2024 Acura ZDX Type S Tested: Does Acura’s Most Powerful SUV Honor Its Type S Badge?

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Is the Acura ZDX Type S worth your attention? Glance at its profile from across a parking lot, and there’s little to distinguish it from other electric SUVs on the market, except for its uncanny resemblance to a hearse. Peel back the Acura skin, and the new ZDX reveals the bones and tissue—the General Motors Ultium architecture—it shares with the Cadillac Lyriq, Chevy Blazer, and Equinox EVs, and the Honda Prologue. Slipping inside, the GM influence continues through the aesthetics and user interface to the charging experience and power delivery. Although partnering with GM might have fast-tracked Acura’s first EV to market, the question now is whether we think this sporty electric SUV is worth the haste and if it lives up to its Acura badging.

Remember the First Acura ZDX?

The original ZDX began its ill-fated initial run in 2009. It materialized in a shape the manufacturer said combined SUV, coupe, and sedan cues, and it sold to the tune of just more than 7,000 units before Acura discontinued it in 2013, making it one of the rarest Acuras ever produced. Now the ZDX nameplate returns without spark plugs or tailpipes and bearing several firsts for the company.

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Acura ZDX: A-Spec vs. Type S

Although all configurations of the 2024 Acura ZDX share the same 102-kWh battery pack, the rear-wheel-drive A-Spec model should get you farther on one charge than the all-wheel-drive A-Spec and the Type S (313, 304, and 278 miles, respectively). Powertrain output figures for the RWD single-motor A-Spec are 358 hp and 324 lb-ft of torque, increasing to 499 hp and 544 lb-ft (the most torque ever seen in a production Acura) for the Type-S. In addition to the power boost, Type S customers enjoy monstrous yellow Brembo brake calipers, 22-inch wheels (largest ever on an Acura), and Type S badging on the charge-port flap, steering wheel, headrests, and rear gate.

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Living With the ZDX Type S

Here’s the ideal situation for the 2024 Acura ZDX Type S: You’re a first-time EV owner,

 and this is your first Acura. Your home is outfitted for Level 2 charging, and you have wiggle room in your budget to spring for the Type S over the A-Spec ZDX. You should be quite content with your purchase.

Those with a more discerning taste for sporty SUVs or EVs in general, pay attention: Everyday riding draws only minor complaints as the Type S has sharp looks, enough interior niceties, and it mostly welcomes spirited drivers. We found route planning with the onboard Android navigation to be finnicky, especially when we wanted to arrive at a charging stop with a specific state of charge (SOC) on the battery. To that end, the ZDX will not display the battery's SOC as a numeric percentage while the vehicle is in motion. You must either be parked, actively charging, or looking at the Acura Mobile application on your smart device to view SOC. Otherwise, you’re left to estimate based on the “miles remaining” or the infographic depicting SOC as a stylized fuel gauge.

For an SUV with such played-out proportions, we hoped the interior would do more to dazzle us. Instead, the General Motors influence is overwhelming. We were left wondering why the Chevrolet Blazer EV gets sportier air vents and infotainment screen shapes than the ZDX Type S. We also pondered the placement of the Drive Mode button. Instead of a rotary dial prominently fixed to the center stack à la the Acura MDX, the new ZDX has the button hidden by the driver’s left knee like Harry Potter under the staircase.

The material quality and design of the front seats is worthy of praise, and anyone occupying the rear seats should find plenty of overhead clearance for a 6-foot frame, plus a solid amount of foot room. The Type S’ hearse-like silhouette also makes for an appreciable amount of rear cargo space, especially with the back seats folded forward.

Looking past the gripes, AcuraWatch 360+ (you might know it as GM Super Cruise) did a commendable job of centering the car within lanes, executing lane changes, and not jerking us onto unwanted exit ramps. We also give glowing marks to another Acura first—the collaboration with Bang & Olufson on the speaker array within the ZDX Type S.

