2010 Acura ZDX Is Here, And Confusing

I'll be the first to admit that I simply don't understand the direction "crossovers" are traveling in. It seems like they're becoming less and less useful, and more and more like rolling fashion statements - for fashion victims.  Or the fashionably ignorant.  Anyway, while it's fun to revel in shock at the fact that this segment of gas-guzzlers hasn't died out yet, that's not news.  That's an opinion.  What is news (apparently) is this new Acura ZDX.

Let's start off on the right foot here: dumb name begats dumb car?  I know the theory might be a stretch - there have been some awesome cars with awful names (Acura's own Integra comes to mind) but let's take a vote: who's tired of meaningless alphanumeric model designations?  Why not call it the Acura £ØÆ??

Anyway, what the ZDX is - or what Acura/Honda claim it to be - is a "crossover coupe."  Which, of course, doesn't exist - as everyone knows that coupes have FOUR DOORS. Completely incorrect naming practices aside, the ZDX is another crossover in the questionable mould of the BMW X6.

Mechanically, it's very similar to Acura's large SUV, the MDX.  Power comes from a 3.7L SOHC V6 engine, with 300bhp and 270lb-ft of torque.  The sole transmission is Acura's new six-speed automatic that debuted in the refreshed MDX for 2010.  As well, Acura's SH (Super Handling, haha) All-Wheel-Drive is standard on the ZDX.  This is a fully modern system, with active rear axle torque vectoring and electronically controlled power distribution.  Also standard is IDS, which stands for Integrated Dynamics System.  This has two modes, Comfort and Sport - and the system adjusts damping rates on the variable dampers as well as steering effort to suit whichever is selected.  Sort of like Subaru's SI-Drive, but without the cool variable throttle maps.

Fuel mileage on this big coupe/crossover/chariot will be 16/22, and with a 21 gallon fuel tank your bladder will certainly be challenged between road trip fill-ups.  There's a decent amount of storage space (as one would hope) for those road trips - 26.3 cubic feet with the seats up, 55.8 with them down.  There's also a (likely useless) under-floor storage compartment that can hold 2.2 cubic feet of... well, whatever it is you want to hide!

One thing Acura's been getting better at is putting together an attractive interior, and I have to say the new ZDX is perhaps the best example to date of this.  Clean, modern design that looks well-constructed, if perhaps a bit button-heavy.

Let's be honest here, though.  Acura's press release talks about how the ZDX is going to bring a new level of luxury, prestige and class to the Acura lineup.  I think it's more likely to bring lines to Acura dealerships piled approximately zero deep.  It's extremely ungainly, will be undoubtedly expensive, the fuel mileage isn't anything to write home about, and this is a market which no one is even sure exists in the first place.  I wish them the best of luck, because I think they'll need it.