Acura debuts 2010 ZDX (First drives in, now updated)
09-24-09, 05:59 PM
#211
Jalopnik
The Acura ZDX press drive's going on in Manhattan today. We'll have more on that later. For the moment, feast your eyes on the mega-gallery of brown metal flesh — and the nicest Acura interior ever — below the jump.
Although I didn't have a chance to drive the car — John's doing that as we speak — thanks to the nice PR folks, I did get a chance to sit inside the new big-assed Acura. The coolest feature I was able to quickly see inside is the center stack's big graphite black button-filled face plate. What's cool about that? Well, the buttons illuminate and glow upon need. So, for instance, if you're listening to the radio, the radio buttons are illuminated. HVAC on? The HVAC buttons are illuminated. All of it's pretty sweet. The leather's sumptuous-looking and rich in texture.
The back seat presents somewhat of a problem for anyone over, say, 5'10" — and the doorway (really, it's more like a hatch) — is somewhat claustrophobic with the easy-to-hurt-ones-*** door jamb readily accessible to smack your tailbone upon entry.
Still, the interior's hot — especially the dual-cockpit front seats — and the exterior? It don't look so bad up close. At least not nearly as bad as we'd initially thought upon the first look at the press shots.
More to come later.
09-24-09, 06:23 PM
#213
USA 2day
By James R. Healey, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Automakers say they are hearing this message from some important (well-heeled) shoppers: Give us the SUV's high seating position with such a nice view and handy cargo space and the foul-weather and bad-road capability that comes with all-wheel drive and ample ground clearance. But change the look, either to the mainstream appeal of a tailored sedan or the excitement of a sports coupe.
Replies so far include Toyota's Venza in the mainstream category and BMW's X6 in the coupe genre.
Come December, Honda's Acura luxury brand joins the fray with the 2010 ZDX.
Penned three years ago by Michelle Christensen — then 25, fresh out of design school and newly hired by Honda — ZDX's style is distinguished by a tucked and tailored roof covered in black glass panels and by rear-wheel bulges that would be striking even if the roof's taper did not accentuate them. It's three-dimensional drama. ZDX looks far less exciting in photos than on the road.
It's all but unique for a rookie designer to have sketches embraced by a car company and rendered almost literally.
ZDX is an Acura MDX crossover SUV underneath, though that's hard to believe because of the differences in looks, interiors and personalities. Same wheelbase and track width, similar suspension but retuned for ZDX, same engine. Transmission, developed for the ZDX, is shared, too, beginning with the 2010 MDX.
Acura views ZDX as a niche product: 6,000 sales the first year, maybe 10,000 in a hot year. Only way to make money on so few is such hardware sharing.
A morning in city traffic here, then a rural romp on parkways and lanes to the north, plus 250 hot-shoe highway miles back home to Virginia and a few more miles through suburban duty in two preproduction ZDXs left a crisp impression:
If you are willing to accept the compromises that come with the coupe styling — and coupes are all about style — ZDX is one terrific piece of work.
Acura says ZDX is meant not as a family vehicle, though it seats four or five adults. It's more for a couple with no kids at home and craving something exciting to see and drive. Able when necessary to tote back-seaters in relative comfort, but the front-seaters get the emphasis.
Compromises (as you'd find in any coupe, which typically is a two-door car with sleek styling):
•Awkward rear entry. There are back doors, but the low roofline means you'll duck and tuck like a suspect going into the back seat of a squad car.
Once in, leg and knee room are far better than suggested by the 31 inches of rear leg space in the specifications. That's due mainly to sculpting of the backs of the front seats. The curving roof, though, skirts the skull closely.
•Poor rear visibility. Fat rear roof pillars and a horizontal crossbar partway down the tailgate's glass panel mean you'll need the rear-view camera and the blind-spot warning system.
•Imperfect cargo space. To carry four golf bags, for instance, you remove side panels from the cargo area and put them under the cargo floor.
On the other hand, ZDX is:
•Exotic. That roofline, especially seen from above. And covering the roof in black glass, attached to a metal frame, is daring. On a black ZDX, the monochrome look is delectable.
