In the marketplace, Acura has traditionally positioned itself below competitors like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but is working to reach higher with new models.

The ZDX is one of the vehicles the brand is reaching higher with. The ZDX hit the market in late 2009 as Acura’s take on a crossover with coupe-like qualities, similar in approach to BMW’s X6. With the ZDX, Acura dared to be different. Did the gamble pay off? To find out, we spent a week with the ZDX.

We wouldn’t say Acura’s biggest problem recently has been daring to be different though – Honda’s luxury division certainly has set itself apart from the pack with the styling language of its latest vehicles. That differentiation has achieved questionable sales results.

The ZDX defies expectations and categorization – it has a crossover ride height and a low body. It also has steeply raked front and rear windshields and appears to be two-door in design. Look further though and – surprise! – it has four doors. Up front the angular Acura look with the “Power Plenum” grille actually works, and the side body lines flow into aggressive rear haunches.

With a dramatic, concept-like roofline, the rear angle is definitely our favorite. In person the ZDX has a presence that doesn’t come across as well in photography. There is no question as to its polarizing nature, however.

The ZDX stands out as something quite different than anything on the road. If you’re looking to blend in with the crowd, the ZDX isn’t for you.

We’ll get to the interior, but first we’ll talk about entry into the interior for the driver and passenger. As we mentioned, the body of the ZDX is low slung, yet the ride height is like that of a crossover. That makes entry an interesting experience, and a graceful one
near-impossible.

Once you’re planted in the seats, for the driver and passenger the interior is a pleasant place to spend time. The sensation of a tall ride height with sports-car atmospherics is unusual and actually pretty neat.

A criticism of Acura interiors has been the expanse of buttons on the dash. The ZDX works to consolidate buttons into groups and eliminate unnecessary ones. It also has a trick up its sleeve – the buttons are not printed, but rather illuminated, even during the day. At rest, the panel looks dark. Once the car is started, each group lights up according to usage – turn off the HVAC or audio system, for instance, and the grouping of related buttons will go dark.

The screen is placed at a perfect vantage point for optimal viewing. The placement however, rules out a touch screen. Touch screens aren’t the Acura way however, as the system is operated with a central control knob.

As we’ve mentioned before, the system can take a little getting used to. There is a longer learning curve than with touch-screen units and some other systems we have used, but once you get acquainted the system proves to be intuitive.

The interior is constructed with high-quality plastics, and leather lines the dash and door panels. The interior colors for our tester weren’t the liveliest – we would have loved to see our particular model outfitted with the stunning two-tone orange color scheme offered by Acura. It really would have offered some added pizzaz. Overall, the ZDX’s interior is impressive, and every bit worthy of its price tag.

Acura primarily markets the ZDX to couples, and we can see why. Entry to the rear is made difficult with the low roof-line and small doors. Once seated, rear passengers have sparing amounts of legroom and headroom. It isn’t an excellent road trip vehicle for more than two adults, but it offers the ability over a coupe to take people around with you.

The ZDX isn’t exactly a bastion of practicality – but that isn’t what it is intended to be. You can’t judge it on traditional merits, as It is something entirely different. For the couple looking to be different, the ZDX offers the ability to take extra passengers in a pinch, as well as travel in adverse road conditions, along with the ability to store gear with a large loading area.

Another area the ZDX doesn’t behave like a traditional crossover is when the road gets winding. The car exhibited well-controlled body motions and firm suspension tuning. The steering was direct and nicely weighted.

Our tester offered the ability to select between Sport and Comfort modes, and there was a noticeable difference between each. However, in either mode, the suspension is clearly tuned for a sport balance. Would you expect anything less?

Needless to say, the ZDX passed the fun to drive test . Under hard acceleration the 300 horsepower 3.7-liter emitted a wonderfully nice exhaust note that could be heard at just the right volume in the cabin. Weighing in at 4424 pounds, the ZDX isn’t exactly blisteringly fast, but the V-6 does its job.

The ZDX certainly makes a statement about its driver. It stands out as a flagship of sorts for Acura. Isn’t a little bit of uniqueness and deviation from the norm exactly what luxury is? By that measure, the ZDX excels.

Acura has chosen to price the ZDX right in the middle of the $40K-range, coming in at $45,495. At that price, standard features include “the world’s longest panoramic glass roof” and a hand-stitched leather dash, center console and door panels.

The ZDX comes available with one engine across the lineup – a 3.7-liter VTEC V-6 that provides 300 horsepower and 270 foot pounds of torque mated to Acura’s Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). It also achieves class leading fuel economy, with a figure of 16 city and 23 mpg highway.

Acura makes things easy in terms of trim levels, offering just three: the ZDX, ZDX with Technology Package and ZDX with Advance Package.

