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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  ACURA RDX NAVIGATION, SPEEDOMETER, ODOMETER, TRIP OVERSTATED MILEAGE - 2008 Acura RDX
  By elizabethok - August 1 - 1:27 pm

  This car has an overstated mileage problem approximately every 10 miles adds 5 miles in turn uses the gas. Acura dealer service depts. will not acknowledge the problem, test or accept responsibility. In my own car I have been lied to. I log near every mile I drive to check the discrepancy. This car has been refused to be serviced by dealer service depts. Client relations does nothing for me except log and ask to accept apology.

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  So far so good - 2013 Acura RDX
  By newro - July 26 - 2:21 pm

  Got it new in February 2013 and while my wife drives it daily, I do drive it on weekends. It is solid, ride if good, plenty of power and gas mileage has been pretty good. The blue tooth is not very good, in fact I have had Acuras since 1996 and the one that I just traded, a 2010 TL had a blue tooth that was lots better. Cannot speak a phone number unless it is tagged, makes no sense, especially when you only get 15 tags. Giant step backwards on that one. Car is very good in the snow/rain. Have never driven a Lexus or BMW X3 but I would have to say that this Acura seems perfectly fine with typically Acura build quality

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  1997 Integra GSR - 1997 Acura Integra
  By gsr_pilot - July 19 - 4:05 pm

  There are not many cars built even today that can match the driving fun / parts available for upgrade / utility / reliability that the GSR hatchback offers. Add good fuel economy even by 2013 standards for a sports car category. For 16 years its been a serious winner & I can see why thieves are the biggest detriment to owning one ! Shifter / clutch are light feeling even when traffic gets heavy this car does not let you feel like its a liability. The best places are roads with numerous curves to exploit the " handling on rails " feeling ! My tachometer redlines at 8000 rpm so I get the feeling of F1 performance from a car costing $20K when it was new. Basic interior.

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  Best Luxury in his class. - 2014 Acura MDX
  By tonirive04 - July 10 - 6:46 pm

  I have had the 2014 MDX since the first day it went on sale. I was following this car since it started the road test on Germany. No disapointment yet. I got the top trim with SH-AWD. My first trip on the hightway the MDX averaged 31.4 MPG, no cruise control, I was speeding around 67 to 70 MPH, a long road trip this weekend average city and highway 28 MPG, so Im happy so far with this. One of the tech parts I most love is the ACC and LKAS, this is basically a self driving car, a small touch to the weel from time to time is the only thing you have to do. The Aha service provided with Acura-Link is not as responsive as I expected. The interior is comfortable, quiet, and well-crafted.

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  Good vehicle but lacking - 2013 Acura RDX
  By spottedone - July 9 - 5:21 pm

  I have had my RDX for over a year and 17000+ miles. Overall I like the car especially when I was averaging 23+ mpg. Over the last several month my mpg has dropped to 21, still not bad. I have had it to the delearship for a full synthetic oil change. I also had to pay for a front wheel alighment which was needed. I have upgraded my gas to Chevron on their advice but it has not made a difference. I noticed that the 2014 MDX has the same mpg ratings and now has touch screen controls which I miss on my old Pioneer flat panel. I also agree that I do not feel like I am riding in a luxury car. One serious problem which I took to the dealer was tire slippage when turning from a stop.

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  First Maintenance Visit - 2013 Acura RDX
  By traveldr - July 9 - 8:04 am

  The RDX with a US News Car Rating of 8.5 was chosen over other vehicles with better US News Car Ratings, e.g., Subaru Outback 8.9, Lexus RX350 8.6, etc. Other vehicles had better Maintenance plans (60000 free maintenance on Outback) and better interest rates (0% vs. 1.9%) First maintenance visit -- had to come back to dealer for replacement of damaged sensor wire -- physical inspection of part shows either misassemble or installation error by tool marks on part + I purchased road hazard insurance and was still charged $185. Car pulls slightly to right after maintenance visit - tires rotated without trueing, rebalance or road check which any reputable tire dealer would hve done

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  Great Car but Some Flaws - 2005 Acura TL
  By cooldiesel - July 5 - 7:11 pm

  I bought my 2005 Acura TL with about 90K miles on it. For the most part the car is fantastic, feels very high quality and rides excellent. At 80 MPH - typical cruising speed in Los Angeles when not stuck in traffic - the car feels as if it is on rails, and is very quite. Some people on internet forums have complained about squeeks and rattles from the windows in the doors when driving. I have found that this is true, but not to the point where it is a problem. The 6-speed transmission model which I have is probably not the best. The shifter is clunky, and the engine not suited to a manual since it has very little low-end torque.

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  Front Seat - 2014 Acura MDX
  By heather52 - June 29 - 12:47 pm

  If you are vertically challenged this is not the car for you. I test drove the 2013, seat adjusted fine. The 2014 is a whole different story. The front seat does not adjust to where a more petite person like myself can see adequately to drive it. Something to be aware of. My new suv is now my husbands. When ordering in the 2014 I never thought that this would be a factor.

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  Great Car despite the tranny recall - 2003 Acura TL
  By sjonly - June 19 - 10:41 pm

  I bought the car in a dealers auction with 149 k. I learn about the transmissionrecall and was scare when the car would occasionally shake during gear shifting. Took it the dealer and they stated I needed another transmission asap. Went to my local mechanic and he state transmission is good just had a broken motor mount and fluid need to be flush. Car drove good ever since, I love the speed. I pass newer car with ease. I hit 90 on the road easily going to Atlanta. I would definitely buy one again. My car is till operating but I gave it to my girlfriend since she dented the doors and bumper in an accident.

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  After almost a year of ownership.... - 2013 Acura RDX
  By wak52 - June 19 - 2:21 pm

  After a year and two road trips, here are my general impressions. Pros: Great mileage (28 mpg on the road), comfortable ride, good acceleration, good audio system, good dash/control layout, great ergonomics. Cons: Interior finish uninspiring, fit and finish from factory not in the same class as other luxury brands, rear hatch can only be opened with dash control after all the doors have been unlocked. Weve had the car in for two fit and finish repairs. It took the dealer three tries to a problem with the front bumper cover coming loose from fender (dealer didnt want to replace broken cover). Then the passenger roof rain gutter molding was loose, causing a horrible vibrating noise.