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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  A great car for the money - 2004 Acura TL
  By mytl - October 15 - 8:59 pm

  We have two of these. The first was automatic. The second is a six-speed. The six-speed is performance oriented, and a bit choppy, but fun. The automatic is fantastic. The auto is not as fast, but is much more user friendly. The car has hd and xm stereo with the best sound system in a car. Mileage could be better, but it is a very quick agile car, and hence some sacrifice on mileage. This is a high performance Accord, make no mistake. But, unlike the Accord, its not boring, its fun all the time, and could out-run most cars if you get the jump on them. Easy to get on the freeway and excellent Brembo brakes. However, dealer insisted on new frt brakes at 15k miles for $300+ rip-off.

• 

  Wonderful Little Car. - 2003 Acura RSX
  By JDA - October 15 - 12:15 pm

  Picked this up used as a 2 year placeholder, and now Im rethinking the decision - in a good way - as in I might keep it longer than I thought. A great car. Excellent mpg, reliable, quick, handles great (for what it is), well-designed, sporty looking, low-emission vehicle. If you fold those back seats down, you can cram a lot of stuff back there. I feel like Im late to the party on this model and now it has been discontinued - what a shame. The only negatives - small back seat, and overall the car is really small and light. I worry about safety, especially when I drive my little girl. In sum: if you like to drive curves fast, but you need a commuter, you will like this car.

• 

  Great Vehicle for Shopping & Road Trips - 2006 Acura MDX
  By L Tunner - October 14 - 8:16 pm

  This is the second MDX Ive owned, and I love MDXs. Perfect for our active lifestyle..my aunts and cousins call it our touring/shopping/eating machine. Navigation system is great for road trips and seeking out new sites. Comfortably accomodates 5 shopping queens. Large cargo area has carried everything from 5 large dogs..club chairs..bags of mulch..lots of shopping bags. Performance, reliability and safety features are excellent.

• 

  POOR GAS MILEAGE!!!!!! - 2004 Acura MDX
  By FAFORBUSH - October 14 - 2:00 am

  Gas mileage stinks. I am consistently getting only 13 miles to the gallon around town and 20 on a trip.. This is not what the window sticker says. Taking in for service but have been told probably nothing they can do. Was told at first well maybe it will get better as it gets broken in...What is wrong with this???? It is not like I have a lead foot or drive wrecklessly!!! I go so slow now to help the mileage that my kids comment on how slow I drive. I use the most expensive gas in this car and nothing is making a difference

• 

  Not without problems, definitely a treat - 2002 Acura RSX
  By rsxland.com - October 13 - 10:00 am

  Ive had my Tpre-S for two monthes now. It is a thrill to drive. I cant stay away from it. Thats why it betting annoying that its going in the shop for the third time in two monthes. The Acura dealership service department is great. They always give me another RSX to drive, but the Type-S makes all the difference in the world.

• 

  Good car for the price - 2017 Acura MDX
  By Gustavo Navarrete - October 9 - 9:36 pm

  I am replacing my old CRV and so far, so good. I will post again after I got more experience with this model.

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  I prefer the 2016 tax over ilx - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Kathi - October 2 - 12:32 am

  I traded in my 2013 ilx to buy the 2016 tlx. I could no longer take the road noise on the tlx- my husband and I could hardly have a conversation. The tlx is much quieter- not quiet, but much better. I was hoping for better gas mileage for a 4 cylinder, 24 mpg I really like the blind spot warning and the compas / street name at the top of the instrument cluster. The trunk is huge but wish it opened further when poped open. The plastic handle in the trunk for closing is hokey- your supposed to pull it and quickly get your arm out before it hits ya. I like the new headlights but miss the fog lights my tlx had. I was looking for a car that was luxury inside as I drive a lot but wanted good gas mileage and low maintenance expense and am hoping this will be it. My two prior cars were BMW and I got tired of writing huge checks for repairs and didnt like that people treated me like I was rich or a show off, the Acura to me is less flashy but still nice inside

• 

  Great Car but little concerned - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Angel - September 30 - 2:18 am

  The TSX Tech. Package is a great car with a smooth perfect sporty feeling ride. I love the car because it’s reliable! I so far haven’t had any issues with the vehicle. The only thing that has me worried is the transmission I haven’t heard anyone complaining about it so far, but it’s rough at time when it shift between gear 3rd and shifting into 4th mine feels like it’s hesitating, I do not know what the problem is yet with that. The car is perfect for a daily vehicle. It looks great from the exterior & interior as well. The only problem with the interior is the leather they used its cheap, for an Acura that’s the least you would expect, it should of been upgraded to high quality leather. I noticed that a lot of people complain about the navigation and how Bluetooth is a hassle to deal with, that’s why there’s a manuals book for you to read! read the instruction and learn how to use it. I never had a problem with it.

• 

  German convert - 2005 Acura TL
  By German Convert - September 25 - 3:56 pm

  Used to drive only German. First VW then BMW. I had looked at the previous model TL and found it lacking, but not the 2005. It basically boiled down to a BMW 530 and the TL. They had comparable specs and equipment, but the BMW was $10K more and had poor reliability. Granted, the Acura does not handle as tightly or sharply as the Bimmer, but unless you routinely drive curvy roads without traffic slowing you down, youll never miss the BMWs better handling. Im not a brand snob so I had no problem taking the Acura nameplate over BMW. Highly recommended.

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  Great Car - 2003 Acura RSX
  By bernuler - September 25 - 2:00 am

  I set out to buy a replacement for my 87 Integra, which itself had been a great car. Test drove MB C230K, Celica GT, & RSX-S but chose RSX as best overall for engineering, performance, ride, build quality, fuel economy and purchase value. I loved my 87 Integra, so naturally I make comparisions. The RSX weighs 400 lbs more, has a 25% larger engine and gets the same gas mileage (32 mpg average), amazing. The exterior stying is a plus but the interior shows some negatives relative to the Integra. In spite of the longer wheel base and body, access to and comfort in the rear seat is poor. Road noise is worse, I believe due to the cloth cover over the hatch area.