For $4,500 above the standard $45,495 MSRP, Technology Package includes a navigation system that features voice recognition, real time traffic with rerouting and real time weather that offers radar image maps. The system is housed in a VGA display screen connected to a multi-view rear camera.

Furthermore, the Technology package adds an upgraded Acura/ELS Surround® 415-watt Premium Audio System with built-in 15-gigabyte hard disk drive (HDD) media storage system, a GPS-linked, solar-sensing, dual-zone automatic climate control system and push-button start with Keyless Access.

In addition to the features found in the Technology Package, the Advance Package includes a 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.

The loaded ZDX with Advance Package comes in at $56,045 before a $810.00 destination charge, a figure that undercuts the competition.

A new “category” is emerging in the United States for vehicles that just refused to be categorized (if that makes sense).

BMW arguably was the starter of this “segment” when it introduced the X6 coupe-like crossover. The BMW 5-Series GT and BMW X1 are other vehicles that have followed after the X6.

Now Acura has entered the fray with its new ZDX crossover. Like many others,  I expected the ZDX to be a volume model for Acura. Speaking with Acura’s PR department however revealed a sales projection of only 6,000 units per year. While  internal projections are expected to be higher in order to claim a sales victory, that is no doubt a figure the ZDX should hit.

Stylistically the ZDX is a big improvement from what what we have seen recently. The brand’s technologically-oriented design cues play well inside and out – Acura even ventures out a bit with an available two-tone interior color scheme.

It remains to see how consumers respond to these mixed-type vehicles – is there a market? Acura and BMW in particular seem to think so.

I could see the ZDX resonating as a successful new model for Acura. It is the first vehicle to be designed from start to finish in Acura’s design studio in Torrance, California. Acura also says it has been “designed, developed and engineered entirely in North America.”

Many want and need the capabilities of a vehicle like the ZDX but don’t want to sacrifice the “cool” factor in doing so. The ZDX is one that focuses on that factor perhaps more than most – something that on first glance the BMW 5-Series GT doesn’t provide.

As to performance, the ZDX is motivated by a 3.7-liter VTEC® V-6 that generates 300 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque.

On paper and in pictures, the ZDX looks good. Acura is basically positioning the ZDX as a four-door sports crossover coupe and it will be priced as such – official data isn’t available yet but rumors peg it in the $40K range.

A key element for the ZDX is if the driving experience delivers. If the ZDX can live up to that promise, it will be a very appealing package – the most appealing one from Acura in quite some time.

When the ZDX Concept debuted, it was viewed to be very close to the production version inside and out. It was one of those thinly guised “concepts” that really aren’t concepts at all. In addition, we had more than that to go on – spy photos have caught the car and shown it to be extremely similar to the concept that presaged it.

Let’s just say it could have been a huge disaster if things didn’t translate properly – especially knowing Acura and it’s ability to produce them (Current TL, anyone?). So it’s not a disaster. There’s a bit of akwardness to it but that was apparent in the original concept as well – nothing to do with the translation from concept to production.

Acura calls it a “4-door sports coupe.” Hmm, Acura is going all BMW on us! The ZDX joins the realm of identity confused vehicles like the X6 and 5-Series GT.

The ZDX gets a good engine, the same 300-hp 3.7-liter V6 that does duty in the RL and TL, mated to a six speed transmission (a first for Acura) and the Super Handling-All Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) all standard fare. Impressive specifications to be sure!

It most definitely looks different – it will get people’s attention. Acura plans this to be a big, volume model for them (like the RX is for Lexus) but I think in order to do that it’s going to need some  aggressive pricing. With low pricing, I could see it working just because I think some people will think it’s cool.

But, what’s up with those gaping panel gaps? Did quality just go down the drain? They really stick out. Acura needs to make sure they are much tighter when the ZDX crossover starts rolling off the line.

However, while Acura made it clear that it was just a thinly-veiled production preview, I commented that things could get ugly pretty fast in the transition between concept and production. From the spy shots at least, it seems like they are hewing as close as possible to the concept and that’s a good thing.

You can’t see much in the way of details but it’s looking pretty close to the concept. The ZDX is part of a new strategy for increasing Acura’s volume. Acura hasn’t been doing as well as Honda wants it to, and they’re working to take things up a notch. I believe they plan to go upmarket as well, possibly creating a V8 for the next-generation RL Sedan. 

If all goes to plan, the ZDX will be a very big selling product line for them, blurring segment lines to create something new. The ZDX will be their trump card of sorts.

We’ll see how that works out for them. The only similar vehicles seem to be coming from BMW, with vehicles like the X6 (ZDX’s primary competition) 5-Series GT and X1. While good looking as far as I can tell, will consumers really connect with the car and make it the hit that Acura needs? We’ll find out soon enough as the ZDX makes it’s way to dealers late this year. For more pictures, check out Leftlane News’ gallery.