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! - 2010 Acura TSX
  By HOWARDHONDA - September 4 - 9:41 am

  I have had this car now for about 5 weeks (1,900 miles). For myself, over the past 25 years I have only purchased Honda Accords (all manual trans.). My last 2 have been EX-L and I have always been happy with them. For the past year I had been planning to purchase for myself another Honda Accord EX-L and just by chance I checked out the TSX. I loved it. It came with everything, factory installed, even options like memory seats, passenger power seat, home-link, and directional signals on outside mirrors that you couldnt even get on a loaded 4-cyl EX-L Accord. The TSX is more solid & luxurious than the Accord. And the gauges and trip computer are awesome! Plus the sales person was great!

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  Outstanding Family Vehicle - 2005 Acura MDX
  By IZJ - September 3 - 5:30 pm

  The MDX is overall a truly outstanding family vehicle. Ours has 74,000 miles of intense use and wear. The balance of comfort, utility, passenger space, cargo room, handling and performance is remarkable. Honda is a packaging genius for figuring out how to create so much space in a reasonably compact vehicle. Acceleration is good for a heavy vehicle. Interior room is excellent and the leather seats are comfortable and durable. Many long road trips have been completed with enjoyment and ease. My wife and I have 3 children, aged 4-11. Gas mileage is solid, 16 city, 24-25 pure highway. An early electrical problem was fixed and we have had no other issues. We will keep our MDX for years.

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  Great Car - 2010 Acura TSX
  By MM - September 3 - 2:33 pm

  I recently bought the 2010 TSX and it has exceeded my expectations so far. I love the interior and exterior styling as well as all of the standard equipment. I looked at all of the other sedans (BMW, Audi, Lexus) prior to making my purchase and they just dont compare in terms of value for your money. Ive only had the car a short time but Ive gotten a ton of unsolicited compliments. Do yourself a favor and test drive one. The car has decent pickup for a daily commuting car and it is fun to drive.

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  Fun + Value = TSX - 2007 Acura TSX
  By SouthernDriver - September 2 - 1:13 pm

  The TSX is really a very solid car. I was pleased when I purchased it and am now downright happy when I drive it. It represents a perfect blend of power and efficiency. If you dont hog-dog it around town, mid 20s is easily attainable, and on the highway Ive averaged 30-33mpg. The features are useful and easy to operate, the interior fit and finish is outstanding, right down the satisfying "thud" of the doors closing. The stereo stands out among "premium" stereos because of its balance - too often premium stereos overemphasize bass to the detriment of the mid and high ranges. Here the bass is present, but gets out of the way for vocals and instruments. Not just a rebagded Accord.

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  No Compromise - 2007 Acura RDX
  By SyracuseAcura - September 2 - 11:23 am

  After extensive driving I noted that the RDX really shines in a wide range of driving scenarios. The rear seats DO fold down for a very flexible interior and abundant cargo room. The car actually gets quieter over the break in period and it is a vehicle that definitely grows on you. The performance and handling is impressive for a sport sedan let alone an SUV. Get one and have fun.

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  This car turns heads!! (in a good way) - 2009 Acura TL
  By chuckz53 - September 1 - 3:59 pm

  I absolutely love the styling inside and out. There has been some criticism in the press about looks, but to me it looks strikingly different and fresh. Same with the inside. Theres a knock on the the multitude of buttons, bit I rarely go to the console because everything is voice activated, and besides, thats so much more fun. The novelty of saying "set driver temperature 70 degrees" still isnt wearing off. Being a Honda, Im sure reliability will be bullet proof. Acceleration is OK, but I do give it low scores for handling - my only disappointment. Once you set up for a turn its stable and secure, but transitions and aggressive moves are not this cars forte. Still, a great car.

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  Love My TSX - AWD Would be Fantastic - 2009 Acura TSX
  By KAB - September 1 - 2:23 pm

  I most definitely love my car. Outstanding owner experience. Bought it in October 2008 and have logged 17K+ miles to date. No defects at all! I shopped Lexus, BMW etc. and settled on the TSX. Final choices came down to new TSX or used TL (or used BMW 330xi). Former Honda owner so in the end I wanted reliability and sacrificed AWD. The car is a pleasure to drive (quiet, no rattles etc.). For pure fun, I would have bought the BMr, but did not want to face any downstream reliability or expensive maintenance. The only minor negative is the car is really so-so in the snow (even with snows) ... traction is not great. Everything else meets or beats my expectations!

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  Rolling perfection - 2007 Acura TL
  By Blacura - September 1 - 3:04 am

  I cross shopped all the others in this class (Lexus, Infiniti, even BMW and Mercedes) I couldnt get anywhere close to the options for the money. This car comes loaded for less. The build quality is great, the engineering in this vehicle is superb. They thought of everything. Every surface has a pleasant texture, the switches and knobs operate perfectly with weighted balance. The Navi is a must, it transforms the experience in the car. Others just have a moving map of sorts, this becomes the control center for the car. Audio, climate, everything. You can use conventional buttons, touch screen or voice commands. Handles and drives well for a larger car. Very sharp design inside and out.

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  Good car, but ask yourself... - 2009 Acura TL
  By maverick - August 31 - 6:10 pm

  Coming from a 08 TL. Test drove many times both AWD & FWD w/ tech. Got a mixed feeling like other 08 TL owners did. Technology beats other competitors like G37 or 08 TL. But not sure why such an advanced car has to skip auto-dimmed side mirrors, ventilated seats, rain-sensing wiper, etc. On a 08 TL I dont have to pay for the tech package to get ELS sound system and the perforated leather. Still a very good car for the price level, but option-wise, you want to ask yourself whats really important to you vs. what it has to offer.

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  I Love this Car - 2009 Acura RL
  By BECKY - August 30 - 7:52 pm

  I traded in my 2.5 year old Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland loaded with everything for this vehicle. The interior trim is excellent the Nav system is far better then the Jeeps and as good as my husbands Audi A-8 system. The ride in this car is excellent, the vehicle is extremely quite and the sound system is exceptional. I am so pleased I purchased this car I looked at the Cadillac and the Lincoln...the quality was no match. I believe I will be an Acura client for my next purchase too!