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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  Great Car! - 2007 Acura TSX
  By troylp - April 11 - 8:08 pm

  I bought 2007 tsx last year with 81k miles. Pros: very good gas mileage, luxurious interior with all options, quite comfortable, enough power for daily use. Cons: drove it for two months. the starter went out on me. I have owned tl and accord before. Never had this problem. Car has engine vibration issues when in gear. Very common for this model. Overall, im very happy with this car!

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  No problems at all - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Thomas Daly - April 7 - 6:20 am

  Bought the car new and have only to replace the battery. 85,000 plus miles and no tune-up or plugs needed yet. Normal oil changes every 5,000 miles are my only expense so far other than a set of tires. Best car I have every owned - period!

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  Very quiet - drives like a car... - 2015 Acura MDX
  By woodsfortysix - March 28 - 10:06 am

  Our last Acura was in 2005 - an RL. Probably one of the best autos we have ever had. Customer service was excellent. Since then, several SUVs (another manufacture) and a van for family vacations. We purchased this car about three weeks ago, and just returned from a 1,000 spring break trip with our two grandsons. Car worked great! Very comfortable - handled quite well on the interstate.

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  Excellent Luxury car for the price - 2015 Acura RDX
  By raj2015 - March 20 - 8:47 am

  Driving: Very smooth and comfortable and powerful Price: Best luxury SUV for this price. I would say very less when compare to other compact luxury SUV with given options Options: I dont want to blame that few options (like blind spot monitor) are available since i know it before buying. But the Bluetooth connectivity for phone is very poor. When i am using bluetooth calling, the audio is very poor and other end, they hear lot of noise (like wind blow sound). I have 2012 Camry but the bluetooth phone connection is very nice. Overall: I am very much satisfied for the price. I love my car. You can get lot of standard features in base model.

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  Excellent in every way - 2003 Acura TL
  By Gail Robinson - March 15 - 2:28 am

  I purchased this car in 2005 with 50000. It now has over 130,000 and is running strong. I have never had any problems, just routine maint. It has begun "rattling" but it is 12 years old! Handles perfectly, hugs the road, extremely reliable in snow. Couldnt be happier.

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  Objective Review - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Kim Todd - March 6 - 9:18 pm

  Test drove the front wheel drive V6. For a little more I bought the Super Handling All Wheel Drive model. Compared to Lexus ES, IS and GS350, BMW 3 series, Audi A4, Mercedes CLA and C class. Without a doubt, the TLX is a winner. It offers this 41 year old everything I could want in a car. It offers very comfortable seats and the quietest ride of all the competition. It offers safety surpassed by no one. Top Safety Pick + by the Insurance Institute. When I feel like driving more aggressively, it simply asks how aggressive? It lets me choose between Eco, Normal, Sport and Sport + mode that completely changes the character of the car. The direct injection engine offers -.

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  Very good vehicle - 2015 Acura MDX
  By johnnymac_ak - March 3 - 10:10 pm

  Owned the car for about two months now. Purchased in Oregon and drove the AlCan highway up to Alaska in Feb. to where I live. This vehicle handled every bit of snow & ice thrown at it. I drove 2400+ miles, for 3+ days on glaze slick roads & never felt a slip. Very comfortable & lots of room. It drives much smaller than it is. The LED lights are very crisp & reach pretty far. The infotainment system is definitely something you have to get used to. It does so many things & is extremely complex so initially it was a little overwhelming, but after a few hours of seat time, things easy now. I drove the RX450 Hybrid, Audi Q5 & Q7, VW Touareg & Pathfinder & the MDX won us. I recommend it.

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  Forever an Acura Guy - 2015 Acura MDX
  By robfrommass - February 26 - 3:13 pm

  Traded in my 04 Acura MDX for a 2014 Chevy Traverse, worst move ever. Bought a 2015 MDX Tech and love it. Much easier to see out of, handles like a car, plenty of power and shifts smoothly with the six speed auto. Dual screen can be a little overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of the redundant controls it is actually quite easy to operate with little distraction. LED headlights are second to none. No need to even remove the remote from your pocket, everything is operated through proximity sensors. Third row one touch entry is as easy as it gets. Interior build quality is high but there are a few little flaws. Im 73" and wish the drivers seat went back one or two more inches.

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  RDX---first 3 months - 2015 Acura RDX
  By colonelken1 - February 6 - 2:43 pm

  After getting a great deal on the base RDX using a buyers service, Im pleased. Not thrilled but pleased with my first SUV. Sitting higher is a benefit with so many larger trucks and SUVs already on the road. Ive used the RDX around town and on one long trip. Very comfortable seats on the trip for both driver and passenger. Lots of legroom and headroom. The rear seats fold but its a small SUV so dont expect to move beaucoup things. Wish it had come with a few tech package features like automatic rear tailgate opener/closer, xenon lights, and more blindside detection but it gets great safety ratings. Nobody uses NAV systems anymore so Im not paying another $3k. Solid B+.

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  Love my MDX - 2015 Acura MDX
  By love4acura - January 30 - 8:27 pm

  Purchased a 2015 MDX back in September and its the best decision Ive made. The interior is way more comfortable and functional than the previous model, the ODMD system is a bit cumbersome to learn but once youve got it, its a snap to use and is sexy to look at as far as technology goes. I love driving this smooth piece Advanced machinery and believe its safety features will keep my family safe. There is no better purchase at this price range or higher and with as little maintenance as this is going to take, its a keeper...