The electrification quest for some automotive manufacturers has been a challenging time, but with the help of today’s technology, there are glimmers of hope for some of the popular who don’t mind making the electric adoption. On the flip side, electrification has been a rather interesting feat for automakers like Honda and Acura as they have made joint efforts with General Motors for vehicles like the new Acura ZDX that I had a chance to check out this week.
The Acura ZDX was once known as a somewhat quirky crossover, but now the name has been brought back for the brand’s first all-electric vehicle. Having a joint venture with General Motors and borrowing much of what is found in the new Cadillac Lyriq EV (in addition to the platform stablemates of the Chevrolet Blazer EV and Equinox EV), the ZDX is afforded a bonus in being a complete package serving up the proper luxury goods in a decently sized two-row electric crossover. However, there’s the one unfortunate sightly takeaway of the design going a little awry in that you can’t help but see the design aesthetics of a hearse from certain angles of the new ZDX where the chrome design line that slopes down in into the rear quarter panel window just doesn’t work well. Otherwise, there’s a lot to appreciate in what Acura has done to make this GM platform their own.
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The benefit of electric vehicles being the instant torque has been a major selling point. Moreover, EVs that have an abundance of power, like the new ZDX Type S touting all-wheel-drive through its dual motors totaling an output of 499 horsepower and 544 lb-ft of torque, are quite fun and keep you entertained with their unapologetic acceleration. The ZDX Type S is a rather hefty vehicle, tipping the scale at 6,052 pounds, which isn’t exactly hidden through its adaptive air suspension system.
On the road, the ZDX performs reasonably well but with a soft approach to things, especially in the Normal drive mode. Switching to the Sport mode or configuring the Individual drive mode, which can be retained in memory upon the next vehicle startup, spices things up for throttle response instead of having somewhat of a dull step-in for acceleration. At full tilt in the Sport drive mode, the ZDX Type S hits 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. Turn-in and handling are decent, but the extra heft shows its face at times when the eco-minded 22-inch Michelin Primacy all-season tires start to bark (Acura offers a performance tire option in place of the all-season tires). The height-adjustable air suspension does well to smooth out road imperfections and has a convenient, easy exit/entry lowering function. It also allows the vehicle to be lowered a bit out on the road through a manual toggle switch.
One of the more surprising aspects of the ZDX Type S, apart from the large 22-inch wheels, which is surprising for an EV, is the yellow-painted 6-piston Brembo brake calipers up front. Such a setup is welcome as there’s a lot of weight to contend with and bring to a stop. Speaking of bringing things to a stop, the braking regen is spot on for a realistic feeling, as it mimics what is found in other GM platform-sharing vehicles. There’s a nifty left-side shift paddle that acts as an on-the-fly regen and a one-pedal drive mode with two levels of regen.
In all, there’s a decent separation from the road in the ZDX Type S, which is good for those who want more luxury than sport. Those who are adventurous and want to tow are limited to a tow rating of just 3,500 pounds.
When it comes to charging and range, the ZDX Type S is capable of 278 miles on a full charge, which is down from the lower trim levels mostly due to the larger wheels and tires adding more rolling resistance. The ZDX A-Spec RWD model, with its single motor producing 358 horsepower, gets an estimated range of 313 miles for comparison.
The 102-kWh lithium-ion battery pack can be charged up in the ZDX Type S from 20% to 80% in 42 minutes utilizing a DC fast charger at the maximum rate of 190 kW. In the real world the ZDX Type S seems to match its EPA estimates of 83 MPGe city (2.46 mi/kWH) and 74 MPGe highway (2.2 mi/kWh) and I was on my way to getting about 274 miles of range out of a full charge.
Having the GM Ultium EV platform for the new ZDX affords Acura the opportunity to ‘borrow’ many proven traits from GM’s lineup of EV crossovers. With that, the ZDX Type S feels very GM-ish on the inside, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, the interior could use some work to make it more upscale and luxurious as there are more hard plastic surfaces than I would like. Additionally, the interior just isn’t as plush as you find in the Cadillac Lyriq.
Apart from the few shortcomings inside, there’s a lot to work with for what the ZDX Type S offers in its flat floor space with its heated and ventilated 16-way power-adjustable front seats, rear heated outboard seats all touting Milano perforated leather, ambient color-selectable LED interior lighting, a large panoramic sunroof, and a heated flat-bottom power-adjustable steering wheel.
In keeping with today’s tech, the ZDX Type S offers up an 11-inch digital gauge cluster that nicely integrates a large navigation mapping interface, either from the vehicle’s navigation or from your smartphone via wireless (or USB-connected) Apple CarPlay or Android Auto integration. The infotainment system, fed through a 13.3-inch touchscreen, borrows the fundamentals from other GM vehicles but plays on keeping things simple. There is a learning curve for finding out which ‘additional control’ functions are embedded into the screen, such as access to the headlight controls, automatic high beam headlight setting, and even the window lockout feature – many functions that didn’t have to be on-screen but you find that you rarely interact with such.
The cargo space is on average for such a class of vehicle, which is access by a smart power liftgate. There are power fold buttons for the rear 60/40-split seat backs. Unfortunately, there is no front trunk (frunk), which puts the total cargo storage volume of just over 29 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks in place at a slight disadvantage compared to some other crossover EVs.
Visibility out back is somewhat challenging, but Acura utilizes another page out of GM’s book with a digital review mirror camera system. Other safety aspects include GM’s Super Cruise automated driving system, automatic braking front and rear, and a 360-degree surround camera system. Other active safety features, most of what you expect, are all included.
Acura’s foray into electrification had to include help from someone or they would have been massively delayed in such an approach. However, in the next couple of years, we should expect some in-house-developed electrified platforms to make their way to the forefront with more Acura influence than badge and hearse-like styling. Maybe then we could get a more respected pricing point that doesn’t leap over its closest counterpart, the Cadillac Lyriq Sport 3 ($73K with $7,500 EV bonus cash offering) costing slightly less than the ZDX Type S at $75,450 as tested, which includes a $1,350 destination charge.
