 2010 Acura ZDX. Click image to enlarge |
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2010 Acura ZDX
The Acura ZDX, our long-term test vehicle, has taken the prime spot in our garage as it has become the daily driver of choice.
It wasn’t always like that.
Get behind the wheel for the first time and the ZDX can be intimidating. Despite its high SUV proportions, the seating position is very sedan like. One looks out over a long, wide hood that disappears from view below a high dash top. To the rear, the view is obscured by narrow rear side windows, long wide C-pillars, high rear seat head restraints and by the dramatic slope of the roof line that narrows rearward visibility.
 2010 Acura ZDX. Click image to enlarge |
You quickly learn to use the side mirrors. Positioned properly, they eliminate blind spots. You also learn to check twice before making lane changes. A quick shoulder check reveals, well, very little. In the Acura ZDX you learn to think before you act.
I have to admit that my first day in the ZDX was disconcerting and I drove with an extra measure of caution that I usually reserve only for vehicles I rarely drive – a valuable old classic, for example, or a 3500-series truck towing a 20,000 pound trailer – with vigilance, care and plenty of anticipation. Driving with the limited side and rear visibility was challenging. This is different, I thought. It will take a bit of getting used to.
After her first day behind the wheel, my spouse was a bit blunter than I. “I hate it,” she said. “You drive it.”
But today, I have to ask permission to get some wheel time. The ZDX is her preferred means of transportation, the favorite vehicle in the garage. So what happened?
 2010 Acura ZDX. Click image to enlarge |
The ZDX adjusts your driving style – and for the better in my opinion. The first thing I do when entering a vehicle is to adjust the side mirrors. Invariably the previous driver set them up as supplemental rear-view mirrors instead of the blind spot warning devices that they are (to learn how to set your mirrors properly, see this article by Paul Williams).
Once we became comfortable with the ZDX, in particular using the side mirrors for lane changes, the whole driving experience changed.
Things that my spouse and I particularly like: the driving position and seat comfort; access to essential controls like heating and ventilation, the audio system and the central controller that is used to adjust many of the vehicles functions; the readily available power from the ZDX’s 300 horsepower, 3.7-litre V6 engine; excellent handling without sacrificing ride comfort and; the incredible back-up camera system.
 2010 Acura ZDX. Click image to enlarge |
The ZDX has a high and wide step in to the front seats, but once inside the ZDX feels and drives more like a car than an SUV – and more car-like than any car-based SUV I’ve ever driven.
The front seats are leather covered and heated. They can be adjusted in multiple ways (10-way for the driver, 8-way for the passenger) to find a comfortable position for any body type. Even rear seat passengers are well taken care of with two contoured buckets (a third can sit between) that are also heated. The steering column is power adjustable and linked to the memory seat system that maintains a driver’s preferred setting for the driver’s seat, side mirrors, steering wheel position and climate control. The system is linked to the key used and the personal adjustments begin as soon as the door is opened.
