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:

• 

  Great mix of Power/Gas Mileage - 2002 Acura TL
  By gonzalgi21 - May 15 - 10:07 pm

  02 TL-S bought the car with 64k miles which is amazingly low miles for an 8 year old car. First thing that i noticed right away soon as i bought the car is the POWER the car is extremely fast and the gas mileage is pretty darn good for a 260 hp engine, audio system is also very good.Good old Honda reliability. Unfortunately owning this car is stressful because you never really know when your transmission is going to fail even though i havent had that problem i know its coming and theres nothing i can do about it. If this car didnt have these transmission issues i would literally want this car forever.

• 

  Great Car, lousy gas mileage - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Tom - May 15 - 6:02 pm

  This is a great car with great comfort. The interior is awesome and the ride is fantastic. The advanced tech package and entertainment system is top notch. My only real complaint is gas mileage, less than the 20 they advertise in the highway and about 15 around town

• 

  great value - 2010 Acura TL
  By paul - May 14 - 8:30 pm

  This is my fourth Acura. 2000 CL, 2002 TL, 2005 RL, previous. Comparison shopped against Lexus, BMW, & Audi. I initially had reservations about front end appearance, but performance got me past it. Great value for the money & enjoyable to drive. The latest generation of electronics superior to my 05 RL. The AWD corners great. graphics on navi superior, sound system second to none. This car is responsive.

• 

  2009 acura tl - 2009 Acura TL
  By bernard edwards - May 14 - 7:51 pm

  I am on my second year with my tl, and I as very impressed with the quality, and the smooth 3.5 engine and I am not that impressed with the manual auto shifter, as sometimes the transmission shifts two times, and this car should have a six speed manual available instead of making you buy the over 40,000 dollar all wheel drive with the technology package, and the six speed should be available in the tsx also as it has the same engine that the tl has as a option, and this five speed just is not a good fit as it holds the engine back, and we love this car, and we drove a mdx for a few days, and now this is a real car, as this car really sounds so good with the 3.7 engine singing with a big smooth burst.

• 

  Update after 10 years - 2000 Acura Integra
  By jlongo527 - May 14 - 4:53 pm

  Yes, you can see my review from 6 years ago - I still have the car with 122k. I am debating about trading/selling for a SUV but it is hard to part with her. I have not had any problems. Gas mileage still averaging 28 city/31 hwy. I replaced both front struts - dealer said didnt have to but might as well. Aftermarket strut top broke off. Strut was faulty not car. Did most of the maintenance myself - still on Mobil1. Replaced muffler and midpipe due to snow/chemicals. put factory muffler back on along with large dia midpipe, .gets a bit more hp and is peppier. You can really sup these cars up if you want to but I love my 4 door sedan that still drives like a sports car.

• 

  2010 Acura TL - 2010 Acura TL
  By truegrit1969 - May 14 - 4:49 pm

  Our lease was up on our BMW 328. We took a few months and looked at just about everything in the same price range even considering purchasing our 328. The TL was the first thing we looked at...it bacically came down to the TL and the Cadillac CTS. It soon became an easy choice, the TL is the hands down winner! The styling is crazy, both outside and in. A true head turner with real class! I am 49 years of age and have owened them all, BMW, Volvo, Vettes our 2010 TL tops them all. I cant say enough about the design of this car. I wait for my wife to pull in to the driveway daily just to see it go down the road. The ride is tight and smooth. A real pleasure to own a drive. And,its a HONDA

• 

  Ok Car - 1998 Acura CL
  By Molon - May 13 - 6:10 pm

  Upscale Honda Accord. Transmission replaced at a little over 100K. Driver side window broke around 50K. Radiator leaked and replaced at 70K. Gas mileage only average, but I got a lead foot. Interior quality excellent with easy to use controls. Rear seat room tiny, Im 59". Acceleration only average due to 4 cyl and the car weighs a lot. Sound insulation only average, as road noise is prevalent. Air conditioner is not that strong for summer usage.

• 

  Love the Tech Package - 2010 Acura TL
  By ckwacura3 - May 13 - 5:53 pm

  The Tech Package has exceeded my expectations! Keyless operation makes you forget to use keys when you get in another car! Getting 22.5 MPG in mixed driving, 29-30 on the road, 24.5 overall. I have always gotten better than EPA with my Acura(s). This is my 3rd. Drove many other vehicles, ES, Genesis, MKT, SRX, MDX and came back to the TL as the best combination of features, performance and comfort.

• 

  One Year recap - 2009 Acura TSX
  By socaldude - May 13 - 4:32 pm

  Im reporting after one year of ownership. Excellent car all around. Since Im stuck in LAs traffic 90% of the time, the 4 cyl is more than enough for all situations. My main initial complaint was with the too stiff suspension. It has softened a little bit, but still a jittery ride on any surface. Too much for my comfort but I got used to it. Its quiet now that I changed the cheapo and noisy Michelins that came with the car. I put some Bridgestone Serenity (55X17) and what a difference they make. The only problem so far was a blown small speaker that had to be replaced.

• 

  2005 Acura - 2005 Acura MDX
  By DMP - May 13 - 4:32 pm

  Love this vehicle. Have 77,000 miles on it and no problems whatsoever. Love the touchscreen navigation that can be operated on the go. Bluetooth and Address Book are great too. Leather still looks like new and gas mileage has been great. Averaging over 20 mpg in city and highway driving. Have taken on several long road trips and the seats are great! Best Ive ever sat in.