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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  Expected More - 2006 Acura TL
  By B Smith - December 15 - 2:40 pm

  The TL is a good buy for the money and should prove to be a reliable car. However, its not as an exciting car to drive as I had hoped. Seat adjustments are not quite suited for a 62" frame, exterior body construction is not as substantial as it first appears, XM signal quality is poor on most channels (I probably will not subscribe because of that when the free trial priod is up), Bluetooth is subpar. I had narrowed my choices down between the G35 and the TL and the TL won out on interior build quality. In the end, the G35 would likely have been a better choice all around.

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  More repairs than expected - 1997 Acura CL
  By JBruce - December 14 - 11:30 pm

  We bought this CL with 62,000 miles on it and it was 7 years old. It is premium coupe with spoiler, leather seats, sunroof and climate control with CD player. At 80,000 miles, the clutch went out. While in the shop, they found the rear main seal leaking, the plastic radiator leaking, the front CV joints shot and several other smaller problems. Cost about $1,800 to fix. At 105,000 miles, the starter went out and they found the ring gear on the flywheel was shot and loose. Another $400. The security system quit working. We have had 4 other Honda cars, and none of them needed this kind of expensive repairs, even when they were over 100,000 miles. Don think we recommend a used CL.

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  TSX Special - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Miz TSX - December 14 - 9:47 pm

  Have had the car for over 5 months. A fun enjoyable car to drive. A lot of car for the $. Very customer oriented dealership. Very impressed with mileage on a trip at 80mph great mileage.

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  Not making them like they used to - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Jordan Cohn - December 14 - 10:55 am

  This is my 4th Acura. This doesnt feel like the quality car I have been used to. The ride used to be much sportier and tight whereas now it feels like you float on the road. The safety features are very unreliable. The way to navigate the radio and air has gotten much more difficult and take your focus off the road when using. Pretty sure I wont be getting a 5th Acura.

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  Great Vehicle - 2003 Acura TL
  By bailey t - December 12 - 6:49 pm

  Almost 50K miles without much service hassle. Minor blower motor noise at ~ 10K. Nothing since. 32 MPG at freeway speeds, 27 MPG overall. Beats the Toyota 2005 Highlander, my other vehicle, on all counts.

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  My second love - 2002 Acura RSX
  By donzg - December 12 - 10:00 am

  Just picked up a new 2002 Tafetta White RSX Base Leather w/ Automatic. Love the handling and Power.

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  Bad Exhaust Design - 2006 Acura RL
  By Brenda - December 12 - 3:27 am

  The dealer recalled our vehicle for some radio issue and as a result of that visit, we had to return it four time to finally fix the satellite radio. We have also made several trips to the dealer to fix the exhaust stain at the tail pipes. Starts appearing the day after the car wash and looks horrible. Dealer said the problem will be fixed with their 2007 redesign.

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  Great value but not perfect - 2005 Acura TL
  By VeniceNate - December 10 - 6:16 pm

  Its been 6 months and Im still happy with the purchase. The car is beautiful inside and out and full of useful gadgets. Performace is strong and I havent had any mechanical problems with the car. I do have a few complaints. The turning radius is terrible, Im afraid to do U-turns now for fear that Ill have to do a three pointer. There are too many small rattles for a car in this segment. Then again, Id rather have rattles than mechanical failure like recent Germans. Desperately needs an MP3 jack and an 8-way passenger seat. The Navi disclaimer needs a permanent bypass, Im sick of pressing OK everytime. Overall, a good car whose value makes it great.

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  Great Interior for the Money - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Travis - December 7 - 12:18 am

  I chose this vehicle over many others because of the excellent navigation system and great interior. I spend a lot of time driving, so a comfortable interior and good gas mileage were the most important attributes I was looking for in a vehicle. Now that I have a navigation system, I dont think Ill ever buy a car without it. The resale value and little necessary maintenance were other selling points. My only dislikes are the front wheel drive (I would have definitely preferred AWD or RWD). The exterior styling is sporty on my car, because I have the Milano Red paint with the optional spoiler. Overall a very comfortable, sporty, and economical long distance cruiser.

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  Good Ride - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Alan - December 5 - 4:13 pm

  The TSX gives a nice, quiet ride. Stereo system is great. Good gas mileage. Good value for the money.