A skylight covers both front and rear seats and includes a sliding sunroof over the front. The dashboard, including challenging convex surfaces, is covered in premium leather (inspired by leathered walls at the St. Regis hotel in San Francisco).
•Erotic. Dangerously close to a Cialis ad, Acura says ZDX is for couples who might like a weekend getaway to, uh, reconnect. Goes pretty much anywhere they'd like, any time they wish, Acura says.
The wide rear fenders are supposed to suggest wide, sexy shoulders, the automaker says, illustrating with a photo of a woman's shoulders graced only by narrow straps.
•Exciting. The 3.7-liter V-6 romps quickly up the rev range, catches a shrieking second wind between 4,000 and 5,000 rpm and the new-for-ZDX six-speed automatic snaps up to the next gear so quickly your senses almost don't notice.
The high-end model, Advance, has an adjustable suspension. The driver chooses "sport" for feisty moves or "comfort" when the road's a beast. Each setting automatically adjusts within a range. The test car with that system was a dream. Comfort was smooth, not sloppy; sport was firm, not harsh.
The less-than-handy configuration imposed by the dramatic style could be a turnoff, but those who can make allowances might find ZDX irresistible.
About the 2010 Acura ZDX
•What? Sleek, four-door, five-passenger, crossover SUV aimed at coupe lovers who don't need family-style passenger room but want the stance, capabilities of an SUV. To be marketed as a car but classed by the government as a truck.
•When? Mid-December.
•Where? Built at Alliston, Ontario.
•How much? Not set yet, but between the $41,000 MDX and $47,000 RL.
•What's the hardware? Acura MDX SUV chassis, retuned; 3.7-liter V-6 rated 300 horsepower at 6,300 rpm, 270 pounds-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm; new six-speed automatic; standard SH-AWD (Acura-speak for its performance-oriented "super-handling all-wheel drive); driver-selectable suspension (optional).
Rear camera with selectable views (normal, fish-eye, straight down); side-curtain air bags with separate chambers that inflate near the roof in the event of a rollover.
•How big? Midsize SUV outside, compact car inside. ZDX is 192.4 inches long, 78.5 in. wide, 62.8 in. tall on a 108.3-in. wheelbase. Passenger space is 91.2 cubic feet. Cargo space, 26.2 cu. ft. behind rear seat, 55.8 cu. ft. when the seat's folded.
Tows 1,500 lbs., weighs 4,424 lbs. to 4,462 lbs., depending on model.
•How thirsty? Rated 16 miles per gallon in town, 22 mpg on the highway, 18 mpg in combined city/highway driving.
Trip computers in the preproduction test vehicles showed 18.8 mpg and 19.8 mpg in two legs of brisk driving on rural parkways, 22 mpg in high-speed interstate highway driving, 14.2 mpg in spirited suburban use.
Burns premium, holds 21.7 gallons.
•Overall: Entertaining, exciting if judged (as Acura intends) as an all-weather, all-road sports sedan rather than as a family-oriented SUV.
•What? Sleek, four-door, five-passenger, crossover SUV aimed at coupe lovers who don't need family-style passenger room but want the stance, capabilities of an SUV. To be marketed as a car but classed by the government as a truck.
•When? Mid-December.
•Where? Built at Alliston, Ontario.
•How much? Not set yet, but between the $41,000 MDX and $47,000 RL.
•What's the hardware? Acura MDX SUV chassis, retuned; 3.7-liter V-6 rated 300 horsepower at 6,300 rpm, 270 pounds-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm; new six-speed automatic; standard SH-AWD (Acura-speak for its performance-oriented "super-handling all-wheel drive); driver-selectable suspension (optional).
Rear camera with selectable views (normal, fish-eye, straight down); side-curtain air bags with separate chambers that inflate near the roof in the event of a rollover.
•How big? Midsize SUV outside, compact car inside. ZDX is 192.4 inches long, 78.5 in. wide, 62.8 in. tall on a 108.3-in. wheelbase. Passenger space is 91.2 cubic feet. Cargo space, 26.2 cu. ft. behind rear seat, 55.8 cu. ft. when the seat's folded.
