Overview & Reviews

Acura is an upscale automaker known for offering cars with impressive levels of luxury, features and performance. It's come a long way in a short time, however, as the history of Acura is relatively brief. Parent company Honda introduced the Acura brand to the U.S. market in 1986 in an effort to create a separate luxury division for its products. At first, it was just a two-car show: the Legend sedan, which was the first true Japanese luxury car sold in America, and the Integra sport coupe and sedan.

Though essentially a marketing creation for the North American market, the Acura brand was immediately successful. Consumers liked the features, performance and upscale image of Acura cars, along with the fact that Acuras were backed by Honda's reputation for reliability and low ownership costs. In 1991, Acura introduced its crown jewel: the all-aluminum NSX sports car, which offered performance close to that of other exotic cars while undercutting them in price.

As Acura's product line grew in the 1990s, however, the company struggled a bit. Some of its products were duds, and it risked alienating loyal customers when it replaced the Legend and Integra names with alphanumeric designations. The company jumped on the hot luxury SUV bandwagon in the mid-'90s with the SLX. Unfortunately, the SLX was just a rebadged version of an Isuzu SUV, and its quality did not match customers' expectations.

For the new millennium, Acura revamped its product range. An all-new SUV called the MDX debuted, sporting numerous family-friendly features, including a third-row seat. The Integra was replaced with the RSX sport coupe, and an all-new entry-level sport sedan called the TSX was introduced after that. A complete redesign of its most popular model, the midsize TL sedan, followed, as did a redesign of its flagship RL luxury sedan.

By mid-decade the NSX was gone, but Acura filled out its model lineup with the street-performance-oriented RDX compact crossover, the TSX wagon and the ZDX, a fastback-styled crossover that placed unique styling over practicality. Today Acura is still trying to find its ideal niche but there's no denying the quality of Acura's vehicles, nor their appealing mix of performance, technology and value.

User Reviews:

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  Amazing Car! Never want to drive anything else - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Erica - October 20 - 11:51 pm

  Bought my RSX in 2009 with 50,000 miles and now in 2015 has 135,000 and drives like new. I have only done regular maintenance (oil change, breaks ect) Thought that it may be time to drive something newer so I test drove a TSX (2012)and ILX (2016)but prefer my RSX over them both. The RSX has great reliability, has never let me down. They are fast and hug to the road with impeccable handling. Love the simple design of the interior, comfortable bucket seats. Awesome sound system! The heat and AC work better in my car then most new cars I have been in which is impressive given my RSX is 12 years old. Know someone with the same car as me that has 336,000 miles on their RSX hope to be driving mine for that long as I havent found anything that compares. Absolutely love this car!!!

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  Good value but transmission annoying! - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Bob Ford - October 20 - 9:52 pm

  Leased the car about a year ago. Like the gas mileage but it has some annoying traits like the transmission. I should preface my comments by stating that I my previous car was a 2012 Audi S4 with manual transmission. This car was real fun to drive with the stick as I was able to stay in gear for max performance... My motivation for going with TLX was to get something more practical for work as I drive approx. 20K per year calling on clients and a manual tranny can be difficult if you run into stop and go highway traffic. Also wanted to keep my costs down so the TLX fit the bill for that reason as well. Anyway, the TLX even in sports mode tacks too high at lower gears and is sluggish in higher gears. I dont bother with the paddle shifters because I cant be bothered. Not the same as clutch and shifting. The other thing I find annoying is not being able to permanently disable the auto shut off which shuts the engine off when you come to complete stop in traffic or light. You can shut if off by pressing a button by the transmission controls but you have to do that every time you start the car. I forget to do this sometimes and car shuts off at light - completely unnecessary for the minimal positive affect on gas mileage in my opinion. In short, it is a solid car that I use primarily for work. It is dependable and provides very good gas mileage but a bit boring to drive. In hindsight, I wish I test drove a 2013 or 2014 Lexus GS 350 AWD on a purchase basis. I have a feeling that I would have liked the transmission more and would have been happy to give up a mile or two per gallon for a smother shifting tranny. Two more years to go on lease so plenty of time to research next vehicle!

