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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  Very Pleased - 2003 Acura TL
  By ohheck - June 2 - 10:35 pm

  I bought my 03 TL used with 61k miles. The car belonged to a coworker who traded in in on a new one. The car had a full history of all service work performed,done only at the selling dealership. At 67k, I had the brakes replaced. At 70k, I noticed a whine in the transmission and took it to the dealership. The Service Mgr. rode with me to check it out and decided to keep the car for evaluation. He called back 4 hours later and said that Acura and the dealership were going to replace the tranny at no cost to me. Very pleased. I get 22/23 mpg in town and 32 mpg on the road. This is an excellent car.

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  Great high mileage ride - 2004 Acura TSX
  By meinbeast - June 2 - 3:15 pm

  Purchased my red/taupe tsx in March of 05. I have 132,000 miles on it now with minor complaints. Might as well start with the ugly since thats why we all read these reviews. As others have stated my once brilliant red paint is now cloudy and hazy on skyward facing surfaces. Cant tell from afar but up close people make comments. Most of my mileage is highway and my front bumper is more gray than red with rock chips. The paint durability is a joke. Ive had to replace two headlights to the tune of $900 each time, and my navigation has stopped working altogether. Dont get me wrong i still love this car, its handling, gas mileage, and options at this price are unmatched.

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  12 months later and still loving it! - 2010 Acura TL
  By Olu - May 31 - 10:47 am

  Was hesitant to try a near luxury brand, but have been more and more impressed with this car. Interior has held up well and now that i understand all the tech gadgets Im very comfortable using 90% or more of the interior gadgets

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  A Tough Package to Beat - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Mike - May 30 - 8:16 am

  FYI, looked @ the A4, 328, & IS250. So, my ratings are relative to this group. The car is far better looking in person (Im okay with the grill-the TL is a mess). To me, the IS is the 1 car that has better exterior styling (the Infiniti G=ew!=no dice). For 0-60, heres the skinny: TSX i4 w/M 7.5s (8.3 w/A), 09 A4 2.0T (i4) w/A 7.3s, 08 328i (v6) w/A 6.9s, & IS250 (v6) w/A 7.7s. I couldnt quickly find the M numbers for the others, but probably slightly better. B/for the 3, the delta is minor. I only notice the i4 at >60 b/c the i4s narrower torque band loses to a v6s wider band. Overall, the TSX combines luxury, Honda reliability, & fun & everyday driving in an unbeatable combo.

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  Wish it would last forever! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Mom Driver - May 29 - 8:47 am

  Love my MDX and have had no major problems. My brake pads have been replaced several times, common for heavy SUVs. Vent knob spontaneously broke when I touched it a few months ago--sounds like this happens often with MDXs. Plastic trim on drivers seat has come off--also common. So far drive train and transmission work fine, but at 65K, I wonder how long that will last. Dont like style of new MDX as much! Too flashy! Want to keep this one as long as possible.

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  Simply the best SUV - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Richie Rich - May 29 - 6:46 am

  Purchase my 2010 MDX Tech/Ent and without any doubt is the best handling SUV on the market. The new auto shift is smooth and makes the vehicle that much more responsive. The 2010s are much more quiet and upgrades to the technology is amazing. The stereo motivates you to drive more and the seats and active restraints are so much more comfortable. Stunning SUV.

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  Nice, reliable, but boring ride - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Alan A - May 28 - 12:43 pm

  Bought car new. Got good deal because new model year was arriving and dealer wanted to unload. Car has been very reliable. Mileage running around 19 on average - and I do a lot of highway. Acceleration not bad at low end. Handling too mushy... feel like is going to roll over when aggressive on a corner. Interior space is adequate, rear seating relatively roomy, but third row seat is a torture chamber for anyone over ten years old. Overall, car has been lackluster and boring. I had a Nissan Murano before this vehicle and that was a much more exciting car to drive. This time I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and, other than the gas mileage, this is one hairy ride!

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  Favorite vehicle Ive ever had! - 2009 Acura MDX
  By brod77381 - May 27 - 5:25 pm

  I love my MDX - its my most favorite vehicle Ive ever had! I bought a pre-owned 2009 MDX w/Technology package in black with black interior. I knew I wanted an SUV mid-size and looked at several. The MDX gives you the most bang for your buck.

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  Pros and Cons - 2005 Acura TL
  By PL - May 27 - 4:04 pm

  Bought this car with 31,000 miles on it.It has been fun to drive. I commute and now have 99,000 miles. My only complaints are 1) tires wear out quickly and are expensive, 2) same as one other reviewer, my passenger window sometimes wont go up smoothly, 3) its so low to the ground that you can injure it easily with road hazards, 4) premium gasoline $$$.

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  Best value for your money - 2010 Acura TSX
  By GT - May 27 - 8:06 am

  I love this car! I had a TSX since Sept.07 and as soon as I saw the 2010 model on the road I fell in love with the new design. Acura really did an amazing job with redesigning this model both inside and outside! My previous TSX had the tech package as well but there is a big difference between the new and older model tech package, the new one is awesome. Very easy to use and the location of the display screen is much better. The 2010 TSX is also bigger inside and feels a lot more solid when you drive it. The car handles great, its so much more quiet than my previous one was and its a lot of fun to drive. I average 28-29 mpg (city&hwy mix). I can only say great things about my 2010 TSX!