up with a minivan of some sort with ridiculous wheels and a spoiler. They want a coupe-like car that’s fast, that can handle off-road and snowy conditions, that has enough room for cargo and their family, that turns heads, is good on gas, good on power, has the latest luxury and technology and gives you a commanding view of the road.
Acura thinks they have an made something for those indecisive folk: The all-new ZDX.
First things first, this is one of the more unique looking vehicles currently being offered. If I’m honest, when I first saw pictures of the ZDX, I wasn’t all too impressed. But pictures really don’t do it justice as it is quite an eye catcher (for the right reasons) in person. The sloping coupe like profile is classy and it helps keep the mirage going with the rear door handles being hidden away almost next to the C-pillar. The rear is definitely unique as the high belt line meshes nicely with the slim glass hatch, topped off with LED tail lights. In fact, I’d venture to say that this is probably the ZDX’s best angle. One strange omission from the glass hatch is a rear wiper. Given how angled the hatch is to begin with, there should really be one as snow and rain will build up quite easily. The front is definitely all Acura as the now signature shield can be found gracing messing up the front grille. I want to like this new front end styling direction, but I just can’t. It may very well grow on me as I don’t find it to be as offensive as I once did, but I still feel as though it’s like putting braces on Beyonce. Why mess up an otherwise lovely package? Xenon headlights and a low stance help save the ZDX’s front end from any further embarrassment.
Power comes from Honda’s infamous V-Tec engine – a 3.7 litre V6 making 300 horsepower and 270 pound feet of torque. This helps the ZDX make its 0-100 kph sprint in 7.3 seconds. Being a V-tec, power is definitely more noticeable in the higher rpm range. Therefore, in order to get the most out of this engine, you really need to keep the automatic in manual mode and shift the gears yourself via the flappy paddles on the wheel. Otherwise, the automatic will switch gears too soon, robbing the ZDX on power. One neat feature is that the paddle shifter will work even if you are in drive mode. The gearbox will return to ordinary drive mode if you leave the paddles alone which is quite convenient. Gear shifts are decently quick and the exhaust note has a nice growl to it in high rpm ranges which is a nice change from the traditionally whiny note of v-tecs from the past. The only downside to having power in the top end is that fuel economy inevitably suffers. The ZDX is rated at 12.7 l/100 kms city and 8.8 l/100 kms highway. But fuel economy will be the least of your worries once you drop it down a cog on the highway to zing past a slow moving vehicle. It becomes quite addicting.
19 inch wheels come standard as does Acura’s ‘super-handling all-wheel drive’ system. This system gives the ZDX the ability to actually boost power to the outside wheel. In a tight corner, the result is almost sling-shot-like as the ZDX feels planted. The steering itself, however, is a bit numb. The ZDX could do with more feedback to the driver, especially since the SH-AWD allows for aggressive driving.
The ZDX will swallow about 26 cubic feet of cargo with the rear seats up and will take 55 cubic feet of stuff with the rear seats down. The rear seats fold completely flat, which is refreshingly convenient from almost every other car’s 60/40 split seats. Although the cargo area isn’t deep, there’s an abundance of cubby holes back there for added versatility.
Acura is known as being pretty tech savvy and this is quite obvious by the amount of buttons on the interior. There are way too many. There’s twelve buttons on the steering wheel alone! Not to mention an assorted medley on the dash to distract your eyes from the road. At least with Acura, all their gadgets and gizmos don’t beep every time you command it to do something like Lexus’. The interior has a quality feel with an abundance of leather, even on the dash, and rich feeling materials. Since rearward visibility is almost non existent thanks to that slopping roof line, the standard rear camera is very much appreciated. This makes parking the ZDX a breeze without almost any need to even look back. It’s one of the better back up systems I’ve experienced.
Also thanks to that sloping roof line is the inability to enter or exit the rear seats with grace. You will either hit your head on the roof, or your rear end on the door jamb as the rear doors don’t allow much room for entry or exit. Rear headroom isn’t all that great either, but it’s definitely doable for shorter trips. There is no shortage of knee room however and rear passengers will be delighted to know that their seats can be heated to their liking at the touch of a button.
At the end of the day, this is really a very unique crossover in a crowded crossover market. It blends style, performance, handling and versatility in a tidy package that definitely rivals other manufacturers.
But is this the answer for people who just can’t decide on what they want and would just rather have everything in one car? The verdict is still out. But making a decision on buying a new car just got a whole lot easier though, because the ZDX is decisively good.
Price As Tested: $59,990
Pros:
- AWD system
- Attention to detail for interior
- Unique styling
- Lots standard, good value
- Good paddle shifters
Cons:
- Sloped roof impedes interior room & outward visibility
- Too many buttons
- Numb steering
Overall: 8.5/10
Special thanks to Scott Hall of Atlantic Acura