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  Best car for the $$$ - 2015 Acura TLX
  By PJ - October 19 - 11:59 am

  Before making the purchase, Ive been comparing cars within the $40k to $50k range that are not necessarily in the same class, like the BMW 335xi, 435GC xi, Lexus ES 350, Audi A4, and the Acura TLX. Taking into consideration the included tech and the SH AWD system, the TLX was the clear winner. With regards to the 9 speed ZF transmission I think its hit or miss. I test drove three cars at the dealership and one car had a very jerky 1-2 and 2-3 shifts along with moderate in-cabin vibration between 60mph to 80mph and the other two did not. The jerkiness feels almost like letting go of the clutch too quickly while shifting a manual tranny car. I ended up purchasing the TLX V6 SH AWD with Advance package for 41780 OTD and I have no issues with transmission and it shifts like butter. The only gripe I have is the gas mileage in city. I drive in sport mode all the time and my commute is only 4 miles in the city. I only get about 16 mpg on the trip computer and I get about 250 miles per gas tank. On the highway it does great I was able to get 33mpg in sport mode easily.

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  More Luxury than sport - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Kelly - October 19 - 9:11 am

  Have put on about 1k miles in about a month. Came out of a 2013 Honda Accord Ex. First of all I would say the car is more on the luxury car that feels a liitle sporty, but not an overall sport sedan. SO her are my pro/cons. ...PROS: Very quiet they did a good job on sound islolation, excellent fit and finish feels like a tank very solid, good smooth power from engine, tranny shifts very smoothly ( for the most part--some fumbling sometimes, BTW i personally like the electronic shifter), very good fuel economy for V6, suspension feels premium, great truning radius due to PAWS, LED lights are excellent. ....CONS: too much cost cutting no spare tire, sterero is poor, Leatherette seats instead of leather no advanced saftely feature without higher trim pacakage ( even the civic has lane watch), no new technology ( the accord and new civic both have google auto and apple auto...why doesnt this 36k car????), screen inferface is a bit slow, back up camera has low resolution at night. Overall good not great... might be as happy with a accord V6 for purchasing for 5K less but good lease car due to good programs. On the fence on recommend, hope this helps!

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  Good fuel economy paired with good performance - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Rob - October 12 - 2:40 pm

  Great car so far. Nice and responsive, yes the fuel economy is pretty good as well. Pretty roomy too, and I am 65". Just a great all around car at a great price. Sure maybe the finish is not like that of BMW or Mercedes, but is more than good enough for me at this price point. Much more room than a 3-series BMW, wider, 4 wheel steering is nice, and repair are just so much more limited than the German cars. Wonderful resale value with Acura as well.

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  Shifty - 2015 Acura RLX
  By Joseph Alves - October 9 - 5:27 pm

  Quality of interior is mediocre. ^-cylinder shifting is annoyingly rough wifes 12 year old Subaru smoother.

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  Great entry level luxury car - 2015 Acura ILX
  By NicBran - October 3 - 8:12 pm

  Before purchasing this car, I had a Mazda RX-8 which I had owned for 9 years. I loved the car, I wasnt ready to give it up but the cost of repairs, the difficulty in repairing the car, the nickel and diming from Mazda because of the rotary engine was taking its toll and it finally came time for me to consider trading the car in for something more reliable. I had considered Audi and BMW, but the biggest "want" on my car wish list was that the vehicle had to be easy to repair and not cost an arm and a leg each time I took it in. I just wanted something that had the sleekness and handling of my RX-8 but with the engine of a Honda. So what better than an Acura? Granted, when I test drove the ILX, I was rather bored, I thought the car was too sedate. However, I had to remind myself that I was used to the squirreliness of the rear wheel drive on the RX-8 and that the sedateness of the ILX could be good for me. While the ILX does not handle as well as the RX-8 (I am a rather aggressive driver and enjoyed the manual transmission on the Mazda), the ILX is pretty decent in acceleration, handles corners well (I dont have to worry about fish tailing), and has an overall feeling of "gliding" that I really enjoy. I also love the interior. Some of the reviews on the ILX will say the interior is not as nice as the Audi A3 or the BMW 3 series, but I beg to differ. The interior is sleek and comfortable, the user interface on the touchscreen fairly easy to use. The one complaint I do have is that the navigation app is only compatible with iPhone and as I am a Galaxy user, it is useless to me. Also one thing to note with this car that salespeople at the dealership may argue with, is that this car performs WAY better on premium gasoline. When I purchased the car, the sales person said the car takes regular gas. I put regular in the car and experienced lagging at acceleration, rough idling, and I could feel the car stumbling when I would push down on the gas. When I brought it up to the guy who sold me the car, he said that was impossible, however, when I refueled with premium, the car was back to "gliding" and I have no trouble with acceleration. Use your best judgement but dont always listen to the guy selling the car. The guy who sold me my car knew nothing about the car and kept saying "It is a beautiful car, it sells itself". Overall, I am very happy I did not go with Audi or BMW and know that when this car will need servicing, I will not walk out missing a huge piece of my paycheck. It was a great transition from the RX-8.

