Review – 2010 Acura ZDX

The Acura ZDX is a sporty crossover designed to mimic the styling of a sports coupé. It is based on the same platform employed by Acura’s largest vehicle, the MDX. In the ZDX, the roofline sits a half feet lower than the MDX, and it sports five seats as opposed to the MDX, which can seat seven. It is longer than the MDX by a couple of inches. The ZDX falls into the newly created segment of cars, which was created by BMW with the X6. More and more manufacturers have started to venture into this previously unknown segment, with cars that offer the practicality and high driving position of an SUV while wearing a sporty design similar to a sports coupé.

Pros

• Excellent standard safety features
• Fresh and bold design
• Powerful engine
• Advance Package includes cutting edge features
• Fun to drive

Cons

• Unimpressive gas mileage
• Runs only on premium fuel
• Difficult ingress/egress
• Cramped back seats
• Lack of cargo space

Styling

The ZDX wears the familiar Acura chrome grille at the front, which now looks more aggressive than any other models made by the company. The Acura looks handsome from which ever angle it is viewed from, but looks especially brilliant in profile. The slopping roofline, blackened B-pillar, and the neatly hidden rear door handles make it look more like a large sports coupé. The 19 inch seven spoke wheels match the size of the car and add to the sporty appeal of the car.

Even though the car can seat five people comfortably, the rear seats are not as spacious as one would expect from a car of its size. The ZDX has by and far, the best interiors even seen in an Acura. The leather lined cabin and the elegant carpets gives rich aura to the interiors. The passengers are pampered with a long list of standard equipments. The list gets even longer with the addition of the optional packages.

Standard features include

• Panoramic glass roof
• 19 inch wheels
• Leather clad seats and dashboard
• Heated and power adjust front seats with memory for the driver’s seat
• 6-CD changer with Satellite Radio
• Tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment
• Reversing camera

The Technology Package includes

• Upgraded Milano leather upholstery
• Advanced satellite navigation system
• 8 inch LCD screen
• Premium stereo
• Keyless entry and start

The Advance Package includes

• LED ambient lighting
• Sports steering
• Ventilated front seats
• Adaptive cruise control
• Integrated Dynamics System
• Collision Mitigating Braking System

Performance

The car is powered by a naturally aspirated 3.7 liter engine that runs only on premium quality gasoline. The V6 that generates a healthy 300 horsepower is mated to a six speed automatic gearbox with sequential paddle shifters. The gearbox can be set to either drive or sports mode depending on the response that is required. The car features a permanent all wheel drive system. The ZDX can accelerate from zero to sixty mph in 6.5 seconds

• 300 hp V6 engine
• Runs only on premium fuel
• Six speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifters

  

Drive

Despite the huge size of this car, it handles more like a sporty sedan. The all wheel drive system aids the car’s handling, while the Integrated Dynamics System allows the damper and the power steering settings to be altered to be sporty or comfortable, depending on the mode selected. The IDS and the brilliant all wheel drive system makes this car amazingly fun to drive. The optional adaptive cruise control allows relaxed cruising though the motorways.

• IDS works brilliantly delivering best of both worlds
• Handles like a sporty sedan
• All Wheel Drive system aids handling

Safety

The ZDX leaves no stones unturned when it comes to safety. The car has a total of six airbags to protect its occupants in the event of a crash. ABS, brake assist, traction control and ESP are standards in the car. It has active head restraints for the front seat to reduce injury to the neck in the even of a rear end collision. The advance package includes a collision mitigation system that uses radar to prevent collision. The system warns the driver, and then prepares the seat belts and finally brakes automatically in order to prevent the car from crashing into the one in front.

• Six airbags
• Optional collision mitigation system is a potential life saver
• ABS, brake assist, ESP, traction control standard

Overall

The Acura ZDX is a brilliant car that is fun to drive, good looking and extremely safe. However, the fun is limited only to the front two seats as the rear seats lack in both legroom and headroom.

2010 Acura ZDX Pictures

2010 Acura ZDX Pictures
2010 Acura ZDX Pictures
2010 Acura ZDX Pictures
2010 Acura ZDX Pictures
2010 Acura ZDX Pictures
2010 Acura ZDX Pictures
2010 Acura ZDX Pictures
2010 Acura ZDX Pictures

2010 Acura ZDX Pictures

Acura sets price of 2010 ZDX at $45,495; On sale Dec. 15

Acura’s all-new 4-door sports coupe, the 2010 ZDX, has an official on sale date of Dec. 15 with an MSRP of $45,495, which does not include another $81o for handling and delivery.

