Just in time for the holidays, a brand-new Acura ZDX Type S has landed in my apartment parking lot. This all-electric SUV—Acura's first such endeavor—is the top-of-the-line model, denoted by its Type S badge. In this, its most athletic guise, it gets 499 horsepower and 544 pound-feet of torque, as well as enormous 15.6-inch brake rotors up front paired to six-pot Brembo calipers, height-adjustable air suspension, and for the first time on any Acura, hands-free cruise control.
I haven't put many miles on it yet, although I've driven its GM sister cars, the Cadillac Lyriq and the Chevy Blazer EV, previously. The Lyriq I found excellent, and the Blazer EV I strongly disliked, so a lot of how the ZDX holds up will come down to chassis tuning, interior design, and infotainment quality. Luckily, unlike the GM versions, the Honda/Acura-designed EVs of this platform do include Apple CarPlay, so I won't be getting lost trying to run cranberry sauce around town.
I didn't need much time with the ZDX to know it's one of my favorite SUV designs in a hot minute. It's impressively similar to the Acura Precision EV Concept that debuted in 2022 to foreshadow Acura's new electrified design language, and the production car even retained the dramatic, wide proportions of that concept. The illuminated pentagon grille and character-line running lights are attention-grabbing without feeling tacky like some competitors (Mercedes-Benz, I am looking at you).
The only EVs that come close to looking as futuristic and handsome as this are the Hyundai Ioniq models. Painted in Type S-exclusive Double Apex Blue Pearl, also one of the best colors I've seen a modern car offered in, it looks like a million bucks. I expect that rolling up to Thanksgiving dinner in this will impress the in-laws.
I'll be putting it through its paces heading to my in-laws' for Thanksgiving through the grueling slog of I-5 holiday traffic, and I anticipate I'll be using hands-free cruise control whenever possible. Chances to drive this ZDX in Type S-worthy anger will be slim, I suspect, but hopefully it's fun enough to enjoy a good on-ramp here or there. Let me know what you'd like to know, and I'll make sure I answer your burning questions in the full review.
In the meantime, happy Thanksgiving! I'll let y'all know what the in-laws think.
What’s Good So Far?
- Stylistically, it's one of the best-looking SUVs on the market, especially in its Type S exclusive colors.
- The cargo capacity (28.7 cubic feet) and passenger volume (105.1 cubic feet) is cavernous, and it can fit four American-sized adults comfortably.
- Apple CarPlay on an Ultium SUV instantly remedies one of my biggest complaints with GM's new closed-ecosystem EVs.
What’s Bad So Far?
- The range is just 287 miles, which is middling. The less-expensive ZDX A-Spec AWD trim has 9 fewer horsepower but it adds 26 additional miles of range, and that feels like a worthy trade-off.
- The interior switchgear and styling don't feel very Acura. It retains a lot of GM character—which means it feels cheap for a $75,000 SUV.
- The Type S has a staggering curb weight of 6,052 pounds, which is roughly 1,300 pounds more than the more-powerful Kia EV6 GT.
