Acura pulled the covers off its first all-electric vehicle, the new ZDX electric SUV, on Thursday during Monterey Car Week festivities. The exciting bit? There's a Type S version with sleek looks and an estimated 500 horsepower.
Let's focus on that Type S model. Acura says it'll get power from a "performance-tuned" dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup and ride on a height-adjustable air suspension with adaptive dampers. There are also massive 15.6-inch Brembos in the front, under its 22-inch wheels, to bring the SUV to a halt.
Both the Type S and base A-Spec models get their juice from a 102-kWh battery. There's no official EPA range estimate yet, but Acura estimates 288 miles from the performance model, and between 315 and 325 miles from the 340-hp A-Spec, depending on if you opt for a single- or dual-motor setup. Acura says the ZDX can take DC fast charging at up to 190 kW.
The ZDX is built using GM's Ultium platform, which among other things, underpins the upcoming Chevrolet Blazer EV. Honda will also use this platform for its Prologue EV.
Inside, there's an 11-inch digital gauge cluster for the driver as well as an 11.3-inch center infotainment screen. The car also packs built-in Google tech, including Google Maps, Google Assistant, and Google Play. Queue up the tunes on the Google tech, and they'll play through a new 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.
As for safety tech, the ZDX is the first in the lineup to get the "AcuraWatch 360+" system,"—also known as Honda Sensing 360—which is the automaker's advanced "hands-free" driver-assistance program. Honda said in November 2022 that this tech would make its way to the U.S. market sometime in the second half of this decade, but now it looks like we may see it a bit sooner than that. The SUV will additionally come with blind zone steering assist, rear pedestrian alert, and rear cross-traffic braking tech. Basically, all the tech.
Acura says the Type S will run buyers somewhere in the $70,000 price range, while the base model starts in the $60,000s. First customer deliveries are expected in early 2024. If you want one, you'll have to go through Acura's new "omni-channel digital sales process," which the automaker says you can do from your home or at a dealer.
A native of the famously car-loving city of New York, Road & Track’s digital director is constantly surrounded by beat-up old project cars. Brown’s daily driver is a problematic manual-swapped 1991 BMW 325i sedan, but for special occasions he pulls out his E34 M5 of the same vintage. Before R&T, Brown worked at Jalopnik, The Drive, and Business Insider, starting in the industry in 2015.
