Zodiac by Dupont is a great product. It is a brand of
quartz-surfacing made from a blend of crushed quartz, pigments and plastic resins. It has the look of natural stone but is much more durable and resists scratches and scorching. It is also non-porous so it resists stains and bacteria and doesn't require sealing like granite, marble, etc. Other brands of quartz-surfacing include Silestone by Consentino and Cambria (Mattamy only offers Zodiac.) Some of the display kitchens at the Aya showroom have quartz-surfacing counters.
There are also
solid-surfacing products like Dupont's Corian which Mattamy offers. This is a great product too but has a different look than quartz-surfacing and scratches. A benefit of Corian is that it is seamless; Zodiac will have seams like granite.
Zodiac pricing is comparable to granite. To give you an idea, Zodiac colours are classified into three groups - Group 1 Zodiac pricing is roughly the same as Group 3 granite; Group 2 Zodiac - Group 5 granite; Group 3 Zodiac - Group 6 granite (Mattamy's pricing).
It is definitely worth looking into as an alternative to granite. I will most likely have my kitchen counter changed to quartz surfacing after we move in.
http://www.zodiaq.com
http://www.silestoneusa.com