Tows 1,500 lbs., weighs 4,424 lbs. to 4,462 lbs., depending on model.
•How thirsty? Rated 16 miles per gallon in town, 22 mpg on the highway, 18 mpg in combined city/highway driving.
Trip computers in the preproduction test vehicles showed 18.8 mpg and 19.8 mpg in two legs of brisk driving on rural parkways, 22 mpg in high-speed interstate highway driving, 14.2 mpg in spirited suburban use.
Burns premium, holds 21.7 gallons.
•Overall: Entertaining, exciting if judged (as Acura intends) as an all-weather, all-road sports sedan rather than as a family-oriented SUV.
09-24-09, 11:54 PM
#214
Lead Lap
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5YPICjKh4M
THIS VIDEO IS HILARIOUS......specifically for ONESICK to comment on...LMAO.
this guy is an absolute moron!! VP of sales for acura and when asked at the very end about how this will be the new flagship over the MDX...his comment....
"well we have flagships throughout..RL, TL, MDX are all our flagships"
just the whole video his body language and expressions and comments suggest hes just a freaking moron.
THIS VIDEO IS HILARIOUS......specifically for ONESICK to comment on...LMAO.
this guy is an absolute moron!! VP of sales for acura and when asked at the very end about how this will be the new flagship over the MDX...his comment....
"well we have flagships throughout..RL, TL, MDX are all our flagships"
just the whole video his body language and expressions and comments suggest hes just a freaking moron.
09-25-09, 03:12 AM
#215
Lexus Test Driver
The Acura ZDX press drive's going on in Manhattan today. We'll have more on that later. For the moment, feast your eyes on the mega-gallery of brown metal flesh — and the nicest Acura interior ever — below the jump.
Although I didn't have a chance to drive the car — John's doing that as we speak — thanks to the nice PR folks, I did get a chance to sit inside the new big-assed Acura. The coolest feature I was able to quickly see inside is the center stack's big graphite black button-filled face plate. What's cool about that? Well, the buttons illuminate and glow upon need. So, for instance, if you're listening to the radio, the radio buttons are illuminated. HVAC on? The HVAC buttons are illuminated. All of it's pretty sweet. The leather's sumptuous-looking and rich in texture.
The back seat presents somewhat of a problem for anyone over, say, 5'10" — and the doorway (really, it's more like a hatch) — is somewhat claustrophobic with the easy-to-hurt-ones-*** door jamb readily accessible to smack your tailbone upon entry.
Still, the interior's hot — especially the dual-cockpit front seats — and the exterior? It don't look so bad up close. At least not nearly as bad as we'd initially thought upon the first look at the press shots.
More to come later.
09-25-09, 03:15 AM
#216
Guest
Posts: n/a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5YPICjKh4M
THIS VIDEO IS HILARIOUS......specifically for ONESICK to comment on...LMAO.
this guy is an absolute moron!! VP of sales for acura and when asked at the very end about how this will be the new flagship over the MDX...his comment....
"well we have flagships throughout..RL, TL, MDX are all our flagships"
just the whole video his body language and expressions and comments suggest hes just a freaking moron.
THIS VIDEO IS HILARIOUS......specifically for ONESICK to comment on...LMAO.
this guy is an absolute moron!! VP of sales for acura and when asked at the very end about how this will be the new flagship over the MDX...his comment....
"well we have flagships throughout..RL, TL, MDX are all our flagships"
just the whole video his body language and expressions and comments suggest hes just a freaking moron.
" Yo RL I know you are our flagship at all and all and Ima let you finish but the TSX, TL, ZDX, RDX, MDX, Integra, RSX, CSX, EL are one of the greatest flagships of all time!!!"
09-25-09, 05:25 AM
#217
Lexus Test Driver
That’s one ugly interior. Doesn’t most people at least have their radio on low and some kind of ventilation on all the time. All the buttons will be lit most of the time anyways. No point in shutting them off, just more Acura unnecessary gadgets.
