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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  For your money...its the best. - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Offset_98 - June 3 - 9:59 pm

  Coming off our modified Camaro Z28 my wife and I wanted something safe, reliable and roomy. We cross-shopped everything in this class and it came to the TSX, Accord and Passat. We went w/ the TSX because while not the fastest of the group it offered the most for our money. It comes standard with leather, heated seats, power seats, blue tooth wireless phone, auto. climate control, sunroof, xenon lights, 6-disc in dash CD and audio controls on the steering wheel. While you can get this stuff w/ the others, the Passat required an Auto. trans and another $6000 and the Accord just didnt have the features (xenon, bluetooth) the TSX had. Did I mention the 5-star crash tests?

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  Acura RDX ready to go. - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Jimmie Howard - June 2 - 9:56 am

  Had the car for 4 weeks. So far everything is as advertised. I love the acceleration and the safety features. I downsized from a 2011 base MDX.

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  A complete package - 2004 Acura TL
  By wayne_saint - June 2 - 2:00 am

  This is my 3rd Acura and its the best yet. It possesses outstanding power, comfort and very good performance with excellent fuel economy. Im also having to get used to people looking at/admiring my car -- so Im guessing that others must also think the design is as compelling as I do. While many have said, "if only this car were rear wheel drive...," having the front wheels driven is perfect for me and my snowy winter commutes. My thanks to Acura for an outstandingly well- balanced vehicle at a fair price.

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  Great handling, poor mileage - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Brillo - June 1 - 4:03 am

  The car is fun to drive, handles very well, excellent quality and features. Only disappointment is a 3+ MPG gap in rated numbers versus actual. Avg 19-20 in semi rural and highway driving.

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  Best value for the dollars - 2006 Acura RL
  By Acura RL - May 23 - 5:20 pm

  A great value for the money. Technologically in par with German rivals. The real time traffic and the crispy LCD are in concert. The verbal commands & the Bluetooth functions are much more advanced than the 2004 TL that I own. Acura makes great cars this is my third one in 7 years. SH- AWD makes the car hug the road regardless of the weather condition.

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  Hope This Helps - 2002 Acura MDX
  By mikelevels - May 23 - 9:52 am

  I did a lot of research before buying this car. I got the list down to MDX and Pilot, the Honda version of the same car, because I carry large speakers and needed a 49" wide car. There were no used Pilots at the time, so the MDX was it. Like everyone else, I had the transmission problem and eventually had it replaced under warrantee with no questions asked. Make sure you buy a certified car with an extended power train warrantee. Great highway cruiser. 4 hour trips are no problem. If it got stolen, Id get a Pilot to replace it.

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  Still Happy - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Kenny a. - May 22 - 8:13 am

  I still love my MDX. the car has 95,000 miles on it and I am torn between replacing it with another or waiting to the new model comes out. I did have a few problems (transmission replaced at 35,000 miles & need a new motor mount at 90,000). But I still love the car. Acura has been wonderful auto company to deal with.

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  Tire performance - 2004 Acura TL
  By Warren k Hoen - May 18 - 11:16 am

  I purchased this car new in May 2004. Last summer I drove from my home in Florida to Tucson, AZ where I spent 1 month touring. I returned to FL in Sept. and noticed severe tire wear and road noise. I had the tires replaced at 17000 miles. After driving on the new tires for 5000 mikes I noticed more tire wear and tire noise. Also the car has a noisy engine. I traded the TL in for a new 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid with navigation on March 15, 2005. It comes with Michelin tires and is amuch quieter car all around. I much prefer it to the TL. The performance is great with the V6 engine and electric motor producing 250HP. I recommend this vehicle very highly over the Acura TL.

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  New Purchase - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Susan - May 16 - 2:25 pm

  Just purchased my MDX, but am happy thus far. In Austin, I bought it for invoice plus $220 for molding, wood steering wheel, tint, moonroof visor and roof rack. Deals are occuring. Shop around.

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  Nice but not perfect - 2005 Acura RL
  By David - May 12 - 10:03 am

  This care is really comfortable and has some great technology that could use just a bit of tweaking. Love the sound system. Mine came with loose battery cable, sunroof & door gasket damage, and a problem with the starter switch that left me stranded in my garage and still is not resolved after 3 visits to dealer. Bluetooth phone is great but not fully functional with Verizon phones. Turning radius a bit wide. Rear visibility is not terrible compared to other new models, but overall visibility is still a bit restricted. Lots of the features (auto door lock, displays, etc) are easily programmed to suit your prefs. Overall I love this car -- its a pleasure to get in and drive somewhere!