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How Does It Drive?

Electric cars are known for instantaneous power delivery—all of it, all at once; just stab the go-pedal. The 2024 Acura ZDX Type S does not launch from a standstill quite like other vehicles in its class. Where some electric SUVs will punch you squarely back into your seat, the ZDX Type S applies its 499 horses and 544 lb-ft of twist with a good-natured shove after a split-second hesitation. It appears to have more giddy-up accelerating from 20 mph (and even 30 and 40) than from a cold stop, and perhaps that was the goal.

The ZDX Type S will reach 60 mph in 4.2 seconds—plenty quick for everyday applications. It’s quicker than the AWD Cadillac Lyriq (4.8 seconds), the AWD Acura ZDX A-Spec (5.4 seconds), and even the Tesla Model Y Long Range (4.4 seconds). For anyone who has closed-course plans for their ZDX Type S, it’ll dispatch the quarter mile in 12.7 seconds at 113.3 mph and keep accelerating until its limited top speed of 130.

Those big yellow Brembo calipers earn their keep reeling in nearly 6,000 pounds of SUV from 60 mph to nothing in 113 feet. That’s right on par with the Ford Mustang Mach-E 4x GT (112 feet) and the Tesla Model Y (118 feet). Although the ZDX Type S has some impressive clamping force you can truly feel through the pedal, the brakes overheated quickly when we repeated our panic stops. Opting for the A-Spec trim adds about 18 feet to your panic-braking distance with no change to the quick heat buildup.

The ZDX Type S also boasts the longest wheelbase of any Acura, and it struts its stuff a bit more in the twists. It shows off its adaptive air suspension (a carryover from MDX that conveniently meshed with the Ultium “skateboard” architecture), its unique, quicker steering ratio (15.9 versus the A-Spec's 18.4), and its pair of stouter anti-roll bars. Add in the 275/40 22-inch Continental PremiumContact 6 tires, and the Type S was adequately equipped to corner to the tune of 0.86 g on average, a noticeably grippier figure than the ZDX A-Spec on smaller, more all-purpose tires (0.78 g). We found the Type S became a bit more playful exiting turns after we flicked and poked our way through the touchscreen menus to disable traction control.

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Charging

EV owners who have their homes equipped for Level 2 charging should expect to add about 30 miles of range to their batteries every hour the ZDX Type S is plugged into its 240-volt source. When connected to a DC fast charger, Acura claims the Type S will pull a maximum of 190 kW.

Here, we’d normally report on how the ZDX Type S behaved when connected to a publicly available DC fast charger while noting its charging curve, time required to achieve a full charge, and further diving into its real-world range, among other things. We tried to charge multiple times using Electrify America’s (EA) 350-kW receptacles and experienced curiously low rates. Our Type S ramped up and briefly accepted power at about 170 kW before dropping sharply and stabilizing at 30 kW. Other attempts peaked similarly before dropping below 100 kW; connecting to EA 150-kw DC fast-charging stations resulted in more reliable charging behavior. Acura and EA cited isolated heat-related issues with the EA charging banks and the charging hardware aboard the Type S. Ambient temperatures were in the mid 90s.

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Final Thoughts

Lifelong Acura fans might have some soul searching to do before bringing home a 2024 ZDX Type S. First, is it worth it? Stepping up to Type S from the AWD ZDX A-Spec is a $9,000 increase that gets you more oomph at the pedal, snazzy wheels and brakes, air suspension, less range, and a few more goodies. Next, this isn’t the lightweight and nimble Acura of yore. The nearly three-ton EV can still rip through the twists and will blow down the straightaways at breakneck speed, but the handling is not as refined as other Acuras. Finally, where we hoped the ZDX Type S would bring the charm usually associated with Acura, we got, instead, a heaping dose of General Motors. We’d gladly have waited a bit longer for a sporty EV that was at least a bit more Acura.

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