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  Still Love it.... - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Scott - October 3 - 2:45 pm

  Just in case you are shopping for an early model year TSX, I wanted to confirm that these cars, even after 10+ years, are still fantastic. Theres a reason you still see so many on the road, they are bulletproof reliable and drive great, even after all these years. Mine is an April 2004 build, and Ill admit its been babied with just now 79K on it, but I still feel good getting in it and heading off to work. If you find one with a good maintenance history, you ought to have several more years of use with it. Ive done nothing but the normal stuff, like fluid flushes, brakes, battery, etc... It really is amazing how well built of a car this was from Honda. All in all, for the price they are now used, I cant think of a better choice.

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  Worth the Money - 2015 Acura RDX
  By Jonradus - October 2 - 3:46 pm

  This car gets mpg as advertised. I do mostly highway/suburbia driving and Im at 26 mpg. You can get 30 mpg with all highway if youre light on the gas. I read some suspension complaints, and I understand why theyre here. The back axle is pretty rigid and clunks over rough bumps. Its the only real problem with the car Ive seen so far, but its tolerable. The car handles great and has a smooth, linear power delivery with more than adequate acceleration. The transmission also shifts smoothly. The steering is a bit loose at slow speeds, but picks up heft with speed. Overall, this is a great car for the money.

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  A decent price, but you get what you pay for. - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Alex Boculon - September 25 - 2:46 pm

  Ill start by saying this car is the lowest priced luxury mid-size on the market, compared to BMW, Lexus, Infinity, Mercedes, and Audi. And thats fair, because this car lacks the style, power, or luxury of those brands. Still, it does have style, power, and luxury, just in more modest amounts. My priorities that led me to buying this car were that I wanted something: ~fairly luxurious, but not extravagant in cost ~good MPG, and good reliability, to keep the cost-per-mile on my long commute low ~modern tech, advanced features Having owned it a year, Id say it succeeded on the first two points, and failed on the 3rd. My car is indeed about as nice as youd expect for $35k, it is indeed getting 32-38 mpg depending on the situation, and it is indeed a Honda with rock-solid reliability. I drive a 60 mile round trip daily, and the car does a great job of rolling along with a quiet ride, and a feeling of confidence that it wont break down (like my BMW used to do all the time!). It has a nice amount of pep, the 8 speed tranny can get a lot of power out of those ~206 horses. My complaints are mostly with the tech: ~dual screens are confusing, and its frustrating having to push several touch-screen options in a row to do things as simple as adjust the A/C fan speed. ~VERY SLOW on-board computer. Inputting basic commands into the Nav or audio system is maddening. Its sort of a similar feeling to using a first-generation iPhone which is overloaded with too much software. The CPU is too weak to cant handle the demands put on it, so it can take as long as 10 seconds to even react to button presses. 10 seconds is the worst-case, most often it takes more like 1-2 whole seconds to respond, but that is pretty terrible in comparison to the .05 seconds most smartphones take these days. Attempting actions like scrolling the Nav map image often lead to the system nearly crashing, or getting stuck and scrolling way farther than you wanted. ~cell phone integration is very weak. It can sync with Pandora on my phone, but it requires several confirmation screens each time you use it, so its not really worth the trouble. Siri hands free is a joke, you may as well just push the button on your phone and use that instead. ~The tech package supposedly has high-end speakers, but Ive found them to be very mediocre, and lacking in bass. The single 8" open air "subwoofer" is not impressive. Id agree with Edmunds overall rating of the car as a "B." That is to say, its basically what you expect, a low end luxury car. So long as you arent expecting it to handle like a BMW or ride like a Mercedes, you should be fine. Id have even given it an A, except for my disappointments with the outdated tech.