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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  Peppy Hybrid that Turns Heads - 2013 Acura ILX
  By bayareamom - January 25 - 8:37 pm

  We bought our ILX used and have been incredibly pleased with it thus far. As a former Prius owner, I feel much cooler driving this sporty Acura, although I do miss the 50+ mpg of the Prius. Its fun to drive, handles well, stops on a dime, and has all of the modern features youd expect from an Acura. I primarily drive around town (about 90% of the time) with lots of stopping and am averaging about 37-38 mpg. I love the simplicity of the interior, which is easy to use and not as bright or busy as some of the other models we looked at. I hope this awesome car continues to fly under the radar so Ill continue to be one of the only ones on the road driving it!

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  Loving my Type-S! - 2007 Acura TL
  By crivett246 - January 24 - 11:00 pm

  Ive had my Type-S for almost four months now and Im loving it. Accelerates very fluidly and fast, with torque steer noticable only if you punch it. The interior design is really great and the gps is easy to use, but could be better on the last part of getting to your destination. The braking on it is also phenomenal. Theyre really grabby, but the brembo generate alot of dust and Ill probably switch them out when they wear. Overall, no regrets about my purchase.

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  The best SUV money can buy - 2015 Acura MDX
  By richpar - January 24 - 6:09 am

  Ive owned several Acuras and this is the best yet. The power and how the vehicle handles is amazing. Extremely quiet, spacious with amazing technology. Test drove every luxury brand and my decision remained the same. The seats are like heaven and I just love the stereo. Took her on a trip across country and wanted to just keep on driving. Really a fun to drive SUV. Added fog lights and trailer hitch and can tow the required 5K pounds (more than what I need).

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  Love my car - 2015 Acura RDX
  By maryz2 - January 17 - 10:43 pm

  I purchased the 2015 RDX AWD, I did not buy the tech package. I did add the fog lights. I love most everything about this car. Rides very nice and is quiet this was important to me. The stereo is nice and am happy about the satellite radio. My complaints would be no heat/air conditioning vent in the rear my former non luxury car had this. The mirrors hang out far on the sides really hard to get in my garage. I wish the temperature gage read larger. Overall a great purchase and my insurance did not go up. The RDX has a good safety rating.

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  Great car - 2015 Acura RLX
  By daniel6767 - January 15 - 2:21 pm

  This is a wonderful car- my 4th Acura (2 TSX, 1 TL) Interior surpasses anything I looked at and the technology that comes standard is exceptional. Could be a bit sharper on the outside but still gets lots of looks and certainly beats the Lexus GS. And, with the great discounting going on, would be hard to beat the value.

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  2014 Acura MDX - 2014 Acura MDX
  By skypilotair21 - January 15 - 12:11 pm

  The vehicleis very nice and sharp, although you would think that Acura could have install fog lights as a standard equipment. The vehicle has everything you need and its very comptible.

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  Best vehicle Ive ever owned/driven - 1997 Acura CL
  By chimneyyo - January 14 - 12:02 am

  I bough this car with 160K on it, its now at 173K. The previous owner abused this car and Im currently in the process of getting it back to its former glory. Fun to drive, absolutely amazing sound system, decent on gas, decently quick, theres just so much to this car. But my favorite thing I discovered today. I was in an accident. A reckless driver rear ended me, I was at a stop, he was doing about 40mph. I drove away in that car. Theres very little damage, more damage was done to his 2012 accord. The doctor at the ER said I should be in much worse shape but Im fine. I dont know what that cars made of, but I fell in love all over again. Thank you, my little acura, for saving me today.

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  Very Pleased with my Choice! - 2015 Acura MDX
  By tspring1 - December 30 - 1:24 pm

  After being an American car guy for years, I bought my first Honda ten years ago and have since owned three. Hondas are rock solid and other that gas and routine maintenance, Ive never had any other problems. I am at a point in my life where I am looking to move to the next level and considered Lexus and Infinity, but given my history with Honda I looked at the Acuras. I bought a black on black MDX with all the bells and whistles and while I have only had my new MDX for a few days, I am in love. For being an SUV it drives more like a sedan and its very agile. The interior is top notch and the car rides extremely quiet. Its still very early but I am very pleased with the quality.

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  Awesome car! 2015 TLX SH-AWD - 2015 Acura TLX
  By theslash - December 24 - 9:32 am

  This car is amazing. If you you can afford a car at this price point, this is the best that money can buy. It drives like luxury limo in a fuel economy mode and converts to sport agile performance sedan in a sport and sport + mode. Fuel economy is even better than advertised. There is a lot of technology and a learning curve but eventually you get a good use of most of the features. Interior is super quiet while driving and it has a buttery smooth transmission. However, when you push it hard, it gives you roaring sound. I-4 was also impressive, but feels peppy and sporty without that luxury feel of V6. AWD is awesome too. Highly recommended. Awesome build quality.

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  Great Vehicle at a Reasonable Price - 2015 Acura MDX
  By karhill1 - December 17 - 8:30 am

  Have had a 2015 MDX, AWD with Tech for a while. Previously had a prior generation MDX. The differences are noticeable. The 2015 is far more luxurious. The vehicle is solid, extremely quiet, and fun to drive. The interior design and materials are top notch. So far not a single negative thought about the vehicle. Performance has been exactly as promised.