Since it debuted at this past April’s New York Auto Show, the American designed and American-manufactured stands out with its styling and performance numbers.

“Acura dealers are seeing strong interest from customers for the ZDX well before its official on-sale date,” said Jeff Conrad, vice president of Acura sales in a press release. “The ZDX is like nothing you have ever seen before from Acura.”

The run down:

ZDX will be sold in 3 trim packages:

a well-equipped ZDX

a ZDX with Technology Package;

a ZDX with Advance Package.

Power for each package is generated from a 3.7-liter, 300 hp, V-6 VTEC(R) with 270 lb-fr of toque while producing EPA numbers of 16/23.

Also standard on each ZDX is Acura’s SH-AWD (R) or Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive that boosts handling and ensures heightened all-weather and all-season road-holding capabilities.

Standard fare includes what Acura bills as the world’s longest panoramic glass roof, concealed rear door handles, and a hand-stithced leather dash, center console and door panels.

The Technology Package adds an Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™, AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™ with Traffic Rerouting™, AcuraLink Real-Time Weather™ with radar image maps, a full VGA display screen and an innovative new multi-view rear camera. It also includes an upgraded Acura/ELS Surround® 415-watt Premium Audio System with a built-in 15-gig media storage system, which Acura says could hold up to 3,500 songs; a GPS-linked, solar-sensing, dual-zone automatic climate control system and Keyless Access System (with Smart Entry and push button ignition).

The Advance Package adds the following to the Technology Package list, including: a new blind spot information system (BSI), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Mitigating Braking System™ (CMBS™), an Integrated Dynamic System (IDS) active damper system, heated and ventilated front seats with Perforated Milano Premium Leather seating surfaces, premium brushed tricot headliner material and a sport steering wheel.

2010 Acura ZDX

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. (Acura)

Birds and bats both have wings, for example, but they evolved from very different lineages. Like humans and other primates, Wall Street bankers have 10 fingers and toes, even though they evolved from disgusting, invertebrate slugs.

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.

Acura ZDX(2010)

The 2010 Acura ZDX will join the coupe-like crossover later this year. Staying true to the Acura ZDX prototype model that debuted at the 2009 New York Auto Show in April, the production ZDX will feature the key design highlights of a panoramic glass roof, hidden rear door handles and bold fender flares.

Along with head-turning styling, the ZDX will boast outstanding performance from its 3.7-liter V-6 engine mated to an all-new 6-speed automatic transmission. The 3.7-liter SOHC V-6 all-aluminum engine will generate 300 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque for immediate acceleration response, outstanding low- and mid-range torque and superior high-rpm power. The 6-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters gives the ZDX excellent acceleration while also enhancing fuel economy.

Acura TSX 2009

Acura TSX 2009 model, price starting from $29,675, is aimed to target the 'entry premium' sedan market and compete with Audi A4 2.0T, BMW 328i, Infiniti G37, Lexus IS 250 and Mercedes-Benz C300. The 2009 TSX features a 201 HP 2.4 liter 4-cylinder engine with 172 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. Check out the official press release after the jump.

Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept

The concept is designed to incorporate a powerful front-mounted, V-10 engine and a new high-performance, rear-wheel-drive based version of Acura’s ‘Super Handling All-Wheel Drive’ (SH-AWD).

2010 Acura ZDX

The 2010 Acura ZDX will join the coupe-like crossover later this year. Staying true to the Acura ZDX prototype model that debuted at the 2009 New York Auto Show in April, the production ZDX will feature the key design highlights of a panoramic glass roof, hidden rear door handles and bold fender flares.

Along with head-turning styling, the ZDX will boast outstanding performance from its 3.7-liter V-6 engine mated to an all-new 6-speed automatic transmission. The 3.7-liter SOHC V-6 all-aluminum engine will generate 300 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque for immediate acceleration response, outstanding low- and mid-range torque and superior high-rpm power. The 6-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters gives the ZDX excellent acceleration while also enhancing fuel economy.

