I am going to take some heat for this one…but Jimmy crack corn, I don’t care.
The Acura ZDX is a new vehicle to the Japanese automakers stable of well-built yet currently controversially styled cars. The ZDX blurs the line between sports sedan and wagon. That sounds like a recipe for convoluted and overwrought styling but thankfully this is not the case.
The ZDX boasts surprising and elegant lines that swoop, slide, and dive from the sharp nose to the wide rear. Angles, curves, flats, and straights are all applied here and work well together to create a package that differentiates itself from others on the road. As automotive enthusiasts, we often opine about how boring automotive design is in 99% of cars on the road. We talk about how we wish we could have something fun to drive and interesting to look at. The Acura ZDX, to steal a line from my friend Dan Roth of Autoblog, is like driving a concept car down the road. Yet it’s an Acura so it handles that road admirably and provides a top-notch, comfortable interior as well.
…for the front passengers at least.
I know there are quite a few of you who will disagree with this post, and that is part of what makes being an automotive enthusiast so great – we have opinions. This is the 2010 Acura ZDX and in my opinion it is a truly stylish vehicle, and a work of modern automotive art.
I will have a full review of the ZDX later this week, so stay tuned.
The Acura ZDX
19 responses to “The Acura ZDX”
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The lines are elegant indeed in the photos here – it's the fact that there's another foot of car below the bottom of the second photo that ruins the proportions, in my eyes. If the body itself was several inches lower, and they slapped on a grille that didn't violate multiple clauses of the Geneva Convention, it'd be quite stylish.
I must argue with your description of said styling, as well – the blend of sports sedan and wagon is a sports wagon, such as an M5 estate or CTS wagon (CTW?). This is the blend of Infiniti FX and Nissan 370Z (if it somehow manages to handle) or Acura MDX and Honda CR-Z (if not). It's a partially-correct answer to an unasked question. -
But it's too tall and CUV-like. Now, lower it several inches and lop about an inch of bodywork off the bottom and I'll agree.
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But then the wheels would be up into the shoulder line or you would have zero headroom… I think you can only have this shape with the height.
It doesn't feel tall out on the road either, which is a very good thing…
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Call us when you test the new TSX Wagon.
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-Is your number still 867-5309?
(I once told DamnElantra that this was my number, expecting that he would understand I was joking…he did not and told me my number was not working)-
great, now I've got that song stuck in my head!
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explain the rest jeff! it was on the day you were testing the damned audi r8!!!
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haha, i forgot that part…
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You can reach me at 776-2323 🙂
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I always liked 1-718-768-0044, usually read as one, seven one eight, seven-six-eight, double oh double four….
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Friction, running on fumes.
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Well, I'd agree with you that they do have interesting styling and it's good that someone is willing to buck current trends and do something different. While I may not necessarily like all of Acura's design traits– the fact that it's different and not awful to look at (good looking though, is another question entirely) makes it a good thing and I hope Acura continues in the current direction.
On the other hand, I'm not sure I like the crazy swoopiness going on over at Mazda…-
I think we (read: enthusiasts) get our info from so many places that we sort of start to mesh ideals in our heads…until we can see a specific car in person.
The ZDX, when I initially saw photos of it, I thought it looked ridiculous. After seeing it in person it started to grow on me right away, then after spending a week with it I really started to enjoy it and I love it for what it is.
It is the car that we say we want…yet we hate it when it's actually produced. It can haul more than two people, some gear, is sporty, comfortable, luxurious, and does not look like anything else out there.
I have to stop talking though or I will use up all my material I am saving for the review… haha
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I too, like the ZDX – so far, it's been the best example of Acura's sometimes ridiculous design language (although it befits the MDX well too). Even with the extra height, it just feels like a Rally Fighter for DINKs, which is at least half-cool.
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After seeing many shots of the ZDX on the webz, I thought it was damn ugly. When I saw it in person, I realized that the reason why I thought it was ugly is because every publication told me such. I wouldn't say I was misinformed, it is not my cup of tea, but ugly is quite extreme.
<img src="http://image.motortrend.com/f/26940659%2Bw750/acura-ZDX-front.jpg" width=562.50 height=351.75> -
I really wanted to hate it…but didn't.
My biggest gripe with the styling is the front overhang. When viewed in profile, there's about 18" too much nose in front of the front wheels.
Other than that…I might just claim it's the best looking Acura out there today.
…weird, I know. -
I love it! Very unique, and we need vehicles like this. Too much bland in the automotive world today.
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My name is Leo and I really like the ZDX and the Porsche Panamera.
Hell if I had the money I'd take a Panamera over the much drooled over Aston Martin Rapide which I find extremely boring.
Also the 458 Italia is damned ugly, it is a stylistic mess. But of course all the Journalist are drooling all over it. -
I too love the ZDX, stunning shape and quite distinctive.
Too bad the rear seat is only suitable for the decapitated.
I sat in one at NAIAS and I had already read about the head banging rear door opening, so I entered very carefully. It took some interesting neck contortions to get in the rear without injury. In the 90 seconds that I was in there, I watched 2 or 3 people bang their head getting in and out the other side.
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