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2025 Acura ZDX First Drive Review: First electric Acura or alternative Cadillac?

MONTECITO, Calif. Í– The 2025 Acura ZDX not only looks like an Acura, but it’s arguably one of the best-looking Acuras ever. If weÂ’re talking SUVs, whatÂ’s going to topple it from the podium? The original ZDX? Beneath that skin, however, itÂ’s no secret that the new ZDX rides on General MotorsÂ’ Ultium electric platform, has an interior constructed with General Motors parts, and is even built by General Motors in Tennessee. Ultimately, though, the most GM thing about the ZDX may be this overall assessment of it: This electric SUV provides more performance and features for the money than competitors, but the interior is a real letdown. Sure sounds like any performance Cadillac from the past two decades to me. The trouble for the ZDX is that the competitor it most closely aligns with in terms of price, feature content and EV specs is literally a Cadillac Â… but things have changed. Specifically, the Cadillac Lyriq doesnÂ’t suffer from that whole “interior is a real letdown” thing. Far from it, itÂ’s a reason to buy a Lyriq. Furthermore, the two EVs not only share the same Ultium platform, but their motor offerings are basically the same with power outputs and ranges that closely align. ItÂ’s therefore impossible not to keep coming back to comparisons between the two. Even if the ZDX is a decent value, complete with its $7,500 federal tax credit, why get one instead of the more luxurious Lyriq? In short, it comes with even more features for the money, and boasts the sort of chassis upgrades and handling acumen Cadillac has moved away from with the Lyriq.   So thatÂ’s where that comparison rests, and although IÂ’ll get back into that whole “not really an Acura” angle, letÂ’s take a closer look at the specs that more objectively let the new ZDX stack up well to vehicles that arenÂ’t mechanically related. There are three versions of the ZDX, with no options apart from color and a summer-tire option. Starting at $65,850, including destination but not the federal tax credit, the base ZDX A-Spec becomes the only other rear-wheel-drive Acura besides the first NSX. It produces 358 horsepower and 324 pound-feet of torque, and achieves an EPA-estimated range of 313 miles from its 102-kilwatt-hour battery pack. These specs are roughly equal to the rear-motor Lyriq and Chevy Blazer EV, but they amount to a stronger proposition than anything offered by Hyundai/Kia/Genesis, while comparable luxury models are considerably more expensive.

7 major automakers to build open EV charging network

A new joint venture established by BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis will build a new North American electric vehicle charging network on a scale designed to compete with Tesla's industry-benchmark Supercharger network. The 30,000-plus planned new chargers will accommodate both Tesla's almost-standard North American Charging System (NACS) and existing automakers' Combined Charging System (CCS) options, effectively guaranteeing compatibility with the vast majority of current and upcoming electric models — whether they're from one of the involved automakers or not.  "With the generational investments in public charging being implemented on the Federal and State level, the joint venture will leverage public and private funds to accelerate the installation of high-powered charging for customers. The new charging stations will be accessible to all battery-powered electric vehicles from any automaker using Combined Charging System (CCS) or North American Charging Standard (NACS) and are expected to meet or exceed the spirit and requirements of the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program." Critically, the automakers involved will have a say in how the charging tech is implemented, guaranteeing that the hardware will play nicely with each automaker's in-house charging systems. Hyundai and Kia, for example, were hesitant to jump on board the Tesla NACS bandwagon earlier this year over concerns that the Supercharger network is insufficient for powering the two automakers' 800-volt charging systems; similar tech is used by Volkswagen and Porsche.  In addition to providing much-needed capacity and high-output charging for America's growing fleet of electric cars and trucks, the new network will integrate seamlessly with each automaker's in-app and in-vehicle features, rather than forcing customers to use third-party tools and payment systems, as is the case with some existing public charging infrastructure.  "The functions and services of the network will allow for seamless integration with participating automakersÂ’ in-vehicle and in-app experiences, including reservations, intelligent route planning and navigation, payment applications, transparent energy management and more. In addition, the network will leverage Plug & Charge technology to further enhance the customer experience," the announcement said.

This is why Acura hasn't yet announced its EV strategy

Despite parent company Honda's green and friendly brand image, luxury marque Acura hasn't made a grand statement about electrifying their lineup. Even as brands like Jaguar, Land Rover, Bentley, and Infiniti pledge to entirely electrify their lineups in the coming decade, Acura has held back. The reason, according to Acura head honcho Jon Ikeda, is that it's focusing on reestablishing itself as a performance brand. In a wide-ranging interview with Automotive News, Ikeda says Acura came out of the gate strong in 1986 and did well for the first 20 years, but when the bottom fell out of the market in 2008 the brand experienced "growing pains." That spawned a period of self-reflection and, as Ikeda puts it, "What are we about?" The decision was made to go back to Acura's roots as the performance division of Honda. "That's what Acura is. That's what I fell in love with," Ikeda says. Ikeda joined Honda in 1989, but his promotion to Acura boss in 2015 was a surprise to many, including himself. That's because Honda had a tradition of putting engineers at the helm, and Ikeda was a designer, responsible for the looks of such cars as the FSX concept, 2001 Civic Coupe, and beloved 2004 Acura TL. 2021 Acura TLX Advance View 38 Photos When asked by AN whether Acura is worried that luxury competitors are putting stakes in the ground to claim EV brand identities, Ikeda says no. "For us as a brand, we needed to kind of refocus and reestablish ourselves as a performance brand... We want everybody to understand where we are, what we're about first. Even if we go electric we will continue to be a performance division of Honda and performance will be our focus." To earn its performance street cred, Acura poured resources into the second-gen NSX hybrid supercar, which served as testbed for how electricity can work harmoniously with performance. They will continue to campaign IMSA race cars to earn trophies as proof, and Ikeda also wants to bring more Type S models to the lineup. Ikeda says Acura is still in the process of rebuilding its foundation, but when he's done he expects people to associate Acura with performance. That sure seems ambitious to us, but products like the new TLX are a helpful stepping stone. It also explains why Acura is investing in different platforms to differentiate itself from Honda. To be clear, Ikeda isn't ruling out electrification.