Acura’s first dedicated electric vehicle is here, and apart from the covered grille, isn’t a massive departure from its other vehicles. That might come as a shock since the 500 hp crossover that revives the ZDX nameplate is actually based on hardware provided to it by General Motors. The 2024 Acura ZDX broke cover today at Monterey Car Week, being shown off in A-Spec and sporty Type S trim levels. Designed at the brand’s design studio in Los Angeles, and previewed by the Precision EV Concept from Monterey 2022, you could be forgiven for not noticing the GM connection.
The ZDX’s relationship with General Motors
is largely kept under the skin, in the form of the Utlium platform. Acura’s new
crossover is packing a big 102 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that can offer up
to 523 km of range. For the ZDX A-Spec, the battery pack will feed
a single, rear-mounted electric motor that Acura estimates will produce a
healthy 340 hp. Buyers can also opt for a twin-motor AWD
powertrain (as standard in the Type S) that makes 500 hp making
it the most powerful production crossover ever sold by Acura.
Whereas the ZDX A-Spec is tuned for
refinement, the Type S will offer a height-adjustable air suspension,
performance-tuned adaptive dampers, and big 15.6-inch Brembo brakes with yellow
six-piston calipers. A special Sport mode has also been created to ensure that
drivers are offered all 500 of their horses, with no concessions for comfort or
range.
The new ZDX can also recharge at rates of
up to 190 kW. On the fastest public charging networks, the ZDX A-Spec can
recover as many as 130 km of range in just 10 minutes. ZDX owners
will also be treated to a premium interior that marks the first use of a Bang
& Olufsen sound system for an Acura. In addition, there’s an 11-inch
digital cockpit and an 11.3-inch infotainment touchscreen display that has
wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (a pleasant surprise since GM said it
would be dropping the third-party systems).
