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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  A solid value - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Hilbilly 385 - May 2 - 3:52 pm

  After a month or two of ownership we are quite pleased with our MDX. Build quality and features are excellent. It has a quiet ride and feels stable at 80mph. The seats are comfortable and the Navi/audio system are excellent. While not a sports car it handles very well and gets up to speed nicely. It has an excellent balance of exterior size and interior capacity. Recommend highly.

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  Love at first drive - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Amatista - May 1 - 3:09 pm

  Ive had this car since 10/09 and have put 6,000 miles on it. Driving this car has been a relief since my previous car (2007 Murano) was repurchased as a lemon. The interior is very sharp looking, and will endure over the years. Averaging about 27 mpg, hoping it will increase. Since premium gas is only "recommended" in the 4 cylinder, Ive tried reg. and prem., and can notice the difference. Only using premium now. Love this car!

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  Great SUV - 2009 Acura MDX
  By MDXMAN - May 1 - 12:44 pm

  I love my MDX. I have a black MDX w/technology package. I opted for the roof rails and sport side steps. It is a beautiful SUV. It has a great ride, ample storage, terrific acceleration and handles like a sports sedan. I was considering the Audi, but the Audis handling does not even come close to the Acura. The BMW handled well but was now where near as luxurious or comfortable. MPG are quite reasonable considering the performance of the engine. Ive had the vehicle for 9 months now and have had zero maintenance issues. If youre looking for a fantastic luxury SUV, look no further.

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  Great work horse - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Bills ToyTruck - May 1 - 11:55 am

  Bought certified last year-had only 26k on it, due to some "shop time" having door and fender repainted and repaired. Use it as a music gear and trailer hauler, as well as my sole transportation. Great fuel economy (I average 19-20 mpg), even when hauling our 3,000 lb. Hi-Lo trailer. Also very solid build-no rattles. I put the transmission and power steering coolers on when I did the hitch, as Acura advises this. Also added a brake controller for the trailer. Put 9,000 miles on it and its been great. Looked at new recently, but nothing hit me except the 2010 MDX at 45k. Cant justify banging up a new car that costs that much.

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  Easy entry level choice - 2010 Acura TL
  By Rx4Rex - May 1 - 3:10 am

  I decided to upgrade my commuter with an entry level luxury sedan eliminating several options immediately because I was still concerned about reliability. If Im paying more to get more, more must include reliability - Scratch off the German wonders. I drove the TL and G37 sedan & coupe (Didnt care for baby Lexus). The TL with the Tech package exceeded all of my expectations and was clearly the superior car. It had all the features of the G37 but with much more room inside. Even my wife preferred the more masculine/sporty exterior of the TL. The shifting was also much smoother. I had to do some emergency braking and it was rock steady just like the handling. I love commuting now.

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  11 Years and going - 1998 Acura CL
  By Seth - April 30 - 10:35 am

  Ive had my CL for almost 12 years and its still a fine piece of machinery ( 206,780 miles thus far). Over the years, I had very few "major" repairs to the car such as exhaust system replacement. It still maintains many original parts. If you have an opportunity to buy this car, you should do it (especially if it has low mileage). It will pay for itself in a short period of time.

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  Hitting the salvage yard with fond memories - 1991 Acura Legend
  By Acura Impressed - April 29 - 3:17 pm

  A stud of a car and Im still happy I purchased it those years ago. A powerful, fast car both on the freeway and off the line. Timeless lines and style before the paint started fading people asked about it thinking it was a newer model car. Only in the last couple year have I started to nickel and dime for small things. After a fender bender though, the insurance has deemed it an economic total -- transmission and engine are still strong with 160,000 miles on it.

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  Best Car I have Owned - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Wilcox - April 29 - 3:10 pm

  This is the 3rd Integra in the Family and they keep getting better. I just bought mine a few months back with only 115,000 km on it. Great Car! Love the styling, Performance, Reliability. Needed a few Ball joints recently but thats wear and tear for a 10 year old car. Parts are cheap enough and are very easy to get.

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  Be Careful! - 1997 Acura Integra
  By wmsptPA - April 29 - 10:06 am

  Beware of used Integras! These are popular cars to modify, and when people do this, they mess things up seriously! Due to the moron who owned the car before me, my integra is endlessly dying on me for one reason after another, as soon as I fix one problem, a new one comes up. I have spent thousands of dollars trying to keep this thing on the road (I cant afford another car), and as I write it is dead at my house, wont start due to an electrical malfunction of some kind, which will probably also cost a fortune. Integras are great cars as long as they have not been modified at all, be very cautious that the one you are considering buying has not been modified at all!

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  Love it! - 2007 Acura TL
  By gregyTL-S - April 29 - 9:14 am

  I Have a tl-s and my wife tl, we love these cars, best cars in their class, I dont even try to compere them to other because there is nothing to say, people who drove this car know what I I say. Performance is great, powerful, interior, acceleration, handling, features, all we need in one! BMW, Mercedes and others. Take these cars to Europe and drive it junks by yourself. :))