The Acura ZDX costs $62,959 to own, and 63% is depreciation

Our calculator puts the five-year cost of owning a 2024 Acura ZDX at $62,959. That is about $1,049 a month, and it is almost exactly what the car costs to buy. The twist is where the money goes. Depreciation takes $39,743 of it, which is 63 percent of the total. Electricity, repairs, and maintenance combined come to far less.

That is the real story of this car. The ZDX is not expensive to run. It is expensive to own because it loses value fast and costs a lot to insure.

Most of your ZDX bill is a car you no longer own

We assume a purchase price of $64,100. After five years at 12,000 miles a year, the depreciation figure says you have given up $39,743 of that. The rest of the bill is small by comparison: $3,628 for fuel (electricity, in this case), $1,896 for repairs, $1,938 for maintenance, and $255 for registration. Those four lines add up to $7,717 over five years.

So the running costs are the good news. Maintenance on an electric SUV is mostly tires, brake fluid, cabin filters, and software. No oil changes, no spark plugs, no exhaust. Repairs at $1,896 is a modest estimate, and it assumes the battery and motors behave. The ZDX is built on a General Motors electric platform shared with the Honda Prologue and the Cadillac Lyriq, so it is not a brand-new, unproven design. Still, it is a first-year model, and first-year cars sometimes find new ways to surprise their owners.

The bad news is the other two lines. Depreciation is the big one. Insurance is the quiet one.

Insurance is the cost nobody puts in the brochure

Our calculator estimates $15,499 for five years of insurance. That is roughly $3,100 a year, and it is more than four times what we estimate you will spend on fuel. It is also eight times what you will spend on maintenance.

This is an estimate based on the car's value and class. It is not a quote. Your own number will depend on your age, your zip code, your driving record, and your insurer, and it could land well above or below ours. Get a real quote before you sign anything.

The reason for the high figure is simple. A $64,000 electric SUV costs a lot to replace, and electric vehicles tend to be pricey to repair after a crash. Anyone shopping the ZDX should treat insurance as a car payment's quieter cousin.

What this car is, and who it is for

The ZDX is Acura's first all-electric vehicle. It is a sloped-roof SUV, built with GM's battery hardware and finished with Acura styling and tuning. It comes in rear-drive and all-wheel-drive versions, plus a much faster Type S.

It is for someone who wants a quiet, comfortable electric SUV with a luxury badge, has a place to charge at home, and plans to keep the car for a long time or lease it. It suits a household that already trusts Honda and Acura service and wants an EV without the Tesla experience.

It is not for people who buy a car and sell it after three years. That is where the depreciation hits hardest. It is also not for apartment dwellers without reliable charging, long-distance road trippers who want the most dependable fast-charging network, or anyone who wants a car that feels distinctly Acura. This one drives like a smooth appliance, and the shared platform shows.

Trims and pricing

Acura sells the ZDX in a few versions. The prices below are approximate launch figures before destination fees and any dealer markups, so check the Acura build page for current numbers before you budget.

Trim	MSRP	What you actually get
A-Spec RWD	About $64,500	Single rear motor, big battery, Google built-in infotainment, Bose audio, sporty styling touches
A-Spec AWD	About $66,500 and up	Second motor on the front axle, a little more power, better traction in bad weather
Type S	About $74,500	Much stronger performance, upgraded brakes, performance-tuned suspension, special styling

Our $64,100 purchase assumption sits right at the entry of the range. If you add AWD or step up to the Type S, expect the depreciation and insurance figures above to climb with the price.

For the first-year cost section below, we treat the A-Spec AWD as the mid-level version, since it is the one most buyers in cold or wet climates will choose.

Powertrain and real-world range

All ZDX models use a large battery pack of roughly 100 kWh. The A-Spec versions make a bit over 300 horsepower, and the Type S makes about 500. The rear-drive car has the longest range, the AWD slightly less, and the Type S the least.

Official range and efficiency numbers are listed on fueleconomy.gov, which is the place to compare the ZDX to its rivals. We would rather you read the EPA's own figures than have us repeat them from memory.

In dollar terms, our calculator puts five years of energy at $3,628. That is about $726 a year at 12,000 miles. If you charge at home on a cheap overnight rate, you may beat it. If you rely on public fast chargers, you will blow past it, because those cost far more per mile.

What it gets right

The cabin is quiet. That matters more than it sounds. Acura worked hard on sound insulation, and the 18-speaker Bose system is one of the better audio setups at this price.

The infotainment runs Google built-in, which means Google Maps and Google Assistant are part of the car, not something projected from your phone. It can plan charging stops on a route, which is useful. The screen is large and easy to read, and the front seats are comfortable on a long drive.

The tailgate is wide, the cargo area is big, and the ride is smooth. For a family that wants an electric commuter that does not feel like a science project, those things count.

What it gets wrong

The price is the first problem. At roughly $64,000 and up, you are paying luxury money for a car whose bones come from a cheaper Honda and a Chevrolet-adjacent platform. The Prologue shares much of this hardware and costs noticeably less. You are paying for the badge, the audio, and some trim.

The second problem is that it does not feel special. It is pleasant and competent, but not memorable. A few interior pieces look and feel more ordinary than the sticker implies.

Third, the rear roofline eats into headroom for taller back-seat passengers, and the sloped shape makes it less practical than the SUVs it competes with.

Fourth, depreciation. Electric SUVs from traditional makers have been losing value quickly, and a $39,743 loss over five years is hard to defend. Buyers who value resale should pay attention to that number before they fall for the test drive.

Safety ratings

We could not confirm a full set of crash-test results for the 2024 ZDX at the time of writing. Check nhtsa.gov and iihs.org directly. If a rating is missing, treat that as unrated, not as a pass.

The ZDX comes with Acura's driver-assistance suite as standard, which includes forward collision warning with automatic braking and lane-keeping help. Those features are useful, but they are not a substitute for an actual crash rating.

First-year ownership: the A-Spec AWD

The first year is the most expensive per month, mostly because of depreciation.

• Depreciation: New cars typically lose 15 to 22 percent in year one. On a $64,100 purchase, that is roughly $9,600 to $14,100.
• Energy: At 15,000 miles instead of our usual 12,000, expect around $900 for the year if you charge mostly at home. More if you use public fast chargers regularly.
• Insurance: Our estimate is about $3,100 a year, and a realistic range is perhaps $2,500 to $3,800. That is an estimate, not a quote.
• First service: There is no oil change. Expect a tire rotation, a cabin filter check, and an inspection at around the one-year mark. Budget a couple of hundred dollars at most.

Put that together and the first year can easily cost $13,000 to $19,000, nearly all of it from value you cannot get back.

How it stacks up

Cadillac Lyriq: The ZDX wins on a calmer cabin and an easier-to-use interface. It loses because the Lyriq looks more distinctive and offers more of a luxury feel for similar money.

Hyundai Ioniq 5: The ZDX wins on interior quiet and a more upscale badge. It loses on price, charging speed, and value, since the Ioniq 5 costs less and charges very quickly.

Tesla Model Y: The ZDX wins on interior materials and a traditional dealer service experience. It loses on charging network access, software, and range per dollar.

Verdict

Buy the ZDX if you want a quiet, upscale electric SUV, can charge at home, and plan to keep it for a decade or lease it. The running costs are low, and the cabin is pleasant to live in.

Skip it if you care about resale, if your insurer quotes a high number, or if you are buying on a budget. At $62,959 over five years, with $39,743 of that gone to depreciation, the ZDX is a costly way to own a car that its cheaper cousins do almost as well.

The best way to buy one is used, after someone else has paid the biggest part of the bill.