[Source: Acura]

2009 Chevrolet Corvette GT1 Championship Edition

In order to celebrate the entry of the Corvette C6.R into the GT1 class of ALMS this year, GM unveiled to day the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette GT1 Championship Edition, a new package available for the Corvette Coupe 4LT, Convertible 4LT and Z06 3LZ.

The package will be available in a yellow base color with black accents, or with a black base paint and yellow accents. Yellow cars will receive black headlights with body colored door handles and a unique carbon fiber engine cover for both models. The Corvette Racing team’s ‘Jake’ logo will be used throughout the car, and the team’s victories will be displayed on the lower portion of the Corvette’s door.

[Source: Chevrolet]

2009 Acura TL

2009 Acura TL

2009 Acura TL
The 2009 TL is a 4-door, 5-passenger luxury sedan, or luxury sports sedan, available in 5 trims, ranging from... read more the 5-Spd AT to the 5-Spd AT SH-AWD w/Technology Package HPT.
price: $34,955 - $43,235

2010 Acura ZDX Pictures

2010 Acura ZDX

2010 Acura ZDX

2010 Acura ZDX

2010 Acura ZDX

2010 Acura TSX

2010 Acura TSX
The 2010 TSX is a 4-door, 5-passenger sports sedan, available in 6 trims, ranging from the 6-Spd MT to the... read more V6 5-Spd AT w/ Technology Package.
price: $29,310 - $37,950

2010 Acura TSX V-6 Pictures

2010 Acura TSX V-6

2010 Acura TSX V-6

2010 Acura TSX V-6

2010 Acura TL SH-AWD 6MT Prototype

At first glance, East Liberty, Ohio is one of those sleepy, blink-and-you'll-miss-it midwestern towns, the kind you find buried in every county from Columbus to Kankakee. Then, on the outskirts of town, you round a corner and come face-to-face with an eighteen-wheeler cranking across an enormous banked oval. And a dump truck on a skidpad. And a small, diabolical little road course with more off-camber corners than you can shake a Snell sticker at. Welcome to the Transportation Research Center, otherwise known as TRC.

Acura invited us here for a track-only drive of its TL SH-AWD 6MT prototype, a car that by all rights shouldn't exist. The 6MT bit is the interesting part; it stands for six-speed manual transmission, and the SH-AWD acronym represents Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. The combination - the most powerful model Acura offers, paired with electronically controlled all-wheel drive and a clutch pedal - is enticing on paper, but in an age of declining manual-transmission sales, it's also a little perplexing. If you're shooting for greater sales and a broader demographic, why bother building a destined-to-be-low-volume car for a rapidly shrinking market?

Predictably, the (lovably impractical) answer can be found in one word: gearheads. A handful of renegade Acura engineers installed a three-pedal setup into an early production TL (the car is currently available only with an automatic) and begged management to drive it. After a little track time, the suits went nuts. We were asked to come to Ohio on the grounds that a manual gearbox transformed the hottest version of Acura's TL, and that the added wait and development cost (an extra twelve months of R&D; the manual TL won't go on sale until fall of 2009) would be worth it. Frankly, we were more than a little skeptical.

Acura Takes A 1-2 Victory Sweep

Acura's new LMP2-spec ARX-02a prototype race car has been making quite an impression since its entrance into the 2009 American Le Mans Series. A couple of weeks ago, the new race car first caught media attention by qualifying in the pole position before the Sebring season opener, beating out top tier competitors Audi and Peugeot. While the actual race was a different story, the ARX-02a's performance in its debut qualifier was still something to be remembered.

This weekend marked the second round of the American Le Mans Series, which was rightfully named the Acura Sports Car Challenge. The race took place on a temporarily track through the streets of St. Petersburg and luckily for Acura, Audi and Peugeot decided to sit this race out. The result? Drivers David Brabham and Scott Sharp took the Acura ARX-02a prototype straight to the top and won the race with a 32-second victory. To make things even better, the 32-second victory was over the LMP1-spec'd Acura ARX-01b race car, which marked the first time in 10 years that an auto manufacturer took wins in both the LMP1 and LMP2 class in the same event.

Congratulations to Acura and their drivers for a fine performance this Le Mans weekend!

[Source: Acura, AP]

[Tad Huang]