09-25-09, 07:51 AM
#218
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I think it looks a lot better in darker colors.
09-25-09, 08:52 AM
#220
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I actually like it. It's different and futuristic. But then again, looks are subjective. The only thing they can improve on is their wheel designs IMO.
09-25-09, 08:54 AM
#221
The Acura ZDX press drive's going on in Manhattan today. We'll have more on that later. For the moment, feast your eyes on the mega-gallery of brown metal flesh — and the nicest Acura interior ever — below the jump.
Although I didn't have a chance to drive the car — John's doing that as we speak — thanks to the nice PR folks, I did get a chance to sit inside the new big-assed Acura. The coolest feature I was able to quickly see inside is the center stack's big graphite black button-filled face plate. What's cool about that? Well, the buttons illuminate and glow upon need. So, for instance, if you're listening to the radio, the radio buttons are illuminated. HVAC on? The HVAC buttons are illuminated. All of it's pretty sweet. The leather's sumptuous-looking and rich in texture.
The back seat presents somewhat of a problem for anyone over, say, 5'10" — and the doorway (really, it's more like a hatch) — is somewhat claustrophobic with the easy-to-hurt-ones-*** door jamb readily accessible to smack your tailbone upon entry.
Still, the interior's hot — especially the dual-cockpit front seats — and the exterior? It don't look so bad up close. At least not nearly as bad as we'd initially thought upon the first look at the press shots.
More to come later.
09-25-09, 10:56 AM
#222
Lexus Fanatic
The Acura ZDX press drive's going on in Manhattan today. We'll have more on that later. For the moment, feast your eyes on the mega-gallery of brown metal flesh — and the nicest Acura interior ever — below the jump.
Although I didn't have a chance to drive the car — John's doing that as we speak — thanks to the nice PR folks, I did get a chance to sit inside the new big-assed Acura. The coolest feature I was able to quickly see inside is the center stack's big graphite black button-filled face plate. What's cool about that? Well, the buttons illuminate and glow upon need. So, for instance, if you're listening to the radio, the radio buttons are illuminated. HVAC on? The HVAC buttons are illuminated. All of it's pretty sweet. The leather's sumptuous-looking and rich in texture.
The back seat presents somewhat of a problem for anyone over, say, 5'10" — and the doorway (really, it's more like a hatch) — is somewhat claustrophobic with the easy-to-hurt-ones-*** door jamb readily accessible to smack your tailbone upon entry.
Still, the interior's hot — especially the dual-cockpit front seats — and the exterior? It don't look so bad up close. At least not nearly as bad as we'd initially thought upon the first look at the press shots.
More to come later.
I don't want it to do well and want it not to sell wll because I hope Acura gets the message this is not the type of vehicle enthusiasts and buyers really want or were waiting for Acura so they will not keep doing SUV/crossover vehicles like the ZDX in the future instead of true coupes, sports cars, and low sleek sedans. Problem is there is an obsession with SUVs and crossovers in this country and they often do much better then really nice coupes, sedans, and sports cars which is why we have so many pointless SUVs. I don't think the ZDX is ugly and it is no uglier then most SUVs/crossovers to me, it is just disappointing and pointless and taking focus away from 2 door enthusiast cars people want from Acura.
09-25-09, 01:09 PM
#223
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Just what we need, a modern version of the 2001 Pontiac Aztek (with a K) !!!
09-25-09, 01:15 PM
#224
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I thought Honda was known for making fuel efficient vehicles. Doesnt seem like it.
09-25-09, 01:24 PM
#225
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So apparently Honda expects to sell 500 ZDX units a month in the US. A modest goal, but I'm not sure that they will even achieve that much.
In the past yes. They are operating based on past reputation. Honda also once had a great reputation for innovation and engineering. No longer true either now.
Honda's vehicles today, with the exception of a few, are really not that fuel efficient at all, nor are they all that innovative either.
Honda's vehicles today, with the exception of a few, are really not that fuel efficient at all, nor are they all that innovative either.